Savemyhairline

Tablets are much more convenient for sure, I just am apprehensive on oral min due to possible heart complications in the long term, but of course I am also very much not a doctor. Hopefully verteporfin turns out to be legit and maybe some of these other meds can be less relevant! Certainly glad we have the options we do have today though, your inspiring story is certainly a testament to how far along hair restoration really has come!

When I spoke with him in person, he seemed agreeable to me continuing the topical minoxidil if I wanted, he mainly just didn’t think it would make much difference being that I’m on fin. I even brought up adding Dut to my stack but he thought dut wasn’t a good idea due to something a little over my head scientifically with other patients of his. I think I may just continue topical minoxidil for a while then maybe after I assess my HT results, enter my 30s in a couple years, etc I’ll consider stopping it and evaluate any changes. I’ve been on it for over 2 years at this point so, I suppose it can’t be too bad to continue. I can’t say I’ve noticed any side effects from the topical minoxidil (other than possible hypertrichosis, little blonde baby hairs going down my eyebrows to cheekbones, not 100% sure if those were there or not, can only see when really inspecting up close) and it’s fairly inexpensive.

I definitely care and will always stay on finasteride, it’s just when the doctor who did my surgery, basically is saying minoxidil is a waste and can cause unnecessary skin issues, it makes me consider dropping it. Thank you

Yeah, I’ve known H&W aren’t the biggest proponents of minoxidil long before I got my procedure done. People constantly fear monger finasteride on the Internet but minoxidil has the potential for way, way scarier side effects, especially oral. Topical min is pretty safe at least which is why I even bothered with it in the first place. My body tolerates finasteride great and that is what is most important in the hair maintenance game, that or dut.

Thanks brother. Honestly my symptoms aren’t awful, mostly just annoying, but it’s like right after my donor areas finally stopped burning everyday and I couldn’t sleep for a week, boom now this. I was honestly way more worried about this harming my results because it’s so soon after my procedure but they reassured me it won’t.

I’m 8 days post procedure and my throat has been sore for 2 days. I just took a covid test and discovered I have covid. I didn’t catch it in 3.5 years but the one week after my procedure I catch it, of course. I called the clinic and thankfully they said it won’t have an effect on results and it’s happened before several times, but I can’t seem to catch a break this week.

I know man, I’m just saying I’m not worried about the temporary cosmetic affects of a shed. Now of course if Min did actually have an impact then I would lose some hair density that would not return if I stayed off of it. Maybe I’ll just continue it to be safe (and by “Safe” I mean ensure I have the best hair I can while still in my 20s) then in a couple years down the line I’ll drop it and see what we’re working with. My attention to detail is pretty high though sometimes I get worried I could be having facial aging/bloating/increased anxiety etc from min that I’m just not noticing. Less so with the facial aging because i only apply foam and let it dry before bed but still, people reporting that is kinda freaky. now it’s possible that minoxidil had a very minor effect, causing me to shed a bit, but the hairs would come back just not as strong. Minoxidil doesn’t bring back hair from the dead and I never had totally dead follicles, just severely miniaturized.

I know. My point is it’s not like my hair is gonna look good either way for the next 6 months. And again idk how much “shedding” stopping minoxidil will cause as I’m not sure if it even did anything for me.

I just got a HT so I’m gonna be shedding soon anyway. Might have to JuSt ShAvE iT bRo for the next 6-9 months, and wear a hat everywhere (which I basically did for the last several years anyway). I work remotely at least

Hmmm. My body fat % has been high for the most part since I started Min, my face was quite shredded before I gained weight which I liked. I guess the first 6-8 months I started Min my body fat was low enough and I still had the sunken cheeks, jawline etc so I guess I can’t say Min makes my face retain water, that I noticed anyway. I’m planning to cut back down to a good body fat % in the next 9 months especially now that I’m recently single lol. Idk man maybe it is worth dropping. My crown was never that bad, there was minor thinning but even pre drugs people didn’t really notice it IRL. 4k grafts into my frontal third (which was by far my worst area) I’m not worried about that anymore so long as I stick with a 5AR inhibitor which I always plan to. And honestly I think I regained more thickness with fin but I can’t say with certainty. Kevin Mann suggested I stop Min for 5 weeks and assess

