LaserCap

The transplants are under your skin and, by now, there is no way you can harm them. Get in the shower, let it soak with warm water and scrub away with the tips of your fingers until everything is gone. You typically want to wait until the sutures are out to get a haircut. This is on a per clinic basis, but it is typically 14 days post op. I am certain these have been removed by now? You can get a haircut at any time. Oh, I would also have them wash the hair just to make sure you did a good job. Besides, it is nice when someone else does it.

Sure! But it is somewhat expensive in relation to the powders you find out there. And you have to repeat the process, perhaps in a year, as your body metabolizes the organic ink.

While I do agree that everyone is different, there are certain rules that apply to everyone. Da Vinci was and brilliant man that contributed so much to the world. The rule of thirds seems to insignificant, but it truly applies to everyone. Research it and try it, you may love the geometry behind it. Look up Leonardo da Vinci's rule of thirds, facial dimensions.

Based on the photos you have submitted, it seems you are losing your entire front. The corners are well receded and the forelock is thin as well. Unfortunately we do not have photos of the top of the head, but I'll venture to say there is a degree of thinning there as well. As others have suggested, get on medical therapy, (all of them). What takes grafts is lowering a hairline. The hairline you have seems to be appropriate for the age and for you, as it's the one you have. Honestly, I would stay with it. Bring down the corners, leaving a slight recession, so that this new hairline will frame your face better and make you look younger. It would also add grafts to the forelock just to reinforce and to keep everything connected. Otherwise you'll end up with a couple of horns down the road. Seems you have decent density elsewhere and, to achieve the same, you'll need the doctor to concentrate the grafts as much as possible. In cases similar to your own, I've seen recommendations of 1800-2500 grafts. Try to do as many as you can afford. I would also discuss PRP with the doctor so he can do it the day of the procedure. This will help bring the results in sooner, but it will help reverse the miniaturization you seem to be experiencing. Forget the monetary aspect of the procedure for now. Concentrate on results. Review photos, Once you find what you are looking for, you can pound the cost all you want with that particular clinic.

Sometimes this does happen. The hair will start growing from the get go. This just means you're ahead of everyone else by 3-4 months.

There are times when too much is too much. Typically the people that truly need this information are the doctors, staff, and the manufacturers of the equipment. You have to realize that this industry, like any other, keeps evolving. All benefits incorporated into whatever change or modification is make is typically communicated to the doctor by the manufacturer. And, at the end of the day, what good does it do you? Do you think learning and knowing all this stuff is going to make your hair grow better or more natural? No. You are relying and trusting the doctor. Not only for being ethical and all of that, but for using the equipment that will yield the best results for his patients. This is why reviewing photos of results is so important. It is always about the results. Typcally a punch larger than .9mm will be easier to use, but tit will leave the little empty circle mark many have discussed in this forum. .9mm is harder to use and lots of practice is required. This came up a few years ago when Artas came around. The problem is the Artas system will typically use a punch larger than .9mm. Many believed Artas was the gold standard, and many still do. Throughout my career I've met many talented Clinical staff members that dissect and plant grafts. That's all they do. And if off for a few days, this impacts their work. Not that the doctor does not know how to do it, but this is not his job. He should be in charge of the surgical part of the procedure, otherwise you'll be there a month.

You are not losing the grafted hair. When you hear shock loss, let's address that issue first, we are referring to the fact that the doctor is working in and around the native hair when creating recipient sites. This disturbs the native hair and sometimes"shock" happens. Other times it seems like shedding but its actually the doctor cutting the native stuff off inadvertently. Realize that the instrument he is using is very sharp. Typically, when this happens, the native hair returns in about 3-4 months, along with the transplanted hair. Now shedding. There are two types of loss. The hair that you seed and the one you don't. The hair you see on the tub, shower, sink...that's normal. Most believe 100 hair a day is normal. The follicle gets tired of producing hair and it goes into a resting phase. The hair will then return at a later time. This will happen to all the hair in your head but not all at the same time. So, when you "see" hair, don't worry. The hair you don't see refers to hair that miniaturizes, dissipates and disappears. The caliber changes until it's gone. That's hair loss. Now let's address your question. During a procedure the native hair is shaven, particularly in the area where the doctor plans to harvest grafts from. A very short stubble is left so that the clinical staff can transport the graft. Once inserted into the recipient site the doctor created, a crust will form. (This is just dry blood). As days go by, the stubble grows. The staff will give you post op instructions and it will tell you when to start washing. When you do, the crust along with the hair will fall off. The graft now needs to reincorporate into the blood supply. This is why it takes 3-4 months before it starts growing again. So, in reality, you never really lose anything, It is just part of the post op process.

Revisit with the doctor, if possible and have him take a look at it. He can prescribe a number of things to help you - depending on his findings. You can also go to the dermatologist. It is important to do this because this may transfer to the rest of your head if you scratch elsewhere.

