DenverBuff1989

pretty much all full-time HT docs are in it exclusively for the money. While improving a patient's hair certainly improves the patient's psychological well-being, it's not the same as fixing a cleft palate or some other visible disfiguration. I can't imagine any person punishing themselves to get thru medical school because they believe it is a social justice worthy cause to give guys more hair so they can do better with the ladies 🤣 They are all in it for the money, which is one of the reasons the hair transplant industry can be so shady at times. To be fair tho, many (most?) cosmetic doctors are in it for the money. I was at the dermatologist last week and getting the sales pitch on a bunch of different treatments. So its not just limited to HT docs.

I was on Finasteride daily for roughly 1.5 years. I replaced that with Dut daily roughly 2 years ago. I actually haven't noticed any hair loss progression since I started taking Fin. But I want the best prevention possible, and since Dut is stronger I didn't see a reason to not make the switch. As I said above, the only difference I've seen is a minor stomach ache I get every so often when taking Dut, but that doesn't really bother me. Dut is not FDA approved for hairloss for some weird reason (its approved for hairloss in Japan and Korea tho). So if you are going to try to get it, I would specifically go to a hair transplant doc or an online pharmacy. Your average primary physician may only prescribe Fin, and may only be knowledgeable of Dut's benefit to the prostate, and not for hairloss.

Your hairloss is pretty minor, I doubt any casual person would think of you as having hairloss. However, I do understand the anxiety/obsession that comes with even minor hairloss or other signs of aging. My suggestion would be to take Fin. Kind of a no-brainer. Your hairloss will only get worse if you don't take it. I'm not sure your level of hair loss warrants a hair transplant just yet. Even if you go to one of the best HT docs in the world, something could go wrong and you could look much worse off than you do in your current state. It's a gamble that makes more sense for people who are truly balding or have a receding hairline. But is that a risk you want to take at your very minor level of hairloss? You honestly may want to look into a hair system. Even great hair transplants may not be 100% perfect. With your level of scrutiny, it seems like you would be only happy with absolutely perfect hair, which is something only a hair system could guarantee.

The most efficient thing seems to be just replacing Fin with Dut. FWIW I had zero side effects with Fin, and essentially have zero side effects with Dut (I'd say once every 2 weeks I get a minor stomach ache when taking Dut, not sure why but it doesn't bother me that much) I just read up on the prostate cancer thing and that does seem scary. This thread goes into it more. It seems this really only effects a minority of people taking it. And if you do need a prostate exam, just make it abundantly clear to the Doc that you are taking Dutasteride, and it shouldnt be a problem . But yea, Dutasteride is infinitely stronger than Fin in terms of hairloss prevention, so if you hop on the Dut train, continuing Fin at the same time would be pointless IMO.

if your crown loss is pretty run-of-the-mill and ordinary then sure. If you have really bad crown loss, then IMO even a killer front section won't make up for it. It sucks too bc many doctors are really hesitant to work on the crown. The crown can be a black hole for grafts, and future crown loss can be much harder to predict than future front hair loss, so some doctors can be hesitant to do crown work on younger guys. Luckily, concealer works really well in the crown area.

Yes I had to wear a mask. But they gave me Xanax and an injection of Versed, so I was so relaxed I didn't mind wearing the mask for the whole 6 hour surgery. I was so relaxed I fell asleep for parts of the procedure. The way the sedative drugs work as well is, say you do experience pain or discomfort during the actual surgery, your memory will suffer amnesia post-surgery and you won't have a decent memory of the discomfort. It's hard to explain, but I'm sure many people here can relate.

the skill to construct a completely artificial lower hairline is too much for most non-elite doctors. Its common for doctors to underestimate the grafts needed, or, they may know the appropriate grafts needed, but put less in there the 1st go around for optimal growth (requiring multiple surgeries) plus, as we all already know, a lower hairline looks ridiculous once you reach a certain age. Everyone will think you are bald and wearing a wig, when really its the artificial hairline lol.

