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It's been a week since my last post and I thought I'd update you guys on what everything looks like in somewhat favourable lighting. I can only upload one picture at a time, so here's the right side Any feedback welcomed

Thanks, Panda - I certainly hope so! The next few months should hopefully be the good part, fingers crossed! Let's not talk too soon, Spidey! Thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep everyone updated as time goes on. Your result was fantastic btw. I see you, me and Panda are all Dr Hasson patients! It's very reassuring to see the results of his work on others and it's also remarkable how consistent he seems to be with his hairline design with different patients. Panda's hairline stepping on the right side of his head is basically identical to mine. I guess you get what you pay for, I certainly hope so!

Looking great, Panda! Your native hair looks to be in great shape and I'm confident this will be a great result! I applied Vit E oil myself day and night for the first 10 days or so. The only downside was that I I found it to be really viscous, sticky and hard to apply. Also, as it warms up, it drips down your head which is such a strange sensation. However, it did help to keep the area moist and prevent too much scabbing. I also made sure i would take baths and lie with my head underwater and let everything soak for 10-15 minutes which i think helped to soften everything up. I wish you the best of luck and I look forward to following you on your journey

Hey guys, Today is exactly 3 months (13 weeks one day but hey, who's counting!?) since my HT, so I thought I would post an update. I'm pleased to report there is a fair amount going on! I started to notice tiny hairs just after the 2 month mark and I'm seeing improvement from week to week. Despite there being progress I must say that the wait is absolutely excrutiating!!! I suppose it's natural but I really had no idea about how difficult the mental side of the recovery period was before my HT - it's vey tough!! That being said, I do feel like i've turned the corner in that I am now getting more hair with each day rather than less, which is a welcome change! I think blonde hair makes the process even tougher - it's so hard to see! All the pictures are labelled in the title and i've taken from the same angles with and without flash with dry hair, as well as combed back wet. I also took two outside in natural light. The stacked picture is months 1 (top), 2 (middle) and 3 (bottom). Please feel free to let me know your thoughts/opinions!

Looking great, Ernie! I'll be honest, your hairline doesn't look see-through from where I'm sitting! Results also look very natural - congrats. I'm sure there will be a big change for you over the next 6 months as things mature. I can't comment with personal experience on on your views as I'm a fair bit behind you on the timeline, but I've seen previous posts where the difference from 6-9 months is quite significant. I've also read more than once that by 6 months you've got a very good idea of what the foundation for your HT is, and then it's just improvement from what you've got in place. Regardless, it's already looking good - you must be very pleased!

Mahhong - you raise an interesting point, and one I've not actually considered. When I made the decision to take progesterone it was on the basis that it was not a synthetic drug. I hadn't actually considered that the potential sides that may occur are actually byproducts of the 5-AR inhibition process, rather than something in the drug itself. I see online that you can get progesterone cream which I suppose could be applied topically, much like minox. I am unsure though as I am taking mine orally. Now that I think about it what you are saying it definitely makes sense, although I do not know for certain if you are correct. It may very well be the process that causes the sides and not something in the drug itself. I would be very interested to hear from someone who has a medical background or knows more than I do. It's also very hard to determine as I would imagine there are a large number of variables. From the top of my head I can think of a couple: - Is there something in the fin/proscar chemical structure itself that can cause sides? - How does the body absorb/metabolise/expel (if at all) the active chemical which is a 5-AR inhibitor in fin? - How does the above occur with progesterone? - What is the half life (which inevitably affects how often someone doses) for fin and for progesterone? If one has a longer HL than the other, one would inevitably need to take less of the drug in order to maintian the same effect - Progesterone is a master hormone, and the root of a number of other hormones (incl estrogen and testosterone). How would the body convert this (if at all) to various other hormones in the chain and, if so, in what percentages? If a conversion is taking place, how much progesterone remains in order to block the DHT conversion? Unfortunately, these are questions I cannot answer and I can only go on my personal experience. In my experience, I have had no sides whatsoever. I am fairly certain that there is a percentage of men who, after hearing about potential sides, have a negative thought planted in their head. This ends up growing as a recurring negative thought that ends up manifesting itself physically. I personally believe that penile function and sexual performance are very much determined by mental state and frame of mind and, for some, planting the seed is enough for them to start questioning themselves and ultimately believing they are being negatively affected. As such, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps I was just lucky and my lack of sides is just the same as many men who take fin and have none. Perhaps there is something else in the fin/the absorption/secretion process that causes the sides, or perhaps they are inevitable whenever you are trying to inhibit 5-AR - I don't know. EDIT: I've been doing some google searching and, interestingly, many of the neg sides of fin (erectile dysfunction, low libido etc) are actually symptoms of a lack of progesterone. It seems completely backwards that a deficiency of a natural 5-AR inhibitor (progesterone) would cause these things if they are inherent to the process of inhibiting 5-AR in the first place.

