Hello all,
My name is Rich and i'm a long time reader, first time poster. Apologies if this is in the wrong area.
I am looking for advice for my current hair situation. Up until last year I had long hair, it was good quality and I loved it but always knew my hairline was receding. I covered this up by using hair concealer to spray the receded area dark brown and used microfibres to thicken the fringe that was there.
I then had to cut my hair for a new job in the Middle East. Biggest regret of my life, however it has given the financial chance to sort out my hair transplant.
My situation:
I leave my job next year so will not be cutting my hair for the next 15 months - Long hair is all I want (I am looking for the 'Jared Leto at the Oscars' look). For that reason I am looking for Doctors who will fix my hairline but will not require me to fully shave my head. Either a 'patchy FUE' or 'recipient unshaven FUE' are my options and I have done some research. My donor area and crown are still strong for now.
I would just like any messages from people who have had unshaven FUE and their experiences, or anyone who has grown their hair long into a ponytail or bun after a Hair Transplant.
I have been given a quote of 1500 - 1800 by Bisanga in Belgium and am waiting on a response from Lupanzula (Belgium). The latter one if my preference because he does all the work himself and explicitly states how he uses only 1 hair grafts for the first two rows of the hairline to achieve a natural look. Also I am aiming for only a strip of hair to be taken away and I have read that a strip can only harvest 1500 grafts before you need to shave the whole donor area. Does this sound correct.
I did contact Feriduni but have not heard a response yet (he has been rated highly in terms of hairline)
I also contacted Kesser (The surgeon who does the placements in to recipient area over the course of a few days to minimise shock loss) and Dr Mwamba as he seems to be known for Unshaven procedures.
Are there any other doctors (Outside of America) that I should be considering?
A few of my concerns:
Shock loss - I am not on any medication for hair loss and refuse to even consider finasteride due to side effects. I am a naturally nervous person so I would probably imagine side effects that weren't even there. How likely is it that I will lose the remaining fringe that I have left?
Hairline - Does it need lowering at all? In my opinion to keep a natural look and because I wont be spiking it up or anything, the hairline doesn't really need to be lowered, but I have never had to design my own hairline and would love other people's input.
Also how easy is it to strengthen/thicken/add density to the small bit of fringe I still have without shaving it?
Expectations - I am not looking for the worlds thickest fringe. Like I said I went three years covering my hairline with products so all I am looking for is enough hair so that I can pull it in to a bun with confidence. Does the 1500 - 1800 estimate seem realistic? Erdogan quoted me 2800 - 3200 but ive heard he is known for dense packing which is not what I want.
Traction - Would implanted hair be as strong as normal hair? If left to grow for a year and then swept backwards in to a ponytail or bun will grafted hair respond the same way to this traction or would it be pulled out easier?
Concealer Products - What is the long term effect of some of these products such as Toppik. They seem to be safe enough but I assume putting too much of anything on your hair can weaken it?
Thank you to anyone who has taken their time to read all of this.
Is there anything else I should be considering for this decision?
Rich
I don't think my goals are too high - I of course know that I would never be able to achieve that level of coverage, it was mainly just a nod to the style I was hoping for including the use of concealer and fibres. JeanLDD - from looking at your story you had the same reservations as me before starting finasteride - what was it ultimately that made you take the plunge and start treatment? I think for me the scare stories are very high on these forums (I understand people advertise the scare stories far more than the success stories). It's also the fear that I could suddenly develop side effects 4 or 5 years down the line and then lose all the hard work if I discontinued use. Do you not have any fears yourself about the long term use of the drug? I am working in the Middle East and don't really have the greatest belief in their medical systems to deal with sexual side effects of finasteride with being in a reserved country. I would not trust them to prescribe finasteride to me here as I know they have more lax rules on medications and drugs and this could possibly exacerbate the chance of suffering from side effects. Can you purchase 8 - 10 weeks worth of finasteride at once? Im assuming I already know the answer to this but I guess beginning a course of minoxidil, nizoral and periodic PRP therapy would not be enough to secure a transplant?
