rob7331

Hi HRN, I'm thrilled to present to you my second (and hopefully last) hair transplant patient journey. Over a year ago I decided it would be Eugenix, and despite suffering a date cancellation in November 2021 due to travel issues, I am so happy to have finally done it this past week. The surgery took 3 full days. I'll try to keep the rambling short as there are many of these threads - feel free to skip to the pictures. Background 29 year old Caucasian, curly blonde hair. I experienced aggressive early hair loss from age 15 and was nearly a NW6 by age 24. My hair loss stabilized dramatically on finasteride, and coupled with dermarolling / minox / better hair care and a small HT of 2200 grafts, I became a passable NW3-4 with a thinning crown and midscalp. Why Eugenix Driven by the fantastic results of @Fluffhead and other users on HRN, I began to identify them as a possible clinic. My main goal was illusory coverage for almost my entire head in one pass - avoiding a third procedure was critical. This is ideal for Eugenix who specialize in larger sessions at good value. I considered the reputable Canadian clinics, but after initial consultations realized they were out of my price range at anywhere from 2 or even 3x the cost for the grafts I needed. Booking flights, medical visa, etc I owe an extreme thanks to @kirkland, @WhatComesNext and @Berba11 for helping me throughout the process. Traveling from Canada to India during a pandemic was almost harder than the surgery itself, and their advice (and suffering my constant questions) was a pillar of support throughout the process. Thank you guys. My only advice here is to start the process for this stuff yesterday, and read other people's threads head to toe. Although it's likely travel will become less restricted in the coming months and not all older experiences will remain relevant, so bear that in mind. Thank you's On my trip to India I was treated like a king from the moment I arrived at the airport to the day I left. Every driver, greeter, technician and staff member was extremely patient, kind and gentle with me. I wish I got everyone's names, but I would like to take a moment to specifically thank Amandeep, Satyam and Anil. Amandeep was my initial coordinator and the one I booked the surgery with; patiently WhatsApp'ing with me for over a year, he was instrumental in getting my surgery arranged. Satyam was my accommodations manager and the one who always made sure I had what I needed; he encouraged me to bother him at all hours of the day with questions and was supremely helpful always. Anil acted as a facilitator of sorts at the clinic; his positive smile, encouraging words and excellent communication skills were instrumental in solving minor issues that came up, including arranging a private driver for me to get a PCR test for my return to Canada. Thank you Amandeep, Satyam, Anil and all the Eugenix staff. You all went above and beyond for me and I'm grateful. Package I put down a deposit last year on what was (at the time) the Exclusive package with Dr. Bansal doing the "planning, designing and 100% slits" plus two nights accommodation for Rs 120/graft. Eugenix through Amandeep was gracious enough to carry forward my quoted amount even after the price increase. In total for the surgery I paid about $11,000 CAD, not including flights and a few extra nights stay in the hotel which I opted for on my own. For context, my first HT at a not-reputable clinic (that was entirely tech-led I might add) for 2200 grafts cost me $10,000 CAD. The value of being willing to travel internationally can be exceptional. Hairline design I came prepared to my meeting with Dr. Bansal and had pictures of my old hairline on my phone. We chatted options for about 10 minutes; I told her I wanted to slightly lower my hairline a couple mm and create conservative temples, while achieving reasonable density in my mid scalp and crown. She signaled that was more than achievable and agreed on the approach. After a couple minor revisions to the design we were good to go. Surgery Day 1 - The almost 15 hr travel was long and arduous and I arrived exhausted to my core. Coming from a small town in eastern Canada, the chaotic Delhi environment and thick smoggy air stressed me out significantly. Despite arriving a full day early to relax and get pre-op procedures out of the way, my lack of sleep made day 1 slow due to constant oozing. Dr. Bansal did what she could however, and we got most slits done and about 500 extractions before stopping for the day. Day 2 - I apparently slept better as the oozing was significantly less on day 2. We set to the work and by day's end had all slits done and over 2500 grafts implanted. Day 3 - Pushing on, we finished up with 4613 grafts, with 173 from the beard. This is a good time to mention that I found the anesthesia exceptionally painful, and specifically was white-knuckling through the beard anesthesia while Dr. Bansal soothed me like a bedside nurse. I don't know how others say it didn't bother them because I found the pain almost overwhelming at times. I stayed an additional 3 days to relax and let the grafts sit, going in for a donor clean each day at the clinic. Finally I bid my farewells and made the (again) arduous journey to Canada where I thoroughly and utterly collapsed upon arrival home. Conclusion and feedback Overall I am exceptionally pleased with my trip to Eugenix Hair Sciences in India. The staff work incredibly hard and the accommodations folks really do everything to try and make your journey as smooth as possible. I cannot wait to see my final result in 12 months. My only constructive feedback is when I first arrived in the clinic I was sat on a couch in the waiting area. I was exhausted from the trip and anxious about what was to come, and the environment I was in was fairly loud with lots of staff moving in and out, people talking, playing media on their phones etc. While I wouldn't have minded under other circumstances, it became anxiety-inducing after 10 minutes and I asked to be moved to a quieter room. They accommodated this instantly and for the rest of the clinic time everything was much quieter, which I appreciated. One last point is I was initially taken aback by how young many of the technicians looked. Some seemed to be in their early 20s or younger. However I realized later this was pure ageism on my part as they all performed their roles with remarkable skill and efficiency. But it's worth mentioning for anyone else in case you were like me and thought they'd be older. You have no reason to be surprised or worried. Tomorrow I will post my day 7 scab removal. In the meantime please enjoy my pre and post-op. I've also attached 2 photos of me in the hotel before surgery so you can see how my hair looked normally on a given day.

