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Balding Bad

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Everything posted by Balding Bad

  1. Balding Bad
    It's more or less the same in my opinion. I've taken photos and will likely upload either tomorrow or the following day, so stay tuned.
  2. Balding Bad
    Appreciate your two cents. As the saying goes, we are our own worst critic. While I wasn't chasing a thick teenage hair line, what I did want though was a relatively strong, restored hairline...not one where it still looks like I'm visibly thinning to a lesser degree. The aesthetics of not looking like I'm struggling with hair loss was key here. Elon Musk and Machine Gun Kelly both don't look like they're struggling with hair loss/thinning anymore...just two dudes with decent hair lines now. And that was what I was seeking too and I don't think that's too much to ask for. Ultimately, I do believe a 2nd procedure will correct/satisfy the lack of density, but I did feel given SMG's reputation and Dr. Joe's expertise, a 2nd procedure would have been avoided altogether. I initially thought the 2,300 grafts received was a bit low but decided to trust Dr. Joe's experience and the process, but now we know it was indeed not enough.
  3. Balding Bad
    I think the usual lighting conditions in my bathroom are plenty bright, but I'll try an outdoor one too.
  4. Balding Bad
    Congrats on the procedure. This looks like it's gonna be a home run! 👏
  5. Balding Bad
    Appreciate your detailed analysis! Yeah, when I learned the final graft count was 2,300, I was very surprised, but I interpreted that as a positive since I thought that meant the existing hairs in my frontal third were ample enough to carry some of the heavy lifting and, thus, meant my hair loss in the frontal third wasn't as bad. In hindsight, Dr. Joe was just too conservative (which he admitted as such as well). I think had I received 2,500-2,700 grafts instead, I'd be a much happy camper...maybe not fully satisfied, but at least more content with the overall outcome. Okay, so your yield estimation is more or less on par with mine, just on the lower end of the spectrum. Ultimately, I'm unsure if the poor yield has anything to do with SMG or something physiological on my end or maybe a combo of both. But because of that, I'm in the same boat as you where even if I do undergo a 2nd procedure, I'll be concerned about the yield since that's a bit of an unknown. In terms of the asymmetrical growth, yes, that's an issue I don't see improving. The right side of my hair line (which was artificially lowered, even though I didn't want to) has much better growth, whereas the center and left side of my hair line is lagging/lacking, which is clearly evident in the photos. I guess in any hypothetical 2nd procedure, there would be more emphasis placed in those regions. I think overall the outlook for a 2nd procedure is theoretically positive. I think if I settled in the middle at around 1,500 additional grafts, that would land me somewhere I'd ultimately be content with. Once again, I'm not expecting my 14-year-old hair line or a thick impenetrable wall of hair, but something much stronger than what I currently received. I think that's totally attainable and not too much to ask for.
  6. Balding Bad
    Appreciate you chiming in and opining on the matter. I just want to make sure I'm understanding your response correctly, but you think my overall yield of the grafts I received was low (poor)? I'm curious what percentage you would say my overall yield was? When I had my one-on-one with Dr. Joe he stated that my growth/yield was looking to be on track, but when he said that I personally didn't believe that to be the case. I'm of the opinion that the yield wasn't great also. Not sure if my quantification is accurate, but I'd say the overall yield is give or take about 60-70%? According to my assessment, I feel like an additional 1,000 grafts would help achieve a more fuller/dense looking hairline, but you think upwards of 2,500 would be optimal? I dunno, I feel like that may be overkill because that would mean in total my frontal third (including my 1st procedure) would be at nearly 5,000 grafts, which seems quite excessive! I'm open to hearing what other folks think though.
  7. Balding Bad
    I'm curious to hear the community's opinion on this question: Should I undergo a potential 2nd procedure, how many grafts do you believe would be needed to achieve a satisfactory illusion of density / fuller looking frontal third? 🤔
  8. Balding Bad
    DRY HAIR - DIMMER LIGHTING
  9. Balding Bad
    DRY HAIR
  10. Balding Bad
    WET HAIR - DIMMER LIGHTING
  11. Balding Bad
    SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 UPDATE (275 DAYS POST-OP [9 MONTHS]) Apologies for the tardiness. Taking and editing these photos is a very time consuming process, taking on average about 2 hours to do. So without any meaningful progress (in regards to hair growth), it's a bit difficult to stay motivated with being punctual. That being said, even though I'm posting on 09/28, I did make sure to snap the photos on 09/22 to attempt to properly reflect the 9 month mark. In my opinion, there hasn't been any substantial improvement over Month 8. In fact, in certain photos, there appears to actually be a regression. The frontal hair almost seems slightly thinner compared to last month. Also, in shots where my head is completely tilted, it looks like my crown is weakening? Although, can't tell if that's how it's always been actually... I'm still on my regular Fin regiment of every other day at .25mg tablets. No noticeable negative sides...yet. And hopefully, I will not exhibit any symptoms of such. Anyways, at 9 months I'm essentially 75% of the way there since there's only 3 months remaining. I think given my current progress, this is more or less what the final end result will be. I'm realistically not expecting any drastic type of improvements, but I, of course, welcome any eleventh hour miracles! I still think my hair looks the best when wet and the worst when dry due to the blatant sparseness/thinness (see through effect). I continue to wear a hat whenever possible. When I must style my hair I am still resorting to my concealment trick. So basically nothing has changed since I underwent this procedure last December, which is truly disappointing. I will say that overall, it's a marginal improvement from where I started pre-op, but this has not been life-changing in the least. From a straight head-on angle, my hair looks fine...but that seems to be the only acceptable vantage point, which is too restrictive. Any head tilt reveals blatant thinning in the front, so basically anyone taller than me or if I'm sitting down will see that I'm clearly suffering from hair loss. Rating at Month 9 still remains at 4 out of 10. WET HAIR
  12. Balding Bad
    Thanks for checking in. I took photos on Friday with the intent to upload them, but I've just been slacking. Will try to get them up by tomorrow. Appreciate the nudge.
