jake on linear

Hey everyone, I know i’ve slacked on updating but I’m back 10 months post-op. Ive attached some updated pics so you could get a sense for how its going. I’m thrilled and couldnt be happier. changed my life, no pills just rogaine for those wondering. Some biotin at the beginning to speed things up. Enjoy :)

thanks my man!

gotchu my man. 5 months in exactly so here you are

Coming along! Exactly 3 months now, I think it’s moving pretty well after the shedding phase.

Just answered this on another comment!

Most of them are also branding and selling it themselves, so there's a motive there to push it. She says the side effects and potential liver / spleen damage isnt worth it in her opinion.

Thanks bro! She was actually super against finestaride, but ill get back on rogaine soon. Hopefully it comes out solid.

Yeah. About a month out now, most of the transplanted hair has fallen out. I havent taken too many pics but honestly i don’t think i’ve lost as much new hair as i could have, i think im pretty lucky. also donor area healed super fast, i’ve already shaved my sides to a zero once and you really cant tell.

I'll make sure to keep posting. I'm about 3 weeks out now and my shedding has actually slowed down, pretty stable. Top is thin and ugly but honestly better than most of what I've seen during this phase. I can go out pretty confidently (although COVID so can't really go out anyway)

She does the extractions (partially) with her nurses, sometimes they swap out or work together, but she's working at least 80% of that time. The does the incisions entirely, and then for the actual placement of the new grafts, it's mostly the nurses with her checking in every few minutes. If you're looking into it, I really recommend her. I literally facetimed her today during my haircut and she reassured my barber and I that I'm well healed and it should be all good. She was eating dinner with her family while talking to me. I'm telling you she prioritizes your comfort over everything, even long after the surgery. She responds to my instagram posts of my dog lol.

This is going to be reasonably long, but I know it will help someone who’s in the position that I was in just a few weeks ago. Losing hair sucks. It’s part of being a guy, but none of us look forward to it. As a 26 year old, I couldn’t believe how much hair I’d lost in the last four-ish years. My hairline had receded drastically, and the top and crown of my head were thinning. Everyone reading this knows the feeling. Spending tons of time trying to hide your thinner areas, avoiding direct overhead light – hell tying your shoes sucks. Anyway, it was time to do something about it. I knew that Turkey was the capital of the world for these types of surgeries, but with hundreds (no joke) of clinics to choose from, doing research was difficult. Google searches leave you buried in what are quite obviously sponsored content and fake reviews. They all look the same, talk about how accommodating the team was, the hotel was great, blah blah. So how did I end up with Dr. Bicer? Well, I first booked with another clinic, and was all set for my procedure. About two days before my flight to Turkey (I’m from Canada), my dad actually dug a little deeper (past the thousands of positive reviews) and found some horror stories. I ended up learning a lot that day: What to look for Are you dealing with a doctor clinic or a technician clinic? Some of these doctors are doctors, while others are strictly business people. The latter have invested tons of money into marketing, and have passed off their actual surgeries to low-paid technicians who do the whole thing. This way, they can do 10-20 procedures a day, keep the cost way down, and rake in the money. Bicer is a DOCTOR. She takes one patient every two days, and is present and active throughout the entire surgery. This is critical, as it isn’t the most comfortable surgery, and feeling comfortable with who you’re with makes all the difference. I don’t like surgeries to begin with, and I likely would have cried had I been with a bunch of strangers. Back to the story. I ended up changing doctors, based off a recommendation from a business partner. While I do trust him, I quickly realized that this second clinic was also a technician clinic. Some reviews stated that the patients never even met the doctor, the cost was unbelievably low, and they wanted to do 5500-6000 grafts, which would have obliterated my donor area (the back of your head), making it unsalvageable and patchy for the rest of my life. At 2:30 am, the night before my flight, I came across a guy named Spencer (Spex), who had a site entirely dedicated to recommending next steps for balding guys. In his list of recommended doctors, most were in the States or India, but I came across Dr. Bicer, the only one in Turkey. So I sent her a personal Instagram message, and put it in my head that if I needed to go back to Turkey a second time, I would (my trip was already planned.) Fast forward two days, and Dr. Bicer answers me and says to come by the clinic if I’d like. It was an off-day (no surgery, she was just cleaning the clinic with her team), and I hopped in a cab, left my friends and showed up to her office. It was super homey, and she chatted with me. I told her the above story, and we ended up spending three hours talking. Finally she asked, how long I was in Istanbul for. When I told her I had another 5 days, her eyes widened. She said that I shouldn’t have come all this way for nothing, and proceeded to make a series of calls, rearranging her team and other surgeries to take me before I left. I was beyond grateful. I felt like I had another mother in Turkey, and she legitimately refused to do too many grafts, planning for the future, and saying if I needed another session in the future, we’ll want to have more hair to work with. She was honest, and cared about me. It wasn’t an act, and her and Ozen (the coordinator), became like family. So I was booked for Monday. It felt right. The surgery I don’t want to write too much about this, because it goes as expected. So I’ll mention the points that standout. You are the ONLY patient. The doctor and team are there only for you, and you’re not one in 20 procedures happening that day. It feels personal and important, the way having someone work on your head should. While the nurses don’t speak much English, they really are sweet. They tried teaching me some Turkish words while they worked, and when they senses I was in discomfort they tried to help any way they could. They’re nice people, and have been with her 20+ years. The anesthesia sucks. I won’t sugarcoat it, and this isn’t specific to doctor Bicer. But it isn’t the most pleasant experience. The rest is fine once you’re numb, being in the chair for 12 hours is the worst part, but otherwise there really isn’t any pain. I actually napped for two and a half hours at one point. Dr. Bicer is always checking if you’re alright. The after-care is phenomenal. It’s been 9 days since my surgery and I still talk to Dr. Bicer and Ozen multiple times per day, on both Instagram and WhatsApp. They constantly want pictures and to check how I’m healing. I actually ran into some people at my hotel that went with technician clinics, and they complained to me that after the surgery, their clinics don’t even answer them anymore. Once their money was collected, they were forgotten. To conclude, I now have multiple people in my hometown telling me it doesn’t even look like I had a surgery, which I agree with. My donor area is essentially already healed, you wouldn’t even know they took any hair. The top looks great too, I’m actually digging the buzzcut look, and so are the people I’ve seen since. I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart, recommend Dr. Bicer. This is NOT a surgery you want to botch, and you want someone who will care about you and pay attention to you before, during, and after the procedure. Please, to any guy reading this, do not hesitate. If fixing your hair is as important to you as it was to me, this is the move. Now, for what you all want to see: Before and after pictures. I’m 9 days out, and obviously far from the final result. But I think you’ll be shocked at how drastically different I look and how much it looks like I haven’t even had anything done: Pics attached Cheers and good luck boys, enjoy your new hair.