fortuneplant

Checking in 6 years (2017) after I had my FUT of ~1600 grafts. Pretty much still the same from my last post in 2019 so will cut and paste. - I have gained around an 1 inch of hair relative to my original hairline; 3 fingers space now between my hairline and eyebrow instead of five fingers before. - My FUT strip healed very well, no scarring. - Fin 0.83/mg six days/wk (i.e. Proscar cut into 6 pcs), Minox 5% 3x/week, Red Light 3x/wk, Multi B Vitamins (100mg) Daily, Exercise 5x/wk. - I always go through a hair fall phase around October and November; noticeable via the number of hair I see around the drainage after a shower. Definitely more than usual but still normal.

I am just past 50. I keep six-pack fit. I workout - I just finished doing the 10k Kettlebell Swing Challenge. I hike regularly - the latest one was Mt Whitney. I can run a 10k/6miles in less than 50 minutes any day. I take care of my teeth and wear sunscreen. But doing a low-key HT has a significant impact on how I looked. Everyone just thought I looked better. (Did I have my face done? What serum am I using? What supplements am I taking? No one noticed the hair except to say it suits me.)

More like I learn to live with both the imperfections of my HT and my being super critical due to being part of this forum. By the way, I love my hair and how it improved my looks. Haha There are still some gap-py parts but I am the only one who notices it. For every one else, I just look better overall. (e.g. I get asked about my diet, workout, do I use face serum, that I am lucky to have thick hair.)

I use Deciem's Stemm Shampoo and Conditioner. They contain caffeine, biotin, amino acids, fulvic acid, etc. Work well with my hair. Unfortunately, it's not available in the market anymore. *sigh*

Overall, my hair looks better and healthier now than before the HT. I expect my native hair to stay mostly the same as they have been pretty stable for decades. But I also take care of it now; like I use better shampoo/conditioner, take Fin 0.83/mg six days/wk (i.e. Proscar cut into 6 pcs), Minox 5% once/day, Laser Cap 2x/wk, Multi B Vitamins (100mg).

@Legend007 Looking good. From months 11 to 18, I added about 10 to 15% more hair. You probably want to wait 1.5years to get the full effect of growth, thickening and normalization of your HT. Then decide from there. I remember on month 9 I was considering another HT of 500 grafts. By month 11, my hair looked much better with my hair normalizing and looking softer - as against being stringy. On month 18, everything fell into place. While it's not as thick as I wish it to be and there are some gaps, it looks good. And if I wish for the thickness of my dream, it takes me a total of 23 seconds to spray hair fiber and pat it down.

@Curlinginthesquatrack I see what you mean. While your front looks good, the lack of density around the area of the temples is frustrating. You probably want to wait out the whole 1.5 years, let the hair mature and normalize, before deciding on the next step. Like you, I did 1,600 grafts via FUT covering a similar total area. I went through a shed on months 9 and 10. My hair became normal, as against being stringy, on month 11. I estimate that from months 11 to 18, I sprouted 10%-15% new hair. (See pic below.) P.S. Am on Fin .83/mg six days/wk (i.e. Proscar cut into 6 pcs), Minox 5% once/day, Laser Cap 2x/wk, Multi B Vitamins (100mg)

MONTH 18 The attached pics are from Week 1 to Month 11 to Month 18. From Month 11 to Month 18, I grew new hair but noticeable only to me. The biggest difference is my hair looks healthier - the whole head of hair not only the transplanted ones. It's also...bouncier. I suspect it's the effect from the laser cap after using it for 14months. I estimate that my hair density is about 33 graft/sq cm. Not dense enough but my hair is thick and long enough to compensate. If I am being critical, there are patches that need more grafts. There's a bit of see through effect under harsh light or when it's wet. But I have went swimming and been under harsh studio lights, it just looks natural and does not give the impression of someone losing hair. I have been on intimate situations where women slide their hands on my hair and remarked how good it looked. (I cringe a bit when that happens. I have this irrational fear that the transplanted hair might drop off.) And on times when I want the hair density of my dreams, it takes me 23 seconds to spray toppik, pat my hair, and done. I guess if you twist my arm, the worst thing is the strip scar behind my head. It stayed the same as my Month 7 progress. Wider than I hoped but within expectation. Certainly not noticeable on day-to-day; even on a visit to the barber. I seldom wear my hair short and if I do, it can be done with a proper cut that the strip area is mostly unnoticeable. Overall, it's been great. No one knew I had HT. Everyone says I look better and can't pinpoint why. Since I was an NW2, even when people saw my old and new pictures, my old pic just looked like someone on a bad hair day. I'll come back again in the next few years to report on my progress. Note: Am on Fin .83/mg six days/wk (i.e. Proscar cut into 6 pcs), Minox 5% once/day, Laser Cap 3x/wk, Multi B Vitamins (100mg)

Happy? I am embarrassed to admit that every time I glance at the mirror, my thought balloon is "Hey. Good looking."

Depends if the failure is acceptable or not. Say, the supersonic jet concorde in its 34 years of existence, has only one airplane crash in its entire history. But if that crash percentage is acceptable, that would mean one plane malfunctioning in the US airspace everyday.

No. It just that the number of grafts used and the area covered indicate it's not a high density HT in the first place. As a rule of thumb, 40grafts per square cm give the illusion of density; your post-ops pic looks to be lower than that. (And you still have to factor in miniaturization, shock loss, and % of FUE grafts that did not survive like the ones around your hairline.) As a point of comparison, your two blank triangles on top of your head covered a similar area as my front hairline HT. I used just over 1,600 grafts or 3200 hairs. My growth/density, FUT which I did a year ago, came out ok. Not dense but good enough. Your doc not only did your triangles, but also used your 1700+ grafts to cover the whole area between the two blank triangles. Let say, it'd take 1,600 grafts to cover your two blank triangles, am not sure an extra 100grafts is enough to cover your thinning forelock/dark triangle in the middle.

benji2014, I think your HT is within the realm of what could be expected. The left photo is of my head at 1,600 grafts FUT covering an area that's smaller than yours. My doc advised me then that I might have to do a second round as the clinic's is not into high density transplant. The right photo is yours at 100+ more grafts and covering a significantly larger area than mine. If you are going to do a touch up that covers about an inch/2.54cm into your hairline, you'll need around 1,000grafts to thicken it up. (That's adding about 30grafts per square centimeter.)

Congrats JeanLDD. Excellent head of hair.

Were you expecting a high density HT? From the pic, your 3,200 grafts seem to cover around 80+ square cm. If I am right with the area, it's not a high density HT. In fact at that graft/square cm, a lot of doctors would advise patient that they might need to go another round to achieve the final desired look.

1. Was all 3,200grafts used just for the hairline? Say, just used to lower and thicken the front hairline/temples and not used for other areas like crown/etc. 2. Do you have a pic of your post ops so we have an idea what was covered? Straight off, if all grafts were used for the front, that's an unsatisfactory result and you should ask for a retouch.