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!

7 hours ago, PluggedIn said:

No offense taken at all! I want people to be honest and I think demanding excellent results helps the field.

The hair has softened since my last but it has seemed to have been taking longer than most people and there is still some time to soften up. It can take up to 24 months.

As for the hairline shape it was a collaborative effort, so I personally like it but to each their own.

11 Months

18 months

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

7 hours ago, jonnyjon said:

Don't mean to insult, but not gonna lie - I don't think it looks good. It's very tell-tale sign of having a transplant with the thick spaced out hairs and shape of the hairline. That half moon shape is so over used for HTs I just don't get it. It's not how hair naturally is shaped, and it only causes more people to need future HTs to again address the issue. Just like in your sunlight photos, I think that is worse than your natural hairline. If you notice in the first 2 photos in this last post showing your hairline B/A comps, you'll see how fine and soft the natural hairline is. Regardless of balding, THAT's how it should look. Soft. Fine up front with graduation to thicker, with subtlety. I think there's too many people on here that are employed to pump "good" feedback on people so that everyone thinks this is acceptable and the standard. It could be a complete disaster, which it isn't, but it's not good either. Just being honest.

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…

7 hours ago, jonnyjon said:

 

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!

On 10/29/2022 at 11:24 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

10 year challenge 27 vs. 37 

People can say what they want to, but hair matters. 

Looks so good melvin… 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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

8 hours ago, MazAB said:

Always keep in mind that no hair transplant is perfect, and it’s important to have that expectation from the on-set. Every surgery is a risk and regardless of the clinic’s track record of success, be sure to have every “what-if” scenario mapped out in your head before having surgery. And know that since perfection is not the goal, be ready to embrace those imperfections, make them your own, and be prepared that 2nd or even 3rd procedures are most often necessary over the course of time. Unless the work is extremely minimal, the “one and done” hair transplant is many times not enough, so don’t sweat the small stuff. Stay optimistic and know that your own personal transformation is a lifetime commitment, so every move you make should be a very well educated, calculated decision that you own and have 200% confidence in. And if things don't go as planned, the "what if" scenarios are already mapped out and it's easier at that point to course correct and right the ship. The "Rome was never built in a day" metaphor applies greatly to the this entire process, so take your time with every decision. Believe me, your mental sanity and full head of hair will thank you for it!

 

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!

On 8/8/2022 at 9:55 AM, phantom777 said:

I'll try to post my update sometime this week, once I take some pics. 

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!

On 12/9/2021 at 9:38 PM, aaron1234 said:

No one would be able to tell that's a transplant.  Nice to see it fully blossom!  Donor looks untouched as well.  👏

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

1 hour ago, Dr. Ron Shapiro said:

Thanks for writing your review.  Look forward to seeing you again in January.      I wanted to make a briefcomment about your case and why it is important to individualize plans based on a persons specific situation.     Like you said.... in your case naturalness was the most important issue....with density and shape a close second. In my assesent of your concerns.....any degree of naturalness would have been very uncomfortable to you.  In planning  your procedure we  really went back and forth  and how aggressive to bring down the hairline.   There is intrinsically a greater risk of a patient feeling  the transplant is natural natural the more aggressive we are....so we erred on the side of making it a little more conservative and making naturalness more assured.   We hoped  maybe this would  be aggressive enough..... but knew that if you liked the naturalness  we  would have the ability  to titrate down the hairline more safely to the perfect Level.  I always like being in that position rather thang having a patient be even slightly  uncomfortable  with naturalness.     We still have 3 -4 more months of growth to hope the center part becomes more dense.  And at that time  we will also have a even better idea of exactly how much lower you will want it.  But it will be  fairly easy now to build on this base and safely bring it down perfectly without any risk of you feeling uncomfortable.... if that is what you desire.  The risk of doing this  in the first session with your  focus on naturalness made us decide to be a little more conservative.   In some cases we can be a little more aggressive the first time.  In your case with naturalness being  so important we sort of decided to go this path.  Hope that makes sense to everyone.     Once again looking forward to  seeing you next month. Take care 

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!

1 hour ago, PluggedIn said:

I think it looks fantastic. Only hair transplant weirdos like us would think that's "receded". The general public would think you have a full head of hair. 

You could go lower and it wouldn't be overly aggressive, I think that line you drew is appropriate but I don't think you necessarily need it

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!

1 hour ago, hybonix said:

Remember, we will never get back to the days of having a full head of hair like your uncle. Even if you max out your donor supply, it will never be as thick, so we are simply creating an illusion. My father in law has a lower hairline than me and a full head of hair. However, I choose to accept that fact since I made my situation immensely better and look great because of it. 70% of men start balding or losing hair in some capacity which is why the age appropriate hair comment is said very frequently. Be careful chasing too far for “perfection” and be happy that you have a full head of hair. Some people I know aren’t so lucky or fortunate. But I understand your point.

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! 🙏 

5 minutes ago, JC71 said:

Wow 😯 This was definitely worth the wait ! Superb for 8 months 👌As was mentioned, this is incredibly natural looking. 

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

2 hours ago, hybonix said:

Dude, these results are fantastic! Look how thick that hair is. It sucks to say your confidence level is only a 5 though as I would be rocking that hair with no hats all the time. It looks age appropriate, yes it's receding a little bit, but it's done with grace. It's not an oh shit he is bald, but an oh looks like he is receding a little but he looks fantastic! Mature man! I am not sure if that makes sense, but I think this is an amazing result from where you were. @Melvin- ModeratorCalling you out to chime in as the godfather here.

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. 

• !