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Everything posted by MachoVato
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Thanks! There are so many talented clinics. It seems to be getting easier to get great results, huh? Thanks, Melvin. No, I haven't considered changing it up. The PEDs are tricky. I'm trying to stick to the "hair safe" ones, but it's so easy to get hormones off balance. Sometimes I get acne on my scalp, crazy. Considering that I've been taking finasteride for over a decade, I probably should mix it up. I'll see if my doctor will give it to me. If not, I can go underground. 😛 Thank you. I've always felt lucky with the hairline result. Yeah, I'm considering another procedure. There are a couple spots I'd like to touch up. Especially with the crown. I might have 1000 grafts left. I'll save them for now. I'll read up on Verteporfin. Never heard of it. I rarely grow out the beard stubble. I don't have a good beard and most of it is gray, so I usually shave it. No, nothing to do with PEDs. But my lady likes it so I'm stuck with it for a while. haha! Thank you, sir. Catching up with your progress... I hardly recognize you! Congrats!!
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Hi all! It's been a while since I've posted. But I thought I'd share an update 3 years after my first HT at HLC Ankara. Click on my posts in my signature to see my before/after photos. I also went to Bisanga for my crown, which was about 2.5 years ago. Overall, my hair is pretty good! I have experienced some thinning out, especially in the crown area. I blame this primarily on my use of PEDs, which I started after the transplants. I cycle testosterone, deca, and a couple other AAS compounds. Donor area is fine, although it looks crazy with this haircut fade. I'm still taking hair meds, but low quantity. I'm taking 0.5mg finasteride and 2.5mg oral minoxidil, each 3X/week. Maybe I'll increase it, I don't know. Here are a few pics under direct, harsh lights in my bathroom. In softer lighting, the hairline is strong! You can pull up my IG: machovato and see some gym selfies and videos and whatnot. This doesn't do it justice.
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Top Dense Packing Doctors?
MachoVato replied to HairEnthusiast101's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Yes! You're the case I was thinking of. Dr Leal. If I were to go to Brazil, this is where I would go. -
Top Dense Packing Doctors?
MachoVato replied to HairEnthusiast101's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Who is the doctor in Brazil that does dense packing? One of the best dense packing results I've seen. Pittella? -
You have more hair loss than I did when I got my first transplant. And yes, you seem to have some retrograde but not bad. The good news is that you have a strong beard. For transplants, that's not the best donor area but it can really help with adding density. I would look for doctors with experience in using beard as a donor area.
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Dr. Bicer | March 2022 | 3120 grafts
MachoVato replied to mark2137's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
It really is amazing when we look back pre-surgery and are so surprised at the difference. Have you selected where you will go for your second HT? I would recommend a clinic that specializes in hairlines. It's going to be tricky to improve you hairline without lowering it, I would think. -
FUE by HLC Ankara | 4261 Grafts | Nov 7, 2020
MachoVato replied to MachoVato's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
Thanks! Well, most people didn't notice the hair. I had some hair already, but I wasn't coming from a norwood 6. So they all just said that I look good or younger. The ones that did notice the hair and asked what I did, I told them. Now I'm used to the hair and those around me forgot all about what I looked like before. I've changed jobs and no one knew me before. What's interesting is that I'm dating again. I'm 51 and I'm dating 35 year olds. I couldn't have pulled that off before, really. I get a lot more attention than I did before. -
Best hair transplant surgeons in Turkey ?
MachoVato replied to Apon's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
This is an old post. But in this case, I was referring to Dr. Gur and Dr. Turan, which charge around 1.0 - 1.5 per graft (last I checked). Both excellent low-cost options. -
FUE Manual & motor grafts
MachoVato replied to Pmk1's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Photos are needed to determine number of grafts. Your budget isn't very high, so you'll be limited to around 2500 grafts. That's based on a clinic that charges around 2.5 euro/graft. No one in the UK can do it for that cost. You're looking at Turkey. If you need more grafts, you'll have to find a cheaper clinic or increase the budget. -
1st HT - guidance appreciated.
MachoVato replied to AlbaHair's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Of this list, I would say Bisanga and Hattingen. In Spain, I like Dr. De Freitas. In Portugal, I like Dr. Pinto and Dr. Ferreira. -
FUE Manual & motor grafts
MachoVato replied to Pmk1's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Then post your photos and ask for suggestions. What's your budget? Where are you willing to travel? I don't care about manual or motorized extraction. I've had both and they were both excellent. I do, however, prefer manual placement over pre-made incisions on the recipient area. -
FUE by HLC Ankara | 4261 Grafts | Nov 7, 2020
MachoVato replied to MachoVato's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
A little over 2 years. Here's a video at the barber. A low fade, very short, in very bright light. This is shorter than I like. You can kinda make out the donor area on my left side. After 5700 grafts, not bad! I still got one more transplant to go! -
FUE by HLC Ankara | 4261 Grafts | Nov 7, 2020
MachoVato replied to MachoVato's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
This is the one I bought. But there are many others just like this. https://a.co/iuhdItl -
Bisanga in March 2023!
