Gatsby

Zoomster you have been an inspiration for so many other higher Norwoods on this forum and I truly believe the casting for the next James Bond is in for a serious challenge after having the pleasure of following your journey!!! That’s a stellar result and as you say there is even still time for more growth. Wishing you a great 2021 and thank you for being such an inspiration to myself and others who now are looking forward to following your path. All the best my friend!

Welcome to the forum! I would commence Finasteride and has been stated I would stay on this drug for at least 6 months to a year. It's hard to see without photos but you appear to have only a widow's peak and at the age of 35 you have a head of hair that no hair transplant could replace. Do lots of (and I do mean LOTS of) research on this forum while you stay on Finasteride. You could could easily have your temples filled in by the right surgeon for this. My only parting suggestions are to avoid looking at the cheapest place for a hair transplant such as Turkey and to have a hair transplant at the closest place as possible to where you live. The more research you do the more you will understand this. Wishing you all the best.

@SingaporeHairTransplant as I stated earlier that is a great result. I really like the work they have done in your hairline! The remaining SMP (in my opinion) definitely helps in giving the results some shadowing underneath and the illusion of even more density I would imagine! I think in the coming months ahead of you, you will see this to even greater effect. I'm inclined to keep my SMP hairline as is at this stage. It covers most of the hairline scar and it seems to be in keeping with the hairline that Eugenix wants to use to also hide most of my scar. I appreciate your feedback and I look forward to more updates as your hair continues to come through. You must be very happy with such early results! All the best!

@SingaporeHairTransplant that's a fantastic result at only four months! I really appreciate you sharing your journey. I had SMP four years ago to hide scars from a couple of butchered hair transplants from when I was 'really young.' I was also left with scars after having the pluggy grafts removed (both along my hairline and in the donor region). I had SMP four years ago and it enabled me to move on from wearing a hair piece and to cover my baldness. I'm looking at having a hybrid hair transplant (beard and scalp donor) sometime next year with Eugenix.

Would you recommend having laser before or after the hair transplant? My new hairline 'may' be at the same height as my SMP one but I'm yet to establish this for sure. Thanks for sharing!

You can see a difference between month 3 to month 4. I know it's frustrating and difficult with this patience game. You will see hairs starting to pop and sprout. From now on things will pick up but just not at the rate that we would want. Looking forward to following your updates. All the best!

Hattinghen Hair where you had your first surgery is an excellent clinic. Your current procedure looks well placed in my opinion. If you stay on the Finasteride you should be in for a stellar result. Looking forward to following your updates! All the best.

I would inform the surgery that you have a 'needle phobia' prior to surgery. Including repair work, I have lost count of how many injections of anesthesia I have had into my scalp. Probably somewhere up around the 30 range. None of them were with nerve blocking agents and nearly all without a benzodiazepam. I have a pretty high pain threshold and have a belief that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger! Lol. But seriously even back when I had these the pain was intense but VERY short lived. I would just focus on someone mentally. After the brief anaesthetic I always felt 'literaly' nothing, whether it was harvesting, implanting or later with corrective surgery taking strips out of my hairline or the donor area. Today is much different to thirty years ago. You will be fine and be telling yourself 'is that all it is?'

@justgotsmpd I'm so sorry to say this but that is a terrible result (but can be removed so don't stress). As I have always said on this forum and to others, treat having SMP like you would a hair transplant. Research is a must! Did you view any prior SMP clients by this surgeon? How many photos in their folio did they have to show you of their work? If you can't travel to have SMP then seriously wait until you can. Demand a refund and cancel any further work. They need to cover the cost of laser to have it removed. The first session of SMP is just a light layering of how the final result will appear and to see how your skin reacts. If you follow through with just one more session you will end up looking like you have a blue helmet tattooed on your scalp. The wrong ink has been used and the dots are too large and have migrated and converged.

I would contact other SMP artists and show them this result and tell them who did the work. You may find that an ethical SMP artist might be willing to help you or at the very least advice you on where you can go to have it lasered off. My apologies if I seem to come across harsh as it's not my intention. I'm just angry at the person who performed this plus I've been butchered by a surgeon with hair transplants at a very young age. You will be able to get rid of this and it will pass. What country are you in?

@Looking for HT I'm so happy that you are about to have your free touch up and I know that those 1,500 grafts will allow you to put any worries to rest. Good luck with the finasteride and I AGAIN look forward to your updates! 2021 looks like it's going to be the year for you!

Wanderwind I wish you all the best and rest assured that you have chosen one of the best clinics to got to. Not only in India but worldwide! I have been patiently waiting since the lock down in March of this year to go to Eugenix myself. Wishing you all the best and I look forward to your updates.

Great result. Are you on finasteride? Thanks for sharing and I look forward to your updates!!

I was just wondering how many people here who have had a hair transplant dye their hair? I've noticed that several middle aged Indian patients dye their hair black after a hair transplant and it appears to make them appear even younger? It's been nearly four years since I shaved my hair and had SMP. At the time I remember seeing some grey's coming through the the temporal area. Also if I grew my beard (which I will be using as a donor source) it would be mostly grey now I imagine. I think older men who have grey hair and a successful hair transplant result in a very natural look as the grey hair seems to have less contrast against Caucasian skin. I'd just like to get people's thoughts! Many thanks in advance.

