Hair Today

Great to read your post, like me you have had many procedures.  From your earlier ones now that a lot of time has passed did you notice if any of the implanted hairs (that are supposed to be permanent) fell out over time?  Or did your natural hair receed further to warrant the need for further procedures?  A couple of my procedures from over 10 years ago were quite successful at repairing my hairline at the time, but less than a decade later a lot of the implanted hairs had vanished.  After my most recent procedure I have great hairline again, but I do worry for the future...

Please keep updating looking forward to seeing how this turns out  

On 8/8/2020 at 2:44 PM, Usexpat said:

Thanks so much for doing this blog. Your 1-2 month photos are identical to mine (4300 grafts with Cinik) to be honest I have a bit of worry as I look like, well to be honest, crap but to see the change in yours is so great. Thanks for posting and look forward to my results being close to yours. Cheers. Peter in UK 

No problem!  I remember the worry early on, patience is key   If you do a blog or post anything let me know and I'll check it out.

34 minutes ago, October said:

Awesome post.  It looks like great improvement from month 9 to 12.   Does the photo reflect reality in your opinion?  Did you still notice more density after month 9?  I plan on making a similar photo collage at my 1 year mark.  Thanks 

Yes I think the photos do mostly reflect reality, and I've taken some with my hair parted so you can see where it is weak, though I have noticed when out in the sun it can shine straight through and expose weak areas too.  I think at month 9 it was close to the final result and since then it has just thickened up a bit more on top.  Feel free to link me to your collage when done, would love to see!

So 1 year ago today I had my procedure and here are what will probably be my final results!

I've taken photos showing my hair in the best possible conditions as well as the worst, as it's the styling which is key to covering the areas which are still thin.  I've also grown my hair a little longer at the sides to see how the temporal points look with a bit of growth, and they are definitely different to the native hair.

Also I've put together a month by month comparison, I look back at some of the earlier months now and almost forget just how bad my hair used to be!

As I've said before I'm absolutely thrilled with my results, and although they are not perfect I had very realistic expectations with how thin my hair was and after my previous experiences.

This will be my last regular update as I don't think things will change much more from now?  However I may post some more photos when I choose to get my hair cut shorter to see if it still looks as good with less hair to cover the thin areas?  Also I'm very interested in the results of procedures over a much longer period of time and whether results really are permanent?  Because I know I lost a lot of the transplanted hairs I originally obtained from my earlier procedures over the space of a decade, so it will be interesting to see if the skills of my latest surgeon have a greater longevity than the last?

Thank you everyone for your comments and following my story

On 7/26/2020 at 3:20 PM, Baboon said:

Looks good. Was those 3000 grafts head hair or BHT combined?

Thank you, it was head and body hair combined, all detailed in earlier posts in this thread.

On 7/8/2020 at 8:44 PM, HmDiars said:

Great, how is your feeling? I mean what is difference before and after? 

If you mean how does my scalp feel then for the first few months it is still a little numb, but after that it feels completely back to normal  

5 hours ago, Steeeve said:

I think this has turned out incredible! I appreciate that you share your recipient’s weaknesses and don’t just just sugar coat it by only sharing it styled under perfect conditions.

The use of the word “weakness” is extremely relative here. Your result really looks great!

I have some questions for you. With this technically being a repair is your personal plan to wait until 18 months to expect a final result? I’ve been told by several elite doctors that sometimes repairs can take 18 months to mature after already having had work done in those areas, depending on the amount of scar tissue.

When you had grafts placed in your scar were they placed directly into the scar or were they placed in a manner to make the scar appear thinner? I don’t know how wide your scar was after 2 FUT’s but mine got fairly wide after 1 and I’ve heard of doctors placing grafts at the top and bottom of wider scars while leaving the middle exposed in order to conserve grafts while giving off the appearance of a razor thin scar. Your scar looks 👌🏻👌🏻 after two FUT’s so I was just wondering.

Congrats on your progress so far. I can’t imagine that you’re not completely over the moon. Dr Cinik is a beast!! He did right by you, for sure.

Thank you Steeeve, yes as much as showing off how great it looks, I also want to give an honest account and show the weaknesses too.  Whilst it is still thin in places I can still style it fairly easily to cover these.  For years and years I wouldn't go outside without fibres and now I haven't used them in months so it's been absolutely life changing!  Though on the flipside of that I have noticed if it's a sunny day the light does shine through the hairline and expose that it's not as thick as it may appear to be.