MachoVato replied to ItIsTime's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
I stayed at Martin's Grand Hotel Waterloo. I used Uber. It's a great clinic! -
Many things can cause low libido and ED. You need to get a blood test and check your testosterone, estradiol and prolactin levels. Topical fin doesn't go to your stomach or liver where it goes systemic. It's generally considered very side effect safe. There are other compounds that can help if you want to avoid fin. There's a pharmacy local to me that compounds some solutions, like: Minoxidil 3%, Melatonin 0.2%, and Latanoprost 0.01%
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HLC or HDC - Which one is the better option?
MachoVato replied to Idan's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
I went to HLC and had a fantastic result and it's well documented on here. That said, I think De Freitas has the best hairlines from any clinic at any price. I have a total man crush on his work. He'll cost about 1 euro/graft more, or something like that. And I agree with Melvin on the notion that isn't a "hair only" clinic. I think it takes away from the focus. But the HLC building is 3 stories (or maybe 4?). So the other floors are for the facial cosmetic stuff. The top floor is all hair and yeah, the hair doctors only do hair. -
Low DHT levels while on TRT
MachoVato replied to MachoVato's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Interesting that you mention oxandrolone. I was taking anavar as a pre-workout for a while, so that might be skewing my numbers too. Lately I've been experiencing things like libido is low and difficulty ejaculating. I did NOT have these issues when blasting. There could be many things to blame for that, but low DHT can contribute. No, I don't have DHT numbers when I was natural. Yes, DHT levels seem to be in tandem with my testosterone levels. I adapt my Arimidex dose on cruise or blast to manage estradiol, which is working. It seems I need to do the same with finasteride. Maybe half dose while cruising. I'm not trying to protect my transplanted hair, which is already DHT resistant. Of course, I want to preserve my remaining native hair. My objective is to have DHT in range. You don't want to crush it. Finasteride blocks something like 70% of 5ar conversion. It's clear that finasteride is working. I can't imagine taking 1mg everyday! I hear you, though. It's a balancing act. Next week I'll bump my total test to over 3000! Yes, good point about in-tissue DHT versus serum levels. I didn't even think about that. The only side effects, if I can blame it on low DHT, is low libido and difficulty ejaculating (not as awesome as it sounds). I've started taking hCG, which may help with that. My estradiol is 26.4, which is perfectly in range (7.6-42.6). I can thank Arimidex for that. On blast, my free test was >50, not sure the exact number. My SHBG is low (15.9), which is a good sign of test bioavailability. Yeah, I'm watching my hair shedding. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. That may change soon as I'm going to try 4 weeks of Anadrol. haha -
Low DHT levels while on TRT
MachoVato replied to MachoVato's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
I'm taking it to gain size. I'll go on cycle again soon. -
I got a blood test and my DHT level is 25. (Reference range is 30-85) DHT is I'm currently on TRT, taking 200mg/week so my testosterone levels are elevated. Total test is 1393. (Reference range is 264-916) Yes, I know this doesn't qualify as TRT. Free testosterone is 33.4. (Reference range is 7.2-24) All that's good. But it *should* elevate my DHT levels, too, right? I'm currently taking 1mg finasteride and 5mg oral minoxidil, each 3 times per week. Most would say this is a very low dosage of finasteride. I have no signs of unusual hair loss or anything like that. Interestingly, A few months ago I was on a steroid cycle, running more than double the testosterone and some deca. And my DHT was 50, middle of the reference range. So maybe I can cut my finasteride dosage in half. Like 0.5mg on MWF. Anyone else have low DHT?
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NW6 | FUE HLC Ankara | 5165 Grafts | May 2022
MachoVato replied to TrustTheProcess's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
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This I don't know. You might be right, I just never saw pics of both temples side by side before. Temples are notoriously difficult. The hair is finer caliber and lay down almost completely flat. Bisanga extracted grafts from around my ears for this, as I recall.
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Since I got dragged into this... I don't like those temples at all. They remind me of my temples a lot! Look at how my temples have different directions...
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NW6 | FUE HLC Ankara | 5165 Grafts | May 2022
MachoVato replied to TrustTheProcess's topic in Hair Transplant Reviews
Logging in just to share my excitement for you. This is looking so good! I know I'm biased, but HLC does really great hairlines. Very natural looking. I know you'll go back next year for your crown and temples. You have a long way to go but this is already amazing. Hair transplants have come a LONG way!! Congratulations, brother! -
1 Year Update Honestly, I didn't really notice much improvement over the last few months. Especially the temple points, those were fully grown around month 7 or so. I think we could have added more to a little area on my left temple, but I'm nitpicking. I'm happy with the crown. It's cut pretty short and I have some paste (no fibers) in my hair and I still like it. I might get a touch up on my temples at some point.