As far as I've been able to ascertain, it will work for as long as you take it. The problem, and what typically does have an effect is the fact that sometimes you will forget to take the pill or you ran out and now you have to wait to resume taking it. And, that is honestly all you can do. Two things to consider here. Say you start taking the medication at 22. Unknown to you, you will start losing hair 5 years from now. So the first thing, when do you start taking the medication? I would say common sense tells you - you start when you start thinning. But this, necessarily is not true either. Take my son, for example. He is well aware of family history so he started taking the medication at 18. Mind you, he did not have any loss at the time. The other side of the coin, obviously, is - suppose he was to start losing hair the very next day. Good thing he started taking the pill. Now let's say he stops after 14 years. He will lose all that he would have lost. This process typically takes a full year. With regards to your comment about being effective for about 5 years and then starts loosing some of its effect...I've heard that about Rogaine and not Propecia. And the time is 7 years. The suggestion, however, is to keep doing the treatment as you are still getting some benefit...and more so when combined with other modalities.

3-4 months later? Don't think so. And even if that was possible, do you think that 1 graft containing two/three hairs is going to be an issue when you had 3000? No one will be able to tell. And remember, shedding, which is probably what happened, is hair that returns. The hair that does not return is hair that miniaturizes, dissipates and eventually disappears.

There is a reason why there is a list of doctors on this forum. Go to their websites and review photos. It is about the results after all. Once you've chosen 3, call them and explain your situation. Tell them what you would like to spend, (be reasonable). Make yourself available. Many times these clinics may not have a case scheduled on a particular day and may allow a lesser fee if you can take the slot. I get a kick out of traveling abroad. Not sure about the cost of that but I am certain it is not cheap when you consider a flight, hotel, transportation and your normal living expenses. And, while you would have to do that regionally as well, a flight within the US would be less costly.

Just by looking at this it seems you may be experiencing retrograde. It also seems you are dipping in the back quite a bit. This typically does not happen, but what if these two unite and eventually your donor disappears? The grafts taken from that area will also disappear. So, the first thing I would suggest you do is FORGET transplants for now. Get on medical therapy and, (Propecia, Rogaine, Laser, PRP),do all of them. Give it a year and then take another photo. Seems by the photo you are young with a lot of hair. Chances are you may experience, at least, retention and perhaps even enhancement. Let's take this a bit further. Say the meds don't work and you keep thinning. Seems you are experiencing aggressive loss for your age...and, if you've shown the propensity to lose, you will continue loosing. This is a fact. So let's say that the loss is so extensive you don't have enough donor to allow for a full set of hair. At that point you will need to be very judicious with your grafts. You may end up doing both FUT and FUE to access as much donor as you can. Honestly, whatever angle you consider, get on the meds and wait.

Nice response. This was typically done in the late 80's, early 90's. Back then it was purely FUT. So, when you see older guys with lines in the lower part of their donor, you know that they did transplants. If not experiencing retrograde-why not? There are two things with this. You never know if retrograde will happen, and why not take the hair from behind the ear? You can also find finer hairs in that area and are not subject to thinning like they may be in the nape area.

Nice to see that 2000 grafts can be placed just on the hairline and the temporal areas and not just placed diffusely throughout. She must be thrilled.

Why are you considering Artas?

During a procedure the doctor is working in and around the native hair. Based on your post, it seems, you had a good amount of native hair before the transplant. This hair is "bothered" and sheds. It typically returns along with the transplanted one. I would encourage you to talk to the doctor about doing PRP, or Rogaine, or Laser to help prompt the native hair to return sooner. In rare cases the hair does not return. This happens when the hair was meant to be lost anyway. If you've been diligent with hygiene and washed off the crusts, there should be none by now. Perhaps it is something unrelated to the transplant. Have the doctor look at it.

It is a big deal for the doctors that get tested. They must show their work, photos, etc....Now, for the ones that are just there to learn etc....I don't think so. A few years ago I was invited to attend the show. I recall noticing young doctors from a foreign land embracing well known US doctors. taking photos, etc. They were speaking their own language among each other and it was evident to me that they spoke 0 English. Months later I saw a caption indicating that these same doctors were promoting themselves in their own country, showing the photo they had taken at the show and indicating that they'd been trained by the doctor depicted in the photo. Sad.

The majority of the time you'll notice shedding right after starting the Rogaine regimen. Once the body figures out that you are actually trying to help, the shedding will subside and you'll start experiencing retention. At 1 year is when you'll notice the full effect of the medication. You'll either look the same as you do now, (the medication is intended for you not to lose any more hair), or you'll look fuller. It is not because new hair is growing in. It is because the miniaturized hair, (which is true hair loss), is growing thicker. A small percentage of patients do experience some enhancement. (The shedding you see on the shower, sink, etc...is normal. Most believe 100 hairs a day is normal. This relates to the fact that follicles need to rest. They go into a resting phase and then start producing hair again. So, if you SEE hair, don't worry). Seldom do I hear anyone experience this with Propecia/Fiasteride. I would encourage you to start taking photos of your whole head. Do this every 3 months otherwise you won't remember.

