HappyMan2021

seems like a question only your doctor can answer. It is hard bc I'd wager 90% of all medications have "hair loss" as a possible side effect. Does Remicade have any impact on DHT? 

Its possible you've also got thinning/weakened hair from all the medical surgeries you've had lately. Seems like your body has really been through the ringer, and once of the body's potential reactions when dealing with intense stress is hairloss. 

such a horrible feeling to just get out of surgery and realize right away you will need another one. I've been there. I think by the 6 month mark you can start visiting docs and get the wheels spinning on a 2nd repair job. 

Even tho there are clear and obvious density issues, I don't think any doc - even a sh*t one- can provide a clear assessment and/or a repair evaluation so soon after this 1st surgery. 

In the meantime just grow your native hair out as long as possible to cover the grafts. I would say use concealer too, but I'm not sure if that can have a negative affect on graft growth. 

As others have said, its unfortunately really common to have a bad 1st HT and then need a repair. Even "decent" HT's may need a secondary touchup. 

MGK makes me unreasonably angry. I am jealous of him. If he wasn't famous he'd just be some bald baby daddy living in the trailer park. But fame has brought him killer hair, millions of dollars, and Megan Fox 😪

6 hours ago, Domino said:

Here is the winner for the lowest natural hairline for white guy🏆

both Hannity and Tucker Carlson have godly, juvenile hair. I wonder if they are just blessed

2 hours ago, deeznuts said:

I honestly don't think low hairlines are that unnatural. Obviously you shouldn't be shooting for one if you're getting a hair transplant but there are guys out there with low hairlines that are totally natural. Asians are a great example.

yea totally agree on the race/genetic aspect. As a pasty white male, a super low hairline would look really unnatural on me. Whereas African/Asian/Hispanic, super low hairlines are more natural. 

At the end of the day tho no one on this forum should aim for a super low hairline. It is almost guaranteeing future multiple HT's to chase down further hair loss. If men with MPB want that ultra-low hairline, tbh they should go the hair system route. 

@dobler maybe I am just being a worry wart, but maybe you should get that checked out by a dermatologist or primary care physician. Who knows if that bulging is having any impact on a facial muscle, nerve, or vein, etc. I think it is unlikely but better be safe than sorry. 

Of course agree with everyone else you should see a HT doc in addition. But I just don't think a HT doc can give you the best, objective opinion of what that is or any effect it is having. 

@Sean sorry to hear. i myself had a bad 1st HT, a very bland and unfulfilling 2nd "repair" HT, and finally am happy and look good with a 3rd HT. And even so, I plan on ultimately getting a 4th HT to fill in my crown, at some point in the future. 

I see from your profile you have a ton of experience with this forum, and as you said, you ironically helped repair patients for the clinic that did a subpar job on you. 

You already know the answers to your questions. You need to go to an elite doctor. If it is realistic, the price tag and/or wait time are secondary to the mental well being that a great repair will do for you. 

I am curious why you've waited multiple years to get a repair. For my 2nd and 3rd repair HT's, I couldn't wait to get them soon enough. You already know who the elite docs are, so not sure what the wait is for - but I'm sure you have your reasons. 

Its hard to comment more without seeing pics. I do sense a lot of stress and some anxiety, which is completely normal. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you know, any HT - whether a repair or an initial one - may not meet your exact expectations. Perhaps you may want to peruse the hair system option. It may give you peace of mind to be able to leave the hair transplant industry rollercoaster behind you, and you can be 100% in control of how your "hair" will appear. 

this guy is making a case for requiring a mental health evaluation before pursuing cosmetic surgery. 

i wonder if you could pat concealer onto the donor area and not have it fall off. Obviously not a long-term permanent position, but it could make it look ok while you are searching for a repair. 

@Melvin-Moderator thanks.

@LaserCaps my question is really just the sunburn. so if anything it would impact freckling and not growth? and yea by 7 months I feel I am in the clear, but not totally sure. 

the dr is James Harris. I should have added, he did 1600 in the front as well which was the main point of the surgery. He actually was pretty against putting grafts in the crown, but conceded to 400. I just didnt want to go thru the stress of a ht in the front, when my crown was also slightly bothering me, so he said he would do 400. 

My reasoning is if my crown gets worse, I would 100% be getting a more complete crown HT anyway, so may as well add some grafts to the crown now, since I'd already be on the surgery table for the frontal area. 

I am on Dutasteride and haven't noticed further loss since I started on medication 3 yrs ago (I initially was just on Fin). 

Even if I have no further loss at all, I am tentatively planning on having a more complete crown surgery a few years, or more, down the line.  

anyone?

@rocktitan nice yea waiting for a full year would be so agonizing lol

@rocktitan are you getting work done on your crown as well, or has Dr. Konior commented on it at all? Curious to hear what he has said. 

Also when did you make your appt? I know in normal times Dr. Konior is a yr long wait, wondering if you got in early due to COVID, etc. 

Hi all,

I had 400 grafts put in my crown almost 7 months ago exactly. I was in Chicago last week on vacation and it was scorching hot. While I put sunscreen all over my face, arms, neck, etc. - I honestly forgot and just didn't think about my crown at all, and I wasn't wearing a hat. I got burned 2 consecutive days in a row, and it is noticeably pink. 

I'm wondering if I have anything to worry about in terms of graft growth? I've read online sunburns can be an issue anywhere up to 4 months, but not sure if at 7 months I am in the clear? 