  13. Balding Bad
    This will be a fantastic journey to follow. Best of luck!
  14. Balding Bad
    Hey @sbguy01 hope you're doing well. Could you provide the community with an update? Really interested to see how this turned out.
  15. Balding Bad
    Yikes, hate to see this. Please keep us posted on your journey.
  16. Balding Bad
    This should be a home run, already looking great at month 5. I wouldn't be surprised if we never hear from OP again.
  17. Balding Bad
    Nope, only with Dr. Joe since he was the one who performed my procedure, but you do raise a good point. Wonder what he would have to say about the current outcome. My understanding is that Dr. Shapiro is more experienced with FUT and he relies on Dr. Joe for FUE, so considering Dr. Shapiro for a touch up may not make the most sense, but appreciate the idea.
  18. Balding Bad
    Exactly. If the final results at 12 months end up being an overall 80% then I could live with that and even be open to returning for a touch up. I'm kinda leaning towards that not actually being the case, but I am open to miracles as well! lol
  19. Balding Bad
    Wow, surprised to see OP is happy with his results with the caveat that his hairline is covered with his curls. No offense OP, but I would be livid if this was the final results for me...
  20. Balding Bad
    Thanks @Melvin- Moderator, appreciate your support in all this. I have indeed spoken to Dr. Joe. I recapped that in my Month 8 post. You may have missed it since it was buried with all the photos I subsequently posted after. Please check out my writeup if you have a chance. But just to recap, Dr. Joe thinks my progress is "on track" and believes that the majority of my grafts took. I'm not sure how much I agree with his assessment considering there are blatant gaps in the hairline and a real lack of density. Moreover, there's one section at the frontal hairline that's completely bare (which I've circled in previous photos). During the course of our conversation, he did eventually concede he may have been too conservative with the graft count. He did say he wanted to do right by me and offered a free touch up or discounted 2nd procedure. Not sure if I'd be willing to take him up on the offer since I do feel quite underwhelmed with the results thus far, but it's something I'll keep in mind for the time being. I likely wouldn't proceed with a 2nd procedure until 4th quarter of 2024 at the earliest. There's still 4 months left on the table and I was listening to a podcast the other day where someone mentioned all their concerns went away from months 10-12. I'm hoping the same can happen for me. As I stated in my above mentioned post, I'm no longer expecting a slam-dunk or home run, but I'm still hoping it can turn around in a manner where the hair line looks decent (not see through/thin) in most lighting conditions. We'll see... 🤞
  21. Balding Bad
    The plan now is to just see how this plays out. I'm still hoping by month 12 it ends up looking half-way decent. I'm no longer expecting a home run, obviously, but if it came come out looking acceptable in all types of lighting conditions without the hairline looking blatantly thin/see through then I can live with it. I don't want to entirely rule out SMG for a touch up, however I think at this point I'd be leaning towards another clinic.
  22. Balding Bad
    @mister_25 thanks for providing that detailed update. I do find it uncanny how our results are virtually the same. Your remarks about the illusion and conditions are exactly mine as well! I still hope for both our sake that the remaining few months allows for meaningful growth that can help turn our results around in a manner that is satisfactory. Otherwise, I think if the offer on the table for a refund from H&W is still on the table that you should take that and consider another clinic...which one that might be, I'm not too sure. I need to start ramping up my research again, but for the time being I'm kinda leaning towards Rahal in Toronto since he is the self-dubbed "Hairline King" and the results I've seen thus far are quite impressive.
  23. Balding Bad
    Hey @mister_25, hope you're doing well. Any updates?
  24. Balding Bad
    Great write up @cloudyhaze. Looking forward to following your progress!
  25. Balding Bad
    Objectively speaking, the right side is actually slightly and noticeably better than the left, but yes, I understand what you mean in terms of the direction of styling giving the illusion that it looks better. In terms of the styling advice for the dry hair, I just would never wear my hair in that manner...it's not a good look for me lol.
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