CasuallyCopacetic

7 minutes ago, Mike10 said:

 Honestly I thought you looked good before too. 

Thanks, man. It wasn't a major difference in total hair, but I feel more comfortable in my own skin now and am extremely excited about being able to style it in interesting ways.

I understand where you're coming from as far as critiquing the outcome by a board certified surgeon and his clinic, but we're looking at photos of a high resolution camera with full exposure from less than an inch from the subject. No one on earth is ever going to examine your hair in this manner except for you. If you had a hair transplant surgery with the expectation that it would perfectly replicate your natural hair, then that is pretty misguided. How does this look from 2ft in sunlight, from 2ft in overhead light, or from the more likely 4 ft? By all means, strive for perfection and have the issue fixed by someone else, but the narrative in this thread is that you're clearly very upset by this when you probably should be ecstatic at your new hair that is likely going to look phenomenal in 2 months. ALSO, you argue that you "always have a fade" so having this temple issue isn't acceptable. I would counter that by saying you probably only had a high fade because with temple recession like yours, a high fade creates an illusion the receding area is more of a feature of your temple points and not temple recession. The reality is that once your new hairline matures, you will have the freedom to try an infinite number of hair styles that won't require a 2mm high fade that you'll be equally excited about. 

Anyway, good luck with everything! I think it's coming along very nicely for being at 5 months. Almost all of the results here show a TON of growth from months 5-7.

1 minute ago, JC71 said:

Had to google that name …. 😂🤣

LOL same. An unfortunate comparison! 

1 minute ago, digi23 said:

Yes I can see that the other side is getting abit thinner aswell, but one side is abit more dramatic. When you turn your head sideways I think is the biggest difference now with a NW1 from every angle. 

Great result from HLC, there have been some negative reviews recently so good to see great work from them as we are used to.

Yes, exactly. From the front angle, things weren’t “terrible” but now I think it looks great from every angle despite not being full density yet. 

2 minutes ago, MachoVato said:

I kinda agree that the side by side picture doesn't look very different. Which shows that you were good at styling your hair to hide the weak areas. And honestly, you hair color blends easily with your skin color, too. Only this last photo really shows your recession.

At 4 months, things starting to improve for me. But it was around month 8 or 9 that it really started to look great. You're in the very early stages. It only gets better from here! Best of luck!

Bingo. In all of my before pictures (outside of that last one), my hair is cut and styled to create as much symmetry as possible with the unevenness. I can try to find some better photos that illustrate how bad the recession was. 

1 minute ago, digi23 said:

Oh that photo shows another story, this result is extremely good and I understand the amount of grafts used. But the photos you showed in your other post seemed little to no recession also.

Seems that you had recession just on one side? Or that your natural hairline was like that. 

I was referring to this.

 

I had recession all the way across, but it was much more dramatic on the left. The very noticeable difference created even more facial asymmetry than I naturally have which is hugely detrimental to general attractiveness and the way in which my hair could be styled. 

6 hours ago, hairlossman1 said:

Looks like some great early growth so far! Look forward to further updates

Which doctors were involved in your case?

I had three sessions over two days. Dr. Elif and Dr. Umut were assigned to my case with Dr. Elif doing the majority of the work. 

6 hours ago, digi23 said:

Not to sound negative but the photos you posted you were probably NW1.25 or so, not sure how its even possible to use 2160 grafts? You look identical but with a smaller forehead on your pre-op vs post-op.

Did they lower your hairline by 1.5-2cm?

The good part is that it does not really matter probably, you are 32 years old on Finasteride, with little to no hairloss, so should be fine with the donor.

I’m surprised that you think the state of your hairline prior to transplant was worse than mine. We basically had the same level of recession except mine was completely asymmetrical. My hairline was lowered roughly 1cm on the right temple, 2cm in the middle, and 3-4cm on the left. They even maintained some of that natural asymmetry in their design as it’s still higher on one side over the other. 

Heres a before photo of the left temple that shows my recession a little more clearly. 
 

Here’s a video in bathroom lighting with my hair styled. 
 

56 minutes ago, MazAB said:

With your current daily regimen, donor quality, and high dense packing at 50 grafts per cm2, I do believe that a one and done is in order for you! Everything is shaping up beautifully!

Follow my Journey with Eugenix and Dr Arika Bansal!

Thank you! I think I'm on a successful path so far. I was extremely worried about shock loss with how much of the high density transplant area was blended into my existing hairline, but it I think starting Minoxidil 6 weeks prior to the transplant shed most of those hairs I would have lost post op anyway. 

Here’s 1 day post op donor:

19 minutes ago, follically challenged said:

Man, that is a quality result! Congrats!

A few questions: 1. you say you're 'NOT taking both Fin+Minox daily', right? Any reason why? And do you mean you take it every other day or something?

2. Would you describe your hair thickness as thick, medium, or thin?

3. Any chance you could upload some donor pics? Thanks!

Ahh, that was a typo! I AM currently taking those both everyday. I had originally thought my hair was thin to medium, but HLC told me it was very thick. I’d probably say it’s medium to thick. 
 

