hybonix

Diep got you fantastic density, but the placement is less than ideal when consulting with other top surgeons. I relayed some information regarding Diep's "perspective" on the cornrow placement, and I was told that this is completely false and irregularities are just as important to achieve a natural look so that people cannot tell you had a transplant. I would advise going to Shapiro, Konior, H&W, Cooley, and/or Gabel for your repair and for them to fill in those areas. Also, not sure why they placed multi-grafts in the hairline... So odd.

@jimcraig152Any updates? You are at the 9 month 11 day mark. I would love to see where you are at today.

Wow, what an amazing result for the amount of coverage needed. Looking like a home run result to me since you had so much area to cover. Congratulations on the new look! It only gets better from here.

Month 6 Update (5/3/21) Hair has filled in quite a bit! It's not as dense as my original hair and never will never be, but the transplant is an illusion. However, this illusion looks pretty damn good. I visited some family for the first time in almost a year and they were all amazed at how great my hair looked. My uncle kept calling me hollywood as he knew I got a transplant. Others just thought I got a great new haircut Everyone loves the new hair and I am super happy. My only critique is I wish it was more dense, but again, it's an illusion. I may opt for another transplant in the future if I want more density, but my wife really doesn't want me to. So I may just leave it. Here are three pictures of different lighting conditions. I am thrilled with the results and look forward to more growth in the next 6 months:

Thank you! Yes, I am going to grow it out again! I used to have bangs, but we will see how it looks when it gets longer. I believe the fin has helped stabilize my hair in the back and I am not seeing any additional hair loss. I am super excited for the months ahead.

Month 5 Update (3/29/21) More hair has grown! I feel like i am plateauing, but there is plenty of time still left. Co-workers have noticed the change and keep complimenting the "new haircut" My current regime is as follows: Topical Rogaine Daily Once in the AM 1.25mg finasteride on M/W/F/SU (Just switched to proscar and cutting it into fourths) HRL Shampoo + Conditioner on M/W/F (Conditioner used on Saturday as well, but trying not to over wash my hair) Here are three pictures of different lighting conditions. I am really happy with the results. I do wish for more density, but I will make my final assessment at the one year mark. Also, I was completely bald on top, so it's a massive improvement.

@Melvin-ModeratorAny updates on your progress with oral minix? Almost at the three month mark and that should be enough to let us know if you kept your gains from topical or grew even more.

I would talk to a doctor about dosage and if it’s even worth taking. I think your hair looks great and your barely just starting to “feather” out. I’ll echo the others here, but do not take minoxidil. Do finasteride .5mg everyday to see how your body reacts to it. The first week you will feel off, cloudy and drained (at least for me). Others have had ball ache for a week, and some, nothing at all. Do not give it up and stick through the first 7-10 days. I actually stairstepped it slowly to ensure I had no bad side effects. This is a very cautious approach but the efficacy of .25 mg and .5mg is close to 1mg standard dose per research, so you won’t miss out by starting slow: .25mg everyday - 1 month .5mg everyday - 1 month 1mg - M/W/F/SUN You should be taking 1mg everyday though per research and doctors recommendation. However, I still stagger mine and the meds last much longer. You can get prescriptions online through blink, keeps, and other websites for cheap. Blink and keeps are pricey and not worth it IMO. Find a doctor who can prescribe it or a reputable website that won’t overcharge you. Good luck and don’t fret. You are in much better shape than most of us as you still have your natural hair.

Good advice. Rogaine is for people who have noticeable loss and want to regain some ground. However, new studies and anecdotal evidence is showing that oral minoxidil may be more effective than finasteride... People are growing more hair than oral Fin, and Australia is running with it.

Looking good. Do you have graft numbers, before/after photos? Doctor? Any other information you can provide on the surgery itself? FUE/FUT?

You can try minoxidil. Get the Costco foam and try it for three months. If there is an improvement, great. If you have skin reactions/etc., stop using it.

Man I wish I had your hair. You have tons of it! And a nice hairline as well. Take the fin and start with .5mg a day to see how your body reacts to it. Then up the dosage after a couple of months to ensure you have no side effects.

I am only 27 years old and I started balding at 18, just like you. I have only been on Fin for 6 months and was on Fin for roughly 2 months before I got my hair transplant. I am not really allowed to share costs as they gave me a favorable discount, but it was in the ballpark of 17k for the 3k FUE. Exosomes was an additional charge and that is not a guarantee. Shapiro did share some before and after photos though, and there was definitely an improvement. But they didn't call it a miracle drug and noted that they started to offer it as they are seeing some favorable results with it.

Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Josephetis have super reasonable FUE prices that are cost-effective when compared to H&W, Gabel, Cooley and the others. I saved quite a bit of money going to Shapiro Medical Group versus H&W, and SMG is top notch (cost was not the determing factor either, it was just another plus side by going to SMG). Melvin posted an interview with H&W and it's not all about the graft numbers, but how the transplanted hairs covers your skin to look less bald. Yes, more grafts will give you more density, but Coronal vs. Sagittal slits and other factors like size of hair follicles (fine vs thick hair) will determine the looks. Hair transplants are an illusion of density and you have limited supply. Each person has roughly 6 - 9k grafts and you want to plan appropriately. Shapiro who teaches transplant strategies extensively taught me that you shouldn't blow your wad in one session and cap it around 3k grafts to determine where you need to go next. Since you are young, you will most likely lose more hair and need another transplant. A low/aggressive hairline may look great now, but in 20 years, it may not. So, you need to plan accordingly based on donor supply. Chasing your hair loss will never end and you will need to keep taking meds, monitoring hair loss and seeing what your next steps are. One procedure is not enough and if money is an issue now, it will come to rear its ugly head again in the future imo. The next procedure you may not need as much, but it's still costly. Several veteran member here have had 4+ surgeries perfecting the density and hairline as their hair loss progressed even with medication. So, ask yourself now if this is worth chasing for the next 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years. To get that density and what you are looking for in that picture, I would say you need 4 - 5k grafts, maybe even more. 3k is a good starting point, but won't get you that amazing hairline in your doctored photo. You will look great for sure, but you have to be realistic and understand that a HT will never look as good as natural hair, but can improve your appearance and make you happy. There are grand slams and good results. Everyone is different and there is a chance that the procedure could fail (very low chance with a good clinic) but it's happened. Every doctor have people who had transplants that were complete failures due to the person not taking grafts well, even elite doctors. I am not to trying scare you, but saving you lots of time by being upfront about what it takes to keep your hair and the future. I would highly recommend you contact Shapiro Medical Group as they have amazing prices and are an elite clinic. Working with them, they didn't care about my money and honestly wanted what was best for me. They educated me about transplants and offered a whole new perspective. They even recommended other top clinics if I decided not go with them, so they truly care about you as a patient. You get the best of both worlds there and I am thrilled with my transplant thus far. Of course I would love a lower hairline and more density (everyone does), but you gotta be realistic and manage expectations with your budget and needs. Feel free to PM me and I can give you some guidance on what I have learned. However, please also contact other members for real reviews and results. Melvin has amazing YT videos on what to look for and how to pick the right surgeon -- follow his lead and investigate these forums to find your answer. Here is my thread if you want to learn more: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/58171-3332-fue-grafts-dr-ron-shapiro-dr-josephitis-smg/

This looks FANTASTIC and there is a major difference. This looks super natural and I bet you are getting the barrage of compliments from friends/family on your new "haircut." Congrats! The kicker is that you are still nowhere near done growing!

6 months is a good baseline to see where you are at, but I was incorrect in my statement. Full maturity of transplanted hair will be shown at 12 - 16 months. So, I still have plenty of time to go!

Thank you everyone for your awesome feedback. It’s very motivating and thrilling to know that I’m making good progress! I feel great that I saw results even before the 4 month mark. Cannot wait until my 5 and 6 month update. I’m not sure yet! People on Zoom always compliment how they love the shorter hair. But I always wore my hair a little longer, my whole life I’ve done that. I also started to wear it longer than usual when I was losing my hair to cover up my baldness. But I started looking at some old pictures, and I forgot how terrible it looked. Really got bad when I turned 24/25, so I want to wear it long again to see if I can actually pull it off. Sucks when you start losing your hair at 18, so it feels so strange to feel hair again when I run my fingers through it. Very strange sensation for sure.

I thought about oral min, but am not 100% comfortable with taking meds that are meant for blood pressure. Rogaine targets the scalp and has a lower systemic effect when taking it orally. I am also taking fin which also has its risks, so I am not keen on taking two meds that both have potential for adverse effects. With that being said, if I am unable to stay compliant with topical rogaine, I will take it orally instead.

Month 4 Update (3/1/21) The hair is starting to fill in! However, I do see quite a bit of skin in the light and after a shower. But I still have two months to get some density. I have been applying Rogaine for one month now and I feel there is a slight shed (very minor) as some hairs are falling out when I rub my head. I feel it's my native hair and not transplanted hairs falling out though. Have been on Fin (.5mg or 1/2mg daily) and Nizoral (every other day) for 6 months now. I also take biotin (5000mcg) and a men's multivitamin daily. I just purchased the HRL Shampoo and conditioner and will begin that once I am out of Nizoral Wet - Right After Shower (Well lit, harsh conditions) Dry - One Hour Later (Moderate light, better conditions)

Looking good! Diep is a rockstar with the AA community and I am excited to see your results. I wouldn't honestly recommend anyone else besides Diep at this time as he has consistent videos on those results. Also, have another forum member who had stellar results with Diep as well.

These results are INSANE in my honest opinion. This makes me second guess passing up on Diep, but wow. Great job. I can see the "pluggy" look on your right side, but I bet it's not that bad in person. Also, you gotta wait until 9 months - 1 year to really see the final results. However, Diep does it again...

Wow, this is absolutely amazing work from Dr. K. I was originally looking at him as well, but his price scared me away. However, damn this is incredible. Great journey and great results. Will definitely be looking at Konior for my next procedure... Kudos to your successful outcome here.

Any updates from @jimcraig152??? Dying to see the progress here.

Month 3 & 1 Week Update (First Haircut) I wanted to post a mini update as I just got my first haircut. I had to do it as I was growing a mullet... I had 5 different people in one day comment on how great my hair looked, so that was very motivating for me I have a bunch of new hairs growing in my scalp and hairline. Lots of stuff happening now!

I just started topical minoxidil in lieu of oral. Ron Shapiro says that I shouldn't have the minoxidil shed since I am on Fin and the Fin has strengthened my roots for the past 5 months. However, has anyone here started minoxidil after using Fin for awhile? If so, was there any shedding from minoxidil?