baldbandito

Thanks for the tag @consequence 18 Month update! everything is good. Still taking generic fin every day and shedding hair as per. Def due a haircut as my co-workers remind me everyday - secretly happy every time I 'hair' this tehehe. The hedonistic part of my brain wants to lower the hairline sort of but the logical / wise side (the one I trust) says keep it as it .. Plenty in reserve for the future and risk / reward so not worth. I hardly ever think about hair loss anymore. Used to be so obsessed! shout out mohammed shami. keep fighting boys, don't give up, good luck .

Thanks for the kind words fellas - they mean a lot! @Pukimay yes I’ve been taking fin 1.25mg (1/4 of 5mg generic) every day since Oct 2019. I don’t experience sides and have no plans to stop. Being a youngish HT recipient I wasn’t prepared to gamble and knew I needed to stop the loss before going under the knife. quite a few of my uncles are bald. Thankfully Fin was very effective. I still shed a lot of hair which is totally normal ( check out baldcafes latest video - it’s super interesting) goodluck

@mrmane85- Thanks for the tag! @MildSeven the one in which Dr Bansal draws the hairline, does the slips and pops in throughout the procedure. There was a doc in the room at all times supervising the techs. here are my 7 month pics.Over the moon with the results! not until I took these today that I appreciate how much the density has improved behind the hairline likely a result of the last of the transplanted hair sprouting and the early growers maturing. I'm still cutting the hair myself (balding gave me a phobia of barber shops and old habits die hard ahaha...) might explain why it looks uneven in some parts. my only tiny minor gripe is that the left hairline looks weaker than the right as discussed above however it adds naturalness and can be easily remedied down the track. wont be noticeable in a few months once my hair's longer. i cant say this enough -- the process has been life changing and i'm thankful everyday it may not seem like much but it's given me the confidence to get outside my comfort zone. I no longer fearthe wind or social occasions or photos. Thanks for all the support and feedback. Will check back sometime next month.

Cheers for the reassurance and kind words, fellas! @Berba11 your point re asymmetry makes makes total sense on reflection - thank you.

Seasons greetings all Here are my month 5 pics. Not having to be reminded about my hair recession each and every morning has been life changing (no exaggeration!) I didn’t realize the effect balding had on my mental state until recently - the shackles have been removed and I'm now able to focus my mental energy on improving other aspects of my life. Overall I’m really happy with the progress. My only concern at this stage is that the angle / height of the left side appears slightly off compared to the right. The hairline density also appears a tad lower on this side. Originally I put it down to laggy growth but after reviewing post op photos (refer below) I am now wondering if the hairline was designed this way? When I measure each of the week 1 post-op photos, including todays month5 pics, using a ruler on the screen from the pupil / eyebrow to the start of the hairline, I always get a higher reading on the left side.. huge margin for error here obviously due to camera angle etc. Thoughts?? Am I obsessing? honestly not too worried as I plan to grow out my hair / fringe once the hairline matures and it's still early days. Can be remedied with a few hundred grafts if it's still bugging me come 12 months. The growth and density behind the hairline is very good and the doner kebab looks and feels untouched. Thanks for reading and I wish you all a merry Xmas and fantastic new year.

Late 20s I would say. Diffuse thinner. Found out about HTs on Instagram- sigh. Didn’t start taking fin until after the HT - had sides so stopped and severely thinned out over the next 2 years. I’ve seen it time and time again on reddit- a young person posts a seemingly good result after 9 months and comments how they don’t take Fin and how it’s not necessary bcus the hairs are non DHT resistant blah blah and everyone in the comments praises them. Then they end up here 3 years later seeking advice after thinning or losing hair behind the transplanted zone. It’s a dangerous cycle. When approaching hair restoration you have to be prepared to plan for the future and play the long game especially if you are young.

Check baldcafe’s latest video on YouTube for what can potentially happen to your transplanted hair if you don’t take fin post HT noting he was younger and when to a mill. you’re 47 and granted your hair loss pattern was established, you should be fine. Good luck!

How does one go from being a DJ to a HT surgeon if you can even call him that , ugh ….

Thanks for the kind words fellas! Words can’t describe how great it felt to visit the barber for the first time in 4 years like a normal person (was cutting my own hair due to insecurity) and being able to comfortably walk around town without a hat- what a feeling!!!! I live in a coastal city where it’s never not windy- here, disguising a receding hairline is IMPOSSIBLE. Heck, it’s not uncommon for the wind to take roof off a home! This has been such an emotional journey and seeing the hairline take shape has given me so much confidence. I’ve started chatting to strangers, signed up for social football and badminton (gave up on these sports because I couldn’t wear a hat ….) and am looking at applying for a new job. I never realised how much my hair loss was holding me back professionally and socially until now. 5 month update to follow.

