ScottishGuy

Post op photo

The shedding of non-transplanted hair in areas not touched by the procedure has continued unabated and is worrying me. I seem to find a lot of hair on my pillows and all over my bathroom which definitely wasn't happening before the procedure. I don't have exact counts but just doing something like gently drying my hair after a shower will result in up to 100 hairs in the sink. Have a look at these photos and give me your opinion. In the 5 month pre-op photo my hair was shaved to grade 4 by a barber around 1 week before this was taken. In the 24 day post op photo I just shaved my hair to a grade 3 myself. Despite the difference in hair length and slight difference in lighting, I think there is a lot more loss in the 24 day post op photo. Possibilities: 1) There isn't any loss and this is all due to hair length differences, or 2) I've continued to lose hair over the past 6 months and this is the result, or 3) This is a result of the extra shedding I've experienced since the procedure, or 4) Combination of the above I'm really hoping it's not 2) since I've been on fin for the past 6 months and that doesn't bode well for the future if it is. If it's 3) then I guess it could recover assuming the shedding calms down.

Great result, Portugal25! I'm only three weeks out from my procedure with Dr Rahal, but if my results are anything like as good as yours I'll be over the moon (we have quite a similar hair loss pattern and hair characteristics I think). I'm interested to know: did you use Rogaine for the full 12 months then give it up or do you still use it? If you stopped the Rogaine, did you notice any shedding at that point?

Does anyone have recommendations for a good product (apart from a hat) that will conceal the appearance of pinkness in the recipient area? I'm sure some kind of makeup (foundation?) would do the trick, but I have no idea where to begin since there are so many different kinds. Does anyone know of a specific brand/product that could work well? Ideally I'd want something that will last all day, looks natural, doesn't block pores, and doesn't look bad on oily skin. This isn't something I'd plan to use on a daily basis - just for a few occasions where I may not be able to hide under a hat (I may have a job interview in 4 weeks - possibly the redness will be gone, but I wouldn't bet on it). Any info much appreciated

Thanks guys. Yeah, I know I can't reasonably evaluate the donor area after 18 days. Given that the donor area was shaved right down to zero (and quite a large area too), I wasn't sure if what I am seeing is really shock loss or hair that is just a bit slow to grow. It could still be both, so I'll see how things look next week before trying concealer.

Right side. This is the most scary of all. Will concealer help me here? If so, which one would be best?

Back view. The area below the scar isn't growing quite so fast, but there is also a few bits that could be shock loss. Maybe the sutures were there.

Some more pictures. I cut my hair down to a grade 5 all over because I will eventually have to make the front look even (which means the top going to a grade 3). Anyway, I sort of regret doing this now... I'll post three pictures of the scar now: left, back and right. The incision doesn't extend very far to the left, so most of the hair on this side is growing normally.

I'm 18 days post op now and slightly concerned about the pattern of hair regrowth around the scar. If you look at the attached picture it's clear that the area above the scar has good regrowth already, but below the scar is a different story. This is particularly an issue above my right ear. I think a couple of factors could be at work here: 1) Possible shock loss. I've noticed that I am shedding a lot more hair than usual from all over my head so there could be some thinning happening here too. 2) Below the safe donor area my hair density wasn't so great. Now that a chunk of hair has been removed from the donor site, there is possibly quite a big step between the density of the hair above the scar and the density below. Does that make sense? I'd say that the area around my ears has always had quite a high hairline, and was never that dense so I'm concerned as to how much it will recover or if it will always be quite patchy. I'm interested to know if anyone else had a similar pattern of growth around the scar and how things developed. I'm also a bit worried that I will always have an obvious 'step' caused by the difference in hair density above and below the scar. I really want to cut my hair down to a 3 guard as well to even it up, but I may wait another week for that.

One thing that strikes me from the immediate post op picture is that the recipient area is pretty large for just 2150 grafts. How do you find the density in the non-shocked areas? Do you think most of the grafts survived? Regardless, I really hope you can get this resolved and will keep us updated.

