Rynomite13

Very nice result Greg! Do you have any pics before the procedure at a similar angle?

Congrats on all the success Melvin. You look fantastic whether u choose to put more in the crown or not! Cheers!

Great, natural result! The crown doesn’t look bad at all either in the pics and the donor looks untouched!

Melvin- Impressive results in 2022 with Eugenix and what a 10 year transformation you've experienced! When you say you may want another procedure for the crown and part line, are you just looking to add more density to where you part your hair? I can't tell it's thinner at all in the pics and videos there so just curious. Thanks for all you do for this community and for always being there for support. Cheers!

Wow finally saw and read thru everything. What an amazing thorough review. Everything looks fantastic and I’m excited to follow along your journey. Cheers and happy growing!

Really nice and soft looking transition zone and hairline… 👏🏻

I honestly always thought this result and hairline looked pretty soft and natural. What clinics do you think has softer and more natural looking results? Just curious…

Looking good, Rob! What a transformation! I would recommend aveda grooming clay if u haven’t given it a shot… Congrats on the results!

Looks great. Congrats on the results! Also it’s hard to achieve really strong density on the first procedure where u didn’t have hair and I think it always takes some styling to find the sweet spot and get the best out of it. I also use the Aveda clay!

Looks so good melvin… 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Wow, that crown density is incredible and the hairline is looking great as well! Congrats on these amazing gains!

Such sage advice right here that connected with me… Thanks for this and all the best with round 2! Looks phenomenal already!

I made a little before and after comparison for ya! 🙂 Definitely some great improvement to feel positive about! Do you have any pics of your hair at the current length prior to the procedure to compare as well? Also, what is it you're not as in love with you would like to improve further? Thanks for sharing!

Any update? Would love to see as well!

Very nice. I chose him for the same reason: naturalness! I like how you described a lot of other surgeon’s work as a “wall of hair” that looks too abrupt. Shapiro is great at creating soft hairlines.

Some really nice gains and the donor is looking much better which I know u were really concerned about. 6-9 months is when it started filling out better and getting softer for me!

This looks similar to where I was at 4 months if u go back and look at my 4 month update doesn’t it? I kind of just let it grow from that point and it really started picking up month 5-6 and continued from there. I had a very similar donor issue and it’s still a little thinner at 8 months on the side like yours but when I grow out to a 4-6 guard now it’s not noticeable so I think your will also recover. It’s coming along nicely tho and u should have some nice gains coming soon!

Thanks for being such a great mentor along the way. Appreciate all ur support!

Absolutely! Everything you just explained regarding your approach makes perfect sense. I have truly appreciated your time, support and thoughtfulness. I would happily recommend SMG to anyone considering having a procedure done. Fun little side note: I am still keeping my procedure private for now, but I did tell my immediate family and both of my brothers are really interested now in considering SMG, too! Thanks again for taking the time to share your feedback. It means a lot!

Thanks for the positive feedback. I think broadening the hairline a little would give me more options on how I can style it. It may even be more conservative than the line I drew. Will continue to update my progress here… Cheers!

Totally agree. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy with the improvement and grateful for it. Like i said originally, I am not aspiring to get a full head of hair or have the hairline I had in high school. I do still want some recession TBH. I would also love nothing more than to be content where I’m at and maybe I’ll get there over the next few months. Who knows! All that said, my gut has been to broaden my hairline down just a bit more and I always suspected I may need a 2nd procedure to get there. We went a little conservative on the hairline for the first procedure and used 2500 grafts total. Fortunately my hair loss has stabilized over the last 10-15 years and I take fin and minox. I am really happy with the overall improved density and thickness as well. My wife keeps saying how thick my hair looks and that doesn’t suck to hear! 🙂 To be candid, I have always had a longer, more oblong head shape which is probably why I think broadening my hairline a bit more could improve the overall symmetry. That said, I agree with everything u pointed out and don’t take for granted the improvement I have already experienced. Thanks again for the support and positive feedback. Much appreciated! 🙏

Thanks for the kind words! It’s been growing on me, literally and figuratively! 😂

I appreciate the props. Naturalness has always been the top priority for me and that’s why I love SMG. My hope is to get to a 5.5-6 eventually just from this first procedure, but, yeah, it’s still just a little higher and more receded than what my goal is, but that’s alright. To go from a 3 to a 5-6 is still a big improvement. The only point I might respectfully disagree on is the “age appropriate” concept. Sure I am in my 40’s and I am not looking to have my 18 year old hairline. That said, my uncle in law is over 80 and has a full head of hair. I don’t think it looks age inappropriate or that he looks to old to have a full head of hair if you catch my drift… Having said all of that, I am happy with the results and I always understood my first procedure was going to be a little more conservative than where my ultimate goal was, so I am good with that and just tryna be grateful for the improvement! Also it just takes time to adjust/adapt and the arrow is still pointing upwards! Thanks again for the kind words. Your hair looks amazing too and I am glad you are happy with the results!

*8 month update* Firstly, I want to apologize I haven't updated sooner! I have been seeing some nice improvement, especially over the last couple months. The last few months I've tried to practice patience and I wanted to get to a place where I had a clearer head (no pun intended) before updating again. When the new hair started coming in months 4-5 it was difficult to manage and either too wavy, too finicky or hard to comb the directions I wanted. There are still some varying degrees of density around the hairline and behind the hairline, but I have learned to adapt to my new hair and style it in a way that looks best, at least to my eyes! I'm a bit of a numbers guy, so prior to getting the procedure I rated my comfort level with my hair at a 3 on scale of 1 to 10. I think I have gone from a 3 to a 5 which I am pretty happy with. I realize a 5 may seem low to some given the noticeable improvement, but this is just my own comfort level. I still prefer my appearance in hats, but I am wearing them less often now! I think I am about halfway to my goal which would be a 7. I would never set the bar at an 8-9 for myself, however I am planning a 2nd procedure in May to broaden the hairline and potentially bring it down slightly more in the center. Assuming I move forward and see the results I am hoping for, I think I could hit my goal. With that said, I still have time between now and then to evaluate. Part of me would like to "leave well enough alone", but I also realize I have the chance to feel even better about my hair and I only used about 2500 grafts with the 1st FUE. I have been very happy with the care and support from SMG with both Dr Shapiro and Dr Josephitis and have a 9 month check in January to assess where I am. I initially chose SMG because of their track record and natural looking, softer hairlines, but I've also really appreciated the time and care they have provided me after the procedure itself. I also wanted to give a shout out to @Melvin- Moderator, @aaron1234 and @hybonix who have all helped and supported me a ton thru my journey. In the pics below I included some additional thoughts for those of you who are interested in reading. I may be a bit analytical for my own good sometimes, but I try to be honest and fair in my own self evaluation. More importantly, I am grateful for all the progress I've seen so far and realize I could continue to see more improvement over the next few months. !