It's only in recent months I've become aware that scar tissue from previous procedures can affect the results.  As per previous procedures I was expecting the final result to be near enough after 12 months, though apparently the crown can take longer than this?  Honestly if what I have now is my final result I will be thrilled, but if there's more to come within the next few months then fantastic!   

Grafts placed in my FUT scarring was done in my third procedure in 2017 and from what I could tell they filled the scar itself all over, though there is an area that didn't grow so well and I can also notice some of the implanted hairs in the scar grow in different directions to the native hairs.  I think I am just one of the lucky ones with my scar not being too noticeable, but when I do shave the sides and back I am always careful not to go too high or it would definitely be noticeable!

Thanks again, I think when I told Dr Cinik about my 3 previous procedures which were mostly unsuccessful he thought he would be the one to show how good he is and to show me what a good procedure is, he really couldn't have done more for me and I would highly recommend him to anyone!

46 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Further improvement! Getting better every month. 

Thank you, I can't see too much difference between this month's photos and last, but I can notice a real difference in all over thickness lately

11 months today and here's the latest

1 hour ago, Egy said:

I have already written it in some other thread, in my opinion the transplant is not for life, I believe that even after a few years the transplanted hair falls out, it depends on our vascularization in the reception area, but nobody attaches due importance to it.  And unfortunately it's a genetic thing.  We do not know if where we put the hair, underneath we have more or less blood vessels willing to feed the new grafts .. our predisposition is fundamental, the clinics will never admit it, otherwise few would decide to spend money and after a few years they would have found themselves before  or later.

This is obviously a big concern for anyone undergoing procedures, but I can't seem to find much information about it anywhere?  Maybe people are just afraid to talk about it or don't want to? 

17 hours ago, Johnboy71 said:

Wow ! I also have had x2 FUT but my scar is quite stretched, yours is excellent. 
I also have had x3 FUE and that’s why I am looking to use my beard hair like you have done. My beard is similar to yours so I’m hoping to take as many grafts as possible from it.

Seeing your results it has made me just contact the clinic. So yours was all done in a day ? 
I see there are 3 tiers with regards to payment. Did you choose the top one? 
sorry for all the questions! 

Thank you, I've kept my hair longer around where the FUT scarring is to help mask it, also I did have some grafts put there in my procedure before this one.

It's good to know I'm not the only one who has had multiple procedures!  I found that over the space of about 10 years my transplanted hairs from my first two procedures were falling out and getting thinner (these are supposed to be permanent as they say hairs from the side and back of your head are DHT resistant even in the new areas), have you experienced the same problem?

I chose the exclusive package which I think is the middle priced one with Dr Cinik doing my incisions, it was done within a day though it was a very long day!  I would fully recommend Dr Cinik, I've seen consistently good results from him and I'm absolutely thrilled with my own 

18 minutes ago, Johnboy71 said:

These latest pics show a further improvement. I was curious as to how the beard would be grown out after taking that many grafts. When it’s clean shaven can you see any evidence that grafts have been taken? 
 

Sure here is a photo of the back of my head, I don't think it looks too bad considering I've had two FUE and two FUT procedures on it?

Also there is a post earlier in this thread where I uploaded some photos of under my chin when I didn't have the beard 

Ten months today and here's the update!  Also as I'm currently sporting a lockdown beard I thought I'd include a photo of under my chin so you can see how it grows after having grafts harvested, there are some thinner areas but I don't think it's very noticeable? 

Up to 9 months now and progress is much the same, my hairline is great and masks the thinner areas on top.  Now I'm growing the sides a little it is definitely apparent that the left temporal point is coming through thicker than the native hairs which make it look a bit odd?  Also again as you can see comparing photos if I style my hair to cover the thin areas it looks great, but if the thin areas are exposed it doesn't look so good.

Hope you're all doing okay in these tough times?

Today is 8 months since my op and here are the photos.  I've only taken a couple with the flash on this time as I think these can be quite misleading and make my hair look denser than it actually is.  There is quite a difference between whether I style my hair to cover the thin parts on top and if I part my hair to expose them (see the last two photos).  I think the most important part is the hairline which is coming through really well now and because this part is so dense it helps keep the rest of the thinness on top hidden.

I am still hoping for the thin areas to improve over the next few months, however if this were to be my final result I would still absolutely be over the moon!  