FYI I am also 27. I was lucky because my dad is a physician so he could prescribe me the meds. I am not sure why more HT docs don't use it. Surely some have tried?! The sides from fin can be AWFUL and can last for life! Dr Hasson was very interested to hear about the efficacy of progesterone when I had my HT. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Kalab23, I see you've abstained from finasteride due to fear of the potential sides. Have you ever looked into progesterone as an alternative? It works in much the same way as fin (5-AR inhibitor). Do a google search for 'Progesterone DHT' and have a read. I have been taking progesterone since December 2014 and it has worked very well for thickening up my existing hair. I had a HT nearly 3 months ago and I will be continuing to take it into the future. I am currently taking one tablet daily (i think 100mg, but i will check tonight), but this will reduce to one tablet every two days once I hit 6 months after my HT. I have only upped the dose temporarily while I am in the sensitive stages of my HT. I am finding it tough to find data on the half-life of oral progesterone, but one every other day should give a fairly constant effect.

Zhairz - there is obvious evidence that there are DHT-resistant hair follicles on people's heads - men that never go bald! As is the case with Rashid - he is obviously very sensitive to DHT and I am less so, and guys who never lose their hair, like Brad Pitt, for example are even less so (if at all) again. I do feel bad for the armpit hair guy, it looks awful. @gbhscot - progesterone works in the exact same way as fin , ie. a 5-AR blocker which inhibits the conversion of test to DHT. As such, it is a natural substitute for finasteride provided you use a bio-identical hormone and there are therefore no sides. I don't know anything about prolactin, so i can't comment on that. I feel like progesterone is a well kept secret that could help a lot of guys who are concerned about fin sides. Just google 'Progesterone DHT' and have a little read.

I have read that many have applied aloe vera gel and distilled with hazel to the recipient area to combat the redness. I never used anything apart from vitamin E oil for the first week post op, but my redness lasted for nearly 2 months - it takes a long time to go away for some!

Fantastic argument you present HTsoon - I agree. I think the follicle itself, irrelevant of location, is what is resistant to DHT. Obviously there is a huge variance in individual sensitivity but, for the right candidate operated on at the right age, you can predict with a fair degree of certainty how things should look going forward for a fairly long time. Staying on fin is, for most people, simply an insurance policy for their HT. You don't see many cases of people who have discontinued fin after HT because why would you? It's been shown to be fine to take for years and if you have no sides, why not? It's a very small price to pay for virtually guaranteeing that you are locking things in as they were after surgery by taking a pill every day. I personally have never taken fin but I believe progesterone has done exactly what fin would have done for me. I wasn't balding horribly badly so I'm not as sensitive as some to DHT, so I could potentially be fine to stop progesterone now but I have no intention of doing so. It's doing nothing to me and the dose is so small I am happy to continue ad infinitum. It is also a naturally occurring hormone in my body so it is not a synthetic drug either. Zhairs, please argue your point properly if you wish to make one. HTsoon made a point then backed it up, after which you seemed to withdraw entirely. I've seen nothing you've said backed up with any evidence at all.