So early yet looking so good at this early stage. If you can tolerate finasteride stay on this as it will not only assist your recipient area but also your donor area. Zoomster's donor looks thicker now than it did prior to surgery and the bottom of his crown has raised slightly. Wishing you all the best and I look forward to following your updates. Thanks for sharing!

On 10/5/2020 at 9:12 PM, BeHappy said:

Gatsby,

How much hair loss did you have when you had your first hair transplant? What would you change? Would you go with the hair piece sooner than you did?

 

In reality I had minimal hair loss at 18.. Also I wore my hair long and curly like a hippy (hell I was a hippy 🤣) so it was easier to disguise. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and looking back I should have done nothing! At 18 I would have been on the first plane to Turkey if you could fast forward my younger 18 year old self to today! I probably would have gone with a hair piece eventually but the thought of growing 'your own hair' and the marketing at the time was something that I just fed into. That's why I'm so anti hair transplants in Turkey and in young people who are say 18-24. At that age your brain has not literally developed and hard wired in the frontal lobes to make executive emotional decisions. I just hope that my regrets can help prevent someone from making the same mistakes today. If I can prevent one person from doing that then what I went through was worth it.

Hey Jake,

Initially I loved wearing a hair system if you could believe that! You really need to have the attitude that it's like a fashion accessory, like wearing a suit, etc. Initially I thought that their was no way that I would ever wear a hair piece but I embraced it as a hair transplant wasn't an option for me back at the time (this is pre FUR/FUT). I told my friends and I had a wig party back then! If you can be up front and joke about it and own it no one can take the piss out of you. My confidence went up after about 6 or 7 years of depression from the beginning of my hair loss and the scars that were left on my scalp as a result. Today I just shave my head and I have had SMP to camouflage the scars but I am waiting on a hair transplant once travel resumes. All the best!

halo what is your scalp on the Norwood scale?

Would you be able to put up a couple of pics to give us an idea? Cheers!

Who is the surgeon? I know WHEY protein is not recommended. Are you on  finasteride?

Jake1979 don't get locked into a contract, payment scheme, etc, etc. I wore a hair piece to hide two botched hair transplants and my baldness. I finally threw away the hair piece after 25 years of them about four years ago. I started with the hair piece 'glued' to my hair and as my hair grew I had the piece removed and reattached and glued to my hair again. After about six months I found this a real drag as it can get 'sloppy' on the scalp as your hair grows and eventually found a hair dresser who ordered the hair piece and then colored and permed it and then cut it into my own hair (my hair is/was very curly). Today hair pieces have come of age and with the internet have come down in price. I suggest you contact several 'ethical' hair transplant surgeons who have a contact with someone who can supply a hair piece, etc. An ethical hair transplant surgeon will want to help you and not rip you off/take commissions, etc. Keep researching and asking questions here. All the best.

It's already happening and I feel that the use of current and potentially better future pipeline DHT blockers will become part of a hair transplant plan. What I hope does happen in the next ten years is that start up third world chop shops disappear and that more regulation becomes part of a hair transplant plan as well. I also see a need for better counseling to be part of this industry too and perhaps laws and better recourse for improper practice.

A great looking natural head of hair. The patient must be very happy now. Thanks for sharing Doron.

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Merry Christmas gats, 

I for one cannot wait until you go to Eugenix. Perhaps, I’ll be there at the same time, and if so, 🍻 beers on me. Of course a few days after the surgery 😝. It’s been a good few weeks, without the nonsense. Just good guys like you and @JohnAC71

I’m looking forward to it Melvin. God it’s going to feel weird with hair again! Never say never! 😂👍

I would just like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and let's hope next year will be a great year after this one! Also a huge thanks to Melvin for all that you do mate. A big thanks to everyone for sharing and contributing with often sage advice. For those that are in a darker place, you are in the best place, by being a part of this forum and their is always hope as so many before have proven. Personally a massive thank you from me to everyone for all the advice that has been given to me and the support you have shared. I love this forum and it's the people in it that make it what it is. Here's to a bigger and better 2020 for all concerned!

Andy firstly welcome to the forum and by joining here you have made a great first step. Not only in being able to talk and discuss with like minded individuals, but also by avoiding jumping in head first into a marketing trap which could end in a massive regret. You are such an honorable person in putting your family first. However the pain you are going through will be of no benefit to them. Also it's great to see that despite your suffering you have waited to see how your hair loss has progressed. In my humble opinion I would definitely get in touch with Eugenix and also have a look at some of their results both here and on their website. They turn out incredibly natural results (at a very affordable price) which is their hallmark. But that aside do lots of research and 'talking' here on the forum. Wishing you all the best!

That's a perfect skin color/scar color match! 👍 One thing to add though is if you are keeping your head or donor area shaved or buzzed short, keep the scars out of the sun for at least 12 months. When I had my first botched hair transplant I thought that the sun will promote hair growth!! 😬 It only made the scarring worse. All the best and I look forward to your future updates. Thanks for sharing!