I had an in person consult with Dr Bisanga a year back and he was pushing oral minoxidil. I respectfully declined, I’m not convinced it won’t have cardiovascular consequences in the long term. A lot of people use it for a month or two, report no sides, and assume it’s always gonna be safe. Your heart is too important to risk imo, literally your most vital organ. 5AR inhibitors are objectively more important to your long term hair maintenance anyway. I’m sure oral is more effective for hair thickness but I wont be taking it.

Day 6 Post Op I’ll start updating this thread less frequently as to not spam, but scabs are starting to come off from light pressure shower and finger pad medium pressure (probably more like light pressure cuz I’m paranoid). Honestly I think the hairline looks quite good. It’s not the lowest ever like many request when they get their procedure, however I really care more about density. The widows peak does give the illusion that the hairline is higher than it really is on most people, but as I’ve said I’ve always had a widows peak. I guess if it really bothers some you can have it laser removed, but I kinda dig it in a way. I have a feeling that my new frontal third density is going to make my midscalp/crown look even less by comparison when grown out/recovery is complete, but hey I’ll take it! One thing I’m actually somewhat excited about is, since my donor hair was quite thick, it would make the top look even thinner by comparison when both were grown out. Maybe now that 4k grafts are gone from the donor, it’ll “even the playing field” a bit, but we shall see.

I know Dr. Hasson, who did my procedure, in general isn’t the biggest fan of minoxidil. His tech told me it’s “bad for the skin”. Maybe when I’m older and less risk averse to hair loss I’ll try dropping it just to see if it’s one less thing to have to do, but I’m thinking for the foreseeable future I’ll continue just to be safe, worked very hard to get to this point.

Just to be clear I’d NEVER stop fin. My doctor suggested I may stop Min, which is why I considered it. I definitely responded to the meds, just not sure which one improved my hair (I think it was at least partially fin that more than maintained & regained because I shed within a month of starting it alone)

Right. I wish I started them at different times so I could assess if I did actually respond to minoxidil or if it was as all finasteride. The shed part doesn’t matter I’m about to shed anyway from the transplant. I’m thinking I might want to just be as safe as possible and continue minoxidil, then maybe in a couple years if I’m feeling like the risk is worth it, stop and then re-assess. Minoxidil is pretty cheap at least. Dr. Hasson seemed pretty confident minoxidil doesn’t do much compared to finasteride, I know many other doctors have varying opinions on the long term effectiveness of minoxidil.

I just had 4k FUE grafts placed in my frontal third. Prior to this, I’ve been on finasteride 1mg/day and topical foam 5% minoxidil/rogaine once a day for 2 years. Dr. Hasson, my doctor, said he doesn’t think the minoxidil will have much effect if I just continue the finasteride, which I always will. I wouldn’t mind dropping topical minoxidil because it’s a pain, and want to say *im not interested in oral minoxidil* at all. I have diffuse thinning but it was mostly bad in the frontal third that I just addressed, the crown/midscalp while thinner than original, weren’t bad when grown out a bit. Even my barber never noticed the thinning in my crown, can really only be seen when sweaty+super harsh lighting+ parted in an unflattering way etc. the thinning is only along the scalp, my donor is above average. I started finasteride June 2021 and minoxidil July 2021, I did notice I lost hair/shed after staring fin & before starting min, leading me to believe the finasteride did regrow/thicken and not only maintained. I did notice significant improvement 6-12 months after starting both, but it’s impossible to say how much improvement can be attributed to each. The way I see it, I have 3 options (all while staying on finasteride 100%): 1) be safe and stay on topical minoxidil. Might just waste money and continue the inconvenience. I haven’t noticed any sides but always nice to be safe with facial aging, heart health, etc. 2) Drop min and just stay on only fin. This would be very convenient and imo less drugs put into your body the better, as long as they aren’t necessary. The risk of course is I lose minoxidil gains. Theoretically if I stopped, then 6 months later my crown/midscalp appears thinner, I could restart minoxidil but I have heard of people stopping and never getting back what they had originally gained on minoxidil 3) continue Min for a couple more years, then drop and see what the situation is. Being that my frontal third is now mostly transplanted hair from my thick donor, I’m pretty secure with the front so long as I stay on fin. Would there be any weird impact if introduced minoxidil to my strong donor hair in my front, then a couple years later stopped? Idk if that would mess with the good hairs or not. Pre and post op: Thank you

