massman

5 minutes ago, EvansLawrence said:

I did bring to them yeah. They didnt say no, didnt say yes. We agreed to wait. Personally I dont think they'll refund anything. Still i wont go even if they give free touch up. Cause my donnor is limited. 

Actually I think the fact they didn't say no is a good sign more than anything. It's obviously the least desired option from the clinic's perspective but the fact they haven't ruled it out suggests it's something they may be open to. The only difficult question with a refund is, how much should it be? What will you ask for, 50%?

45 minutes ago, EvansLawrence said:

Yes! So we agreed on waiting till february (12th month mark). So far Im now on month 11 and no improvement so I know how this will be next month but I understand is a burocratic procedure. They have seen pics, offered a free touch up altough they know I dont feel condident enough going there again. So lets see how we can resolve this 😊. 

Agree I don't think 1 month will make a difference but procedure is procedure! A free touch up is good service and the right thing to do. Appreciate your concerns though, have you brought up the topic of a refund instead?

36 minutes ago, EvansLawrence said:

Spending a high price on a clinic that shows itselft as an elite one and being dissapointed by not having a result acording to the clinic's level is being inmature? For real?

Other thing: finasteride/ minoxidil is not mandatory for a surgery on hlc, and if they dont tell you to medicate yourself, then thats on them. Other clinics dont run a surgery if the patient is not medicated. Which btw should not affect to the donnor area/ implanted area, since its an area not affected by the androgenetic alopecia. Anyway I medicated myself. 

A chain of thought? Please dont make me laugh. What I show by the pics is objetive, clear.

Have you sent your pictures to the clinic yet? Any response from them?

At 10 months I totally get why you'd be disappointed with this because that does look quite thin. Let us know what HLC respond with, I believe they're usually quite good when dealing with a subpar result. How much is Contelessa charging you?

4 minutes ago, MachoVato said:

Yes, this is why Bisanga pulled hairs from around my ear and lower neck for my temples, which are finer in caliber. He was very selective about these grafts. I think Mwamba has shown evidence of using hair from the nape of the neck, too.

Makes sense as they're hairs following the same line/region that the temple hairs are on. I've read that some surgeons can be reticent to use these hairs because they're more prone to loss than the 'safe zone' in the back. I guess it's about finding that balance of artistry and longevity.

3 minutes ago, JDEE0 said:

I'm in a similar boat of not knowing whether to do anything to mine.

I think the simple truth is that temples done right look amazing when the hair is fairly long on the sides, maybe a guard 5 or above, but when it's short its almost always visible. I've seen very few cases of shorter sides involving temple work where I can barely tell and I think they're just lucky to have their finest donor hairs match the calibre of their temple hairs closely. 

Bang on. So it really depends on how you think you're going to want to style your hair. Longer styles and you're golden but anything short, and especially in the case of a skin fade like this guy had, you're gonna see it. I'm not too keen on skin fades these days so I think I'm going to go for it in the end. Especially because my temple recession is uneven (worse on one side) so it's completely lopsided my face.

15 minutes ago, Kaya said:

Just saw the video. I love HLC. They did a great job on this patient; especially on the hairline. However, I cannot say the same thing for the temples. I don't know if the patient asked for very aggressive temples or it was HLC's decision but it came with a price apparently. It is really hard to make a natural looking temple because of the temple hair calibers being finer. For educated eyes, this is super easy to tell:

Yeah, I'd noticed this as well. Temples are undoubtedly extremely difficult to get right because of the reason you mentioned, plus those very fine hairs are often unique to that region so trying to recreate the natural look is super tricky. Especially with hairs from the back of the head, which are typically thicker and darker than other hairs. It's why I'm still undecided on whether or not to get my temples done when I go for my transplant!

10 minutes ago, EvansLawrence said:

Thanks man. I believe this is an excellent coment and I agree with it. 

The thing is that if we, for example, take a look at this video: 

that makes us believe that we can reach a great area with just 4000 grfs. I believe my alopecia before was less agressive than this guy's. And with almost 3200 i should have got at least my temples lower and more closed. In the email they said between 2600 and 3000. 

Maybe my growth is fine by month 8 but im sure that other doctors would have done more with those 3200 grafts. 

As I said. This is my opinion and personal feeling. Im in my right to expres it as well as you are all right to disagree.

 

There's a reason this video has so many views. It's an exceptional result. Doesn't mean every HLC result will be equal to it. Ultimately, everyone is going to have a different result based on a set of factors unique to each individual and nobody can know how they're going to respond to a transplant until they have one. You may have thicker hair than this guy, a better donor region, better everything. But maybe he just responded better through pure genetic luck

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion. But the fact is you've only just hit month 8. While this doesn't invalidate your opinion, it does weaken it. It's like a developer being pissed that their house looks like shit because the roof isn't on yet. You have to wait until the house is actually finished before passing judgement.

49 minutes ago, giegnosiganoe said:

I agree with the others above. Curious how short did you cut your donor?

This is another thing. One of the most common misconceptions about FUE is that it's 'scarless' surgery. It's not, and if you shave your head to Grade 0.5 as it looks like EvansLawrence has, you're going to see tiny scars. Of course, anything 1.5/2 and above and the scars are near imperceptible. With longer hair (but still short), you can't see at all. And don't forget it's much better than the strip scar you get with FUT.

10 hours ago, EvansLawrence said:

month 8 (almost)

almost at the end of the recovery.

So far my personal feelings: its better than before, no doubt about it. Very natural. Although for me it didnt worth it. 8000€ and 3150 grafts that look more like 2200 or 2500.

Still very conservative line. I have a day for surgery in Spain with Dra. Cotellesa on January to close better the temples and maybe lower the hairline a little bit.

 

Am I being perfectionist? Yes

Am I in my right to be perfectionist? Ofcourse

Were my expectations in HLC fulfilled based on the videos they post? Definitely not

 

Just my thought process.

You are free to think what you want

You're not right in being a perfectionist. If you went into this expecting to come out with the same luscious hairline you had as a 16 year old after one HT then you were always going to be disappointed. It's 99% certain that you're not going to get the same look and density you had pre hairloss.

You're also still only at 8 months, and from your pictures I see notable improvements from month 5. Give it until month 12 and see how you look then.

Being a perfectionist myself I know the mental turmoil of obsessively looking at details, so I do empathise with you. But with this you just have to understand the parameters of what's possible and adjust your expectations accordingly. It's hard to do, but it'll make you feel a a whole lot better.

Your pattern of recession, hair type and hair density looks very similar to mine. Can you share any pictures of your hair pulled back pre shave? I'm looking at booking HLC in October, so I'll be following your progress closely. Thanks for sharing!