RecessionProof

That supermarket (Joe's) is awesome, definitely stock up on lots of food the day before the surgery. I remember that particular Walgreens had a really nice circular shaped ice pack that you can fill with water, and then it will conform to your neck. I liked the Comfort Suites, it really depends on what level of hotel you're used to. It's no frills, but I wouldn't call it run down or anything. The nice thing is there's a back door you can use to come and go, so you don't have to pass through the lobby every time you come and go while the newly transplanted area is exposed. I have to follow a very specific diet myself, and there are a lot of different options at Joe's that cater to various dietary restrictions. Lots of good restaurants to order from as well. Let me know if you are looking for recommendations.

Your hairline looks very solid, I wouldn’t mess with it. Save the grafts for the future imo

I had the same dilemma and went with Konior, but ultimately it's really a subjective choice. I would just go through several pages of results from the past few years and let the results speak for themselves. Both clinics are among the very best at both FUE and hairlines imo

Damn, interesting case and great cosmetic improvement for 600 grafts 👍

Looks awesome, congrats! The big difference with FUT is probably recovery time — I’m 4.5 months out from strip surgery and while it’s mostly back to normal, it’s taken longer than expected for me to get there. Also, not sure if you’d be able to cut your hair so short but knowing Rahal you’d probably have a small scar.

The best time to get a transplant imo is the week after New Years. That way the new hair is coming in by the time hat season is over. For me, the ugly duckling stage was much easier than I had anticipated. But it really depends on how much they shave off. I grew my hair out beforehand and only had the very front shaved, so I was able to sweep it over the transplanted area pretty much immediately. If you’re just shaving a little bit, you’ll probably be fine after 2 weeks. The one thing that persisted longer than I’d hoped was the redness, so I did feel a little exposed whenever it was windy for the first few months. If you go with a full shave, I would either wear a hat or buzz it so everything looks even. It will look pretty normal for a few weeks, though the redness will likely stand out after the initial shed.

Thanks, I’d say at the most receded point (the very middle) it was lowered by over an inch...maybe even an inch and a half

Thanks for the comments. Attached are some pre and immediately post op pics taken by the clinic — you can really see the meticulousness of the graft placement here, and how much better things are looking already:

4 Month Update Growth is in full swing! At this point the hair along the sides is blending more and more seamlessly with the native hair, with the middle of the hairline slowly catching up. In another month or so I'm guessing I'll be able to really style my hair to expose the hairline...for now it's still just a little too thin, especially in bright light. Got my first professional haircut since the surgery and trimmed it down to a #5 in back (I'm pretty sure I can go down to a #4 without it showing but we'll find out in another month or two) Below are pics in a few different lighting conditions. This really shows the difference between HT pics with a flash vs under direct sunlight. These last two are with lots of Toppik sprinkled in (bottom shows where I started...you can see how much better the temples are looking already)

That's a really great and natural looking design, congrats!

This is gonna look crazy good in 6 months.

Thanks for the update, I always wonder how HTs end up looking once the crown goes so this is very useful information. I think another pass that gives you a "thinning" look from the midscalp to the crown would be the way to go

Great result!

3 Month Update Hairline is slowly starting to form. Pretty sparse in the middle, but it's still very early so I figure things will thicken up significantly over the next few months. Watching the sides and temples grow in has been very satisfying!

I had my FUT with Dr. Konior a few months ago, really great experience and enjoying some early growth. Feel free to PM if you have further questions. They both have a strong reputation for mega sessions. I'd be more inclined to go with Hasson for hairline work and Wong for crown work. I wouldn't say Hasson's results are necessarily better, but he's posted some serious home runs over the past few months.

I was in this position a year or two ago and decided the wait was worth it. The way I saw it, Konior's hands on approach made the odds of a home run result just a little bit higher. But it's probably something like a 98% chance vs 99.9% -- even though H&W use technicians and book multiple surgeries per day, they are widely considered to be one of the best clinics in the world. Waiting a year is frustrating, but keep in mind a hair transplant affects the way you look for the rest of your life.

Just insanely good, especially considering the amount of space covered and number of grafts used.

How many grafts did you end up getting? Best of luck, I’m sure you will be thrilled in a few months

Incredible result, especially considering the number of grafts used

Beautiful result, and great to see what 39 grafts/cm can look like in the hands of a skilled surgeon. Was his hair caliber on the finer or thicker side?

Going to post another update at the 3 month mark. Lots of new sprouts coming in, so I’m excited for the hairline to start forming

If you're pretty sure there's more hair loss to come (I would guess there is), you should definitely try finasteride first. It addresses the root cause of balding and will usually make the biggest difference in keeping your hair over the years. Minox works well in most cases too, but keep in mind you'll have to rub that stuff into your scalp at least once a day for the rest of your life (or until you stop caring).

Sorry to hear you had two bad experiences in a row, I hope they do the ethical thing and eventually offer you a refund. I would definitely reach out to a few well respected surgeons about repair approaches and take it from there.

Looking good so far, I'm 2 months in and in a similar place. Crazy how time slows down as the 3-4 month mark approaches 😂

I've been tempted to switch to dut but have always been reluctant because it inhibits 5ar type 1 (whereas fin only inhibits types 2 and 3), and it's hard to say what effect that might have on the mind and body