caricatura

Amazing result. Can I ask, what percentage of your non-donor zone is transplanted hairs? Just wondering how far 5,200 grafts gets you.

What an odd case. Yes, he looked okay when playing for Juventus. But I'm not sure I like the remaining "frame" today. I imagine he has to constantly shave really close to the scalp, lest it look funny (it's like a hair triangle island). Why didn't he get the rest filled in? And why, if he knew he wouldn't be able to fill in the rest down the road due to donor supply, did he set himself up with such a low, unnatural-looking hairline to start with? I guess he was just going for short-term gains, enjoying the moment.

Ditto to @Taken4Grantedand you, @Egott92--I'm considering the same with Konior, but a year out! Wishing your surgery well.

I agree that, first, you should be strategic/careful about getting a HT with such minimal loss, i.e. don't wast 3000 grafts to fill in your temples/hairline if future loss is down the road, and second, that you should go to a more reputable clinic. If I lived in Spain, I wouldn't go to Turkey, but at least try for Couto or Freitas. Couto's wait time is long, but Freitas isn't as bad--you can email Freitas for a consultation. I've also heard good things about Vila and Lorenzo.

Was going to say the same.

It appears "The Hair Loss Show" is warning to be cautious, too. And the main response in the comments is that what he doesn't account for is the importance of having hair when you're young (which I get). I may be wrong, but have a feeling this warning is partially due to a "boom" in HTs in recent years.

Looks clean, and to me, the right number of grafts, relatively densely packed, for the area. Plus, as this is your first procedure, it's probably best to be somewhat conservative, see how you heal, grow, and all that. How does your donor look? Keep us updated!

I assume you're referring to Carlos Wesley? Please document your procedure--there are few if any patient procedures from him on here, and I'm also considering him!

Your interpretation of my forum name is as creative as it is absurd. I am not going around negatively posting on anyone's thread. The fact that my reasonable questions are interpreted as "negativity" is further evidence of the same sort of defensiveness that I mentioned. I don't seek any "credibility" from your or any posters on this forum, I am a self-professed novice to this entire process. If you don't like the topic, why waste time participating in it just to say so? And, as I said, I am grateful to the many of you who have actually tried to answer my questions. As far as I knew, that was the whole point of the network.

I wouldn't say "blunt," I'd say defensive, using the "hair system" as some kind of threat. I have never said that I expect a full head of hair, nor have I said I'm interested in a hair system. This sort of response reminds me of the discussions I've had about the virtues and faults of America. Inevitably, someone will just toss out the entire question and say, "well if you don't like it here, why don't you move someplace else?" The whole point of the discussion is to gain a better understanding of the situation. Because I've never had a hair transplant, I can't say whether or not I'd feel it to be "a hassle," which is why I'm asking people who have been through it. If I ask and everyone responds with "It's been the best decision of my life, at most it's like getting a tuneup every five to ten years," I'm going to walk away with a different impression than if half of the responses are "I don't know, it's really been an unpredictable mess and left me with all sorts of regrets." Of course, people will have different tolerances, but it's something more to go on.

This is phenomenal FUE work. I saw it after you mentioned it. Thanks.

Yes, these are the types of surgeries that give me hope, ha. And I would love to see that post of the donor after 5k extractions as well.

Are you sure, because your knee-jerk “get a hair system and move along here, buddy” and “I’m going to look into the IP addresses of people who question hair transplants” sounds as if you do. This forum is a massive resource that I’m glad to have found, but the majority of threads on here are results from clinics and patients that tend to peter out after a year, so it makes complete sense to me that there would be recurring questions about longevity. Such questions should not be discouraged (even if it’s recurring, what’s the ratio compared to the aforementioned results threads that pop up daily?). In fact, for me, that is “the” question. And I guarantee that if I were to bring up the topic of my potential procedure to some of my closest friends and relatives, their first question will also naturally be, “well, what happens once you lose the hair behind that?” Even after a lot of research on this subject, I didn’t/don’t feel I have a good enough answer to that question, so that’s why I’m here asking the veterans, who have been giving me some great rationales. Trust me, at the end of the day, my gut is telling me “give me that hair, and now!”

Ha, what? I created this thread precisely because I want to hear everyone's opinions, especially from people who have had multiple transplants, preferably over the span of more than 5 years. @JayLDD Has brought up many points that I am grateful for and considering. It doesn't make sense to me not to have some healthy caution, skepticism, and long-term thinking before potentially spending a lot of money and embarking on multiple cosmetic surgeries. What I was referring to with regard to the "goofy 45-year-old" was the idea that, if by 45 all of the remaining non-transplanted hairs fall out, the remaining transplanted hairs may look goofy (for example, if only the front and crown were worked on, and there's an empty mid-scalp, or if the entire scalp is transplanted but ends up becoming really sparse-looking because the donor thins, etc.). You have addressed this, though, with the "front to back" plan. To @ciaus, I can assure you I have more going on in my life than to waste time creating shell accounts to make "drama" on a hair transplant forum! Like many people on here, I'm relatively young, feeling a bit insecure about my hair, and trying to make a rational decision about it that I won't regret.

@UnbaldEagleAre you mostly upset due to the money, or the fact that you feel trapped into more and more procedures and no longer have the option of shaving? @JayLDDI hope you're right about this--what you elaborated is my optimistic outlook on the situation. I guess I have gathered the above impression because of the number of threads on here of people getting multiple surgeries within 2-4 years just to be at the same place they were in before their first procedure. Hopefully, as you say, that's not the norm. If it is, I can't see how, after their donor runs out, they wouldn't be looking goofy in less than two decades. However, if, as you say, it just means easing the balding process so that you don't go from hair to bald/unsightly, but can distribute your hairs so that you age gracefully, I'm game. Not looking for perfection!

