asterix0

You look like a good candidate, but keep in mind with the number of grafts you need, it will be highly unlikely you can buzz your hair that short and not have the FUE scars be visible afterwards.

What real world situation will you be in where a person will be inspecting your hair up close to tell if it's a transplant, and that they would even know what to look for? The only obvious way is if they inspected your donor area, there will be scarring there no matter what you do.

With the right doctor yes you absolutely cannot tell. But singles in the front, the right angles, the right asymmetry, all the components have to be on point for it to look correct. Many Turkish hair mills are a dead giveaway, as they lack all of this.

I would have told you around 1800 grafts as well, and I'm not a hair transplant doctor just a patient who has studied hundreds and hundreds of different cases.

Just being completely objective, it is rather shocking you were recommended 5000 grafts for, from what I can tell, if you grew your hair out a little longer no one would suspect you even have any hairloss. Particularly as it is in the crown area. Even my full head brother, with hair wet and a shorter haircut, will look like he is thinning. Wet short hair photos in bright lighting are we all know are the harshest of visual environments. Nevertheless, happy growing and I hope it is a good result. How many other doctors did you consult out of curiosity, and what were their recommendations?

Minoxidil is like the mafia dude. Once you start it, you are in for life.

If you quit minoxidil expect a huge shed, research what happened to other people when they quit minoxidil.

Would you mind taking some pictures outside @general-etwan? I ask because inside cars are the most flattering of shots, there is no light coming down on the scalp.

Hair systems I think are your only option.

The thing is, there are ways to minimize trauma, but ultimately, especially if you are prone to scarring a certain way, the FUE scars will still be visible if you shave your head. With intelligent donor extraction and the right tools, yes it can look better, and you can buzz your head probably down to a 2 guard, but ultimately FUE, or FUT for that matter, do kind of eliminate the possibility of shaving your head. Maybe SMP in the donor area can solve this problem.

@FormerFutureKrillin For that number of grafts only in the front I would have expected a better result as well, and all of your points are well stated. I don't think you are being unreasonable at all. Now, it is a dilemma whether to go back to where you were dissatisfied with your result, I personally would look to other doctors who excel in hairline work, and I would also go for FUE instead of FUT in your case.

Take a few days in the hotel man, don't rush out there the next day.

Interesting you say this. I thought the molecular size of dutasteride meant it could not penetrate the scalp, hence making it useless topically.

@Rahal Hair Transplant Do you have any examples of patients 1 year+ after surgery? Scars take a long time to form, generally shortly after surgery you will not see any.

It depends on how you scar, your hair to skin contrast ratio, a lot of things. Generally speaking i think it would look bad without SMP, so assume you won't be able to shave down to the skin, but perhaps buzz down to a 2 guard.

What about just body weight exercises such as pushups, squats, pull ups?

Its hard to find patients after a year who shave their head and take close up donor pictures, unless they are going for another procedure.

However, with this large number of grafts i have otherwise covered the entire Norwood 6 top area, with thinner coverage in the crown. So for me the trade off is probably worth it, i doubt with my skin characteristics i could have done any better. Almost certainly with FUT i would have had keloid scarring and a stretched FUT scar.

Here is a picture of my donor 4 days after my second procedure, it comes out to 5800 or so total grafts I've had so far

Yup I see them, I don't even think he had a big session so it would look even more obvious if he did. Even though that particular picture is blurry.

Did he get SMP?

Sure, any examples you have would be very useful.

A week is still very early, that is all completely normal.

It depends on how big the session was. The larger the clinic, the longer the numbness will last.

Yes, keeping a short hair style it can be hidden. I was just surprised when I shaved my head how noticeable it was.