*I agreed with my doc that these 400 grafts would be a slight improvement, not perfection, bc my crown loss is somewhat "mild", and my doc didn't want to go all out on my crown now, if unfortunately I experience further crown loss down the road. Just pre-emptively mentioning that bc from the pics you may think there hasn't been growth, but there has been. My question is really focused on the sunburn and if it will effect the grafts that haven't popped yet. 

Thanks. 

Within 10 days, grafts can be pulled out. Past 10 days, they are settled in. You can still have them taken out, but it would require some type of surgical intervention. 

1 hour ago, Glasswing said:

If I were to take a pair of tweezers and pull out a naturally growing hair, it would eventually grow back. 

If I were to do the same with a hair that grew after being transplanted (say a year after, after it's had time to mature), would it also grow back? Is it gone forever?

bumping this. this is also a shower thought I continuously have

i haven't read every post in this thread, but my slapstick impression to these pics is this is really severe balding in the crown. I doubt even Dr. Konior or any other elite doctor could fix this crown just in one go. I do think ultimately you can have good coverage in the crown (maybe just some signs of balding there), but it will require 2+ HT's and will be a multi-year journey. 

Again keep in mind that even an "amazing" result in your case may reveal some crown balding still. 

1 hour ago, deeznuts said:

Heat does damage your hair.

ditto this 100%. Heat straightening is really bad for the overall health of hair. Which sucks, bc my transplant hair has grown in curly (my native hair is straight), and I would totally do brazilian blowouts and other heat straightening, if not for the damaging effects. So I am stuck with using gel when i want to look really good. Which is fine and I have accepted it, but kind of annoying to add it to my morning routine. 

I agree hair transplants are about managing expectations and at heart are an illusion of density. Even objectively great HT's can look bad under harsh lighting, have small areas here and there that didn't grow, and people may be stuck with certain hairstyles. I'm being somewhat sarcastic, but I always see people with HT's on here with the same slicked-back hairstyle. Its like that is the uniform post-HT look. I think this is in part because doing some wild/hip Robert-Pattinson style haircut would expose the sub-natural density of HT's. 

I do think perfect HT's (those with none of the above) do exist, but there is a high degree of luck involved. Combination of elite doctor + incredible donor hair + one's body has a fantastic response to the surgery. 

Of course one is in control of seeing an elite doctor, but even that is definitely not a guarantee of a "perfect HT". I have seen results from Dr. Konior, Dr. Diep, and others - that while objectively "good", had small but significant flaws you'd expect to see from a no-name doc.   

Really good result overall! For the small section without hair, honestly maybe the doc or tech made an error of some kind, or didn't put enough grafts in. But as you experienced firsthand, even great HT's are not 100% perfect. 

@makehairgreatagain at what month did you notice growth? the doc is James Harris in Denver. I've attached 3 pics post that are 5 days post op. Again just stating the 400 grafts was agreed upon to improve the crown, not make it perfect, as Dr. Harris was concerned that trying to make the crown perfect could lead to a negative outcome. I am a NW 3 now, and Dr. Harris explained if he was to give me "perfect" crown coverage, it could look unnatural if I were to move into more worse crown loss. He also explained he normally doesn't work on the crown on people under 40 (I am 31). I appreciated his honesty and was fine with only doing 400. Plus I've had great success with concealer and don't mind using it as needed. 

The crown is super tricky to observe. While I can obsessively monitor frontal growth on a meticulous, individual graft level, its just really hard to monitor progress and I can only rely on cell phone pics. Perhaps there has been crown growth, but its just hard to monitor. It's hard too bc the end-goal is improvement, not perfection. 

I do trust the crown was done correctly. I talked to the tech who was putting the grafts in and she had been working with Dr. Harris for over 10 years. And the front has been growing fine. From months 2-4 when I touched the crown it was crusty, so I know something  is going on back there. 

Any additional thoughts? Thanks 

Hi all,

October 2020 I got 1600 grafts in the front and 400 in my crown. The front grafts started growing in around month 4 - exactly as scheduled. Ive had 2 previous HTs in the front, and for all 3 the grafts started to pop through around month 4. 

However, I am unsure if any growth has occurred in the crown yet, and it has been over 6 months. Honestly, some of this may just be because the crown is harder to examine up close, but on face value I can't see any difference pre-HT. This is the 1st time I've had work done on the crown, so not sure if I should be concerned.

My doctor was pretty hesitant to put any grafts in the crown, as my crown balding -while significant- is not THAT bad, and he was concerned with future loss. He agreed to 400 grafts selectively placed, and said my crown would be improved, but would not be perfect. I am totally fine with this....but my concern is I can't see any real growth yet.

I am very aware crown growth is often slower than frontal growth, but I am wondering if someone can give me some benchmarks of growth for the crown? If my frontal grafts always start growing around month 4, when can I expect crown growth?

So I am wondering - if it is normal for frontal growth to appear around month 4, when does crown growth normally start appearing? At what month should I be concerned of no growth in the crown? Can anyone provide a "standard" timeline of crown growth and/or share their own experience with crown growth?

Thanks. I don't have pictures, fyi. 

Pics please. While growth can and does happen from 7-12 months, you should really be seeing the blueprint/foundation/snapshot of the HT end-state by 5 months if not earlier. By 5 months, if you have large sections of your recipient area that have absolutely zero growth, I honestly would be a bit concerned. 

Of course, the official response, and what you will hear often, is that it is possible for people to have zero growth at all and then just when they lose all hope, by month 8 or 9 they miraculously have profound growth and the their initial worries are unfounded. However, I would say these late bloomer cases are really the exception rather than the rule. 

do people think his transplant is curly because it that's how the donor area hair is, or could doctor/tech error have anything to do with that? Is there any way that can be fixed?