I had some pretty crazy facial swelling Saturday (2nd day after procedure) The swelling is coming down but still present today, Monday (4th day after procedure). Sleeping has been interesting. H&W instructions say to sleep on your back/elevated for at least 3 nights, which I did. First night I slept decently, second night I slept poorly, third night I basically pulled an all-nighter due to my flights back home but perhaps that worked out well because with the discomfort idk If I would have slept much anyway. I was like a ninja making sure nothing bumped into or touched my head. I really am not comfortable sleeping on my back in general, last night and yesterday nap I tried this technique with the U pillow where I’m on my side/elevated by still using the pillow: im 99.9% sure nothing has touched the recipient area and it has allowed me to get some sleep, but idk some people may believe this is risky. I may try to suck it up and go back to my back just to be as safe as possible but idk man, other than potentially hurting my neck this seems like a better way to sleep comfortably if you are a side sleeper. I was also having some pretty bad burning and itching in the donor last night. Took two ibuprofen before bed and that seemed to work okay. Today seems to feel better. Day 4 after procedure As far as the hair in the recipient area, not a ton of change yet. I think the scabs are starting to form but not yet like those big crusty flakes you typically see, I’m assuming those are soon to come:

Thanks man. My clinic, H&W, instructions say to sleep on your back for at least 3 nights. I did accomplish this somehow, well the 2nd and 3rd night were basically minimal/no sleep. I did sleep like this side way last night (night 4), why do you say it’s super risky? I don’t see how i could possibly touch the recipient area unless I did like a face plant or something crazy. It’s probably not good for my neck to extend like that but I just have so much trouble sleeping on my back in general. My donor is feeling better today.

I’ve only been using the U travel pillow as instructed. Man my donor area seems to burn quite badly when I wake up, is this normal after 3 days? I have to pop a Tylenol when I wake up the last couple days. I’ve also really been struggling to achieve any semblance of comfort while on my back, the last night or so I sort of turned to the side with the U pillow, being extra cautious as to not have anything touch the recipient area, anyone else do this? Probably not good for my neck but nothing is touching the recipient area: I keep incessantly checking to make sure nothing has disrupted the recipient area, I think it looks good but let me know if you see something:

Couple cleaner pics: my forehead is very swollen, as happens with most people. Kind of look like an alien at the moment lol.

I’m fine if I have to get another surgery at some point, hopefully in many many years. I would wager my frontal third is gonna be good to go forever; if I get another procedure it may be crown or midscalp work. If meds hold them for 20-30 years with minimal change, i think I’ll be happy with them. 2 full days, afterwards not painful, just during anesthesia and towards the end of the procedure. I think this hairline suits my facial shape, though we will see after the full result comes in. My whole thing was thickness, a guy with a high hairline that is thick looks better than a guy with a lower hairline that is thinning. If down the road I decide I want to spend some grafts and lower it we shall see, but again based on facial thirds, it might be worth just keeping it.

Fair enough. This was about as high as I want my hairline, but also as low as I do at this point, if that makes sense. More doctor involvement would be nice, though their team is highly capable and again, my whole thing is I just want that thick dense result. If you have the right facial shape I thing the v shaped hairline looks good, you have to have a pretty masculine face to pull it off.

