rubberduck

I'm currently taking finasteride every other day. Life took its course, and I got married and shifted my focus away from  hair-related concerns. So I haven't really bothered contacting the clinic. I'll definitely reach out to the them, especially since many of you have suggested it.

@shadow_god I haven't been particularly bothered by the hairline. I believe it may appear worse than it actually is due to the angle in the photo. Here's a picture from my gallery with concealer on.

@Davidf Yeah. It looks normal, if I grow the hair out. I just had a haircut today and that's why it looks very patchy.

@Rawkerboi  I did not see that particular post in the forum. Additionally, even if the offer had been made, it would have been challenging for me to travel at that point in time.

@Shadman Yes, it's the bright bathroom lights and the short haircut.

@A_4_Archan I haven't been in contact with them after the surgery. I'm uncertain about what they could do to remedy this at this stage. Typically, I try to manage by maintaining slightly longer hair on the sides and back.

@A_4_Archan I appreciate your suggestions, they are very helpful. To be honest, my primary disappointment lies more in the donor area management rather than the mid-scalp density. I believe a smaller transplant could easily address the mid-scalp concern, but concealing the issues in the donor area will be a bigger challenge.

I'm currently not considering any new HT or additional procedures for at least the next two years. I plan to reevaluate my options at that time and decide on the best course of action. Thanks again for your input.

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

You could quite easily have improvements up to 18 months 🙏

Yeah. Right. Especially crown and midscalp. Fingers crossed 🤞

43 minutes ago, SLA said:

Thanks @rubberduckfor updating us...it means a lot to those of us that are considering Eugenix.

So, the way I see it is you have come a super long way from where you started! You have achieved much growth so far and I think it is important to remember to give it 18 month or so to see the very final results. I love the hairline which is somewhat, yet not too conservative.

In addition, to go from around a NW5 or so to near complete coverage utilizing only 3,500 scalp grafts (and 500 beard) is very good!

If things don't fill in on the left side towards the back, I would assume that it wouldn't take too many more grafts to achieve full coverage.

Keep in mind that many times HTs are style jobs, so you will likely have to continue to brush in ways to give the appearance of fullness.

I'm curious to hear Dr. Arika's take on your situation.

Please come back and update us. We are here to support!

I had super high expectations to be honest. It has taken me sometime to process and accept the reality of hair transplantation.

I'm hopeful that with some further maturing and a second procedure, I'll get the coverage I'm looking for.

I'm going to wait atleast 15 months before thinking about the next steps.

Thanks for your kind words @SLA

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

It’s definitely improved a lot, still time left for further growth/maturing. I can see the area thats not filled in so much. I’m guessing that Eugenix might rectify this ? 

It has made a big cosmetic difference. I just wish the left side has grown as well as the right side. I tried a few different hairstyles to cover up the patchy areas. But nothing really looks good.  

I haven't been in contact with Dr.Arika / Eugenix. I'm planning to have call with the doctor and assess the growth by next week. 

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

Thanks for the update, are you about 8 months out ? 

I'm one week short of 9 months.

Apologies for not posting an update in a long time.  I was obsessing over the hair growth, so wanted to take a break.

Hairline

Temple points

Without combing or styling 

After combing

The left side has not filled in. So I use fibers when going out. I'll probably need a second HT to touch up those areas.

1 minute ago, Captain Haddock said:

Nice to know this. Growth was always imminent. 8-10 months is when you'd truly shine I'm sure! 

Thanks Captain. I hope so too.

Just started following your thread, looking forward to your updates.

21 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

At only 5 months (now 6) your donor has already started to improve as has the coverage which has started to kick in. If you compare your pre op pics to these one's there is a massive difference. Imagine the results in another 6 months! Remember that the crown always take longer to grow out. You've gone to the best their is in my book for high Norwoods. All the best and I look forward to your future updates.

Thanks for the kind words @Gatsby I know I'll have to be patient and have realistic expectations.

