Merlin

Looking great!

On 10/16/2019 at 8:15 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Man, you're making me want to call up Dr. Cooley haha. Amazing result man and thanks for keeping us updated. I see you had a solid head of hair prior to this surgery. I think my crown is similar to yours. How much has your life changed since having the procedure?

Thanks. Dr. Cooley is solid. There are many good providers out there, but you cannot go wrong with him.

My situation was that seemingly (partially due to change of hairstyle from long to short) my hair-loss became more obvious overnight and I was using a combover to hide with lots of hairspray. I had to be very strategic when going out to avoid the weather/activities mess my hair.

Now I am more care free and I am not thinking of my hair unless I want to style them for some nice occasion. In August, I had a care free vacation at the beach and I was able to fully enjoy it.

Now I just hope this will last for long time, and since the surgery I also started propecia with no side effects this time (I started very low and super slowly until I gradually reached the recommended dose; maybe that helped). 

Looking nice!

Day 306 Update

Finally got around to post pictures. I had a haircut 4 days ago. The lowest setting on the trimmer was 3.5 (that was the lowest I was also doing before the transplant). 

Front

Back

Top

Left side

On 9/25/2019 at 6:51 PM, mikemorrow2000 said:

Yes you're right that is the whole point. I just had a 2nd procedure on July 12th so I'm in the middle of it again. First procedure was in 2009.

I am sure everything went well; the growth should be coming soon.

@GrowingHair @mikemorrow2000 Thanks for checking in; I will post photos soon. Since I last posted, I haven't thought about hair loss which was the whole point of doing the procedure with Dr. Cooley.

@ck432 I am sure that Dr. Cooley did an excellent job! It's still early, everything will come out fine in time.

Thanks everyone for the comments!

22 hours ago, Mick50 said:

Very good ,particularly impressed with the crown ,did you find out form the Doc how many grafts were used there ?

1500 grafts on the crown. See 

Looking good! I am sure it is even better now!

On 6/2/2019 at 6:54 PM, mephesto said:

Hey Merlin, how's the progress coming along?

Pretty good! I can go out without product if I want!

Day 172

On 4/18/2019 at 1:01 PM, GrowingHair said:

That looks really good Merlin, big difference from your prior photos.  Cant wait to see how it continues to improve!

Thanks GrowingHair. I hope that yours is also progressing well.

13 minutes ago, forgotpassword said:

@Merlin  Still a long ways to go. A good foundation has been set. Patience..really good things look to be happening!!

@forgotpassword Thanks!

15 hours ago, mikemorrow2000 said:

Looks good Merlin. You still have a few months left of continued growth. If you're at 121 days now figure about another 100 days of more growth. You will see added thickness! I would estimate about 7 to 8 months before my growth really peaked. You know Dr Cooley would say stop freaking out about it!

Thanks Mike. I am not freaking out 😀(I haven't bothered Dr. Cooley but I am sure he would say that!😀); there was a huge improvement over the last 30 days. I am just acknowledging that I have more way to go. My goal is to be able to go outside (rolling out bed😁) without fixing my hair or wearing a hat so to avoid showing the hair loss. This is almost achieved for the front, and the crown is getting there. Probably it's mostly a matter of the hair growing longer; and the extra hair (I assume/hope) that should be coming online over the next few weeks will help too.

Day 121

So far so good. The improvement is noticeable.  It's easier to hide the areas with missing hair. The major one is the crown which despite the significant improvement, is very obvious that there are hair missing there (on the picture it looks better than in person I think), unless I do the comb over; probably because the hair on the center of the crown are still short.

Front

Crown

Left Side

5 hours ago, home1212 said:

really love Dr. Cooley's meticulous work, congrats and contd' growth and healing

Thanks

18 minutes ago, mephesto said:

Hi Merlin, why did you choose FUT over FUE?

I'm mostly doing it for the better yield and livability, but FUE is very tempting

When I was talking with another clinic for FUE, they told me for the same amount grafts, I needed 3 days of operation, that they will trim all of my hair, and that they will have to use some beard hair.

Ailene from Dr. Cooley's office also pointed out that since my skin is very light (when not in the sun much) and my hair dark, that doing FUE will put me at risk for a "moth" like appearance at the donor area.

