HTREGRETS

Month 13+ Update!

Sorry for the very late update everyone, I've been busy enjoying life with a new head of hair!

The hair has continued to thicken up and mature thru the 12 month mark.  Also, the scar has continued to heal, and is really a non-issue now.

These pics are from yesterday, under harsh bathroom light, with a little hairspray in.  This is how I style my hair everyday.  Only takes about 30 seconds - love it!

Per usual, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  This is about one week out from a haircut.  I'm sure I could cram some extra grafts in there, but no need to get greedy.

I can't thank Ailene and Dr. Cooley's office enough!  As previously stated, I was a disgruntled repair patient, and was very skeptical of the procedure.  I never thought I could ever have hair like this, but Dr. Cooley worked his magic!

I'm heading back to Dr. Cooley's office next month for a complimentary post procedure follow up visit.  I'll try to post pics if he takes them.  Otherwise, this will be my last update.

Thank you to everyone and to this forum for your support!  And good luck to all who are pursuing this procedure.  I personally would not let anyone besides Dr. Cooley ever touch my head.

Great result Speran28!  Cooley did an incredible job!  Start living life my friend!!

8.5 Month Update

Fresh out of a haircut, I figured I'd give an update with my progress.  Words really can't explain how happy I am with my procedure with Dr. Cooley.  Life-changing is an understatement.  Being a long time repair patient, I finally feel like myself again. 

Once again, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  I don't have any product in my hair.  My hair actually looks a little better than this when I wash it with volumizing shampoo, and style it with hairspray.  But I figured I would give everyone a realistic look at my hair un-styled.

I was very critical of the scar healing, but as you can tell, it's pretty much a non-issue now.  I can probably go shorter, but don't feel the need to.  To answer a few questions, I don't take minox, but take brand name Propecia religiously, and have been doing so since I was 19. 

I honestly have better hair now, than I did during my senior year of high school.  The feeling is incredible!  Thank you Dr. Cooley!!!!

INCREDIBLE!  You got some substantial growth towards the end of your first year.  Night and day difference since your pre-HT photos.  Congrats on a new head of hair!!

Looking good Buzzbee!!

You're going to be in good shape Speran.  The scarring in front of the hairline will continue to heal, and will be less noticeable, if at all.  I had similar concerns about the donor scarring, but most of the redness is from the ACell will dissipate.  You have A LOT to look forward to!

Looking VERY good UKLad!  You still have a long way to go, but your progress since pre-HT is impressive.  I'm looking forward to seeing more updates!

Thank you all for the great feedback and support!  It's been a LONG journey, August marks 14 years since my first HT!  I am incredibly grateful to be where I am now, and more than appreciate all the support from the members of this forum.  I will continue to give monthly updates, in hopes that people can learn from my experience.

7 Months Post Repair Pictures!

Sorry to be a little behind on updates, but I've been trying to move on with my life and am fortunately VERY happy with my results so far!  I can't thank Dr. Cooley and his staff enough for what they've done for me. 

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves, and would love some honest feedback.  The group of pictures with flash and the white undershirt are from just over 6 months.  The pics from outside are from last week.  The pics with the dark gray shirt are from today - exactly 7 months post op.

Congrats Speran28! I followed your previous thread, and am glad you went to get your previous work revised. You made the right choice with Dr. Cooley! Heal well, grow well, and I look forward to tracking your progress!

Today marks 1 day shy of 5 months post surgery. I've included a few pictures. I've definitely had considerable growth since the 4 month mark. In fact, every day I feel like my hair gets fuller. Overall, I'm VERY pleased with the results.

The first few pics are shortly out of the shower, towel dried hair, with no products. You can see how the temples and frontal forelock are filling in. It also looks 100% natural, MUCH better than my previous HT.

The next group of pics show the scar. It is still quite red, which I believe is typical for my fair skin and the ACELL. I am hoping that the scar will continue to constrict, and that the redness will fade. Also, I'm still waiting for some more growth from the Trico closure.

The last pictures are with a small amount of hair spray, and with the hair combed back and to the side a bit. I haven't been able to wear my hair like this since freshman year of college! I still don't think this style is ready for prime time yet, but with some additional growth, I think I can pull it off.

Would love to get some feedback/PM's on the growth up front, as well as the scar.

Looking VERY good UKLad! Definite improvement from last month. Exciting times ahead!

