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Hey @HisHairness thanks for keeping us updated. I know from personal experience that it can be hard to find the motivation to update when the progress is slower than hoped. I think the first thing to say is you look good. You've parted the hair and presented it in the harshest light and there it doesn't look too great, but it's only half way (if that) and in softer lights your hair is decent. I wanted to ask you, you've had grafts implanted on the hairline, right at the front I think. Can you see fine baby hairs there? Or not so much? I have a 5x magnifying mirror which I use in front of the window at home and with this setup I can see some implanted hairs sprouting. If you're only looking at iPhone pics/under artificial light it might be hard to make these hairs out...

Just checking in...what a difference a haircut makes! Feeling a lot better about things generally.

Thanks @Bax and @transplantedphil your comments and input are really valuable I am just being impatient, I think, which I am definitely prone to anyway! There are definitely transplanted hairs emerging and that is the main thing at this point. Of course we all want to be early growers, but the important thing is where I am at 12 or even 18 months. In any case I am pleased and satisfied with my choice to go with HLC because I know these guys know what they are doing and I take comfort from that as well

5 months to the day. Patience... Still the same as last month, wish I had more progress to show. The hairline at the temples is so thin, it only looks good in very low light. I don't know what to think, I've seen others describe this hair restoration process as a roller coaster and I would say that sums it up perfectly. Some days I look at it, and think, it's definitely coming in, and then others I think it's not gonna be a good outcome... Happy to hear any thoughts on the progress. I am pleasantly surprised by the progress in the crown, and overall it's nice to actually have a hairline now, albeit thin. I've tried to zoom in as closely as possible on the hairline in the temples (3rd photo). If you look closely you can see many fine and colourless hairs coming in. Are these guaranteed to mature and thicken into healthy scalp hair? It's hard to know why my progress is slow. Those fine hairs are the only thing giving me hope right now. Oh and (praise be) I am getting a haircut on Friday - barbers only opened here on 4th July so that's the earliest I could get in to see my usual guy. I am hopeful that a fresh, shorter cut might improve the look, so that I am not exposing the transplanted area so much. Not exactly the dream ticket at 5 months, to be looking for ways to hide the work, but that's my reality.

Just watched your new video. Looks great. As you said it’s already a huge improvement. Happy for you man, thanks for your content!

Looking good here Bax. You can see the outline of your new hairline. Should be lots of new growth to come mate. Rooting for you!

@Zoomster @Tbcruz @Bax Thank you guys for your support! You’ve made me feel much better about the progress so far. We are all gonna make it bros! 😎

4 months today boys I am happy with the hairline design, now I have grown my hair a bit and I can see the outline of it. In fact I think it’s perfect 👌 Something is definitely happening which is great! I have to be honest though and say I am a bit concerned with the growth at this stage. In favourable lighting it looks good, and from a distance too. But when you see it in harsh light you can see how thin the hair is, particularly right on the hairline. Compared to some guys at 4 months the growth is disappointing. Hopefully I am just a slow grower and things will improve at this crucial time between 4 and 6 months. There are plenty of fine hairs coming through but there should be more to come because the recipient area on the hairline got 50 grafts per cm2. I know it’s early in the process but it’s hard not to compare with others at this stage who went on to have killer results! On the plus side the crown has thickened nicely and I hope this continues so I can “close the sunroof”

Just 5mg in one tablet, with my fina in the morning Breakfast of champions!

Really - you don’t see a big difference? From the photos you put in the first post it looks like you’ve had substantial early growth! Although, the hair is much longer than it was pre HT so maybe that is helping with the illusion here? It’s hard to see exactly what’s going on at the hairline as the photo is somewhat blurry but I think it’s growing in nicely...still early days too!

I know what you mean. The way Dr Ozgur deisgned my hairline is conservative. I think this is for the best though, long term, as it has 2 benefits: You won't look silly when you're 60 years old with a teenage hairline You don't use up too much donor on creating a teenage hairline I think based on the photos you posted here you've had a huge improvement Also they do say, don't they, the best hair transplants are undetectable. So I would say that's a huge compliment really. You don't look like you're balding, and you don't look like you had a HT 😎

Hey @duchaine thanks for posting man. Happy for you the results look good so far! Can you expose the hairline to show the density there?