Oh man you replied just as I did so I didn't see your post. I wish you the best of luck!

To echo the two guys above me, spend the money. This is something that you intend to be a lifelong, permanent change - it's not something you want to skimp on!

They will be! I started noticing some action at 2 months - stubbly, very few hairs, then soft hair that made the area feel like satin, then more small hairs popping up week by week. My hair started off as nearly impossible to see - benefits of blonde hair. The beginnings of my hairline only showed up if I took a picture with flash - you're an earlier grower than me. Looking great! I'm finding it very hard not to obsess over my hair at the moment. I find myself looking for new hair in the mirror every day, taking pictures from various angles and in different lighting etc. Waiting is tough!!

Hey Ernie, looking great so far! Your temple points are amazing - I am very jealous! I have to say even from month 3 you could tell how fantastic the general shape and hairline design was looking. I didn't know about Rahal before my procedure (looking back I cannot believe how lucky I was that one of the very first sites I visited was H&W!) but now I've seen his work on you and others I would definitely say he's up there as one of the very best in the world. Everything looking great and I'm looking forward to your 6 month update - you're exactly one day shy of 3 months ahead of me.

Mosd - I'm guessing they just used all the grafts that the strip they took yielded. Perhaps the density was higher than was originally anticipated, hence the higher number of grafts. It was also an extra $3k more than I thought! That being said, I was still happy to spend the money and get the extra grafts, Ernie - thanks for your kind wishes. and congrats on your procedure. You're a little ahead of me on the timeline, and with some early success I might add! Best of luck and happy growing!

N0air looks absolutely astounding for two months. You literally cannot tell he had anything done - he even has his old hairstyle back already! My forelock was much weaker than his and I used to grow it pretty long so I had to cut my hair short after the procedure as it looked silly after the edges were shaved and a good chunk was taken out of the front. I never shaved my hair and I still haven't - I would look HORRENDOUS with a shaved head. I just have a short scissor cut with shaved edges. It looks neat but is very boring and doesn't suit my face as well as other styles. I had a big step in my hair for about 6 weeks - you should be back to normal in much less than that!

Yeah that definitely makes sense to do FUE then. The recovery time seems to be much shorter and, of course, no scar. I've never worn my hair short on the sides as I always used to brush them forward to disguise my hairline, so for me a 4 guard on the sides would be a dream come true and I see some guys on the forum can go down to 3. As such I didn't really even consider FUE as I doubt I would go shorter. I also noticed Dr Hasson cuts the strip fairly high, so I imagine a skin fade would even be possible with where my scar is. I think he does this intentionally so that you can taper the sides and bottom of your hair down if you wanted to as is now very popular, but I could be wrong! I was also told that their would be a greater yield from strip, something which I think was true as I ended up with so many more grafts then we had originally anticipated. From what I've seen the quality of H&W's FUE work is on a par with FUT anyway. At this point in time they simply lack the extensive back catalogue of proven results with FUE. I'm certain this is something that will change as time goes on and they get more procedures under their belts. Good luck with your flight! I think staying on is a good idea but you might even need more time. I was in Vancouver for 5 days after my procedure and then I flew to northern BC. The saline solution they inject into your head had fallen down my face and settled in my chin. I looked super fat! I took off my hat and sunglasses at passport control and the lady behind the counter nearly fell off her chair! It was tough but definitely manageable. In my opinion the optimal time to fly is the day after surgery or a week later. Anything in between is tough!

Hey Panda, Thanks for the encouraging words! Yes, my redness was apparent for a long time, the fair skin in definitely a factor, as is the light hair. I'm not sure about donor capacity. It wasn't something I asked about as my loss stabilised after taking progesterone and I just had an issue with my hairline and the density at the very front. II was told my donor is very good and I'm hoping to only need the one pass. By all accounts I got a very large number of grafts for an area of that size - over a thousand grafts (an extra 44%) over the top estimate I was given after my consultation. I see guys who are NW 4/5 having a similar number of grafts and my area was very small by comparison. We will have to wait and see how it turns out but I am holding thumbs and touching wood like you wouldn't believe. My 3 month update is due next week and it's starting to get exciting - new pics will be up then

Looking good, Trashpanda! Nice to see another Dr Hasson case unfolding live! What was the reasoning that you went for FUE over FUT? From looking at N0air's post I think FUE heals much faster than FUT - my head was like a balloon for a few days after my procedure. My redness also took over 2 months to disappear! Keep us updated and happy growing!