In summary I did FUT because:

• Less time at the clinic and cost for the same amount of grafts.
• More yield (more grafts survive FUT vs FUE).
• Aside from the donor scar, the rest of the donor area will be intact.
• Dr. Cooley has a reputation of excellent work and that his incisions/scars heal really well.
• No need to cut my hair to number 1-2 for the operation.

Status update

I noticed that it takes less effort to hide/cover the areas with missing hair. I will probably post new photos sometime in April when the progress should be more obvious (compared to the previous photos).

12 hours ago, GrowingHair said:

That looks really good Merlin!  I see a lot more growth than on your prior pictures.  How is your crown progressing relative to the front?  I always read the crown is slower than the other areas, and believe I am seeing that with mine.

Thanks. It's hard to tell on the crown, so far so good.

38 minutes ago, Kiwi Guy said:

Starting to look good mate, wait until it grows in around the 9 month mark, I bet it looks full!

Thanks!

20 hours ago, mephesto said:

Thank you! Good to know what I might be going through.

I'm worried about walking through the airport with a saran wrap stuck to my head, but I think hiding it in a cap/beanie might be a good idea

The clinic will give you cap when they send you home after the operation. To clarify, I used the saran/beanie for about 10 days after my return, so about 17 days total. Again, that probably wasn't necessary.

On 3/21/2019 at 9:22 AM, GrowingHair said:

Spring is here - noticing a lot of growth up front in the last 2 weeks.  My wife says the crown is starting as well, but it doesn't come across well in the pictures yet.  I hope yours is continuing to grow Merlin - here we go 🙂

Looking great! Your hairline is forming as well. For both us, I would say pretty good so far .

On 3/21/2019 at 10:52 AM, mikemorrow2000 said:

You'll get more thickness up to about 6 or 7 months. Looks good now though. Dr Cooley says "the more you look at it the slower it grows".

Dr. Cooley told me that too before I left his office . I try not to look at them, but is hard not to notice when hair are growing in front of you .

BTW, here are two better (I hope; pic quality) pictures of my front:

Day 99

20 minutes ago, mephesto said:

Hey Merlin, how long did you stay in NC for?

And how was the travel back to California after the surgery? Did you still have to wear the saran wrap?

I went to NC on a Wednesday, the procedure was on Thursday and left town the next Wednesday which I will make it 7 days with overnight stay.

The travel back was fine. I had the saran wrap under a beanie and I even sprayed a couple of times during the flight. The doctor offered a second spray bottle as long as I would use it, and I did use it. I continued the saran and spray for about 10 days after. I am pretty sure it was an overkill, but I was off work anyway so it was easy to do. Plus, in December no one will bat an eye if they see you with a beanie.

On 3/12/2019 at 4:25 PM, GrowingHair said:

That sounds really good Merlin, exciting times!  Are you seeing growth from the transplanted hair in the front or your native hair growing back?  I notice and feel a lot of shorter hairs along the front that I assume are revived by the Propecia, not sure though. Very glad you're doing well, wish you good growing ahead 🙂

As you can see from the picture below (sorry it's a little bit out of focus) there is new growth. Some of it must be from the transplants. I wish you good growing ahead too!🙂 It seems that a spring on our heads is coming 😁

Day 91 Pics

Front

Crown

Left side scar/shock loss

On 3/7/2019 at 3:56 AM, GrowingHair said:

Hey Merlin - how are things progressing for you?  I believe you're at the 12 week mark now. I too noticed some tiny hairs growing which I also assume is from the Propecia. I have some hairs starting to grow in the shock loss area around the scar line, but it's still pretty bare. Hope you are doing well - we're getting close!

I would have replied sooner but the notification went to spam.

Things are going well. I had a haircut about two weeks ago. Still able to hide the shock loss. I think some hair are slowly coming back there. On the other hand, the growth on the front is going strong (it's noticeable, I dont have to look for it). It still looks like hair loss/bit funny since the hair there are very short compared to the existing hair.  I assume that the crown is growing too, hard to tell back there due to practical reasons. Definitely both areas have ways to go (just got started) and I am pleased so far.

I will post pics sometime in the next few days.

