DenverBuff1989

No difference IMO. Similar to a generic drug vs brand name.

@Melvin-Moderator thanks

@DrTBarghouthi @Egy Would you say to apply minoxidil 1x or 2x daily (morning and night) on the donor shock loss area? thanks for the help.

relieved both of you think it is shock-loss related. @Melvin-Moderator would you agree to put Rogaine on it? Once or 2X daily? I've read elsewhere a steroid injection in the area and/or PRP therapy might help with the shock loss, but unsure about that. Thanks!

Hi all, Its Day 25 post FUE, and I just noticed this significant bald line behind my left ear in the donor area. This area is impossible to see without a mirror at a certain angle, so I am just noticing it now and don't know when it developed. Hoping this is just run-of-the-mill temporary shock loss, but anxious if this is something else/worse. I'm concerned because most shock loss photos I've seen, the shock loss appears more to be a blob/ambiguous shape, whereas this bald patch seems like a predetermined line (I could be wrong on this though). The picture with all scabs is left side of my head 5 days post op. The other pics are left side of my head today/Day 25. Note that some of the pics mistakenly make it look like its on the right side of my head, thats just bc I reversed my phone's camera settings for some of the pics - just to clarify this is a single line shape only appearing on the left side behind my ear. For what its worth, this surgeon and a different one remarked I have incredibly thick donor hair. I also know anesthesia can be related to shock loss - it seemed like they were generous with the lidocaine, I rarely felt any pain during the procedure, but can't gauge if they really used more than normal. I also could be wrong, but it looks like this line is actually a significantly a bit lower than where most of the donor hair on the left side was taken. Essentially wondering if this seems like normal temporary shock loss or any thoughts what it can be? Should I start applying Rogaine on this area 1x/day or what should next steps be besides obviously waiting it out? Thanks,

thanks all!

Hi all, I'm I'll be Day 25 Post FUE tomm. I'm going on a date - a walk in the park and I'll be outside for roughly 2 hours. It will be cloudy, but still don't want to risk a sunburn so the only option is to wear a hat really. Wondering if I have anything to worry or be extra cautious of with wearing a hat Day 25? Can I wear a hat like I normally do, or does it really have to be loose as possible? Also wondering if I am outside for a full 2 hours or so, without a hat, is that something I need to be concerned about? Thoughts? Thanks!

@Ron5566 I'm not sure of the testosterone/science part of it, but there are many many guys who have hairloss when they are young and develop into NW3s and NW4s, and their hairloss stops - even without meds - and stays that way for the rest of their lives, or maybe it starts thinning, losing hair again when they are elderly. You have extremely aggressive hairloss, especially given your age and that it is already affecting your donor area. It seems you were not meant to have hair in this life. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, but since your hairloss is already affecting your donor hair, I don't think you would be a good HT candidate. But your quesiton overall was about the hairpiece and keeping the donor hair just so you can wear a hairpiece. Say worst case your donor hair does go away, is it that much different getting a different hairpiece that covers the donor hair region as well?

@Ron5566 I'm only a Norwood 3, but will share my experience for what its worth. Took Finasteride for 2 yrs, no sides. Even with no more hairloss since taking Fin, I decided I wanted the best preventive measure possible, so switched to Dutasteride. Have been taking it for a year and a half, also with no sides. I haven't had any additional hairloss since starting Fin 3 yrs ago. Hard to say if it is due to Fin/Dut, as my hairloss wasnt THAT bad to begin with, but I will continue taking Dut to the day I die because I have no sides. Guys are often worried that Fin/Dut will kill boners. I'm not saying this isn't a real occurrence, but the way I see it, all guys' sex drive slowly but surely starts to lower once they hit their late 20s. Guys just see the correlation of starting Fin/DUT in their late 20s/30s, and see they aren't as horny as they were when they were 21, and erroneously blame the Fin/Dut.

@OceanMountainSky IMO you should go for a hair transplant. Some guys with hair loss can totally brush it off, live with it, shave it, etc. but as you said the the quote, and for all us guys on HairRestorationNetwork, hairloss is at the forefront of our minds. If you go to a top, highly reviewed, excellent Dr, I see no reason why you can't get your desired result. Of course, as others have said, no matter how small or relatively benign a hair transplant is, things can go really wrong. The native hair can be shock lossed for many months, or perhaps forever. You can get bad scarring in the donor area. The transplant hair can grow in weird and look different from your native hair. The list goes on and on. Essentially I think you can have your desired result if you go to a top-rated doc, but be aware there are many risks, even with a small procedure.

@Westview I live in Denver lol, what clinic are you referring to? I think you're referring to one out in Highlands Ranch tho right that got shut down a few years ago?. There is also HairSciencesCenter with Dr. Jim Harris, I think he's solid tho. @westview nvm I see James Boland in Colorado Springs.