The first hair growth is what you notice the most, because naturally its the most exciting sign. The first grafts make the most impactful cosmetic appearance, and as more hair comes in you tend to not notice it as much (because its harder to spot as the areas get more dense) When the new hair first comes in it will be thin and can potentially be crazy kinky (wild hair, going in random directions with a mind of its own). As the time goes on the hair "should" get thicker and soften up.

I think the textbook answer is they normally fall out roughly 3 weeks in. A very small number of the grafts may not fall out. All 3 HT's, I've gotten my hopes up that maybe the transplant grafts wouldn't shed (that does happen with some rare lucky people), but inevitably they shed around 3 weeks and then you enter the ugly duckling phase.

Goes without saying everyone's transplant growth rate is different. But just in my experience alone, for all 3 HTs, the hair started visibly growing at pretty much 4 months on the dot, , and while hair grew and thickened up to the 1 yr mark, the overall prognosis could be seen around 6 months.

I honestly don't have knowledge of graft sensitivity based on scalp region. A common theme from my own observations of "Have grafts fallen out?" threads is that you will know if a graft falls out. From what I've read - in general - there is significant bleeding if a graft falls out, much more than you'd expect. I'm really not sure tho. Worst comes to worst, losing a single graft should not alter the the appearance of your hair transplant if your HT was well done. If losing a single graft did alter the overall look of your HT, then you'd have bigger things to worry about lol. If it helps, your anxieties are incredibly common. TBH I think it would be odd if someone wasn't a bit anxious about all the post-care.

The grafts get exponentially less sensitive. Days 1-3: be very careful. Grafts CAN come out. Days 4-8: Be very careful, but the grafts are probably safe if you accidentally scratch or gently rub/bump them. The grafts can still come out if you are very clumsy and have a significant force of impact or scratch repeatedly with force. Days 9-10: the grafts are pretty much anchored in. By this and beyond point you would need a doctor to use forceps to remove the grafts. Would I start doing handstands and take up boxing at Day 10? No, but that is because with all things surgery-related (not just hair transplants), you want to use an abundance of caution and err on the conservative/peace-of-mind side. Realistically tho once you reach Day 9/10 you are completely safe This is a study everyone mentions on here https://www.bernsteinmedical.com/research/graft-anchoring-in-hair-transplantation/

Somewhat related, I doubt the Elon Musks and MGKs of the world need to wait in line behind everyone else to have surgery. I doubt Tom Cruise would have to wait an entire year to get a transplant from Dr. Konior. When money is no object you can probably just buy other people's place in line.

I didn't read all of the text in this thread so sorry if my comment seems out of place, but just really looking at the photos, the transplant and native hair itself looks fine to me? I was expecting the transplant hair to look really bad lol. But yes of course the donor area and the gap areas are issues. How does the donor area look if you grow your hair out? Grown out hair in the donor area might not be your preferred hairstyle, but I say go with that if it covers the donor damage. I myself had 1 bad HT from one doctor, and then made a mistake similar to you, of being suckered into a free repair job by the same doctor. The only thing that removed my bad obsessive thoughts was actively working towards my 3rd repair HT, which I am happy about. Also as Melvin said, we are our own worst critics. If you grow your donor hair out I don't think any casual observer would suspect your donor was odd. At the same time, I don't want to underestimate how you are feeling, you clearly state how depressed this is making you feel. I wasn't depressed per say, but I was definitely OBSESSED about my hair - 20x more obsessed than I was before my hair transplant journey began- as I went through the crazy stressful recovery process. Spending infinite hours in the bathroom mirror and taking hundreds of photos of my hair. I was obsessed about flaws that, while objectively indeed existed and were the result of a bad HT, no one but myself really noticed or cared about. Obviously when you share your personal story online and close up photos on this forum with other hair transplant obsessives, it can be easy for these cosmetic issues to really get blown out of proportion. No internet stranger can tell you how to feel. If your life is truly getting f*cked up because of your mental state due to these HT's, maybe you honestly should just get a hair system during this interim period until you get a repair HT. If you are anything like me, you really won't be able to stop obsessing about this until you are firmly on track for your repair HT. Unfortunately, I do agree with others that you must wait 10 months or so, so doctors can fully assess the latest HT. As hard as it is, just focus on the repair HT route, and growing out the donor area, using concealers, or yes getting a hair system if you truly can't handle the impact these 2 HT's have had on you.

