Gatsby

At 23 your hair loss is very aggressive and you need to stabilize with mediation. you need to be on finasteride for at least 12 months to see if can halt your hair loss and improve the density of your donor hair. Even if this happens you will need to be on finasteride for life if you are willing to do this to slow your hair loss down. My greatest concern is that you have a budget at age of 23 and you need to focus on results first and let the budget follow. Their are some excellent hair transplant surgeons in Belgium. However if they are still worth their pinch of salt they should be steering you towards meds and stabilization. Trust me. I understand how painful this news is to you at 23. I wish I was able to accept this advice at 23 (if it was available). You still have a scalp that has not been scarred. You need to seriously think this through with the help of ethical surgeons. There is a way out of this pain. Keep posting here and asking heaps of questions about everything to do with your hair loss and how you feel. It will save you a lot of life long regrets and money at this stage.

On 9/24/2017 at 6:51 AM, TheRealDeal23 said:

Does SMP into a FUT scar look good at different lengths? From my understanding, it looks best at a 0 guard when the dots match the surrounding stubble. When hair begins to grow around it, the 3D hair doesn't match up with the 2D smp. However, if one also gets FUE into the scar tissue (let's assume multiple sessions) would then the combo of FUE and SMP look adequate at different hair lengths? That being a number 1, 2, 3, etc guard and so on. I still have a lot of hair on my head, it's just my FUT scar is low on my head and I like getting fades. I wouldn't be maintaining this fade every week or two so I just wanted to know if along with FUE and smp, the hair would be okay to grow ou from a 0 guardt. Anyone with SMP experience, please let me know.

Generally the closer the shave the better the SMP result looks. Especially over time. FUT results vary a lot due to the width of the scar and the depth.

That is an excellent result for an FUT scar which are the most challenging hair transplant scars to camouflage. Even an improvement of 70-80% can make a world of difference for someone who wants to say shave their head. It can transform a person from being completely self conscious to forgetting about the scar and putting it to rest. In a week I am having a 4 year touch up from my first SMP to cover a lot of scars (front and back). I'll post the results up after it's done.

An incredible transformation Abhinay. Especially with the use of only just over 3,000 scalp grafts! Thanks for sharing.

Brilliant! 👍

9 hours ago, NDAustralia said:

I wasn't aware of any of that pre-surgery but did read about it a few months ago. In saying that, I don't think it's worth me worrying about as what is done is done and you can get yourself into a negative mindset if you dwell on such things.

As for his skill as a surgeon, I wouldn't call him amateur. I think he's a decent surgeon with a good knowledge base and so when I see him in a week I'll be discussing all of the things I mentioned in my above comments as he is priced as a top surgeon and should be producing that level of work.

Nik I apologize for going off topic from your results post re: Dr Vik. As I stated in my reply it is looking great for six months! You're curly hair type is also excellent and I look forward to your further growth updates.

This is often a very viable option for high Norwood cases and can give incredibly natural results that a hair piece alone can’t do.

I was offered this option four years ago however after 25 years of wearing a hair piece I passed on the idea. And here is where you really need to think hard if you choose to go down this path. If at any stage in your future you decide that you are over wearing a hair system you will be left with a permanent band of hair growing along your hairline. If you are totally committed to this then it can give an incredible natural appearance of a full head of hair. But remember that as you get older things can change.

Hasson and Wong are the benchmark to which other surgeons are compared to. They have been around for a long time producing consistent natural results. 

2 hours ago, halo said:

Hello,

I cannot take any meds.

But the list you post shows long list. Which of them do you know does highly specialized work within diffuse hair is my question. Thank you I await answer.

Any quality hair transplant surgeon that is listed on this site would be able to work with a diffused pattern of hair loss or 'within diffuse hair' (it's the same thing). They should also be able to perform both FUE and FUT, repair work, etc. Do you suffer from side effects from DHT blockers? Have you tried minoxidil? All the best.

Hey Nik. For six months it's looking great. Personally (just going by the photo's you've posted) I wouldn't want a hairline any lower as you will grow into this one over the many years ahead of you and those finite grafts can be used in other areas in the future. Dr Vik should be able to prevent doubles in the hairline but he just doesn't have the skill set. You have excellent curly hair that negates this. If you plan on anymore work in the future my honest opinion is don't go back to Dr Vik. It's well known that in New Zealand he was convicted by the New Zealand Medical Council for falsely claiming that he had passed the Royal College of Physicians membership exams. He was also convicted of lying to his anesthesia training supervisor and used a forged letter. He was banned for six months and was fined and ordered to pay costs of over $10K in total. On pure ethical grounds I cannot recommend him at all. For the money that these lying/amateur surgeons charge here in Australia you may as well go to the best surgeons overseas as it will cost the same or even less. Don't let that YouTube channel that he and Dr Knudsen run fool you or anyone. That aside I look forward to your updates. All the best!   