Appreciate the tips everyone!

Fair skinned guy here. After my first HT I experienced redness in the recipient area all the way up to month 3. With my second HT recently completed I'd like to survey the forum - what tips do you have for decreasing redness in the recipient area after a HT? To get the ball rolling, here are some things I've heard: - Vitamin E cream - Aloe vera - Avoiding really hot showers - Avoiding sun - Nothing; just time (Picture 2 months after first HT)

This is off Maz’s thread, but I just want to briefly chime in to say that I used nizoral twice a week for a full 2 years after a HT and had no issues. In fact, it was wonderful for my dermatitis and I will continue to use it after my second HT is ready and healed. The only thing to consider is that it is a very strong shampoo. I use a small amount of it twice a week and no more.

Just caught up with the latest update - honestly I think this is gonna look unreal Melvin. So excited for you. I’m actually in India right now about to have day 3 of surgery with ~4600 grafts. Will be making a thread for sure once I’m home. I said hi on behalf of the folks at HRN - the staff at Eugenix are all so incredibly kind.

Looks awesome and absolutely on track. To quote my favorite Star Wars line - this is where the fun begins.

Incredible and precise work. Genuinely amazing how much it improved his hairline. 10/10.

Looks great! Do you mind letting us know which package you opted for? Excellent work being patient and waiting till you found the right clinic.

If money wasn't a concern and a minor temple point restoration was the entire goal, I'd almost for sure go for Dr. Konior. As far as natural blend and softness goes I don't think I've seen better work. I made a post on temple peaks a while back. Might be some useful info in there for you:

Should definitely ask whichever clinic you're going to if there's a limit on paying in cash. Also be aware of any travel restrictions involving money limits. I personally wouldn't because I'm a nervous nelly, but it may work in some situations.

I should clarify, the 3% charge Eugenix informed me about wasn't because I have Mastercard but for credit in general. So it would likely apply to any credit card. BTW, the charge itself isn't surprising - here in Canada tons of companies charge an additional fee for using CC. I'm just trying to find ways to knock down the fees because 5.5% is a decent amount with the currency exchange on top. Looks like I may just send a significant deposit with Wise, then settle up the remainder on credit. Thanks everyone for your tips.

I appreciate all your tips. I talked to my credit card company (BMO Mastercard), they were basically useless and said they couldn't advise me on specific payment methods besides the one they provided (using the credit card). I'll give Revolut a look though, it looks like Eugenix doesn't necessary care how they receive the money as long as they receive it.

Hi all, Putting this in the off-topic forum because it's not really hair related. I've heard varying advice on this but generally how do people prefer to pay for an international HT? Originally I was planning on just using my Mastercard (Canadian here) but it looks like there's a 3% charge from Eugenix and then a 2.5% currency exchange charge from my bank. I'm getting about 4600 grafts done which brings the CC fees alone to around 500 USD. After the surgery, flight, visa and other expenses it's starting to add up a fair amount. Has anybody used a money or wire transfer to pay for part of their surgery to help mitigate fees? I read one post recommending Remitly, but I'm curious if anyone else has recommendations besides the ol' credit card. Would like to avoid carrying huge amounts of cash too.

Incredible work as always from HDC.

All looks good, keep everything moisturized if you can and follow your post op instructions. On track and happy healing

Ga-damn.

Work looks great, happy growing

On track! Our hair loss and colour/texture is so similar, it'll be interesting comparing our results 12 months out.

So excited for you Melvin, and congratulations on pulling the trigger! Happy growing

Gotta say I'm really impressed by the temple peaks. I'm booked with Eugenix for February and the thing I'm most nervous about is getting my temples done. Lots of clinics (good ones) have had 'off' looking temple peaks in their final result, but the ones on this gentlemen blend in quite nicely. I'll be sure to mention it to Dr. Arika to get her thoughts.

Hi my dude, I'll speak directly to your question as I know exactly what you mean. In the first couple months after a HT it will often look very thin. Areas where you thought had roughly 400 grafts done look like they have 100, etc. I've been told that the hairs are there, they are just under the skin and haven't 'popped' through yet. The growth phase for most people starts at 4 months, and it can take some time before all the newly transplanted hairs are visible. And then of course, they have to lengthen and mature, which takes more time. Here's two pics from my previous HT to show you what I mean. The first is at 2 months, the second 18 months.

It's posts like this that remind me that a HT can be absolutely life changing. 10/10.

You've gotten lots of good advice already OP, but I just want to tack on that any hair transplant is a form of trauma to the scalp, and shock loss can happen even from reputable clinics with good practices. If after a month or so there are some patchy areas, try to resist the temptation to freak out. Lots of people experience shock loss after a HT and then have the donor recover over time, you just gotta give yourself time to heal. As it stands right now though it's way too early to say anything. Go play a lot of videogames and enjoy the winter break

Hi Berba! We have a similar head shape and I'll be honest, I think the hairline looks totally fine. I see what you mean by the slight 'roundedness' to it but it doesn't strike me as different or ill-fitting in any way. I know that after my first FUE I was really unsure about the hairline for a good few months. It's only now that I'm happy it was higher and more conservative (once hair grows out it often gives the appearance of the hairline being lower than it is) and yours looks great in my opinion. The sad part is you won't 'know' until about the 5 months. I found the best thing to do was just live my life and not look at it too much - easier said than done, I know.

Just incredible!