I'm one day shy of 4 months post op from my surgery with Dr. Cooley. Everything seems to be right on track, and I continue to see growth in the hairline.

I've posted quite a few pics. The first few are from my hair with no product, dried shortly after a shower. You can see the hairline start to take shape, and fill in. Very excited to see what I guess would be considered good growth for 4 months!

The next few pics are from the scar. There is definitely hair growing throughout the suture line area. I am told that a lot of the redness in the area is from the Acell, and does not relate to the width of the scar. It's kind of hard to determine at this point what the final outcome will be, but Dr. Cooley seemed very pleased with how it looked when I visited him at the 3 month mark. I've been back in the gym for a month and am a little concerned if I'm risking anything. However, the Dr. said I was cleared to restart CrossFit with no restrictions.

The last few pics are of my hair lightly styled with some hair spray. You can already see a big difference with the addition of the grafts that have just started to grow. In my opinion, a casual passer by would not look at me and think that I am receding.

You can see that I still have to wear my hair fairly long in the back to cover up the healing scar. I'm hoping to cut it much shorter in the future.

Per usual, would love to hear input from the community. I hope these posts have been helpful.

Congrats Mike! I'm a fellow Cooley patient and very happy with the Dr. and his office. Best of luck with your growth and healing!

3+ Month Update

I just passed 3 months, and I think things are about to start getting exciting! I can see some hairs start to sprout, and the scar gets better and better by the day. I posted some updated pics that I took this morning. Per usual, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Also, I met with Dr. Cooley this past Monday for a complimentary 3 month follow up. Dr. Cooley reassured me that everything was proceeding as expected, and that the scar looks great and will continue to heal. He also confirmed that I was starting to experience the first signs of growth in the recipient area.

On another note, I finally got back into CrossFit yesterday. I wanted to wait a full 3 months to make sure the scar healed properly.

I want to add something, I am NOT an easy patient. Most people following this thread know my story, and I've been dealing with a bad hair transplant I received from Bosley when I was 21 for 14 years. I've been very skeptical of this industry and the naturalness of these procedures. I still have a ways to go, but I am finally starting to feel optimistic about the future state of my hair. Dr. Cooley's office and the Dr. himself have gone above and beyond to speak with me, meet me in person, and to assist me with any concerns I have had. I work in a customer relationship oriented industry, and I can't speak any higher of Dr. Cooley, Ailene, and the rest of the staff.

I'll continue to update the thread every month. In the meantime, I'm going to watch some March Madness and look forward to my new head of hair!

Looking GREAT!! Major improvement from your pre-surgery pictures. Talking about your hair worries going away is priceless. Congrats!! Dr. Cooley did a phenomenal job!!

Scars, I would suggest starting your own thread. There are many options/solutions for scar repair, but you might have to leave Australia to find the right Dr. This site is a great resource for research.

INCREDIBLE results! Congrats to the patient and well done Dr. Cooley and team!

Looks great so far HG1! The donor area is incredible!

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! Hopefully, the scar will diminish as the redness fades, and hair will be growing in the scar due to the Tricho closure.

2 Months and 5 Days Post Up Update

Here's where I stand after a little over 2 months post op. Nothing is really happening up front, which is to be expected. It is still a little pink in the recipient area, but it is fading over time. Dr. Cooley used electrolysis to remove some multi-hair grafts in the hairline from my original procedure, so the front already looks better than it did pre-op. Once the hairs grow in, I think it will look great!

The scar is pink/red still, and the donor area still feels tight. But this is all part of the healing process. I haven't worked out since the procedure, I've only been running.

Dr. Cooley did perform FUE on me during this procedure as well, and I can't see a single spot where the grafts were taken from.

Any comments/input/advice is greatly appreciated.

I sent the same pics to Dr. Cooley's office and they said the donor looks good and will continue to heal. I think once the redness fades, it will be much easier to conceal.

Nothing too exciting happening up front. It is still a little pink, but my existing hair hides it. You would not be able to tell I had anything done, which is great. Now I'm just waiting for my new hair to grow!

Looking good so far UKLad! The scar looks great, I can't believe how much the redness has faded. Good things to come!

Looking good so far Buzzbee!

I'm right behind you and still have some itchiness in the donor/recipient area as well. There is still quite a bit of pinkness and redness too. No worries though, it seems like this is very normal. Just the waiting game now!