Jim478

I am 16 months from my transplant with Cooley. I usually get my hair trimmed to a 3 on the sides. I let it grow for about a month before the surgery in anticipation to cover the stitches. I later regretted that because it was harder to take care of the scar through all my hair. I had a hard time putting the ointment on the scar, so that was a different problem. I thought that I should have cut my hair shorter. Either way, I love my results and the scar is really thin. I cannot even find it now. I can get my hair cut with a 3 on the sides with no worries. And my hair and skin are lighter as well.

1 year update. It has been one year since my 2500 graft fut with Dr. Cooley. I am able to get my hair cut with a 3 on the side and the fut scar is not visible. I do not worry about wind, or rain, or getting wet in the pool. It is not perfect, but I am pretty darn happy with the results. 15 months on finasteride, which I take 3x per week. No sides, and I do not shed on my pillow, or when washing, or when I style my hair. That was a big issue over the last couple years. I just met up with some old friends this past weekend, and they noticed: “look at this guy, 45 years old and showing off that hairline.” Everyone else was wearing hats and covering up some kind of balding. (And I am only 41, but wanted to use the correct quote.) I have received many compliments the last few months, although I’ve only told a few close friends. People just think my hair looks good. I recently found my second grade yearbook photo and I have a better hairline at 41 than I had at 8. I covered it up for the next 25 years or so. Thanks to this site for all the information that pointed me in the right direction. I’ve included some pictures under pretty harsh light. I think it looks even better under normal circumstances. Large 8 year old forehead. 1 year since surgery:

One more also at 10 months.

10 months. There has not been much noticeable change. I don’t really think about it anymore. The only think I am conscious of is avoiding sunburn, so I spray the hairline when I am outside. The second pic isn’t really how I wear it, but I wanted to show the hairline. These aren’t the best pictures, I just snapped a couple for this post.

7.5 months. Just doing a before and after comparison. I am not to the point where I don’t even think about my hair. This has been a great experience and I am very happy with the result.

Donor area at 7 months. Here are some photos of the FUT area. You really can’t see the scar. This is with a 4 guard right after a haircut.

I paid for 2500, it ended up being close to 2800 from the strip. I don’t know how many exactly were used in the temple points. They used the finest singles for the temple points. I did have some shock loss on the one temple as you can see in a previous picture. But it has grown back and filled in. I am very happy with the results.

Filling the temple points has narrowed the forehead. This has been a pleasant surprise in the overall aesthetic of the procedure.

Doctor recommended oral minox, but I did not do that. I told him I would stick with the fin only. He said that is fine. But also said that I could go on the oral minox at anytime. To me, the scar looks really good. I have a hard time finding it. I have not cut it that short yet. I used to get a 3 guard, but have not cut it that short yet. I will probably wait until summer to go that short again. I think it would probably be undetectable at a 3.

I am taking fin 3x per week. M-W-F. Have not experienced any sides.

6.5 months. Hair is filling in. I am able to wear my hair off the forehead for the first time ever. Scar is undetectable at a 4 guard haircut. The new hair is blending in well. Not perfect yet, but I am enjoying this period.

5 month update. Hair is growing steadily in both the hairline and the temples. Here is a before picture: Here are the current photos:

4 month update: There has been some steady growth in the past month. Some of the transplanted hairs are 1-2 cm. They are very fine, but covering the previously bald corners. The temple point hair has grown in and is hard to even distinguish. The FUT scar is still a little pink, but the hair has grown over. I plan to get it cut with a number 3 on the back this week. And the bald spot on the side from shock loss has grown back in. I am pretty happy and this is just the beginning.

3 month update. Just starting to grow some hair. A few hairs are starting to pop up. The bald spot on the side from shock loss is starting to grow hair too. The hair looks like it is coming in gray, but maybe that’s just because it’s coming from the shock loss bald spot. So I am 3 months out from surgery, and on my 6th month of fin. Just lifted weights for the first time. The scar seems to be healing well, but is definitely still red. I am still keeping the back a little longer than I used to. I am hoping to be able to cut it down to a 3 again, but not yet. I am pretty happy, and looking forward to the next few months.

1 month update. Everything has gone pretty much textbook. This is the transplanted hair that seemed to be growing at about 2-3 weeks. But I also was getting quite a bit of shedding of native hair from about 1-3 weeks. I had a shock loss spot that appeared on the side of my hair by the recipient area. You can see the large patch of missing hair. Now a month out, I got my first hair cut, and I am styling it to cover up the forehead. Most of the transplanted hair has shed, and now I start the waiting game. Here is a picture of the red area that has shed. The lighting is actually kind. The red area is a little worse than the picture shows. Most of the transplanted hair has shed. Here is picture of how I style it to conceal. I am so happy with the thought that I won’t have to do this for much longer. You can see how I am covering the shock loss bald spot. This is the day after my first hair cut.

Gatsby, Thanks to these forums and people like you. I was a long time reader, and decided to go with one of the best. I hadn’t viewed a very recent Cooley journey, so I decided to post mine. I forgot to mention that I am also drinking the hair shakes that Dr. Cooley recommends, and I also had the Regenera injections at the end of the transplant. I figured that if helps with healing and growth, I might as well do it.

I got my complimentary wash in the morning after the surgery. Felt great. Day 2 after surgery. Long drive home and took my first shower. I think I was being too gentle with both the grafts and the donor scar. I didn’t rinse all the shampoo from the grafts as I was avoiding direct streams of water on the grafts. I had to rinse a couple more times to get the shampoo out. I think I need to be more aggressive on washing the scar as well. I didn’t get all of the ointment out of my hair around the scar.

Fue, I have spent many nights reading this forum. I have read your story, and it definitely struck a chord. Glad to hear that you are very happy with your decision. I hope to be in the same mindset by next summer(hopefully sooner).

July 26, 2022: Day 1. I am relaxing in the hotel, spraying the grafts with ATP spray every hour. I included a photo from directly after the surgery and photos from today. (1 day after surgery. There is a little shine from the spray. The donor area is a bit tender, but not really painful. I have only taken ibuprofen since surgery. Photo after surgery. The next day, not quite 24 hours. Everything has been great so far, and I am very appreciative of this site for helping to make a great choice on a doctor.

Background: I have always had a large forehead since I was a child. I considered a transplant when I was young around 20-25, but read that it was not recommended. I am now 40 years old, so the timing is more appropriate. In the summer of 2021, I started seriously considering a transplant and started looking at local doctors from radio advertisements. Most were touting Artas, or things of that nature. In my research, I found this site. It has been very informative. I really was focused on getting a high quality hairline. I also wanted to stay in the US, and would be willing to pay extra for it. I narrowed my choices down to Konior and Cooley. I contacted both and sent my pictures. Konior responded within 24 hours with his assessment and cost. It was definitely higher than I expected. The wait time was also going to be longer than I liked. Lollie from Copley’s office contacted me and said we could set up a phone consultation a few months away.(November 2021). The consultation went great, and we she suggested 2000 or 2500 grafts(more density). She also recommended FUT which had benefits including the ability for more procedures in the future without depleting my donor area. I agreed, and I was also a big fan of Dr. Cooley’s thin strip scars. I also planned to go medication free, but I did agree to start fin 1mg 3x per week. I booked the surgery for July 2022, and here I am. Everything went as expected from earlier forum posts, stay at the hotel, shuttle to the clinic, meeting with Dr. Cooley and deciding on a final hairline, and surgery. Everything went great, and I will include post surgery pics in the next post on this thread. I included a pic of me in 2014/2021 to compare recession. Also some before pics.