Sparse

From the (admittedly small) sample of comments here, it sounds like more H&W patients have had better growth on the right versus left side . . . that's been my experience, as well. Although I'm quite happy with my result, growth is a bit thicker overall on the right. In fact, there's an area on the left about an inch behind the hairline - it's an oval about an inch in diameter - where the yield is noticeably lower. (It's pretty see-through there when combed the wrong way.) I was in the chair for about 14 hours (napping for part of it), and at least 4 different techs worked on the left side, so I have no idea who worked on that particular area . . . and, of course, it's also quite possible that the lower yield had nothing to do with the techs (i.e., could be due to any number of other factors). Still, it's an interesting pattern of results if the left-vs-right side disparity turns out to be widespread - especially given the fact that some techs tend to work only on the left side.

Thanks for the update, Hrvoje, and for providing such high quality pics under various lighting conditions. Your pics really illustrate how much lighting can affect our perceptions of any given HT result. (It makes me wonder what percentage of "home run" results still would be worthy of the label if we could evaluate them under strong lights with HD video.) Based on your photos, I can certainly understand the concern about weakness behind the hairline, especially on the right side, but surely it will continue to thicken up in those areas as the follicles mature through month 10 or so. Good luck, and grow well.

Looking good, Hairthere! But from the 2 pics you've shown at 5 months, it's hard to get a solid read on exactly how the new hairline frames your face . . . any chance you could post a pic of your entire face (with eyes/nose/mouth blacked out, if needed, to preserve privacy)? Also, I'd love to see a profile pic in good lighting to evaluate the temple points more clearly.

Thanks, Labrat. I'll try to post updated pics soon . . . had a bad haircut right after those January pics were posted, so now I've grown it out pretty long again and need to find someone to cut and style it appropriately before I post an update! My wife wants me to go super-short (e.g., a #2 guard), while my teenage daughter thinks my current look - longish hair with surfer bangs in the front - makes me look much younger. Any advice?

Ok, Labrat, here's a picky question: Are there any pics of London Lad in profile? From the frontal pic it looks like his temple points might still be pretty receded . . . I wonder if it looks odd on close inspection to have a NW1 look on top but temple points more consistent with a NW4-6?

Labrat: Thanks for the London Lad pics. Un-freaking-believable. I've been more than satisfied with the transformation Dr. H. has achieved with my 5566 grafts last summer, but after seeing what another 5000 grafts can do . . . it's enough to give a guy a serious case of hair greed! (Then again, as a happily married 46-year-old, it's hard to justify plunking down another $20k just to go from "good" to "ridiculously, off-the-scale good".)

Good question: my guess is "no", but others can speak to this more authoritatively. In any case, feel free to send a pic or two to my email. Thanks. (Oh, and I don't think anyone would be offended by your posts - they strike me as open and respectful, and that's the sort of vibe that fits in well on this forum.)

Labrat: You wouldn't happen to have a link to London Lad's latest pic(s) would you? I've seen his impressive result after HT#1 (7700 grafts, or something like that), but would love to see what 11k+ grafts look like!

Xeon, I think you have a valid perspective, but it looks to me like Drew is well on his way to a spectacular transformation: his hair already looks good/natural without any product, and with another 3k+ grafts added in follow-up procedure(s), he'll have an impressively full head of hair. Would you be willing to post a few high-res pictures of yourself, with and without the hair system? I'm really curious to see what sort of result you're able to achieve with it. Also, I'd be willing to make a friendly wager that Drew's hair, after his next procedure, will look better overall than anything that might be achieved by a hair system.

Back when I was doing my research (pre-HT), I noticed that a sizable percentage of H&W patients were getting robust early growth: it was one of many factors that helped nudge me in their direction. And, as fate would have it, I started seeing obvious growth by the 2-month mark after my HT with Dr. Hasson last summer. In fact, by the 3-month mark the growth was so strong that I was receiving unsolicited compliments from friends and acquaintances (none of whom knew I'd had the procedure). On the other hand, I've seen lots of great results where the growth didn't begin in earnest until the 5-month or 6-month mark, so there's definitely no need for worry if you're not an early grower . . . Best wishes!

Oh. My. God. It boggles the mind that any surgeon would butcher a patient like that, but Dr. Hasson did a brilliant job of repairing the damage (as usual). Absolutely amazing.

Great thread, guys. For what it's worth, I tried Propecia with high hopes about 18 months ago, and had a bizarro side effect: intense irritability (and my baseline is pretty upbeat). My wife and 12-year-old daughter each pointed out the dramatic change in personality after I'd been on the drug for about 3 weeks, and even though I found it hard to imagine the Propecia could be the culprit, I decided to try stopping it to see if it would make a difference. Within a week or so I was back to normal. Still not convinced (and not wanting to give up the benefit of the drug), I went back on for Round 2 at a reduced initial dose (.5 mg/day). . . and promptly went right back to a state of chronic, intense irritability. So, of course, that was the end of my Propecia trial. A little subsequent research uncovered the fact that 5-alpha-reductase (the enzyme inhibited by Propecia) plays a role in modulating androgenic hormone effects on the brain, so there's at least a plausible pathway for cognitive/affective changes . . . though based on the paucity of case reports, I'm assuming it's pretty rare. Oh, and just to make matters more interesting, I had noticeably increased libido on the drug (another reason I hated to stop).

Azazelgs, Thanks, you're very kind. As for hair length . . . I'm sure over the next year I'll experiment with long hair, short hair, and everything in between. I actually like it the length it was in that 5.5 month photo (a little on the shaggy side), but that may be in part because the length seems to add to the perceived density for now. Maybe as things thicken up in the next 4-6 months it will look even better short. It's just cool to have enough hair now to experiment with it!

Biscuit: Thanks much . . . it's nice to think about potential improvement all the way out 24 months. Bighose: Thanks for the kind words, and I'll be pulling for you to be one of the lucky "early growth" guys, as well. I never expected to be so fortunate, but sure won't complain!

Thanks, Tundra. I'm lucky to have good hair characteristics (coarse/thick hair follicles) and a great surgeon!