Cowlicks Abound

Ok how about one from 3.5 months: Then 5 months: 6 months: And 7 months!

Friends! It’s been a year. A wonderful year of growth and no longer looking into mirrors with anxiety. I am absolutely thrilled with what Dr. Nadimi was able to do with strange cowlicks and only 2000 grafts. Nobody can tell I had a procedure, but I’m very open about it. To this day, friends still randomly marvel at the improvement. Here some photos of how I look today. I’d say I had “full” growth at about the 7 month mark. Month 4 is when I stopped wearing hats, and month 6 was when my confidence peaked. Please let me know if you have any questions!

I’ll add briefly that I think it’s going very well. In general, I’m not greedy and have been very patient through the ugly duckling phase even as the US opens up and summer begins. But to be perfectly honest, I’m pretty eager for the day when I look better without a hat than with one. For those of you who haven’t gotten a transplant yet or got one recently, it’s a good feeling when you start to see growth. But “looking good!” from a surgical standpoint is very different from “looking good!” from a casual observer standpoint. Right now, despite good growth for this amount of time, people see me as having an unfortunate balding pattern with fairly advanced thinning. I have a really fun trip starting about 4 months post-op, and the desire to look great for that trip, though unrealistic, is very real. Just something to remember when you’re getting in the mindset of surgery and recovery.

Hey friends. I meant to do this at the 3 month mark, but this is a 3 months and 10 days update for you. Just got out of the shower, so my hair is still wet.

Checking in to provide an update. These pics are from 2 months + 2 weeks after the surgery.

Three weeks since my surgery, and I feel totally normal. No pain or other issues. My recipient zone may be slightly red, but that’s about it. Shedding has been very, very slow. And that’s fine with me!

Hasn’t started yet! Like everyone, I wish I could keep all this new hair. Donor looks totally fine. Below are pictures from this morning, Day 16.

One week from my surgery, and things are looking good. Today I was finally allowed to gently wash the transplanted area directly, which is good because crusts are starting to form. I saw Dr. Nadimi several times after my surgery, and I really have to congratulate her and her practice on post-operative care. One morning I had a strange issue, and I emailed her about it at 6 am. She responded within 15 minutes and invited me to come in at 7:30 am. It was nothing, but she was happy to see me and talk to me as long as I needed. Truly a wonderful experience. Day 7 photos below.

Congrats! You’re nearing the one week mark then. Healing going well?

Dr. Nadimi says she recommends going with hairlines between 7 and 10 centimeters above the spot between the eyebrows. Existing hairline was at 6 cm. The idea is that those existing hairs will continue to thin and fall out, so the transplanted hairline is one I can grow into, that will look good even when the native hairs are gone. She also said in her experience having some finer hairs in the front looks natural, particularly since the thicker transplanted hair immediately behind them will give an illusion of density. There was another Nadimi case posted on this forum where she used the exact same strategy and the results were beautiful. If she’s wrong, and it not only looks bad but the native hairs also stick around permanently (highly unlikely IMO) I’ll consider lowering the hairline when I address the crown down the line. I have plenty of donor supply.

I haven’t asked for the graft breakdown yet, and no, I’m not at an Airbnb 😄

Hey everyone, I used this forum for months before selecting my preferred surgeon, so I figured I’d pay it forward. Yesterday, Dr. Nadimi in Chicago, IL performed a 2000 graft transplant on the front of my scalp. Before the HT, I was satisfied, but self conscious when it came to my hair. Due to cowlicks, coarse hair, and combovers, I was able to do a lot with very little. With fin, my hair loss had almost stabilized - almost being the key word here. I’d estimate I was about 2 years away from people recommending I go ahead and shave my head. So I decided to do a consult with Dr. Nadimi. The pictures I sent Dr. Nadimi before our consult are below. Based on these, she recommended 2000-2300 grafts, but given that I’m trying to be conservative, we settled on 2000. The procedure went beautifully, and Dr. Nadimi worked on me the entire time. She had others help with certain tasks, but it felt like every important task she did personally. I’ve posted my one-day post-op pics below as well. Curious to know your thoughts, and let me know if you have any questions?