Taking the fact that you are dealing with a lot of contrast issues given the color of the hair and scalp, It does seem like you are starting to thin, and into a very large pattern. So, let me ask you to do a few things. Go to a Norwood chart, (type up the string on Google). Print it out. Take a pencil and go to class 5. Cover the figure lightly with the pencil. So, when you look at family history, when you look through the hair they have, are they thinning in a class 5 pattern? I venture to say this is exactly what is happening. Now for the good news. You have tons of hair and you are young. You are enjoying the hairline you had when you were a teenager. But there is history of loss. The first thing I would do is go to a hair transplant doctor and have a preliminary discussion about medical therapy. I would have them scope your head. You'll notice some really nice thick hair and others that are thinner, miniaturized. This is hair loss. What we are trying to do with the use of meds is to slot down the loss, halt it, or maybe even reversing the miniaturization.

25 years ago I was told, "it will be 10 years." 10 years ago I heard the same. Today, same tune. The "Scientific Community" as it is commonly called is desperate to get that monkey off their backs. At this time I don't think it's about the money at all. That will come if they do find some success. Funny how the world works. We find cures for just about everything. But it does take years. You have to take into account that we are dealing with the lives of people. When this is the case, the FDA among other institutions, are involved. It will cost millions, and this will eventually help to set the cost, if it does happen. In my opinion this is a smoke screen that will probably yield some results. There will be creams or something of the sort to offset the cost of discovery. Will it give a full set of hair? No. Eventually it will happen, cell base-likely, but not in my lifetime. Cells are the bases for everything. Cloning/reproducing millions of cells is possibly the key.

The sad thing is the fact that there is no regulatory agency overseeing this industry. ASHRAE and other societies, for lack of a better description, do help educate. Forums such as this one also help the public be more aware. But, at the end of the day, it is also the responsibility of the patient to do the research. We all make choices based on the information we gather, this is no different. But, the question then is, who do you trust? The sad thing about this world is the fact that when something good happens, you rarely hear about it. If it's bad, watch out. Can you believe that many still believe that transplants involve plugs? How about MPRs? And, if these are all issues happening in the US, imagine worldwide. It's like playing cowboys and indians.

4. No more than 3 can fit around the chair, 2 on each side and one in the back.

First, trichologist. Do you realize that is not a medical doctor? Why on earth would you agree to have a procedure done by anyone other than a physician? You do not take medications to help you with retention. Why would you have grafts put in the crown? Let me give you an example of why this is NOT ethical, in my opinion. When you interact with others, the first thing they see is the front. And, considering that thee donor is finite, typically there is not enough there to allow for a full set of hair when we are talking about an advanced pattern. Did she ever tell you what classification you are on the Norwood chart? So, you on on and waste 500 grafts which is about what is needed for an eyebrow. She places this is a form of a circle and puts the grafts as close as she can to each other so they make an impact, (if diffusely placed they'll make no impact at all-considering how large that area might be). So now you have a circle with a hair. You continue thinning and now you've created an island of hair and nothing around it. Almost like a target. You are now forced to chase the pattern and put even more grafts into the area. At the end of the day, when looking in the mirror, you can't see them! What a waste. Before the procedure, did she draw the hairline in for you? If you were not happy with it, why did you allow her to continue? Numbness in the area happens. Most believe this is due to the doctor going a bit deep and cutting nerve endings. These typically will reunite in 9-12 months so this is only a temporary issue. You talk about mishandling of grafts as well as placing grafts in either too large an aperture or a very small one. How do you know? Did you see it? Did someone tell you? Are you just guessing or assuming? It is impossible to tell what grafts you have. Will you do FUT, FUE? What elasticity do you have? These are just some factors to take into account when the time comes. If they are offering a corrective procedure then, it seems, they are in agreement that something went wrong with the first one. Not sure what you can do with this admission, but perhaps others in the forum can voice their opinion. Most patients move forward for a number of reasons including the price. I am guessing you got a great deal. And now you have to live with this stuff the rest of your life. Perhaps not a good deal at all. I would encourage you research and view photos of repair work and hair transplanting overall. Have a few consultations and see what they recommend and the price. Perhaps they can even give you a written quote after you explain your dilemma. You can present this to the people that did the work and have them pay for the repair work, if that's what they agree to. Good luck, you do have a lot of leg work to do. And, by the way, be courteous and professional. Getting upset an screaming....etc will get you nowhere.

Every clinic says the same thing, particularly when the work is good. What I find interesting is the fact that the clinic/doctors think that hair is what makes the person. That once they have hair, their life is going to change because of it. What I've found is that people are either confident or not. Sure, does it help build confidence and all that? Sure. But I don't think it carries the weight everyone talks about.

Who told you to start removing scabs after 3 days? The Doctor? Never heard the scabs causing pain. Most do believe you can not hurt anything after 3 days but there is always some caution and conservatism by the clinics. It is typically told to patients to wait about 7 days before returning to normalcy. You can then get in the shower and let everything soak with warm water. Then start massaging with the tips of your fingers. Some of the crusts will be persistent but in the ensuing days they'll come off as well. We are talking, of course, of the recipient area. As for the donor, you can start massaging gently from day 1. As far as scarring goes, realize the apertures made are quite small and, when healed, leave such a tiny scar it is virtually undetectable. As far as the donor, it will depend on the type of procedure. They all leave scars but it all depends on the instrumentation, graft numbers, etc.