I'm about 10 days post op now, and for the past 5 days I've had a feeling that I'm shedding more hair than usual from all over my head (well everywhere except the recipient area). The donor area is also shaved right down so I wouldn't notice if it was shedding anyway. Tonight I washed the back and top of my head in the shower and each time I ran my hands through my hair I'd pick up a few loose hairs. I did this for quite a while, and the hairs kept coming...over 100 for sure (over the course of 30 mins or something). This has got me pretty worried since I don't think I actually shed much hair in the shower before the op. However, I used to shower morning and night, so perhaps I just wouldn't notice. Obviously I've only been washing my hair very gently for the past 10 days so it's possible there was just a big build up of hairs waiting to be cleaned up. Anyone else notice similar things in the post-op weeks? How long did it take for the shedding to stabilise? It's difficult to be objective with this because I'm focusing much more on my hair than normal, but I don't think I've seen this much shedding for a long time.

I'm about 10 days post op now, and for the past 5 days I've had a feeling that I'm shedding more hair than usual from all over my head (well everywhere except the recipient area). The donor area is also shaved right down so I wouldn't notice if it was shedding anyway. Tonight I washed the back and top of my head in the shower and each time I ran my hands through my hair I'd pick up a few loose hairs. I did this for quite a while, and the hairs kept coming...over 100 for sure (over the course of 30 mins or something). This has got me pretty worried since I don't think I actually shed much hair in the shower before the op. However, I used to shower morning and night, so perhaps I just wouldn't notice. Obviously I've only been washing my hair very gently for the past 10 days so it's possible there was just a big build up of hairs waiting to be cleaned up. Anyone else notice similar things in the post-op weeks? How long did it take for the shedding to stabilise? It's difficult to be objective with this because I'm focusing much more on my hair than normal, but I don't think I've seen this much shedding for a long time.

He did say I had good donor mobility so I have to trust his judgement on this. Provided the scar doesn't stretch I'll be happy. There is perhaps an expectation that most people would buzz their hair at two weeks so they don't really worry about shaving much more than is needed. Maybe I should have mentioned that I don't really want a buzz cut though

I'm at five days post-op now, but I still have quite a lot of swelling. Since day 2 the swelling has improved at the sides of my head, but the area around my eyes is more swollen than it's been before. I was told swelling would be completely gone by day 5. I probably didn't maintain the 45 degree sleeping angle as much as I should have... (I admit that I slept in a normal position last night, one day sooner than is advised). I'm wondering what experience other people had, i.e. how long it took for swelling to subside? I'm really hoping it will be gone by day 7 post op since I want/need to go outside again!

I'm at five days post-op now, but I still have quite a lot of swelling. Since day 2 the swelling has improved at the sides of my head, but the area around my eyes is more swollen than it's been before. I was told swelling would be completely gone by day 5. I probably didn't maintain the 45 degree sleeping angle as much as I should have... (I admit that I slept in a normal position last night, one day sooner than is advised). I'm wondering what experience other people had, i.e. how long it took for swelling to subside? I'm really hoping it will be gone by day 7 post op since I want/need to go outside again!

Thanks for the message. Yes, I'm taking Propecia just now. I'll start on Minoxidl at two weeks post op, although that's not something I want to stay on forever.

Cardinal suites. It's about half the price of Adam's Inn but to be honest, the room isn't that great. If you have enough time, then another option is to look through classified ads to find someone who is renting their apartment short term - it should be possible to find a place for around 1000 dollars for a full month.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm feeling pretty excited about the prospect of a good result although I know I've a very long way to go. The graft count is good, and my hair characteristics are HT friendly so I am hopeful. Raphael84> So far I can't complain. I arrived in Ottawa in the evening two days before my procedure. I'd recommend arriving so that you have one full day to get familiar with your surroundings. For me that meant stocking up on food, finding my way to the transplant clinic, nearest ATM etc. The procedure itself was fine - a little uncomfortable at times due to being stuck in the same position, but not painful. There is some pain a few hours after the procedure, but taking some strong painkillers sorts that out. I'm only at day three, but I still find it quite difficult to sleep because of discomfort in the donor area. For example, if I rest my head on a pillow the pressure of the sutures is a little sore (not very painful, but just enough to be a nuisance). I have a bit of swelling around my face which I'm hoping will start to subside tomorrow. I actually decided to stay for a full month to do some sight seeing etc. This gives me a good reason to avoid people back home. Obviously I'll need to see them eventually, but I'm glad I don't have to think about that for a while (at the moment I haven't told anyone what I'm really doing in Canada).