@Richie888 what do you mean the hair can't be styled? @deitel130 what do you mean about the visibility part? thanks.

@azza786hey, man, i know im late to this thread, just wanted to say I'm 31 and had 2 previous HTs that were horrible, and I spent the last 2 yrs totally obsessing about it. I'm not going to lie and say that hair doesn't matter. Hair very much is a huge factor in one's appearance. I will say tho that honestly if you're already wearing a hair system and its working for you, then keep on with it and just learn to live with one forever. I know you don't like it and it does seem like high maintenance, but think about girls who put on makeup everyday, etc. Plenty of girls (and guys) have image-related items that are high maintenance. Yours just happens to be a hair system. Plus, I'm sure a lot more ppl than you think wear hair systems, of course few will outright admit it. I'm sure way more ppl admit hair transplants than hair systems. But for example, Matthew MCconaughey - even with all his money and access to doctors - wears a hair system. Nothing wrong with wearing a wig/system. Plus by 33 I'm sure most girls, family, friends, etc. would be fine with your hairloss and wearing a hair system.

@Jordan90 IMO you aren't a NW 7 yet, but yes your hairloss is pretty bad for a 31 yr old. That being said, I do believe you can reach your goals you mentioned above. I doubt you can ever achieve a movie star/celebrity hairstyle, but hair transplants can give you enough growth and coverage that someone who meets you post HT will have no idea you have hairloss, etc. IMO most ppl NW5+ need multiple hair transplants to achieved the desired look. If you are mentally prepared and financially able to spend the next 2-3 yrs in hair transplant zone, then I think you can reach your goals. Hell, I'm a NW3 with 3 hair transplants (last one was only 21 days ago!) and I feel I am FINALLY going to be happy with my hair after this latest procedure, and its been a 2 yr journey for me. The biggest tip I can say is only go to one of the top docs, and don't even think about going to a poorly reviewed doc or a doc who does not do hair transplants as their sole profession.

@JohnAC71 sounds like a great clinic, whats the name? for my 1st hair transplant, the doc even admitted afterwards I should have had 800 or so more grafts, and she knew that at during the surgery, but she didn't go one graft over what I had already paid. So infuriating. Doctors/Patients really should have some sort of protocol or agreement in place ex "i will pay for grafts that go over the count, etc. " @Rossybop Doctors are human, and a photo is so subjective, every doctor is going to give you a little bit of a graft count. Additionally, some doctors are more conservative in their surgeries, others more liberal, and graft approximations will reflect that.

Whatever happens don't accept an offer for a free 2nd surgery from them. Demand a full refund at minimum. I had a bad 1st HT, then I made the mistake of allowing the same doc to do a repair 2nd HT free of charge. My thought process was "surely the doctor won't make the same mistakes a 2nd time". WRONG! You should also consult other doctors for a repair job, and then demand the clinic pay whatever amount the estimation is from other doctors. At least in America, you may have a poor chance of taking this to court. Yes the HT was botched and poorly done, but its not like you are disfigured or were physically hurt, etc. But what will get the clinic to pay up is being aggressive, demanding a refund, etc. They definitely don't want you to cause a ruckus and post bad reviews. I will also say that - unfortunately - I don't think any ethical doctor will do a repair job on you until at least 10 months from now when all the current grafts grow in. Even though you already know the result will obviously be unsatisfactory, a repair HT will need to see the grafts grown in, so the surgeon can work around them. Thats one of the sh*ttiest things about hair transplants - when you know you're going to get a bad result, but you still have to grit your teeth and bear it for a year or so until you can get a repair job. If it's any solace, know that its unfortunately pretty common to need a repair HT. Most people's hairloss journeys involve multiple hair transplants.

@Melvin-Moderator I unknowingly just posted 6 duplicate topics in a row, about weed nonetheless!

Hi all, Wondering when its ok again to start smoking weed post-FUE? I am currently 17 days out. I don't believe weed has any affect at all on the recipient hair growing (correct me if I'm wrong), but my concern/question lies in weed impact on the direct recovery post-FUE - will it affect my scabs, scalp, any other healing? I had a previous HT last yr and all the recipient hair grew in well and I smoked regularly - my memory is just hazy when I started smoking again :). The issue is with that HT was just that not enough grafts were used. Thanks!

Hi all, Wondering when its ok again to start smoking weed post-FUE? I am currently 17 days out. I don't believe weed has any affect at all on the recipient hair growing (correct me if I'm wrong), but my concern/question lies in weed impact on the direct recovery post-FUE - will it affect my scabs, scalp, any other healing? I had a previous HT last yr and all the recipient hair grew in well and I smoked regularly - my memory is just hazy when I started smoking again :). The issue is with that HT was just that not enough grafts were used. Thanks!

