baldlivesmatter

Also, JFL at how all these fashion influencers are NW1s.

5 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

For fashion i like Aaron Marino (Alpha M), Jose Zuniga (Teaching men’s fashion) and Alex Costa. Pretty solid fashion advice if you wanna look trendy and fashionable. 

Mind posting your go-to outfit, I think my fashion sense is decent lol. 

Perfect! I added all 3 of those dudes on insta. I think looking through their pages will help.

Here's a convo i had with a friend on my go-to outfit:

Her: Hmmm what's your personal style like

Me: I usually just wear a solid color vneck and Old Navy shorts (or jeans if it's cooler).

Her: Oh lord

So, yeah--maybe Old Navy isn't the way to go? Planning to hit up the mall tonight (Nordstrom, H&M, etc.) but want to have an idea of stuff to get before going.

I'm thinking some better casual shoes (e.g., vans instead of my usual nike running shoes) and some less boring shirts--possibly button ups, is probably a good start.

Fellas,

Really happy with how the recipient is looking.

Feel like a new man with a huge confidence boost. Rarely think of my hair, and never in a self-conscious manner.

Perhaps outside the scope of this forum, but now that my hair is "fixed" curious if anyone has any advice or suggestions of places to learn about 1) Social skills/dynamics/etc. 2) Fashion/Style.

I recently read The Game and Mystery Method--which were IMO a good start for number 1 (though they're more geared toward dating than general social dynamics, though helpful for both). Number 2 I'm pretty clueless, though I'm recruiting the help of some female friends to help turn my swag up.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Response from the clinic says the patch above my ear is shock loss that can take up to 1 year to regrow.

They also suggested using rogaine on the area to speed things up.

4 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I see what you mean about the left side looking thin, but it looks like you have a thin spot on the right side as well, is this from your first surgery? Could it be that you have some minor retrograde alopecia? Because aside from that spot above your ear, everything else appears to have healed well. The recipient looks great, and you will continue to see growth and improvements. I can see the hairs are frizzy and that will begin to subside around the 10th-12th month.

Yeah, I'm stoked on the recipient growth and would be happy even if it was done growing (which I don't think is the case).

Never heard of retro alopecia but definitely a possibility. I emailed the clinic to see what Dr Diep thinks.

@shookwon33 I'm happy with the recipient at this point and would be content if it didn't grow any more. I think the donor still looks pretty shitty on the right side. Not really sure how much this will improve as i'm already 6 months post op.

Appreciate the encouraging words fellas.

Head seemed to heal up pretty well after the incident so don't think there will be any issues in recipient area.

Here are 6 month pics:

Top (harsh lighting)

Front (harsh)

Right donor (harsh)

Left donor (harsh)

Right donor (soft)

Left donor (soft)

Overhead (soft)

Frontal (soft)

17 minutes ago, shookwon33 said:

 

 

I took this 18 days post op, it was basically already healed by then. Now I am on day 34 and there are no signs of anything that can be seen in my donor area.

Bro, do you even lift back?

JK man.

Donor is looking awesome!

40 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

There was this one thread, where a guy pretty much had a gash like that on his head a few weeks after surgery. He came back and reported after a year with excellent growth and said that area had hair. If I can find it I will post it on here.

Yeah dude, if you can find the thread it would be much appreciated. 

13 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Ouch dude that looks painful. Definitely keep an eye out for it, but it may be void of hair of it scars. Hopefully not though 🤞

Yeah, not thrilled about the situation, but accidents happen.

I was surprised to read online that most doctors suggest waiting only 3-4 weeks to return to contact sports (e.g., football, MMA, Etc.). Gives me a bit of hope that it's ok to bang your head at this point. Scarring is obviously a potential issue though.

Hey Guys,

Was going to post 6 month pics tomorrow but while I was out trail running today I managed to wack my head on a branch.

It had a pretty sharp point so it punched a small hole in my recipient area (pic below).

Obviously not thrilled about this.

I came home immediately, showered, and applied some neosporin.

