jackblack71

Top 5 doctors who could create the most undetectable strip/FUT scars

Impossible to answer.

It cracks me up when guys with full heads of hair think they're balding...:-) You're fine!

This is the reason Propecia scares me....

Baldness Drug Propecia May Have Long-Lasting, Possibly Permanent Sexual Side Effects - ABC News

Your hair looks great!!! :-)

In my opinion I dont think you'll be able to cover that area with only 4000 grafts. I don't think your donor area is very strong.

I decided to get SMP into my crown which was bald and into my FUT scar. Will it look bad when my hair grows back?

Unfortunately we were unable to do FUE because the grafts were just too fragile. I'l have to come back and do a second strip. Dr. Rahal was great about the whole thing even though I was disappointed.

Best of luck on your upcoming procedure!

Thanks David! I fly into Ottawa tomorrow and my procedure is Thursday. I'm both excited and nervous, but I've been through it before so I know I'm in good hands!

Yeah, I really need to address the crown, so I'm excited!

Good luck bud!

 

Please keep us posted with your progress. I'm getting ready for my second round with Dr. Umar in late October as well and am more excited than ever because of my first and only successful procedure with him. I can only imagine your excitement.

 

 

 

 

 

About my hair loss journey:

 

 

 

 

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If I remember correctly, I think jackblack mentioned in a previous thread that he had scalp elasticity issues and another FUT wasn't an option for him.

That's correct.

Yes sir! :-)

Two years ago I had an FUT procedure with Dr. Rahal (3800 GRAFTS)

This time I around I'm doing the crown, I was a NW 5A. I'll update the forum on the progress!

Are you using Nizoral for shampoo? Used to hear this a lot in the past where Niz would friz the hair and people had to use conditioner to get it normal looking.

No, I was using Waterman's shampoo but not sure if its helps or not.

So here's how it works:

 

Hair shafts are essentially sponges that soak up oil. Your scalp naturally secretes oil, and almost everything our hair comes into contact with deposits oil on the hair or on the scalp -- which is then "soaked up" by the hair shafts. When the hair shafts are enriched with oil, they look thicker, fatter, and heavier. As I'm sure you've noticed, if you go a few days without washing your hair, it definitely looks "greasy" from the oils, but it's also heavier, fatter, and harder to style because of this. If you were to look at your hair shafts under a microscope during this phase, they would look very swollen or full.

 

When you wash your hair, you essentially wash these oils away with soap. Because the hair is no longer held down by the oil, it's lighter, easier to style or make stand up a bit, and it probably looks "puffier" all around.

 

What conditioner does is basically replace the bad oils you washed away with good oils. This allows the hair shafts to "drink up" these oils and look full and heavier again. But because these are oils specially used for cosmetic purposes, they aren't the type that give you the "greasy" look like the natural build-up oils do.

 

So your hair looks "puffier" without conditioner because it's likely clean and lacking the oils that make the hair shafts swollen and heavier. If you put conditioner on the scalp and leave it there for a bit, the shafts will soak up the oil, and boom!, the poofy look will subside.

 

Kind of cool, right? And totally normal. Nothing wrong with your hair specifically.

Thanks Doc!! And here's a pic after my haircut and with conditioner..:-)

Jack,

 

The phenomenon you're describing with the conditioner is basically the reason conditioner was made in the first place and the mechanism behind how it works.

 

I'll ask you this: why do you think this occurs? Why do you think the hair looks "puffy" before you use the conditioner?

 

The answer is actually kind of interesting. I discuss it with patients during consultations from time-to-time.

Thanks Dr! I have no idea other than my hair looks "puffy" and I feel like people are staring at my hair...:-) Looking forward to your answer.

Thanks!!

I dont know if it's just me being paranoid, but when my hair is longer (in between haircuts) I dont feel my hair looks natural and if I don't use conditioner it looks "puffy"

Anyone else experience this?

First let me say I'm happy with my results, but I was a Norwood 5A and had 3800 grafts. I dont have great density so if someone looked at my results (a year later) they might not be too impressed, but to me it's a night and day result.

Over a year of looking on this site it appears that the "wow" results are from young guys who had a receding hair line or some thinning. I think it's safe to say for a Norwood 5 or higher you would need at least 6k+ to see a huge difference, am I wrong?

Also, I know it;s been said before here, but I feel bad for young guys who are getting transplants as it could be tough later on down the line as hair loss progresses...

Sure, the NY surgeon grabbed around 2,300. That practice doesn't do maga sessions or anything more than 2,500 max. Going in to the 2nd, Dr Rahal wanted to get 2,500 but he was always with honest with me in that he didn't think he could get that much and told me to expect around 2,000. I also told him not to try pushing the limits, so he was very conservative with the strip and managed to get 2,250.

 

Also, if you want to get the max grafts via strip, then Dr Hasson may be a better fit for you than Dr Rahal. Dr Hasson was very confident he would grab at least 2,500 grafts for me, and even more if I wanted. I know Dr Hasson will extend the strip to the sides, whilst Dr Rahal hardly went past the ears with his strip. It was a very conservative strip and I felt really good that Dr Rahal knows his limits. Although 2,500 - 3,000 grafts would have been ideal for me as it could have addressed the miniaturization you see in the midsection, I didn't want want to risk a stretched scar.

 

Hope it helps. My advice is go meet Rahal in person so he can assess and let you know how much he thinks he can get. Get a second opinion from Hasson or Shapiro or Konior as well. Me visiting them in person before was the best thing I did.

Sounds like Dr. Bernstein to me. I saw him as well, but ended up choosing Rahal.

My concern is that I go for #2 HT and my hair continues to thin and fall out? How likely is that to happen?

I would like to add, how much more thickness is expected post month 6?

The reason being is that the transplanted area is still really see-through, and I'm curious how much more I would need to have good coverage on the front, as well as finishing the back with moderate coverage.

 

Under any decent light, it looks really patchy and contrasts heavily with my much thicker sides. I'm not really sure where I should focus my efforts with another procedure.

Dr. Rahal will be able to tell you how many grafts you have left and where to place them. Like me you're a N5 and there is no way we're going to get density with only 4k grafts.

I'm locked in for #2 transplant with Dr. Rahal - going FUE route and excited and nervous. I hat the numbing...

Considering Dr. Rahal is booked for 6 months out I dont think "negotiating" is the best approach. Were you one of the guys that didn't get his $1k deposit back from Dr. Rahal because you booked and decided to cancel and now you're pissed?

Dr. Rahal gave you a very nice, natural looking hairline. Significant improvement from where you were. Very similar MPB pattern here as you, also went with Rahal, 2 FUE sessions over 2 years, approx. 3500 total grafts, changed my life!

Thanks! Just looked at your photos - amazing transformation for you!

Yes

This guy is definitely a troll. Your results are very good.

Thanks man - I added the before pic...:eek:

Here's an updated picture.