6 hours ago, Egy said:

Hi @Hair Today can I ask you what you take (multivitamins, biotin, Finasteride, Minoxidil or other) and if you have also done some PRP treatment?  Thank you

Sure I'm taking minoxidil as well as the multivitamins saw palmetto, biotin, zinc and omega 3 fish oil. I'm unsure about taking all of these long term but thought I would try them for at least the first year to give my transplanted hairs the best chance.  I had PRP on the day of surgery with Dr Cinik but haven't had any more treatments since.

9 hours ago, nishchd said:

Hi,

Congratulations for your recent update, its really looks thick and strong now.

Few question in my mind, you said you were using fibres till now.

1.So, were you using them everyday?

2.Did you use to wash them everyday with shampoo?

3.Does using fibres in first 6 months effects new hair growth anyhow by sticking on the scalp?

Thank you 🙂

1) Yes I would use a combination of Dermmatch and Toppik and previously never went out in public without them.

2) Because I needed so many fibres I would often only wash my hair a couple of times a week because of both the time and cost factors, even though I'm sure it would have been bad for my hair to leave them on that long.

3) As I was led to believe after the scab phase of a transplant it was safe to use fibres, though after being in touch with my clinic recently they advised against using them and fortunately I do not need to use many at all now.  I don't know if there are any experts in the forum who can advise further on this point?

So 7 months today and this has been a really good month for progress.  A couple of days ago I left the house without fibres for the first time in nearly 15 years!  I was still very nervous that a sudden gust of wind could expose a thin area 😆😅  But it is very big thing that I no longer feel I need to rely on the fibres like I have done over the years ☺️

Otherwise now that it has been over half a year and I am able to shave the transplanted hairs I have cut the sides down to a grade 1.  This has exposed the temporal points which I had transplanted which I think look a little odd with individual hairs appearing different to the non-transplanted shaved areas?

12 hours ago, Blackweasel said:

Compared to where you where before these are wicked results. I would be very happy...

Thank you and yes I am very happy 😃  Hard to explain but my hair as it is just feels like normal now and I have to go back to look at the before and early photos to remember just how bad it was!

17 hours ago, nishchd said:

Definitely an improvement from month 5. 

Does saw palmetto giving you any sides?

I haven't noticed any side effects, don't think there should be with saw palmetto as it's natural?

So today marks the 6 month / half year point!

Density seems to be improving still, though there are some areas that are thinner than others which I hope will even out in time.  Using the flash can make it look ridiculously good, though as you can see from the photos taken from above it is still quite thin in some places.

I'm using minoxidil on my crown and also taking saw palmetto, biotin, zinc and omega 3 fish oil tablets daily. Not sure how effective these supplements are but figured I would use them for at least the first year to give the transplanted hairs the best possible chance.

Happy New Year all!

At 5 months now and I've definitely seen a lot more progress these last few weeks!  Also rather surprisingly the crown is filling out well already, when this area is supposed to take longer than the rest.  Looking in the mirror it appears to be so much better, but looking at some of the photos (especially without a flash) I can tell I've still got a long way to go!

2 hours ago, Hairybo said:

Thanks. Could you take some pictures of your beard...would like to know what that looks like now after the donation from that area. 

With regards to the back and sides of the head, do you think you could keep your hair short or would it be too obvious and therefore must keep it long? 

I'm going to Dr Cinik very soon! Excited yet nervous.  The shape of the donor area and how it looks post recovery is one thing I hope will not be noticeable!

Hi Hairybo no problem just took a couple of photos under different lighting as I've got a little bit of stubble going on right now, I actually prefer my beard being slightly less thick underneath!

I've currently got the sides and back of my head shaved down to a grade 1 (see my 4 month photos) and I don't think there's anything noticeable at all?  I have seen others with the donor looking quite patchy when cut short though so I might be one of the lucky ones?  Though I do need to be careful not to shave it too high or my old FUT scar would definitely be visible!

Good luck with your procedure, you'll be in very good hands with Dr Cinik!  Let me know how it goes  

4 minutes ago, Egy said:

@Hair Today know however that having already had three interventions and therefore with a lot of scar tissue in the recipient, you have to expect a regrowth, which if it goes well, will reach 80%, so do not expect great results, I wish you the best, but  you have to put that into account.

I'd never heard of this before?  So is it true that after every procedure on the recipient in the same places make it more difficult for new hairs to grow there?