Carbon

On 5/29/2023 at 6:42 AM, Esten said:

How did your HT turn out? Were you happy with the results. 4 month progress looked good. Would you recommend Dr. Vories for hairline work? 

Hairline is not as good as some of the other elite doctors on this forum. Overall, satisfied with my results though. Feel free to PM me 

Does anyone do this: Using topical fin/min every other day and then using topical minoxidil foam in between? Any harm if I started this routine?

4 month update: Started noticing growth at 2.5 months. Those first 2.5 months were tough though. I was still skeptical about HT, even though I am part of this community. I can now say I am a firm believer in HT after seeing the progress myself. 
 

These pictures were taken in the morning:

I can kinda relate to OP. I felt that way when I got FUE, but I got over it. There is a certain angle and a certain length of hair that will expose your FUE procedure. Only you know that. It will be impossible for the people who are in your daily life to even notice anything. Even if you took a photo from that ankle (just like what you did here), it still hard to tell. I had my wife take a photo of the back of my head 2 weeks post op and my donor looked good on the photo and I asked her if the photo is really what she sees in person and she said “yes.” However if i looked in the wall mirror and used a hand held mirror to get a closer look, it will definitely look like something got done. People aint gonna look at your donor the way how you look at your donor. 

3 minutes ago, Mark Wolfer said:

I'd hope it the other way round. If you were this good of a responder to the meds, and your transplanted hair still on its way, it would make you a very hairy man by the end of this.

Interesting! 

14 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Jeez ! Talk about early growth 😳

I’m hoping all the early growth are from the transplanted hairs and not from the medication. Hard to tell at this point. Hopefully someone can chime in about that. Glad I’m passed the ugly duckling phase though.

First picture is pre-op photo. Second picture is my 10 week post op photo. Both pictures were taken in the same room, same lighting condition, and same camera phone. 

Just wanted to give a quick update. I’m a little over 2 months post op. I would say at least 90% of the grafts have shedded by now. Redness on the recipient area is gone by now. 

I am at a very confusing stage in this process. I’ve been on oral fin for the past 6 months and topical min for the past month. I started shedding the past week and not sure from which medication (maybe both?). I’m also starting to see very thin/fine (almost like peach fuzz) hair sprouting out of my recipient area. I’m not sure if the hairs are from the medication or transplanted hair. I also see just a few thicker caliber hair that is sprouting out. I know for sure those are the transplanted hair. I know it’s still early. Just wanted to check in. 

Is it safe to use topical minoxidil at this point?

On 4/25/2021 at 5:44 PM, MachoVato said:

Yes, the shedding is brutal. This is the hardest part of the process. You won't stop looking at it... you'll have thoughts of regret... you'll worry endlessly that it won't grow. BUT IT WILL! Trust the process and suck it up for the next 2 months. 

This is spot on

At the 10 day mark when the scabs were all gone, the density level looked good. Once the recipient area is fully matured, does it return to that density level or does it become denser?

1 hour ago, lexzeus said:

I just had the crown done with SMP , I have one more session to do. It has made a notable difference already. I would recommend it short them maybe? 

At some stage, I will get the crown filled in. I think its recommended that you wait until you're at least 35 years of age to do a transplant on the crown

Do you have any pictures?

I’m at 4 weeks today. I probably shed at least 75% of my recipient hair by now. Have I hit the ugly duckling stage yet? Huge difference of emotions from day 10-14 to now. Lol I’ve been looking at some of the bald spots in the recipient area and asking myself “is hair really gonna grow out from there?” Does anyone have any advice on how to make the recipient area more presentable? Anyways trying to stay positive and grind this out for the next few months. Thanks for all the feedback and comments so far.

I’m about 3 weeks today and shaved my donor area to a #1. I would say under most lighting conditions, it looks good. Can definitely tell a difference under my bathroom lighting. I know it’s still early.

Also the shedding is no joke! 

