newpatient99

Does the pain and trauma from getting tattooed have any effect on FUE growth? How long should you wait until after your surgery?

edit* I’m not talking about a hair tattoo, I meant getting tattooed on your arm and chest. Sorry for the confusion.

Density does need a touch up however the hairline outline looks very good and natural. You'll have a killer result with another small procedure. Although I will say you really didn't need to a HT to begin with. Only someone that is obsessed with HT's would notice that you were balding. 

growth at 3 months is considered early, most people start growing at month 4 I think. 

Pics look like 4K too. Dr. Diep, if this was all done from one procedure, this honestly could be a frontrunner for greatest HT of all time. 

That's one of the cleanest and most dense packed post op pics I've ever seen, there's no reason why you shouldn't have a great result in a year! 

I've heard PRP is very expensive but some doctors swear by it after a HT and that it maximizes and speeds up your final result. Some doctors don't bring it up. Is there actual any evidence that proves PRP actually does allow you to have a better result after a HT?

On 9/28/2018 at 3:25 PM, Steeeve said:

 

My surgeon has been excellent with his follow up and he's going to fix it for me. Because I did not reach out to the surgeon privately first, I am requesting this thread to be deleted if possible. This is completely my choice and not based off anyone's influence. 

Looks great! And it looks like he is responding very well to fin. Did you already have these 2 years post op pics or did he recently come in?

When I first got into fitness, this youtuber was one of the guys I followed for advice and I remember, even before I knew anything about wigs and hair transplants, something was off about his hairline too me but I couldn't put my finger on it...like it looks too thick and weird that his hairline is pushed back to the top of his head but his temples still so low. Add to that he has that curved female hairline. I also frequent bodybuilding.com and his videos are quite popular on there and there has been numerous members on there that pointed out his odd hairline and think it's a wig. 

Your hair "loss" is completely normal for someone approaching 40, I can promise you that you have better hair than most people your age. But if you really want to get a HT, I would look into a hairline specialist. Keep in mind because your hair is naturally thick, you will risk shock loss with a HT, which take many months to heal. Dr. Diep is one name that comes to mind for hairlines. 

16 minutes ago, Speegs said:

So sorry this doesn't seem to be going how we all want it to end. That's a big let down.

But there is hope for rectifying it with reputable repair docs, your short list for FUE repair should be: Gabel, Konior, Hasson &Wong in no particular order, all are outstanding.

Would you add Cooley to that short list?

16 minutes ago, True said:

I know some experts who advise taking only brand name Propecia.

Problem with that is money for most folks. You're talking about a difference of $100 a month if not more. 

I've been taking generic Finasteride from Costco and I just wanted to see if anyone knows if other pharmacies (like HEB or Kroger) is considered more reputable and has more effective Finasteride. Or if it's all literally the same?

Recreating temporal points is a very challenging skill only a short list of doctors have master. That's why hair pieces still look like crap today because most of them don't blend in well with temporal points too far back. 

@Speran28

Any more updates?

4 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

As far as im aware, Dr. Diep does all the extractions himself, I don’t know where you heard he didn’t, but there has been alot of misinformation given out lately. In regards to punch size that’s really secondary to results ive had 1mm punches used on me and my donor looks fine shaved down to a #1. But as I said, it’s really up to you. Both Dr. Gabel and Dr. Rahal are excellent choices so you can’t go wrong with either.

I remember reading a couple of patients that said Dr. Diep only did the incisions and that was his entire involvement during surgery, but this maybe a year ago and they might have not been confirmed patients. Glad to hear he personally did the extracting for your surgery though. 

1 minute ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I get this question a lot and to be honest, lists are always difficult to compile, because hairline design has a lot to do with the artistry of a surgeon. There are so many surgeons that I see providing excellent results, that it is hard to choose one let alone three. Also, the hairline designs that I like you may not like as much, it's very subjective. In North America, there is Dr. Konoir, Dr. Rahal, Hasson and Wong, Dr. Cooley, Dr. Diep, Dr. Gabel, just to name a few. 