I’m 30 and a NW 3A with diffuse thinning. My dad is around 70 and basically completely bald, though that may have something to do with his overall poor health. In any case, I’m trying to justify getting a HT, but the more I research, the more I doubt myself, so any feedback would be welcome. If HTs were a one-and-done procedure like rhinoplasty, I’d get one immediately, but I fear that, for most people, while they may work in the short-term (1 - 5 years), unless and even if you commit to Min., Fin., and at least two more surgeries down the line, you're condemning yourself to a very odd-looking head of hair (not to mention a scarred head) in the long-term (10 - 15 years+). That means that by the time I'm only 45, I may look worse than if I had just shaved or somehow styled it accordingly in-between those years. Of course, there's the possibility that my hair loss stabilizes after a transplant, especially with the help of forthcoming pharmaceutical treatments, but this seems like a big "if." It also seems that, understandably, many people such as myself go for the transplant out of short-sighted desperation, but may be even more unhappy in the long-run. Unfortunately, due to the relative recentness of successful hair transplant procedures, it's difficult to even ask around about such long-term satisfaction. Then again, maybe more people are satisfied than I think, and they just don't hang around these forums (I'm thinking of celebrities like Jeremy Piven, Elon Musk, and Matthew McConaughey who seem to have had great hair for at least a decade now). Am I over-thinking this, or being too cynical about the long-term success of the procedure? Should I just "go for it" and live up my 30s? Thank you!

Is this a joke? I don't know too many people over 30 with hair this thick, especially in the front. Maybe take some photos outside in natural light? Otherwise, I don't know what you're talking about. You might also want to experiment with different hairstyles. My hair is nowhere near this thick, and so I would never spike it up, but instead let it fall over my head naturally, which gives it much more coverage. Any lady who doesn't like you because of this hair isn't worth talking to.

Yeah, that seems to be the general idea (going FUT first maximizes the donor long-term). But I wasn't comparing FUT to FUE, but merely comparing Konior's steep price to other reputable clinics such as Hasson and Wong. I hope your surgery turns out great. I'm following it too!

First of all, your hair, especially for your age, looks relatively thick and lush. Your temples are slightly receded, but they don't look bad at all. The general recommendation for thinning hair is "the big three" (Minoxidil, Finasteride, Ketoconazole Shampoo). Most people just start with Finasteride and see if they can tolerate it, as Minoxidil makes the hairs "dependent" on it and Ketoconazole doesn't do all that much. Usually, Finasteride is enough. However, that will likely not restore the empty temples, but rather thicken and halt further loss. The reason for not taking Finasteride is that people are afraid of the drug's side effects. If the temples bother you, you look like a great candidate. Provided those are your only problem areas and you have a strong donor area (hair at the back and sides of your head), you wouldn't need too many grafts and would likely thus go for an FUE procedure (perhaps 1500 - 2000 grafts?). I wouldn't recommend lowering the hairline or even filling in the temples completely, but maybe an inch or so. Some surgeons might be able to work without shaving, but I believe this is more common with the FUT procedure, which I don't really recommend considering your hair loss is minimal and you probably don't want to sign up for a big linear scar just to fill in those small areas. You would shave your head before the procedure and then grow it back out as long as you want, only with newly sprouting hair in the temples. It would take at least 7 months or so until those newly placed hairs look like the rest of your hair. Then, ideally, they'd be permanent. Hope that helps!

I agree that there should be more discussion and documentation of this. HT has become a massive industry and I wouldn't be surprised if $ has propelled (and preyed upon) a false optimism bordering on recklessness. There's little incentive for surgeons and industry leaders to discuss the potential long-term pitfalls of HTs and so everyone goes around saying it's permanent and to just get on Fin. for life "to protect the remaining native hairs," when in fact it may be the relocated donor hair that needs to be protected. Meanwhile, squabbles about FUE, FUT, surgeon choice, etc. can distract from the more important questions about the efficacy of the procedure itself.

By the way, @anotherhairlosssufferer, your hair is looking great. Well-packed in that frontal third and your donor region looks relatively unscathed. This is the exact procedure Konior quoted me and which I'm considering (trying to justify the price considering that, for only $3000 more than what Konior charges for 2000 grafts, I could have 4000 FUE grafts from a place like Hasson & Wong). The difference, of course, is that due to his artistry, precision, and survival rate, Konior makes 2000 grafts look like 4000.

Breezula (CB) and SM04554 are probably the closest two on the horizon, but they’re both at least a year (likely 2-3) away from being on the market. Lord knows new pharmaceutical treatments are long overdue.

As others have said, this is a really intelligent and patient strategy that is turning your dome into a masterwork, ha. If I had the money, I'd definitely do it this way (although I probably wouldn't hesitate to begin with 2000 grafts). I also have a feeling your skin tone, head shape, and hair texture make this approach with a short cut look better than many. In short, it looks so clean and elegant it inspires me to take a more precise, mathematical outlook to everything I do! Looking forward to seeing your continued positive results!

One of the few posts here where the patient's normal hair looks thicker than the donor! I wonder what it'd look like grown out, as the scars are negligible, but of course it's your decision to work on them if it bothers you. I'm sure a quick FUE would patch you up in no time.

True--same with Elon Musk, Matthew McConaughey, and others. Which is precisely why I think such a thread with ordinary people (detailing one's regimen) would be beneficial.