It is just that my youtube recommendations is bombarded with videos of people getting amazing results at six months. Time to take a break from youtube I guess 😅

6 hours ago, Captain Haddock said:

An update is due my friend

Hairline is coming along nicely. It has thickened up quite well over the past month. The left side is a little weak compared to the right. But overall good improvement when compared to pre-op.

Mid-scalp is still see through even in dull lighting. Not sure if there is enough density there. Hopefully, it will improve in the next few months with the hairs maturing.

Overall, I'm reasonably happy with the growth. But I was expecting a little bit more at 6 months. Especially, seeing other's growth here and on youtube. I'm going to send some photos to Dr.Arika for evaluation. Will add an update here with photos after that.

I'm 1.5 months ahead of you and only started seeing growth around 4.5 month mark. Things have been improving from then on.

So stay positive and try not to compare with other's growth.

8 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Improvement since last pics. How is the shock loss ? 

There is some improvement.

The extraction pattern is still visible if I trim my hair short on the sides. 

I think I'll give it a few more months to recover.

On 12/28/2020 at 12:46 PM, Gabreille Nelson Mukhia said:

Hope you are taking Finasteride. Please do share your pictures soon. We are excited to see the progress so far.

Hey Nelson.

Thanks for asking. Yes, I have been regular with the medication and I take finasteride 1mg everyday. 

I'm also considering starting minoxidil for the crown. But not sure if it is a good idea to start at this point in time of the HT.

21 week update:

At 3.5 months I was getting really anxious since I was not seeing any growth.

No matter how much I read and knew about the whole ugly duckling phase, I was still not prepared for it. Thankfully, things started improving around the 4 month mark. 

I'll try to share pictures taken in different lighting conditions, since that makes a huge difference. I would love to hear your honest thoughts and opinions.

FRONT

FRONT (UNDER HARSH LIGHT)

CROWN and MID-SCALP (UNDER HARSH LIGHT)

DONOR / SIDES

4 hours ago, Guanyu76 said:

update?

The frontal region has got some solid growth. Midscalp and crown is still very sparse.

I feel that shock loss in the donor region has improved slightly.

I'm out on vacation. Will post pictures in a couple of days.

5 hours ago, JohnAC71 said:

Yes you do appear to have some shock loss, it will take a few months to correct itself. Hopefully it will tie in with your new growth.  Should only be another month until the real growth starts. Your nearly over the worst part. 

Yes, hoping for the best. Thanks for your kind words.

It has been a little over 3 months since my HT. 

There is not much visual difference from the second month. But I can see small baby hairs have started growing. 

The donor area still looks a little sparse to me. Do you guys think this is shock loss and will improve in the coming months?

52 minutes ago, Sledge said:

Best of luck. What medication or supplements are you taking ??

Thank you! I'm taking finasteride 1 mg each day, which I started about 8 months back.

I'm also taking multivitamin tablets recommended by Eugenix.

I have recently added nizoral shampoo once a week to my routine.

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

Your most welcome. How long did it take for your beard to recover? And can you notice much difference In it? Like any noticeable scarring? I see they only took approx 500 grafts from it. 

No beard grafts were used. All 4000 grafts were taken from scalp.

During the initial evaluation (which was done through photos and video call), I was told I will need 4000 grafts of which 500 can be taken from beard.

On the day of surgery, since I had enough grafts in donor region, all grafts were taken from the scalp itself.

8 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Nice healing, this is the worst stage now as I’m sure your aware. Give it a couple more months though and then the fun starts 😊

Thank you!

I don't know how I would cope with the ugly duckling phase if not for forums like this.  Seeing all the patient photos shared here along with the different stages of growth, does put your mind at ease.

Two months have passed since I had my HT.

Donor region has healed completely. With 2 months of hair growth, the FUE scars in donor are not visible at all.

I tried trimming it down to gaurd 3 and the scars are noticable. I'm not too worried about it, since I don't mind keeping my hair a little longer in the donor area.

Native hairs in the recipient region are growing well and there doesn't seem to be any shock loss.

I'm excited to see the progress in upcoming months.