Here’s a donor picture from yesterday after having a pretty low fade:

Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on my initial post and provide their input/advice. Obviously, I ended up committing to the surgery and to be frank, I'm completely satisfied with the progress thus far! This week was the first time I've been able to style my hair in over four months, which was a huge ritual for me prior to this adventure. The styling product provides volume and a relatively natural look, but my growth has really just started as of the beginning of month 3. If I had to estimate, I am probably at about 40% density so far. The hair that has grown out (that are about 1-2" long and styled) are very immature and wispy compared to the surrounded natural hair. I can see strands breaking through the skin (less than .5" long) that look more normal in strand thickness, so I would imagine I have several months before I have a completely natural density that isn't noticeable. As it stands, in certain lighting, you can definitely tell that transplant areas aren't full density, as you would expect.

In the first photo, you see the hairline design suggested by HLC. The area inside the outline is actually only 1660 grafts (50-55 grafts/cm2 density). They then used an additional 500 grafts blended 1-2" into my hairline in order to blend the texture of the transplanted hair and provide density if my hair continues to recede further. I've been on Fin since I was 26 (Currently 32 years old) and started Min 1 month pre-op. I'm currently taking both Fin+Minox daily for hair loss prevention. 

10/28/2021 - Consultation Day with HLC

10/29/2021 - Day of Surgery

2/15/2022 - 15.5 Weeks Post Op

May 2021 vs. Feb 2022 - 15 Weeks Post Op

Wow, these results at 6.5 months are killer. I’m so happy to be scheduled with HLC. 

18 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

When you say 'temple region', are you referring to the temple points? Because if you lowered the hairline a little, filling in the problem side AND had temple point work done, then I can understand how you might start to get to the 2K range.

Yes, that’s how I interpreted it. I can’t imagine the lowering would be anything but conservative. I’m not trying to look 17 over here. 

10 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

As someone has already said, if it's bothering you, there's a reasonable chance you won't let this go.

That's fine, but please don't go getting 2,500 grafts. That's a mad amount of grafts for a bit of symmetry work. You can always get more done later, so start smaller and go from there.

Also, HLC aren't cheap. If you're willing to travel to Turkey to pay that amount, you might want to also talk to some of the top Belgian clinics and probably Dr Ball at the Maitland clinic as well. You're definitely going to want a few opinions on the graft count because 2,500 sounds absolutely wild. 

Thanks for the response! I had two other consultations, including one at Hasson & Wong in Vancouver. Both of them told me 2000-2500 grafts to restore the hairline and temple region, so maybe I have fine hair that necessitates additional grafts for good density? Either way, I will definitely take all of this feedback to the doctor. 

Towards the end you you can see more of a full face to see the asymmetry I'm concerned with.

Let me try and upload a video so y’all can see how it looks wet. 

There is a HUGE difference between months 7 and 8. You probably don't notice it as you see yourself everyday, but the density of the very front is much thicker. You'll probably have a perfect hairline in another three months. Can you post a close up face shot before/after so we can tell how different the hairline changes your face shape?

1 hour ago, MazAB said:

In the meantime, get on a program for self preservation, ie Finasteride, Minoxidil, etc... I personally have used Finasteride and Minoxidil together for over 25 years and I can say with confidence at age 49 that not one single hair on my head has changed since I was 24.

I've been taking FIN for almost 6 years, and I think it's helped a little bit. Minoxidil has always felt like a tough option because my hair looks better dry and styled and MIN would add a wet, oily look.

I really appreciate everyone's candid feedback. I will think deeply on it all over the next few days. 

4 hours ago, Ronnieman said:

Almost identical hairline to me- same age as well- although I have mild thinning at the back.

HT is a personal choice at this point, I wear the fringe over my forehead though so I wouldn't consider one.

Good luck with it!

I wish I had the hair texture to make this work. When I leave my hair down, it's dry, wavy, and frizzy-ish. The "high and tight" with a long top won't work either because of the recession. 

Here's a photo from the front, so you can see the proportions of my face and what I mean by symmetry. I basically have to part my hair to that side. There are no other styles available with my symmetry.

 <Photo removed for privacy>

Thanks for the feedback, y'all! For me, the left side being so uneven (or having recessed more quickly) is such a drag. I don't even necessarily want it lowered much as I'm used to the giant forehead, but having it closer to symmetrical would be such a relief.

Hello! I had an online consultation with HLC where they determined I would be a great candidate for a FUE procedure with an estimated 2500 grafts. High hairlines run in my family, but I have been receding since I was 19 or 20. It's not in a terrible place (I THINK its probably a NW2.5 with no crown thinning), but it feels like the recession is slow enough that a frontal lowering HT (conservatively) and rebuild of the temples could be successful for me. I've been on FIN for almost 6 years. I'm not really sure if I have thin or coarse hair. I've always considered in thick and coarse, but maybe its just thick. It's wavy, rough feeling, and requires very strong product (cement clay) to style. Any thoughts or opinions would be really appreciated.