Dr. Rahal and Dr. Gabel have been on my radar list. I've heard Konoir is amazing but has a crazy wait time and is more expensive than everyone. Diep obviously has killer results, yourself being a prime example, but the one thing that concerned me was his punch size and it would seem not everyone here that got a HT with Dr. Diep had their grafts harvested by Dr. Diep himself. 

9 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

This can certainly be improved and you have an impressive looking donor area, to boot you have thick hair. You check all the boxes for a good result, just need some refinement.

Thanks for the encouraging words. Based on your experience here, who would be your top 3 FUE doctors for hairline refinement? I also want someone that harvest grafts themselves and is particularly skilled at recreating the temporal points and making incisions near pre-existing grafts without damaging them. 

23 minutes ago, Castillo said:

Good explanation from the doctor, but this does not change the result, 8 months is enough time to see the progress of the transplant and it is noted that even if 12-18 months pass, it will be the same.

In these cases that proceed? extract the units again and reinsert them, or extract new ones and camouflage them with the existing transplant?

I think in my case, I could get a killer result if I just move down the hairline a bit because I would also have a lot of density behind the hairline with the pre-existing grafts. 

But of course I would want the doctor's best judgement as well before making my final decision. 

23 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

.9mm is actually the average according to the ISHRS survey, but that's besides the point. Is anyone on Realself actually verified? As far as I am aware, Realself does not have any standards of quality. Therefore, anyone can basically make a negative or positive post. In fact, I'd say nearly half of all the results posted on realself are posted for monetary reasons and it shows. We can not go by anonymous postings on third party site with no standards. There is a difference between hearsay and facts, I know Dr. Diep, stands by his work and would offer touch ups if necessary. However, I do not believe that he offers refunds as he clearly states that before you book a procedure with him, so as I said earlier if that is something you're not willing to bargain with, there are several other quality doctors to go to that may offer refunds.

Hey Melvin, 

When you had your FUE with Dr. Diep, did he harvest the grafts or no?

Thank you for the pics. Does Dr. Gabel harvest the grafts for FUE for every patient? Does he do it himself, or he does it along with a tech?

Does he compensate for out of state patients?

Do you have any way of just showing the hair while concealing your entire face? Dr. Gabel is on my short list of doctors for a possible touch up. 

1 hour ago, Gasthoerer said:

Mmh, strange case for such a reputable clinic.

The missing singles could be explained by poor growth of the finer singles in front of them. I have seen it before. But, besides the still immature hair (wiry look), it appears like some angles at the temples are off and do not blend with the remaining temporal peaks. Maybe Asien hair is a little different in that regard, but especially the last pic does show the poor transition between these areas. That would be poor craftmanship and the fault of the surgeon who made the incisions.

I think that there has to be a good explanation before doing the touch-up with the same clinic.  Pics directly after the transplant would be great.

The good news: This should be fixable for a second pass. Good luck

Fortunately I decided for a higher hairline the first time which allows me to lower the hairline for a touch up so I don't have to remove any of the mutil-grafts.

I can tell my surgeon is very compassionate about his patient's progress, he actually called me from his cell today to reach out to me and took over 30 minutes to speak with me addressing my concern. As long as my name and face aren't revealed, he has my permission to go into specifics concerning my case. 

OP, have you looked into Finasteride? Instead of dropping 10k on something that you don't need and can potentially scar you for life, you could talk to your doctor about taking Fin first, it could benefit you greatly since your hair loss is very mild. Generic versions are like $20 for 3 months.

You're 29 and barely a NW2 which is perfectly normal. As others have pointed out, even though you're technically losing your hair, the average person will not see NW2 as someone going bald, NW2 is like your classic mature hairline. Many people here would kill for a NW2. Plus your hair is thick so if you're that self-conscious about it, you can easily style your hair in ways to hide your temples. But most importantly, I promise you the average person will not see you as balding when they see your hairline.