I've created a blog showing my status at 2 days post op. Hopefully I'll be able to get hold of the pictures taken just before and after the surgery as well. Please feel free to comment on the blog

I finally had my first HT yesterday with Dr Rahal! I was originally booked in for 3000 grafts to the frontal third, but my head is somewhat big so this was increased to 3500. My hair is pretty thick and wavy, which should help with the final result I hope. In the end 3699 grafts were harvested (6944 hairs): 1's ??“ 969 2's ??“ 2215 3's ??“ 515 The donor strip area was 26.21 CM/2. The techs commented pretty often on how my donor hair was of good quality and easy to work with. I'm interested to know if my donor density is good/bad compared to average? The entire procedure took about 8 hours. I'd say the most uncomfortable part was when the grafts were being planted and I started to feel a bit sore from lying in the same position for so long. Today I'm feeling pretty much OK. There's still some discomfort in the donor area, but I don't think I need pain killers anymore (well maybe I'll take some before I go to sleep tonight). Pics later

There will be some work behind the hairline to strengthen I imagine. I'm in-between jobs - redundancy can have a few positive benefits To mmhce> I realise it will take a long time for all the transplanted hair to grow in. I'm really just hoping to look normal again by month 3 (I realise I will need a certain amount of good luck).

It's just a little over two weeks until I have my procedure with Dr Rahal. I'll be getting 3000 grafts or so into the frontal third (with the usual requirement for the recipient area to be shaved). At the moment my hair is maybe 1.5 inches long and I'm wondering what I should do with it after the procedure. I know many guys just shave the rest of their head down to a 1 guard to keep things even, but I wondered about keeping it longer. My own timescales are something like this: - 5 weeks post op. I will start to see friends again (can wear a cap here, although it is not something I normally do so could seem a bit odd) - 10 weeks post op. I will return to work (probably can't wear a cap here) I'd like to have the scar mostly covered by week 5 (but certainly by the time I return to work). Ideally, I want the recipient area to look 'normal', but I think that will need a lot of luck. Having longer hair offers more options I think. Any advice on what I should do with my hair post op? I don't really want it to look uneven either so I think it should be shortened a bit. SG

It's just a little over two weeks until I have my procedure with Dr Rahal. I'll be getting 3000 grafts or so into the frontal third (with the usual requirement for the recipient area to be shaved). At the moment my hair is maybe 1.5 inches long and I'm wondering what I should do with it after the procedure. I know many guys just shave the rest of their head down to a 1 guard to keep things even, but I wondered about keeping it longer. My own timescales are something like this: - 5 weeks post op. I will start to see friends again (can wear a cap here, although it is not something I normally do so could seem a bit odd) - 10 weeks post op. I will return to work (probably can't wear a cap here) I'd like to have the scar mostly covered by week 5 (but certainly by the time I return to work). Ideally, I want the recipient area to look 'normal', but I think that will need a lot of luck. Having longer hair offers more options I think. Any advice on what I should do with my hair post op? I don't really want it to look uneven either so I think it should be shortened a bit. SG

Err, 'combing'

This question (probably asked 100 times before) is mostly for guys who get work done in the frontal third, and still have good coverage on top. I notice many post-HT guys sweep their hair backwards/upwards. I suppose this does allow you to show off your nice new hairline, but I wondered if this is because it doesn't look dense/natural with other styles? Does anyone have success coming their hair forward? Guys with good density at the front who can cover a lot of forehead tend to look younger than everyone else....wouldn't mind being able to do that again SG