I think you guys are right, nothing to worry about. I took a closer look at these type of hair grafts last night. I noticed some of these grafts gets bent after showering and it just lays flat on the recipient area, especially when wet. So when these grafts shed, you get the j-shaped grafts.

I am about 3 weeks post-op and started noticing these type of grafts shedding. I came across this picture through my google search and wanted to know if anyone was familiar with this type of graft? Were they implanted upside down and do they end up growing?

2 weeks post op - 

Not much has changed, except hair is a bit longer. 

Donor area looks good in certain lighting. It’s really weird to me, because when I look at it in the mirror and I use a handheld mirror to look at the back of my head, I see thin spots and some scaring. Then I ask my wife to take a picture of it and it shows up good on the photos. I then ask her if what shows up on the picture is what she really sees in reality and she says yes. I’ll see if I can get it under a different lighting to show everyone what I mean.

Just wanted to check in with the community today. Today marks my 10 day post op. I managed to remove majority of the scabs and dried blood today. Hairline does look a little weird to me. Lol. I’m not sure if it’s because of the fact that I never had a strong defined hairline and I am just not used to it, but I do see a few doubles on the hairline. Let me know what y’all think. Thanks.

After scab removal, what is the preferred method for drying?

Tomorrow will mark my one week. I’ve noticed some of the scabs that is still on the scalp do not have a hair follicle in it. Does that mean the hair graft is absent from this implantation site?

Those online SML density fill to the crown pictures look amazing. Almost too good to be true. There’s no way that’s possible with just SML alone. 
 

im not too familiar with how to use concealers. Can it be used with gel or hair spray?

Does biotin help with post op recovery in terms of making the hair grow faster?

5 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

No worries 😉 I like your sensible approach. The hairline isn’t too ambitious and like you mentioned I don’t actually think your donor area is particularly strong. 

I think I wouldn’t mind going lower 1/4-1/2 inch on the hairline. See how this turns out.

8 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Thanks for the detailed write up. A couple of those pics you posted are blank ? Work looks really good 😌 

Just fixed it. Thanks

This forum has been invaluable since I joined (Fall 2020). I always knew about hair transplant, but I never know about FUE.  I first learned FUE through a Instagram add. The ad had a doctor designing the patient’s hairline with a laser. I thought this was some hi-tech stuff and it looked cool. Started to read up on this clinic and FUE. Made a appointment with them as well for consultation (this was August 2020). I thought this can be a one and done deal for me, because I did not want to take pills and apply any topical for the rest of my life. I never did before and didn’t plan on it. I was pretty sold on this place and even booked a procedure for late December 2020. I didn’t even meet the doctor! 

As soon as I joined this forum, things started to change for the good. I became more educated and knowledgeable about FUE. Started taking finasteride. Reached out to many doctors that has been discussed and reviewed on this forum. Ended up canceling that procedure in December. So now it’s time for me to pay my dues by creating this thread, and hopefully I will be able to make a positive impact on someone who is in the same situation as me. 

After months of reading information on this site and talking to other doctors, I ended up going with Dr. Vories. Just had my procedure 3 days ago! He’s been responsive since we first connected and he still is post-op. He responds to emails and texts pretty quick actually. Through the photos I sent him, he recommended 2000 grafts to add density to hairline and front forelock area, but during the pre-op I told him I wanted to take a conservative approach and do 1500 grafts. My donor area isn’t as dense and I wanted to preserve as much as I can for future procedures.

I ain’t gonna lie, days leading up to the procedure I started getting cold feet and thought about canceling many times lol. I was excited, scared, and nervous. I still am and now I’m OCD about every little detail for post-op care. First day, I was freaking out about my donor area. It was red and just didn’t look right from my eyes. I thought it might of been over harvested too. But thanks to this forum and Dr. Vories, they assured me it was normal. 

Anyways overall experience was positive. Procedure started at 7am and was done by 11am. Staff was nice and accommodating. Dr. Vories easily accessible as well via text and email.

These are day of pictures taken by Dr. Vories. I will probably do another update at my 2 weeks.