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does hairloss always start in the front tho? There are plenty of people, many on here even, who were blessed with a strong hairline but an absolute sh*t crown.

@Manig31286 I can't give an opinion of your safe zone based on your pic. Many (most?) doctors extract grafts outside of the traditional NW 7 safe zone. This is because most patients will not reach NW 7, and operating outside of this classic safe zone area gives doctors more options and freedom in graft selection. Of course, doctors are human and can make an inaccurate prediction on future hair loss, so there can be a justified reason to be concerned if your hairloss progresses post HT.

i'm not sure anyone has mentioned the cons of SMP yet. -only lasts 4-5 years, have to get it redone, etc. -just like any tattoo, the sun makes it fade away. So it is wise to put sunscreen on it to limit sun exposure (which seems like a pain) -seems even harder to find a good SMP guy than it is to find a HT doc 😀 If people are fine with the above then I think SMP to cover a scar is a good way to go...

the resolution is still a bit murky, but from what I can tell it looks good. Seems like all the problem areas were covered. I could be wrong but it looks slightly less grafts were used right behind the middle part of the island - I think it will still blend in well if all the other hair grows! You've now entered the hardest part of the hair transplant journey, which is waiting for the hair to grow lol. Besides protecting the grafts for the first 10 days, the rest is out of your hands now.

@TamagochihandlerI don't think temperature itself matters really, its just the elements (rain/snow) to be concerned about. And I would only be somewhat concerned about rain and snow for the first couple of days. I would follow your post op instructions on a wool cap. Ask your doctor about another type of cap like a baseball cap. Only your doctor is aware of this specifics of your surgery so ask them @RossybopI'm fairly certain you'll be fine, sorry for the concern. If was just light fleeting snow I wouldn't worry about it. A week from now you might not even remember this worry you are having now. For both of you, I would say spend as much time indoors as possible for the first 10 days at least. And anyways, your appearance looks "off", and you are probably sore and sleep-deprived, and your scalps are going to start crusting/flaking shortly, so you probably wouldn't want to hang out with anyone in the first place 🙂

Looks good, happy growing! would be great if you could take closer up pics so we can all see the more specific graft placement. Definitely keep taking Fin or Dut. The Hair Transplant's good appearance will depend on the native hair "island" you have in the front holding up. Without pharmaceutical or any other assistance, it seems likely you would lose this section of hair at some point in your life, so continue to monitor it.

I mean you're probably fine. But post ht when you are still at day 0 your scalp is a raw sensitive exposed open wound still. It seems common to wear a surgical cap 24/7 for the 1st 3 days. Plus snow comes in from the atmosphere thru the polluted skyline so its not exactly clean. Youre probably fine. Just saying your scalp is essentially a large exposed open wound immediately following surgery. Its pretty common to be on edge the first 2 weeks.

Your scalp is extra sensitive to being sunburned post HT for the next few months. Wear a hat if you go outside for long periods. Snow landning on an unprotected head a few hours after surgery could actually have a tangible affect I'm not sure if heavy wind is an issue. The wind would have to be so strong that.it shakes up follicles on the inside of your scalp

@samson1978 Konior quoted me at 1500 grafts for 20k. So roughly in line with your estimation. The price was pretty mind-boggling, but I guess as the #1 rated HT surgeon in the world he has the luxury to charge whatever he wants.

@teeplant the cynical part of me says doctors know a dissatisfied patient 3 months post-op is much angrier than a patient at 12 months post-op. Doctors say "give it 10+ months till I can assess", in the hopes the patient's anger cools down or the patient just accepts the loss and finds a different doctor to deal with