Looking good, N0! You are lucky to have such dark hair - it covers where the work was done much better than my hair does.My 3 month milestone is next week and I can see improvement, but the wait is absolutely excruciating. I was interested to see the question re shaving down the recipient - I thought this was something H&W insisted on. Did they shave into your hairline? I know I spoke to David about this and he said it was needed in order to match the angle of the native hair growth. My recipient was shaved, but only very slightly into my existing hairline with the rest left untouched. IMO I would rather shave down the area and get it done right first time - especially considering the cost, both in terms of money and time.

Congrats on the procedure - I can't believe I've only just seen your thread! All the techs at H&W are great but i must say that Elena was special. I had an FUT procedure done by Dr Hasson just a few weeks before you, so I'm really interested to follow your progress. I also can't help but notice that it looks like the characteristics of your hair, your receding pattern prior to surgery, and you new hairline design are very similar to my own - the hair is just a different colour! Happy growing - here's to the next few months!

Hi Everyone, Firstly, thanks to all the members for sharing all of your experience and advice, it's been a pleasure to read, and also a great help to me. My hair loss began probably in my late teens, and was hardly noticeable at first due to my hair being so thick when I was young. By the time I was in my early 20's, my hairline had receded quite a way, and my hair at the front on the top was getting very thin. My hair loss shattered my self-confidence and i became extremely self-conscious about it. I would obsess over how my hair looked constantly, sometimes re-doing my hair over and over, trying to make it look ok before I left the house. Looking back on it I can remember how much it affected my daily life. It sounds kind of ridiculous now, but i remember doing things like only sitting against the window on one side of the train on the way to work so that the one side of my head (where recession was particularly bad) wasn't on show to everyone inside. It got to the stage where, in December 2014, I told my mum I'd like to try out finasteride/propecia/proscar to see if it would help me. I spent a lot of time withdrawn from social situations and it was really getting me down. I was aware of the potential sexual side effects (which scared the hell out of me) but was willing to try anything. My mum works in medical field and she told me, if i wanted, I could try a hormone called progesterone. It works in much the same way as fin (5-ar inhibitor) and would negate the effects of DHT, but without the side effects. As my dad used to do bio-identical hormone replacement therapy we had progesterone in the house, and I started taking 30mg every other day, on 24th December 2014. I have to say that progesterone did my hair so much good. I am not an expert and mostly went on what my folks told me as true (plus, my dad is also a GP) and it worked out well for me. From being wispy and thin at the front, much of the thickness in what hair remained returned. I could once again style my hair up (how i normally styled it in the past) although, where the hair had completely disappeared, there was no new hair coming through. I ended up with a Norwood 2/3, plus a pretty uneven hairline. Despite the improvement I still wasn't really happy, so i started to look into hair transplants. I quickly established that the UK wasn't the place to go, so I would have to travel. After trawling the net and looking around I was particularly impressed with Hasson & Wong. Luckily, my folks live in British Columbia and would be able to help me through the post-op period which was a deal. I saw H&W were doing consultations in London so I booked a consult with David (great guy btw) who took my pictures to send to the clinic. They came back and told me I'd be a good candidate and would probably need 2,500 - 2,700 grafts. I booked myself a slot and was told Dr. Hasson would be my surgeon for the procedure. I was going to quit my job anyway and I saw this as a great opportunity to do the surgery as I would need time to recover. Before I left I lined up a new job to start in July. Having to explain to my new CEO and a room full of directors that I couldn't start for 2 months because I was having a hair transplant was an experience!! Thankfully they understood and I had my window. On the 5th May flew out to the US for a golf trip and, on the return leg of my US trip, I went to Vancouver for the surgery. I