LaserCap

Privacy is important to many people. It is not being dishonest, that's just a way of life. If you don't anyone to know, disappear for 2 weeks. Go on a business trip, vacation etc. The most practical way is to just tell everyone. Are you doing FUE or FUT? FUT easy to hide. If FUE, work from home. In two weeks you can just tell people you are trying out new hair styles. Considering hair grows about 1/2 inch per month, in a matter of 1 month, no one will be able to tell.

Open to travel to Texas?

Sad to hear another pioneer has passed. I recall the commercials on TV, "not just the president, also a member." His approach helped a lot of people when surgery was in its infancy.

If you know about the rule of thirds...... It is difficult to tell as I can only see 1/3 and not the entire face. Would you be happy reinforcing what you have? Consider hair grows forward at an angle...eventually the hairline will be lower by definition. It is always best to error on the side of caution. The worse thing that can happen is to be stuck with a juvenile hairline for the rest of your life. Note, hairlines typically recede to a mature placement as we age.

Nothing wrong with the answer. If I had to say something....You do shave the donor with an FUT. Once the incision is closed, the "shaven area" disappears. Something else you can add is the fact this procedure is predicated upon the elasticity of the scalp. Ongoing procedures will continue impacting elasticity until there is none. Lastly, I would add a third paragraph to this. The advantage of doing both procedures, if needed, so as to take advantage of the entire donor area. This is of particular interest to many considering the apprehension that exists with regards to the use of medical therapy.

Plenty of people out there with global thinning. No one has donor to allow for a full set of hair, particularly in an advanced pattern. Depending on the goals of the patient, it is always recommended they try to keep as much of the native hair as possible to allow for the best outcome. Meds will not strengthen donor. It can help retain and enhance native hair elsewhere. Not sure what you mean by tolerate meds. If you are going to have a side effect you'll know immediately. Side effects to not surface years after taking/using meds. And, if they work, they'll continue working for as long as you do them. Rogaine does lose some of its effectiveness at about 7 years - but the patient should continue using it otherwise they'll see more fall-out. When you say, "stop working" are you referring to the visual change? So, when you see hair fall out, in the shower, sink, pillow...do you think this is hair loss? So, no fall-out - the meds are working?

Agree, in most cases and when done properly. "We all?" Disagree. Most? ok. "would have enough to do whatever in future" Disagree as well. This will depend on many factors including what hair loss he has, if he does meds or not, elasticity etc.

What part of the Country are you in?

I've seen this come and go through years. This stems from two things. Too many consultations are coming in and no one is moving forward. At that point the doctor feels he is wasting his time, and not making money. The second is the discussion of medical therapy. If the patient decides to go on Propecia and nothing else, (and it happens), now he has a patient for life - and not making money. He's done the consult, wrote a prescription and will follow up. Does that entitle him to compensation? Most don't charge. And, if they do, typically the money will be credited towards the procedure. So, if the doctor is brilliant at his work and you've decided to move forward, OK. Otherwise avoid the place. Eventually the doctor may change the policy when he realizes no one is coming in for consultation. Funny how action/reaction work.........

But, what if? I think a lot of this depends on the age. If you're on your 50's, 60's perhaps as the pattern has declared itself. But in your 20's? No way. Think of a 22 year old with a full set of hair who is just starting to mature his hairline. Eventually he has a procedure. No meds. in his early 30's he starts thinning the crown. Eventually he is going to be a class 6 and will dip in the donor. He starts losing the grafts that were transplanted in the temporal areas. Why? Because the grafts were taken from the area where he was destined to lose the hair. So, thinking of transplants too early is not a good thing. This is one of the reasons why many doctors want to wait and avoid having issues with the patient down the road. In the eyes of the patient - it is then the doctor's fault. If we had a hair crystal ball.........

The whole idea of SMP is to camouflage the scar. The smaller the scar, the easier to hide. With FUT, his does have to do a lot more with the width of the scar and not so much the length. With FUE, the smaller the punch, the harder it is to see. If less than .9mm. it is likely SMP would not be needed. SMP will typically be helpful when the aggregate look of the punches reflect the honey comb look. Not sure if I understand the use of a 0 guard. The combo of the SMP and the growth of native hair will be needed to accomplish the goal of hiding. And this is taking into account the patient is a candidate for SMP. Do you still have room to fade below the scar?

If you're a candidate for transplants it means a number of things. You have hair loss somewhere, front, top back. Please post photos of your entire head to answer properly. If you've lost the front, there would be no native hair to shed. If the loss is elsewhere, how much native hair is left? If you've shown the propensity to lose, you will continue losing. Forget shedding for a minute. Say for example you want to add grafts to the crown. You fill in the circle. Looks great. A few months later you lose all the hair around the circle. Now you're left with an island worth of hair and nothing around it. We call this chasing the pattern. Eventually you lose all you donor and then lose the hair in the front. Now you have nothing to work with. It is important to understand the donor area is finite. If we had a wheel-barrel full of hair, great. But we don't. It is imperative you keep as much of the native hair as you can so you can get close to achieve a "fuller" looking set of hair. If you choose not to use Finasteride or Minoxidil, perhaps a laser is in order. There is also PRP which, by the way, can help reverse miniaturization and can bring the grafts in sooner. Now let's answer your question. Yes, a procedure can cause shock loss of the existing hair. So what? That hair typically returns along with the transplants. And it's not so much shock. Typically, when the doctor is making recipient sites, he is using a very sharp instrument. Inadvertently he can cut the native hair. Just gave you a hair cut. That hair will continue growing - as it always did. Lastly, this all refers to shedding. That's normal. Hair loss is different. Hair loss refers to the miniaturization of the strand. Eventually the hair dissipates until you can no longer see it. Once gone it never returns. If you are not going to do meds, and I do respect you for it, DO NOT move forward with transplants.