Plan is to increase protein consumption and get a bit more sleep to hopefully help it heal up faster.

59 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Wow 😮 5 months is looking amazing. Damn you’ve come a long way. I don’t think your donor looks bad, sure it’s slightly thinner above your ear, but that’s not abnormal for a lot of guys.

The voice of reason--as usual

After reading your comment I remembered that after my first surgery I had some shock loss above the ear on the right side (picture below).

I didn't really monitor it but i'm assuming it grew back good enough that I never noticed it again so that's reassuring.

5 hours ago, shookwon33 said:

@baldlivesmatter wow looking fantastic. no concealers in the pics at all? do you use any product to style your hair in that pic to keep it up? 

Thanks dude!

Per @Melvin-Moderator's suggestion i started using minoxidil foam twice a day.

I've found the foam works like a mouse so i don't need other product in my hair.

I would recommend you add into your routine around the 1 month mark (if i remember right i added around 6 weeks post-op)

18 hours ago, CosmoKramer said:

Progress is looking real good man, but to be quite honest with you, at over 5 months now your right donor side should have recovered better that it has, if it wasn’t “over harvested”, that’s concerning but if it doesn’t improve over the next 3-months, I personally would be upset that extractions weren’t done more spread out when the option was there to do so.

Appreciate the candor and also a fan of another Seinfeld avatar lol.

I agree with you, I'm not fully satisfied at this point due to the donor area looking sparse.

Very happy with recipient progress though.

If donor heals up a bit more I would be over the moon.

5 Month Update

Overall month 5 showed the most progress of any month so far.

At this point I'm more or less happy with the recipient area--as it looks good in social situations IMO and i don't need to use concealers.

Still hoping my donor area heals up a bit more.

Overhead

Frontal

Right (donor)

Left (donor)

Back (donor)

Right Donor (Soft Lighting)

Left Donor (Soft Lighting)

Back Donor (Soft Lighting)

Frontal (Soft Lighting)

Dude, 2K grafts in a relatively small area. This is gonna look awesome IMO.

Make sure to follow post-op instructions and be patient.

Mine looked worse for ~3 months and around 4 started to look decent. Steady improvement after month 3.

Congrats!

On 5/3/2019 at 11:12 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Wow you’re growing like wild fire, I’m pretty sure this is gonna be a homerun. Don’t forget about us baldies 😁 keep us updated every once in a while.

Lol, "baldies". That's OUR word!

This site has been so helpful, i'll make sure to update at least monthly through 12 months post-op.

After that, I'll likely be living the good life of a non-norwood (e.g., supermodel orgies, constant promotions at work, etc.) but i'll try to make some time to log-in now and then

51 minutes ago, shookwon33 said:

@baldlivesmatter Just had my surgery with Dr. Diep yesterday and he also harvest my grafts mainly from just one side. He elavorated the rationale behind this and it makes complete sense so I was fine with it. By 12 months coming around there will be no notice that 1 side is more sparse than the other in the donor area! Just wanted to let you know

Dude, appreciate the update @shookwon33! Figured with the number of surgeries he does the one-side harvest is an okay method.

Hope your procedure went well, and looking forward to following your updates.

I'd recommend reading the post-op instructions at least once a day the first few weeks to make sure you don't miss anything.

I'll post a 5 month update in a few days, but spoiler alert--it's lookin good 😎 

I have those little, blonde hairs too (4 months post-op). 

I believe they need to cycle once or twice to come in darker

Alright Gents--4 month update (time really flies).

Overall happy with the progress.

Donor is still a bit thin, though recipient is looking better everyday.

I have stopped using concealer (which was one of the main goals of this procedure) and instead just style my hair with minoxidil foam in the mornings. Obviously it's not perfect, but it doesn't look like an obvious transplant at this point so not a big deal.

Overhead

Frontal

Donor (right)

Donor (back)

Donor (left--for comparison)

Frontal (soft lighting)

Overhead (soft lighting)

1 hour ago, shookwon33 said:

looking great! im guessing the first few pictures in the bathroom were "harsh lighting" vs the soft lighting pics ?

