Gatsby

If you commenced topical minoxidil three months after surgery you could be causing a shed due to the drug. Stay with the drug now that you are on it and continue to post each month or keep pics of the same time each month. Hair transplantation is a frustrating journey and requires patience. All the best!

One thing I did (rightly or wrongly) was to buy and add topical 5% minoxidil to my 0.25% topical finasteride so that I could use more on my scalp than the 1ml or 2ml prescribed.

Thick hair will always be an advantage over thin, light hair. As to the number of grafts required it will still come down to the individual patient’s needs, the surgeon’s approach, etc.

Dr Mani Mittal turns out excellent work and is a good choice.

I would have your scar checked out to see if you in fact do suffer from keloid scarring? Do you feel the scar has stretched as well or is it mainly raised? You’ve chosen excellent surgeons and being on the meds has positioned you well. All the best.

Yes Bandit90 is on medication.

When you have your consultation, be guided by Dr Arika and also your age. You want a hairline you can grow into, not out of. You need to have realistic expectations of what a hair transplant can do and what it can’t. It will never replace the hair you once had. My honest opinion is to spend a good year doing research here on the forum before even thinking of having surgery.

I’ve spoken to Caitlin James about this and really you want to give the scars 12 months to heal before having ink tattooed into them. The reason being that scars will continue to heal over twelve months (and longer). You don’t want the ink to begin migrating as scar tissue changes and matures. All the best.

This ^

@Stewie firstly it was great to meet you again and have more than the brief 30 minute chat we were confined to a year ago. Your result pics pre op HT2 are incredible and would be the envy of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. The fact that this surgery has resulted in having over 10k in scalp grafts and so few beard grafts is incredible in itself. The only thing I envisage is an even better result than after your first hair transplant result with Eugenix (if that’s even possible)! You were great company with lots of laughs and thank you for being incredibly supportive to me when I arrived quite ill with that migraine like Gary from Team America! 🤮😂. I’ll definitely be following your updates! 👊🏻

So regarding the scars in the donor after surgery, will you eventually be thinking of having SMP to cover them?

The benefit of FUT is also, apart from not shaving your head as you would for FUE, that the density of your hair will remain the same. With the exception of a scar left in the donor area, the remaining hair will remain as full as it was prior to surgery. All the best.

That’s two and a half months post op. You will be fine. 👍

I’m not a doctor but I would switch now if it were me. You’re going to cease the drug one week prior to surgery and switch at some point anyway. All the best.

@Kurse196 the reason minoxidil is ceases prior to surgery is so that the medication doesn’t cause any excess bleeding during surgery. 👍

I’m imagining that your hair loss is Norwood 6? Your other pics vary a little without the SMP or perhaps you’ve shaved your scalp. Your hairline really needs to be conservative according to your donor supply. The same holds true with your hairline design.

What is the height from the midpoint of your SMP hairline to your glabella (the point between your nose)? Can you post a front on picture to give us all a better idea?

The hairline was reinforced and not lowered.

In surgical hair restoration scalp grafts are finite. So if you’re a Norwood 3 then one scalp graft is bronze. If you are a Norwood 7 however, one graft is worth more than a Sth African gold mine. It’s also like a house of cards. The planning and execution have no room for error. You can see why almost all surgeons knock back us Norwood 7’s.

@Bandit90 it was incredible to hang out with you even with the limited time we had. I’ll save my story for when I get home Sunday night. What I will say though is that seeing your immediate post op results showed me just how much of a perfectionist Dr Sethi is when he works on a canvas whether it’s brand new or second hand (like mine lol). When this grows out you will be indistinguishable from your first pre op pic taken. You looked great before this surgery. It’s mind blowing to even imagine how great this is going to be! Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy. Incredibly happy for you. 👊🏻

@Approach your title is exactly where I was at in my mind four years ago. As a Norwood 7 I pulled the trigger and have never looked back. However as a Norwood 7 you are limited to a few surgeons (in my opinion) that you would want to choose from. Dr Pittella is one of them, if not, the best of them for Norwood 7 patients. However you still need an adequate supply of scalp donor. If you could post some pictures of your scalp donor we can get a better idea. All the best!

HDC Cyprus is a good choice too.

I’d like to thank Melvin for the role of being selected as one of the board members to serve in the interests of the HRN community. I hope that my experience in the industry over the past 39 years (both from being horrific and redemptive) will help assist the needs and help support the wide range of incredible members of HRN. I feel that serving in this role (unpaid) will allow me to continue to pay forward my gratitude to this community in finally being where I am today for the betterment of others.

I’ve always found the end of month two to be the worst point. If you’re able to keep yourself busy or super occupied it helps! Just let the process do its own thing over the full twelve months. 👍

I have to agree that I feel a good option would be to buzz down the back and sides maintain the frontal third cut shorter with SMP. I think choosing a good SMP artist is as impossible as choosing a good hair restoration surgeon. I also like your approach about adding one variable at a time to win the long game. 👌