Looking good @Portugal25 you went from slick bald on top to having decent coverage. More improvement to come as well I’m sure Interested in what you said about Nizoral it could so more harm than good...is it dangerous to use it on newly transplanted areas?

I would imagine it's about being able to. Certainly I am looking forward to being able to style my hair brushed back and exposing the hairline, god willing! I am not sure about the brushed forward style not being popular last year the blunt crop was the hipster hairstyle Certain styles like a pomp "a la Melvin" are timeless and never go out of style though!

I’m not sure any of the doctors are the “best”. There is only the best doctor for the case, which they decide on when you have your consultation. Sometimes it’s one doctor doing extractions and another doing implantation. One of the things that appealed to me about HLC is that, although it’s sure to be a doctor doing the operation, they don’t sell the clinic on the name of one individual whose involvement is limited to say drawing a hairline or performing some extractions

Agree with you 100% about it being harder to track progress in areas where there is already hair. I even contemplated a much shorter haircut than I would normally have, just to be able to see the growth around the crown and hairline better! Since you’re at 4 months you should be seeing some improvements over the coming weeks. Happy growing!

Ha! Certainly for the oral form petal edema is a known side (fluid retention in feet and lower legs). Also it messes with your collagen or something and gives you dark circles around the eyes. Not to mention the effect on the cardiovascular system. Basically, like any drug, if you read the list of side effects you end up thinking you're gonna be on death's door. I read enough to convince myself that at a low dose (5mg) it's worth a try. I started on it about 2.5 months ago and so far, no sides, touch wood.

Yeah I am currently on the “big 3” - 1mg finasteride and 5mg oral minoxidil every day, plus shampooing with Nizoral twice per week. I’ve used topical minoxidil in the past but adherence was always a problem for me. I’ve been monitoring my heart rate since starting on oral minoxidil and it has actually improved, so my resting heart rate is now mid 40s although this is due to getting back into running rather than anything else. Don’t seem to have any excessive fluid retention either, but I’ll monitor it of course!

Hi @Bax thanks for stopping by! Even though logically I know 3 months is nothing I look at it sometimes and convince myself it’s not worked. But then the next day I am full of positivity. Really the best thing is to just forget about it for another 8 or 12 weeks, but it’s impossible! Your progress is looking good - you’re an early grower for sure. Dr Cinik is doing some great work on this forum 😎

Hi @HisHairness thanks for checking out my thread! It is good to have someone in the same boat for moral support. One thing that encouraged me when I saw your thread was the graft numbers. Initially I thought, for my own case, it seems an awful lot of grafts considering my starting position...but then, these things are a simple numbers game. Grafts per cm2 and all that. Also, if you got similar numbers from H&W then this gives me great confidence as they are the “creme de la creme” of surgeons! It’s really hard to stay level headed and patient, I’ve found. I thought I was fully prepared for the long game but it’s easier said than done when you’re checking the mirror 20 times a day!

Thanks for sharing. I had basically the same amount of grafts as you did in early Feb. I have/had a pretty similar pattern of hairloss too (2.8k in front third and 2.1k in crown). Will be following your progress with great interest. How's it looking now?

Well I personally wouldn’t go there for that reason I think but they’ve been around a long time I know Eugenix have been mentioned but if my budget was less than £5000 I would be looking at Dr Bhatti tbh.

I saw on Facebook today that Asmed/Dr Koray is offering a surgery for €1.5 per graft (usual price is €2.5) This means he might now be in budget for you although I imagine that price won’t be around for long Also he is a very divisive figure on here so I present this information without prejudice!

3 months update...

Another smashing vid by Dr Bhatti. This one is especially of interest to me. I would say tbh the Darling Buds channel is the best resource on YouTube now, for FUE info at least.