SprayPaint

Your shed looks completely normal for the one month mark. Try not to stress. Your head will start to look much better around months 3-4. Keeping your head shaved to a #1 clipper during that whole period may make it a little less obvious and more tolerable. Up to you. Good luck. Stay positive. You’ll be fine. 

Thank you @Dr Blake Bloxham  

So it sounds as though the concern is indeed related to potentially damaging the integrity of the transplanted hairs, and not simply getting a more-severe burn on sensitive post-op scalp skin, is that correct? 

Regardless, looks like I’ll be sporting a cap this summer. 

Question for the larger group: How long after an HT can you go out in the sun without a hat? As Spring/Summer approaches I’m wondering about going to the beach, swimming, and get sun exposure on the scalp?

I anticipate I’ll be told by everyone to wear a hat a lot, and I get that. My question is is there any consensus out there as to when you can return to normal amounts of sun exposure / sun tans without concern? And what is the concern? Damage to hair follicles or sun damage to skin that’s still sensitive due to the surgery? 

Thanks!

No problem, @Kiwi Guy . I just PM’d you with some additional details. 

Hey @Kiwi Guy thanks. 

As for the count, it was 4350 grafts - not hairs. The Dr felt that given the diameter of my hairs, anything less than 4K, even in that frontal area alone, would appear thin. 

Below is the breakdown I was given:

Day 1: 

2,633 Grafts

• 404 singles
• 1639 doubles
• 590 multi's
• (~5,452 hairs)

Day 2: 

1,717 Grafts

• 113 singles
• 1109 doubles
• 495 multi's
• (~3,816 hairs)

Total: 4,350 grafts 

• 517 singles 
• 2748 doubles 
• 1085 multi’s

~9,268 hairs

Hoping it comes out thick and full. 

2 Months. Photos below taken at Day 62. Starting to see some signs of growth. Pink/redness still quite visible. Left temple coming in stronger than the right, but there was more native hair on the left to begin with, so I guess that makes sense. Still have a long road ahead, but trying to stay focused on the positive. 

This is hopefully the toughest part of the process. Have been clipping the rest of my native with a #1 setting to try to make it all look as uniform as possible. “Try” being the key word... it is what it is I guess. 

Congrats @CosmoKramer looks really good! Incredible transformation. Are you happy?

I wouldn’t worry about the numbness. My recipient area maintained some degree of numbness for more than 2 months. Also, I think the density of the recipient area will always appear less than the native areas, but in 8 months with the new hairs having had time to grow mature and thicken, you should be just fine. 

For right now, things look good. Work looks clean, hairline appears nice, and the redness is relatively minimal. Now the hard part, sit back and wait. Things will get worse (i.e., the shed) before they get better. But hang in there. All signs look positive for a good result. 👍

So having read all this I’m now a bit confused...

Is there a consensus that Fin can actually cause hair loss or additional shedding of native hair?? I thought the whole point of it was to prevent hair loss and keep what was still there. Is it generally accepted that in some men the medication will actually have the opposite of the intended effect??

Thanks @Legend007 ... fingers crossed 🤞 

On 3/18/2019 at 7:13 PM, ViciousKeepLeftSign said:

...Disappointed where things are with the concerns about the density then subsequent shedding...

I’d just try to stay positive and hang in there @ViciousKeepLeftSign. I’m no expert, but I’m a little ahead of you in the process and can say that aesthetically things do get worse before they get better... just gotta focus on the destination. Good luck!

Awesome results. Congrats. Talk about money well-spent!

21 hours ago, PlzRespond said:

Did the doctor mention if the extra bleeding or scabbing can affect final results?

That was a major concern of mine and I asked about it frequently during the procedure. I was told by both the Dr and the technician doing the extractions (who was amazing by the way) that while the extra bleeding made their jobs a bit more difficult, that it wouldn’t impact the results. As for the scabbing, although it was likely more excessive as a result, I was just more patient in allowing the scabs time to fall off. Only once or twice did I see what may have been a follicle come off with a scab. I try to use those Day 21 photos as a metric... all the scabs are gone at that point but the implanted hairs (pre-shed) pretty much all seem to still be in place. So I’m trying to take that as a positive indication.

Time will tell. 

9 hours ago, Baldrick101 said:

That is some serious dense packing!! Do you know how many he packed in per sq cm? 

Thanks.

He did mention the measure, but it was said so quickly in the context of the initial discussion that morning that I don’t recall the estimate. I do know that his goal was to pack as densely as possible given the thinness/fineness of my hair type. 

Day 46. Completely shedded at this point. Trying to keep the rest of my hair really short (#1 clipper) to detract from obvious, but it is what it is I guess. The rest of my hair grows pretty quick (this is 5 days growth) so I’m shaving the non-recipient part of my scalp weekly. 

Definitely not an ideal look at the office, but hoping it’ll all soon pass and begin to fill in. Redness still quite prominent. Overall, just a rough period in general. 

@highlander6 great results! Congrats

Good luck! Will be following your progress. 

Day 32 photos below - some taken with flash, some without. 

A majority of the transplanted hair has shed at this point. Recipient area of my scalp remains partially numb/desensitized. Pink skin discoloration is prominent. Ugly duckling phase in full effect. 🦆🦆🦆

@CosmoKramer looks great. Congrats! 

How do you feel about the texture of the hair? How long does it take for hair to start feeling smooth / laying naturally? I notice a lot of guys appear to have what looks to be coarse curly hair following a HT while only some small other minority of guys seem to get a smooth look to the hair. 

@CosmoKramer looks great. Congrats! 

How do you feel about the texture of the hair? How long does it take for hair to start feeling smooth / laying naturally? I notice a lot of guys appear to have what looks to be coarse curly hair following a HT while only some small other minority of guys seem to get a smooth look to the hair. 

Welcome, and good luck!

With 4-5 months leave from work you should be absolutely fine. If you shave your head with the surgery and keep it cleanly trimmed, by the time you return to work it will simply look like you have a normal short-shaved head. People will be so shocked to see you with a shaved head they won’t even be thinking about a hair transplant. I wouldn’t worry if I were you. 

Looking good at 80days in! Best of luck. 

18 hours ago, txtransplant said:

What am I looking at here? It looks like the donor hair mostly all came from the sides and pretty high up and not the typical back safe zone?  I must be missing something here. 

Not sure. I was face down in a pillow during the extractions but assuming they know what they’re doing. Would leave that question to folks on this forum who know more.

I do know that the majority of the bruising was on the sides where the skin is thinner. 

20 hours ago, Spaceman said:

Looks really good so far. Day 10 donor pics look fantastic. Density is amazing. Are you taking Finasteride?

Thanks!

Started fin immediately post-op but then had to discontinue because of another med I was on. Plan to resume when regiment of other med is over.