Hey, 4 month update. I feel like the growth has really kicked in the past few weeks. The left side is lagging compared to the right, partially on the hair line but I know this is quite common so not panicking. Great to finally get a haircut. Donor looks and feels healthy. Next couple of months should be fun. Thanks for all the kind words and msgs of support 🙂

Thanks man! but do note this latest set is straight from the r/hairtransplant playbook - unflattering before pics taken in natural light and the afters taken with hair fibres and in bad lighting! Month 4 update will be more realistic .. but for real I’m feeling totally on track, I can feel tons of hairs sprouting that ain’t visible to the eye or camera yet. Real growth doesn’t happen until after M4 anyway. I booked the surgery in 2019 and sadly can’t remember which package I selected or even if they existed back then…the clinic has properly blown up since that time. Following my booking the surgery was delayed for 2 years due to the closed borders and on reflection this was the best thing to happen re my hair as it allowed medication to get to work, gave me a better idea of where my hair loss was at and took the pressure off knowing that at any time I could cancel and only lose the 1 k deposit. hairline design and slits were done by Dr Bansal and the extraction and implanting were done by the techs with a supervising doc in the room at all times (his name escapes me..) Dr Bansal popped in from time to time to review the progress. She is a true professional and I have no regrets so far. Cheers!

Hey friends. 15 weeks / 105 days / 3.5 months. Thought I’d have a bit of fun and sprinkle some fibres on my hair line and take a snap in favourable lighting to see what I have to look forward to in the coming months. Also included a couple of old pics from when I buzzed my hair during the first 2020 lockdown (May?) Cheers, Ben

Amazing result and great presentation- thanks doc! 👍

I personally would just stick with fin for a year and then reassess. Don’t fear shedding- I’ve been on Fin for over 3 years and still shed, whilst maintaining. Losing your hair at such a young age is scary and brutal AF, I understand, but fin is very effective and from my personal experience I would say I looked worse at 3 month v baseline but after a year it was def looking better and its maintained ever since. You are never going to be able to 100% stop your hair loss. I’ve seen a good number of positive DUT responders and an equal number of people who went backwards after taking the medication…whatever you do please be consistent with your dosage/medication and give it time. Good luck and please don’t panic- you have a long road ahead. If hair loss was a sport it would be baseball or test cricket 😂

And here we are at 3 months.. time for my pretty little follicle babies to reveal themselves! As my hair is light in color and fine in texture it’s hard to see them right now but I can def feel growth. also some of the transplanted hair never shed. These have been the longest 3 months of my life, no kidding. And I really need a haircut. Cheers and thanks for following

Hey brothers, here is my 2 month update from early September.

Hey man, Time will tell. My advice would be to take a break from the forum - follow your docs post care directions to a T and reassess the result in a few months time. You have a long road ahead and NOTHING to gain by obsessing at such an early stage in your journey. Good luck and I look forward to following your progress

‘Hopefully only transplant’ - famous last words! Hah. Na, just teasing. Are you on medication? You’re really smart opting for a small procedure with a quality clinic for your first surgery. Looking forward to following your progress.

I would say it’s completely normal! Do you feel you’ve lost ground recently? I was under the impression, before starting fin, that my shedding would ‘stop’ after taking the drug. It’s something you read on the forums from time to time - “ I used to shed 300+ hairs a day, but since taking fin - 16 hairs max” like yeah sure bro….. My advice to everyone is to focus on what you can control - taking your medication daily, exercising, making efforts to reduce stress in your life, sleeping well, eating a good diet etc, etc. You have nothing to gain by counting hairs or worrying about shedding. Good luck!

3 weeks is too early to tell. Be patient and stay calm

Good question! 22-25 before starting fin. I’m now 30 and feel I’ve maintained for the last 5 years since beginning the medication.

As promised

Hey mate I would say my donor healed very well and looks healthy however I experienced shock loss in the mid scalp just behind the recipient area and it still feels numb… I’m told this is totally normal so not panicking - just gotta ride it out. Good luck and try also not to panic 2 months is still very early in the recovery process (though it feels like it’s been 2 years …)

PSA to any one following this thread - I will be posting my update at 4 months while including pics at 1,2,3 months. I’m currently at 2m and look like an ugly 🐥😆

Sorry no clue! I will ask the clinic now and post their response