Understandable. Like I said I’ve always had a tall forehead even as a child: so it would have been obvious to everyone I ever knew if I got a lower and straighter hairline. Thankfully I have a pretty tall lower third and when you compare the facial thirds with my new hairline (lower/middle/upper) they are pretty even, lower third and hairline maybe a touch higher each but on men that’s how it’s supposed to be. Women are supposed to be exact even facial thirds. I did ask about potentially lowering the hairline out of curiosity and he said that would cost like 3000 grafts. Considering how young I started losing hair, I didn’t want to risk being overly aggressive either. I know hairloss isn’t exactly linear, ie a 30 year old could have perfect hair and then on his 31st birthday it rapidly declines. Or someone who was like a NW3ish quite young (ie Paul Newman) maintains it until late in life. With my case I just didn’t know what the future held and at 25 there was a lot of noticeable thinning so I didn’t want to risk using up extra grafts I may need in the future.

Thanks man. Yes I am on the younger side when it comes to MBP. I did specifically ask Dr. Hasson if he thinks I’ll be able to maintain a full, or at least mostly full head of hair my entire life. He seems confident I will. My maternal grandpa always kept his frontal third and lost the crown pretty late in life. I never considered him bald as that (relatively thick for his age when he was alive) frontal third framed his face. He also had white hair which of course helps with the appearance of density. I took after my paternal grandfather who lost the frontal third and midscalp, but I think he kept the crown or at least it didn’t dip as low. While I love both of them, I think my maternal grandpa always had an appearance of a more full head of hair. And who knows, maybe in 30 years we’ll have better solutions to MPB. If we don’t and I have the solid frontal third, i think I’ll accept that at near 60 years old and beyond. My lateral humps seem quite strong as well, so if they hold and I lose the crown in when I’m older, I think I will be content. Mainly want to make it through my 30s-40s with a full looking head of hair