Thanks Shoowon!

Yes, to clarify the "harsh lighting" pics are comparable to my prior pics and were all taken in my bathroom with the vanity lights on.

The soft lighting is just in other rooms in the house, not directly under a light.

I think the combination paints a more complete picture.

1 hour ago, RecessionProof said:

Very nice! I take it Toppik is quite a bit more effective at this point? 

Thanks RecessionProof!

Yes, Toppik is more effective now, although not perfect since my loss is in the very front.

I've had a bit of luck applying Toppik to the mid scalp and leaning forward while patting my head. This disperses a more conservative amount.

I did get called out by a friend who knows I had work done for having powder on my head so my technique still needs some refining lol!

39 minutes ago, VicTNYC said:

Growth for 3 1/2 months looks very good.

Did Dr Diep or his techs do your extractions with a manual punch or was it motorized?

Thanks Vic!

Dr. Diep did the extractions himself.

Not really sure on the manual vs motorized punch as he gave me his "Bill Cosby Cocktail" beforehand, so I don't really remember the details--but I'm assuming it's just whichever one he usually uses.

4 minutes ago, HLPToronto said:

good growth good luck for more to come 

Dr Diep's work looks clean.... how much time will it take for donor to cover up nicely ? i guess 1 year wait 

Thanks HLP!

Not really sure on donor healing timeline but I've read it's pretty consistent with the 1 year growth period.

Melvin saw continued healing after the 5 month mark if i remember correctly, so that's encouraging.

Alright Fellas,

Got a haircut yesterday so figured I'd add a few pics.

Overall I'm very encouraged by the progress in the recipient area (I'm at about 3 and a half months).

Donor is a bit rough, below is cut at a 3 guard.  Hoping this continues to heal up as expected.

Will post 4 month update in a few weeks.

Donor (right)

Donor (back)

Donor (left for reference)

Donor (left 2)

Overhead

Overhead (2)

Overhead (soft lighting)

Frontal (soft lighting)

Frontal (soft lighting 2)

Overhead (soft lighting 2)

On 4/3/2019 at 3:00 PM, PlzRespond said:

How’d the tinder dates go

LOL! Right to the important stuff! Love it!

I actually pumped the brakes a little bit on dating. Not gonna lie, the last 2 months have been a bit of a rollercoaster with me oscillating between being encouraged by seeing budding hairs and worrying that it's not filling in and i'll have a shitty result. Not the best headspace to be wife hunting, IMO. Also, figured that the hat route is OK for a first and maybe second date but after that it starts to get a bit suspect. Hard facade to keep up for multiple weeks/months. I do have a date tomorrow though so we'll see how that goes.

I did start training for a Spartan Race though so that's helped keep my mind off the plugs.  

On 4/3/2019 at 4:06 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

😂 inquiring minds want to know.

btw everything is looking on track blm. In fact your hairline looks alot like mine did.

Dude, that's so good to hear considering you got the GOAT FUE Diep result!

Just checked your thread and looks like I have about 6 more weeks until it really pops.

Just in time for summer! Exciting times!

Alright boys, month 3 pics below.

This month was hard as I was hoping for early growth (given Acell and Minoxidil) but haven't seen any. 

Native hair is still not quite long enough to use Toppik/Caboki without it looking like powder (hairline is always the hardest place to apply) so I've been wearing hats pretty much every time I go out.

Noticed some buds so hopefully this is the month they sprout. 

Still looking better than at 2 month mark so hoping for continual improvement. 

Overhead

Frontal  1

Donor (right side)

Donor (back)

Donor (left)

Frontal 2

56 minutes ago, shookwon33 said:

your donor looks untouched lol. I don't think you need to be worrying about the extraction of just the right side anymore. Do you have any pics you can take of your donor from the back currently from different angles?

Ask and ye shall receive

I wouldn't necessarily say untouched, but I think it's healing well and encouraging for 2 months post-op.

Right (closer)

Left (untouched side)

Back

Back 2

Back 3