planned to have the surgery, stay in Vancouver a week, then stay with my parents in Canada for just over two weeks. H&W include two nights in a (very!) nice hotel, but instead took what they would have spent on a room off my final bill, and I organised my own place to stay. I ended up renting a small apartment from airbnb in Kitsilano (close to the surgery) which was perfect for my needs and about $80 a night. On the day of my surgery I was due in the clinic at 7:30am. I arrived and filled in some forms and they performed a few rudimentary health checks like blood pressure readings etc. I then met Dr. Hasson and we spoke about potential hairlines, what would look best etc. He was very interested to hear that I had been taking progesterone and asked me lots of questions about it. He said that many patients were completely put off by the potential side effects of fin and he actually did look at progesterone, but hadn't had any patients try it out as yet. He said my scalp was a little tight but that the donor looked good (I was very lazy with my laxity exercises). He then drew 2 different choices of hairline, plus the option to lower each one down, giving a total of four options. I opted for the flattest, lowest line, which he told me we should be fine with the grafts we could get. Some of my native hair was shaved at the front, some photos were taken,I was given a valium, then taken for the strip to be removed. The injections do hurt but it's not the end of the world and there was no pain after that. I was talking throughout the strip removal procedure and Dr Hasson was encouraging me to talk as he worked. When I stopped blabbing I realised why. You can hear the scalpel cutting as the strip is removed - it was a dreadful sound! After they close the gap and staple you up, the technicians begin to remove the grafts. At this time, Dr. Hasson started to make the punches for the grafts to go into. He asked a technician to tell him when they were halfway done with the graft removal and how many they had gotten. After a while, she said something like 1,600 at halfway, so I knew we were looking good on graft count. Interestingly, during the whole process I didn't watch the TV once. Maybe it was the valium, but I was just happy to sit there as they worked and look out at the fantastic view of Vancouver from the OR. I just felt a sense of relief I suppose. That I was finally getting this done and I was pretty happy to be there. I ended up getting close to 4,000 grafts in the end. I can't remember exactly when we finished, but it was the evening - 7pm or something like that. They give you a loose fitting cap and a few pain meds and send you on your way. For me the first night was absolutely the worst in terms of pain. I think they gave me three percocet, all of which i took on the first night and they didn't really even touch the sides - the back of my head was reaaaallly tight and painful! Luckily, after that first night there was never pain that bad again, although sleeping upright for 5 days with staples in your head isn't very pleasant. I went in to the clinic every day over the next three days and had H&W wash my hair, which was a pleasure - the staff there are all fantastic and everyone has such a pleasant disposition. My entire face swelled up CONSIDERABLY on the third day as the solution they put into your scalp to plump it up during the procedure worked it's way down my face. On the Friday I flew to my folks' place (going through the airport wasn't great, I was still pretty swollen), and was there for a couple of weeks. I applied vitamin E oil on my scalp, day and night, which helped the scabs to come off just shy of 10 days. Having the staples taken out was absolutely amazing - being able to sleep on my side again was nice! I am now back in the UK and exactly 2 months on from surgery. I am happy I took so long off work (9 weeks) as the redness was very apparent for over a month. I am also blonde and have fair hair, which I don't think helps the redness situation. Pretty much all transplanted hair has fallen out and I am now trying my best to to be patient - it's very tough! Sorry for the large amount of text - I am trying not to miss anything out! Here's a breakdown of my 3898 grafts from the clinic: 1040 singles 2737 doubles 121 multi’s (3 and 4 hair follicular units) I've included pictures of: Hairline before the procedure (Top & Front x2) 1 day post (Angle, Top, Front) 6 day post closeup (Left and Right) 13 day post front 15 day post from 1 month post 2 months post (Today) EDIT: I mixed up the number of grafts on the main title - it should read 3,898 - not 3,989. I am not sure how to change this.