I’m pretty fresh out of the procedure so more pictures to come when there is less antibiotic ointment and blood, but wanted to start documenting my journey while fresh in my head. This forum has been a huge help to me and my hair loss journey, so I figured the least I could do would be to post my review. Why I chose Dr. Hasson There were several great Doctors that I was seriously considering, I was willing to travel virtually anywhere in the world. I am from Pennsylvania, so H&W was certainly a commute for me. There are several reasons I ultimately decided on Dr. Hasson. Nothing is guaranteed within the hair restoration game, but to me, Dr. Hasson seemed to be about as close as you can get to guaranteeing a good result, and stands by his work if an issue does arise. I like his hairline designs; he is a fan on the widows peak as many of you are aware. I have had a widows peak for as long as I can remember, potentially even before I started losing hair, so that incorporation made sense to me. He also has had several cases with guys like me who had diffuse thinning, and I loved the results he put out with them. It wouldn’t make much sense for me to all of a sudden have a straight across hairline when I didn’t have one in childhood, not to mention that would waste grafts. H&W is certainly not cheap, at all, but based on the very many results I’ve seen over the years, I believe most get what they pay for or more. My Story I’ll try to avoid writing an autobiography and get to the actual review/experience, but I think some context is helpful. I will be 28 years old in November. Looking back, I probably started having actual hair loss in my late teens with a receding hairline that I convinced my self “was always like that”. To be fair I did have a bit of a five-head as a kid but yes I was certainly in denial, until it was too obvious. By 25 it has gotten much more noticeable. Per another great doctor that I consulted with in person, I never actually had any hair follicles totally gone, just severely miniaturized, mainly in the frontal third. I got on finasteride and topical minoxidil at about 25 years old. I did see significant improvement, I wouldn’t call my self a hyper-responder at all, but perhaps above average response to the meds. My frontal third had been quite far gone by this point, so I could do what is essentially a combover and sort of hide it. But if there was wind, I was sweating, just wore a hat recently, etc, forget about it. DAY 1 They start at 7am. I get to the office, fill out the forms, they check my vitals etc. All of the staff was very nice and helpful. Shortly after, Dr. Hasson comes in. I really like him, we chatted a bit even about a topic unrelated to hair loss, I did not feel like he was trying to rush me through. He drew a hairline that I liked and ultimately went with. While I certainly did not win the MPB genetic lottery, he did comment how I do at least have very thick donor hair, even towards the bottom of the back of the head, where he said most guys with mbp thin out. We both agreed that while I do have mild thinning on my crown, it’s not really noticeable and the frontal third is really what is by far the most important. At this point I can live with my crown so long as the meds hold it for the foreseeable future. He believes I saved a lot of hair with finasteride in the back. My crown was never very bare but I did notice good improvement with the meds. He also commented on how the fact that my hair grows straightforward as opposed to a side or up etc will be good for him. We also both agreed that some temple work would really help frame my face as I have a very wide forehead, I was glad he suggested that. We did the first 2k grafts, along the hairline day 1 with a handful of breaks. The anesthesia needles did sting but it’s a very quick pain, they just do several at a time so it can seem like a lot but it certainly does not linger. It was quite a long day, starting at 7 am and I think I left at around 9pm. Pain/discomfort afterwards was negligible with all of the drugs and everything they gave me. End of day 1: Day 2 They warned me straight away day 2 would be more difficult. That was the case from a pain standpoint towards the end of the day. I think I’m a pretty decently pain tolerant guy but I have to admit there were some times I was grunting quite loud. They were very accommodating with the local anesthesia when needed and again, for the most part the pain is quick and goes away once the anesthesia kicks in. Toward the last few hours my head felt like it was on fire and we needed to take a couple breaks, but all of the staff were very helpful and accommodating, I did not feel at any time they were trying to rush me out and gave me time I needed to recover/let meds kick in. This was also a pretty long day, same start time, I think I got out at 8pm. End of Day 2: This is all so fresh so I can get more pics when the ointment is out and everything etc but yeah, now I’m just chilling in the nice hotel they put me in and pretty comfortable after day 2, I must say. Another nice thing they did was since the hotel rate was higher than normal, they paid for 3 days instead of the standard 2, which I appreciated. Some Notes -Some people may believe the 4k graft number was high. I think it was appropriate. I did have pretty extensive thinning in my frontal third leading into my midscalp. Again, this area has always what I have been insecure about for like a decade + and it is the most important, when you talk to someone you are looking at their frontal third not their crown etc. I still have some grafts in the bank should my crown go, but my hair pre-op looked better than it did when I was 23-25 years old due to finasteride and possibly minoxidil ( I honestly think more fin because I started fin 1 month before Min and had a heavy shed before starting Min). So hopefully the meds work for many many years to come. -Some people are probably gonna comment on the “rows” as that seems to come up in every H&W thread. I understand their reasoning, I knew this very well before having my procedure, and their results do not lie. I’d rather not discuss this in my thread as it seems to come up in every H&W thread and Doctor Wong had an insightful answer the other day in a thread. I’ve also seen De Freitas and Bisanga “called out” for rows and their results also don’t lie. Basically a TLDR is they allow for more grafts to be implanted close together. IMO actual density is better than the illusion of density. Obviously any HT is an illusion of density compared to the native hair, but this approach has shown to work quite well in other patients. I am happy with how my grafts were implanted. There are also some nicely done irregularities at the hairline (more pics to come when I’m cleaner) so I believe this will have a nice, natural looking frontal third. -I believe over the course of the 2 day procedure, there was one other patient for Dr. Hasson. Some people have noted that he does not stay the full day, that was true for my case. This does not bother me, all i care about is the final result. The techs did the extractions, Dr. Hasson did the incisions, and then techs did the implanting. As long as the result looks good, that is all I care about. Hopefully that is the case as I update this is thread every so often. Thank you!