Hi all, Wondering when its ok again to start smoking weed post-FUE? I am currently 17 days out. I don't believe weed has any affect at all on the recipient hair growing (correct me if I'm wrong), but my concern/question lies in weed impact on the direct recovery post-FUE - will it affect my scabs, scalp, any other healing? I had a previous HT last yr and all the recipient hair grew in well and I smoked regularly - my memory is just hazy when I started smoking again :). The issue is just that not enough grafts were used. Thanks!

Hi all, Wondering when its ok again to start smoking weed post-FUE? I am currently 17 days out. I don't believe weed has any affect at all on the recipient hair growing (correct me if I'm wrong), but my concern/question lies in weed impact on the direct recovery post-FUE - will it affect my scabs, scalp, any other healing? I had a previous HT last yr and all the recipient hair grew in well and I smoked regularly - my memory is just hazy when I started smoking again :). The issue is just that not enough grafts were used. Thanks!

Hi all, Wondering when its ok again to start smoking weed post-FUE? I am currently 17 days out. I don't believe weed has any affect at all on the recipient hair growing (correct me if I'm wrong), but my concern/question lies in weed impact on the direct recovery post-FUE - will it affect my scabs, scalp, any other healing? I had a previous HT last yr and all the recipient hair grew in well and I smoked regularly - my mind is just hazy when I started smoking again :). The issue is just that not enough grafts were used. Thanks!

Hi all, Wondering when its ok again to start smoking weed post-FUE? I am currently 17 days out. I don't believe weed has any affect at all on the recipient hair growing (correct me if I'm wrong), but my concern/question lies in weed impact on the direct recovery post-FUE - will it affect my scabs, scalp, any other healing? I had a previous HT last yr and all the recipient hair grew in well and I smoked regularly - my mind is just hazy when I started smoking again :). The issue is just that not enough grafts were used. Thanks!

I seriously considered SMP at one point on my crown, and even visited an SMP guy. The guy himself had SMP done so I could see it firsthand Cons forgot the specifics, but just like with a HT, your appearance will be "off" for 1-3 weeks its a tattoo, and since it will be on your scalp it will be in the sun all the time. I was told you seriously do need to put sunscreen on it pretty much every time you go outside, or else it will seriously start to fade in certain lighting it looks horribly fake. The light "bounces off" the scalp easily if that makes sense It only lasts 3-4 years It's really only meant for a guy to have an appearance of having a boring buzz cut If you are planning on getting it done on an area of the scalp that is completely bald without a hair in sight, it will look fake Not to belittle the profession, but SMP artists are essentially tattoo artists. IT's hard enough finding a trustworthy MD to do a hair transplant, you really have to trust the tattoo artist to do SMP The only use case IMO is if you are getting SMP done on a diffuse thinning area, in that there is hair around the SMP region that will blend in well. And if you have to be willing to keep your hair forever short in the region you get it done. And there is still the cost, getting it done every 3-4 yrs. If the above doesn't phase you, I would still only get it done on my crown. Getting it done on the hairline or frontal region runs a huge risk of looking fake. You would have to have a short/buzz cut anyways, might as well just have the natural bald buzzcut.

DO NOT put concealer anywhere on your hairline. IMO it will be obvious. The only place concealer should go is on your crown. On the crown, concealer works wonders. I use Toppik. I've been in windy situations, rain, etc and it stays put. It only comes out when I take a shower. I was a concealer skeptic myself but now put it on my crown all the time. It's just like brushing my teeth, putting in contacts, etc at this point. What kind of place do you work? I do understand how it can cause anxiety for people knowing you've had a hair transplant. If it's ok and not out of place to wear a hat, then just wear a hat. If you can't wear a hat and even with concealer on the crown it will be noticeable in the hairline area, just own it if it comes up. I assume you work with adults right? All adults age and have dealt with aging. Whether its botox, a boob job, a diet program, getting jacked, etc. a hair transplant is really no different. I would't mention it right off the bat but in the small chance someone mentions your hair just accept it and be good-natured. If someone does bring it up I assume they will genuinely just be curious, no one would bring it up in an insulting mocking way (again assuming you work in a white collar workplace with adults) Also, realize that everyone has their #1 priority on themselves and their own appearance. Most people will NOT notice your hair unless they are really examining you. EDIT: @jimcraig152 I see you actually did post a picture of your hair. IMO concealer will unfortunately be super obvious on the recipient area so don't use that. Right now the recipient area to a casual observer ironically looks like you are balding/thinning up top. It looks awkward tho bc the hair arround the surrounding area is much longer and thicker. If I were you I would get a haircut so the surrounding hair is the same length as the recipient hair. Just rock a shorter haircut to the event and it will seem like a natural haircut. If anyone mentions your short hair, I would still just own it and say its bc of the hair transplant. Lying or some other excuse would be awkward.