You've only shown photos of your front. From that angle it seems you have a full set of hair elsewhere. If so, an ethical doctor would never add grafts. It is important to remember - the past is gone but the future is coming. You may have been maturing your hairline. What you currently have, it seems, is still rather juvenile. enjoy it. Don't make the mistake of lowering anything. Two things, Not sure if you have frown-lines. If you do, and the doctor makes the mistake of adding grafts, the hairline will "move" every time you frown. Second, you'll be 100 year old in a happy home but will look younger than everyone else. You'll look out of place and everyone will know something is up.

How do you know you're losing hair? Do you see it on the sink, tub, pillow? Stay on the meds. Maybe add a laser and ask the doctor to add PRP at the time of the procedure. This can help reverse miniaturization and can bring in the grafts sooner. The modalities we refer to when dealing with this debilitating condition work if different ways and there tends to be synergism when used simultaneously.

I gather you are doing FUE. It would be nice if we could see photos of your entire head. 4500 grafts in a single pass, quite a feat. Did the doctor say what donor you'll be left with? The risk, and the main concern that comes to mind is working in the crown. Have you been on any type of medical therapy? And if you have, how do you know it's been effective?

Many people believe in them. Do you need to take anything? No. But - wait.......... Biotin is a vitamin. It will help make your hair healthy. It will not help with retention. For years I've heard of saw palmetto. Prostate health? The debate is still ongoing as to whether or not it is helpful to hair. Let's get back to the question of - do you need to do anything after an intervention. This will depend on your hair loss. It is important to realize, if you've lost, you will continue losing. And there are some misconceptions when it comes to loss. There are two types. The type of you see and the type you don't see. The hair you see on the pillow, shower tub, sink is shedding. This is normal. Most believe 100 hairs a day is the norm. Hair loss is different and you don't see it. Under a bright light look at the hair in your temporal areas. Note each strand. You'll notice some are thick and some not so much. Eventually the hair miniaturizes to the point you can't hardly see it. Eventually this hair dissipates and withers away. That's hair loss and, to prevent it, we typically refer to Propecia, Rogaine, Laser and PRP. These work in different ways and are thus synergistic when used simultaneously. You've done a transplant. You go on to lose native hair. Now it may seem as if the grafts did not take. Wrong. The transplants will stay but you'll continue losing native hair. It is imperative you get on something. Once the hair is gone, it never returns.

5-7 days. A lot less of an issue once the sutures are removed. The last thing you want is to have a wide scar for the sake of comfort. That's if you did FUT. If FUE, ask the doctor what his protocol is.

We have to be careful and understand we are not doctors. From time to time I read posts and cringe. The information given could mislead the reader, (it happens often with Propecia and what dose to take). Fortunately there is a high degree of participation and, most of the time, we tend to agree on the approach. We also have a good number of physicians sharing their opinion and balance out our input. I feel we are on the right track but always think before you speak, (me included).

Strong class 5 moving rapidly to a 6. Stay on meds, (what exactly are you doing?), and consider adding something else to the mix. Meds work in different ways and you can truly benefit with everything you can throw at it. You also seem to have fine hair. And, while this will allow for the most naturalness, if you ever decide to do transplants. It also means a greater number of grafts will be needed. Give meds a good year before you decide anything.

When it comes to hair transplants, most patients have plenty of give in the donor to allow for multiple procedures. This depends on a number of factors including the number of grafts to be harvested, careful planning as to where the grafts will come from, etc.... Most doctors will remove a strip, typically 9 mm. Because of the give, the "stretch" is negligible and will not have an impact, at all, on the hairline. There are cases however when this can happen. In a lift, most doctors will work just behind the hairline. This will result in a line scar, covered by the hair and can affect the position of the hairline. Transplants are typically the solution. I should mention - long ago this was an issue. Particularly when MPR, balloons and other methods were used. Not so much today.

WOW, awesome density.

Melvin, There are truly millions out there with little to no knowledge of this industry. In one way or another we've been guided to it by circumstance or choice. Years of interacting with doctors and clinical staff has given us the experience and knowledge to help humanity. In an industry where there is no "police" we are very much needed. Thanks for your ongoing work and allowing us to share our points of view.

Many factors are involved in this nomenclature. Shape is one. Another is the way hair grows. If you notice, hair in the front grows forward at an angle. Similarly, the hair on the top also grows forward. Since these are "working" together, most will benefit from the shingling this creates. Call it an illusion of density. In the crown however, growth is different. We all share a whirl. The hair stems from the point and grows in a swirl. This area can eat your lunch. Worse, you will have little to nothing left to address the front and middle which is what people see when they interact. It's important to recognize this is the weakest point for everyone. A dusting, depending on your pattern and goals, suffices. Always remain age and pattern appropriate.

Those first injections are not fun. There are doctors out there who will give you a relaxer of some kind to minimize the feeling of it. Others can use a vibrator of some kind to take your mind off of it. I'm surprised they used nothing.

A lot will depend on how much fluid there is. Typically you want this to drain as quickly as possible. Sleeping sitting up, in my view, minimizes swelling. Will you be doing PRP? If so, you have to swell - otherwise the process will be ineffective. Why would you be doing multiple days of anesthetic? This is short lived. I would not worry about it.