I have a couple of photos I will try and dig up. I really regret that I didn't take more as I was very young and self conscious of my plugs and the scars after surgery. This was around the ago of 18 when I had the plugs and 19 when I began having a series of surgeries to remove them. I contacted the plastic surgeon's office several years ago as he took photos but he has since retired and probably passed away by now.

@Rachmunas it takes up to 12 months and even up to 2 years to know the final results of how well you will respond to finasteride. It may not being kicking in as strong as it will now. All the best.

When I think back to my old punch grafts I can remember them growing out at about 3 months? By 12 months it was pretty much a strong, healthy barbie doll!!

On 1/22/2021 at 2:49 AM, Bax said:

Hello gents!

Hope you are all doing well and that 2021 is off to a great start!

Just wanted to jump on here to give my 10.5 month follow-up! Honestly, no big changes, but I’m the same level of happy and ecstatic with the results! Decided to change up my hair style ever so slightly (now that I have options haha) by going a bit shorter on the top.

Verdict: Still love it!

Appreciate the positivity that this forum and many others brings for men who are going through the process!

Bax that is a result from mother nature herself. Congratulations. You must be very happy! All the best.

My concern is for younger (and older) folk who can't wait and will end up going to the closest surgeon and down the track will regret it.

On 12/10/2020 at 6:15 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Guys,

 

I see a lot of guys stressing and looking for solutions when they're 3-6 months post-op. Hair transplants take 12 months to fully grow. While some guys may grow early and see full results by months 7, everyone is different. The appearance of the hair, the texture, all of that will change as time goes on. In the beginning, the hair may grow kinky, curly and bulky, but as time goes on, it will start to grow thicker, and soften. Here is a case study I wanted to present. 

 

Three months

 

4 months 

5 months 

6 months 

7 months

8 months

9 months

12 months

 

I'm seeing a lot of guys disappointed with their results in the beginning or halfway mark, and many forum members telling them that their transplant has failed while the patient has just started or is halfway there. The time frame is 12 months for a reason. Now, if you see zero growth at 8-9 months, then obviously it's a problem, but improvements do happen from months 6-12 and the difference can be significant. 

Yes. Great post Melvin. I've noticed some people fearing their transplant is a failure after 4 weeks!

If it's any consolation I'm in the same boat as I'm sure are many others. In Australia Qantas has said that they will resume travel (still no idea to where) commencing July. However having said that our Government still refuses to commit to a date for international travel. The way it's going I can't see it happening this year. The problem being that our government is reluctant to allow Australians to travel to high Covid countries!! I feel your pain kirkland. I've been waiting a year and it looks like another one is ahead of me.

I know it's incredibly frustrating but you are not even at the half way mark of your journey from this surgery. Patience is a difficult thing to maintain but as others have said you can only make an informed judgement once you've reached 12 months. All the best.

There will always be scarring once you punctate the skin. The darker the skin generally the more noticeable it is. However an excellent surgeon will use an appropriate sized punch and extract in such a pattern as to make the the donor area less noticeable. Scars do continue to improve over time. I have scars that are 36 years old and they have faded incredibly compared to when they were a year old.

Beard grafts are the next best option. I know others will say chest hair, etc. but personally I wouldn't use grafts other than beard for a secondary donor supply.

You may find that being on finasteride may strengthen your hair and improve the growth in the frontal area. That's why it's worth a good trial before doing anything.

I wouldn't be doing anything in the way of surgery at the moment. I would trial Finasteride for at least 12 months and see what results you may end up with. All the best!

18 hours ago, SingaporeHairTransplant said:

Close up on hairline on top of SMP when slicked back.

A normal person on the street would have to look very close to spot the SMP under the hair, but I still prefer to brush down at the hairline to hide it completely.

 

hope this is useful.

A normal person 'anywhere' wouldn't know you have a hair transplant/SMP. Great looking results.

If you take finasteride and stay on it religiously you won't need a hair transplant. All the best!

Great video Melvin. I just saw it on YouTube before.