6 hours ago, mikemorrow2000 said:

Wow Merlin that looks like great work. I had 3,122 grafts transplanted in 2009 by Dr Cooley. Still extremely satisfied with the work. I had seen the most growth between the 4th and 5th month. After 7 months it was thicker than ever and continued getting thicker the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th month. It is all very individual so don't get discouraged. Make sure you take the Propecia (Finasteride). That helps a lot.

Thanks. I am taking the Propecia (tried 10+ years ago with side effects so I wasn't taking it until after the surgery) and I am very slowly raising the dosage to avoid side effects; so far, so good. It caught my eye that a few really tiny and thin hair are coming up at the front. Not sure if they are transplants or hair revived by Propecia. 

On 2/13/2019 at 4:38 AM, GrowingHair said:

Your shock loss looks much better Merlin, and the scar line looks very faint. Mine was only in the back middle which is interesting. Hard to see good native hair go missing, even if it's temporary! Makes it hard to try and style right now for us, but the native hairs should start growing soon I'd assume. I believe you're at about 9 weeks and I'm at 8 so it shouldn't be long. 

My scar line indeed improved a lot over the last couple of weeks. It used to look similar to yours not long ago. We are getting there 😀

12 hours ago, GrowingHair said:

Thanks Guys - I also have the itching and occasional tightness on my scalp. Your assessment of why makes sense to me. No growth for me yet either along the incision, but the scar does seem to be healing well.  I'm going to try and get a haircut and hope the lady can leave enough around the spot so it doesn't show too bad. It helps knowing all this is temporary, and really helps being able to talk to you guys about your experiences!

Yeah, you seem to have more shock loss in the back than I do. Other than that I think it looks well. Here a couple of pics of mine. I am trying to hold off getting a haircut as much as I can for sanitary reasons and because I don't want them to do anything that might make the shock loss on the left more visible. My left side is looks lighter when I am near a light, but hopefully most people shouldn't notice anything unless they are staring directly to my left side.

Day 62

Back

Left side

3 hours ago, GrowingHair said:

How are you doing Merlin?  You should be only a few months away from some sprouts!  I wanted to ask if your bare spot along the incision had started filling in any?  My wife said mine still looks bare. Hope you are doing well! 

I am doing well. On the top of the head, everything is the same. About the incision, after a closer inspection I noticed I had some shock loss in other parts along the incision consistent with ofter FUT reports in the forums. I haven't noticed it initially because other than my left side, everywhere else is very well covered with surrounding hair. There are some very short hair along the incision like I previously mentioned (I am not sure if they are growing or they are just trapped/stuck there or if they will grow at some point), and I don't think anything grew at the shock loss area surrounding the incision. Probably it will take at least a few weeks or a couple of months before something will be noticeable.

The last few days my whole head itches everywhere I have hair (I can easily ignore it; is not very strong), from the bottom of the neck to the top of the head. Maybe is due to the incision nerves healing/reconstructing (it is significantly less red than it used to).

I hope that you are doing well too and that we will see some growth soon!!!

On 1/12/2019 at 4:41 AM, hairlinehelp said:

how much grafts on the crown ?

About 1500 on the crown, 1500 on the hairline, and 1200 behind the hairline. The crown had many of the 3 & 4 hair grafts and as result the crown has about the same amount of hair as the front.

On 1/22/2019 at 10:00 AM, GrowingHair said:

Glad to hear you're progressing well Merlin. I met with Dr Cooley and Brandi yesterday and they confirmed everything looks good, and I have "minor" shockloss. The lost native hair from both the recipient and donor areas will start to regrow soon, and then be followed by the transplanted hair. It was alarming to have a bare spot along the incision as you've indicated but was assured this will all grow back. I'll start a thread with some photos to track my experience, and look forward to seeing our progress - doing my best to be patient. To be honest even the small impact the tiny transplanted hairs have created to my hairline is very exciting, and I can't even imagine how we'll look once the hair comes in and grows up!  Thanks again for your feedback and good wishes!

Thanks for the update. It sounds like shockloss is a common thing from what people are reporting. When I updated Dr. Cooley on my  progress (including the shockloss), he also said to me that everything sounded normal to him. Nevertheless, I am doing my best to ignore the missing hair and only pay the requisite attention for the scar care.

Looking forward to seeing your results! You are welcome, and all the best again! In a few months things will be becoming awesome!