Balding Bad

Yes, comparatively speaking my pending results now are better than before surgery, but the results of the procedure should be able to stand on its own accord without the need for comparison. In fact, comparison should only be utilized in order to emphasize the dramatic turnaround...which, sadly, I don't believe this will be. And yes, I agree. The results should be much better given SMG's reputation. And there's still technically 6 months left on the table. Could I be a slow grower? At this point, I sure as hell hope so!

I agree, more time needed, but in terms of a second transplant? Not necessarily. Maybe I'm naive here, but given my hair loss is primarily confined to the frontal third, I believe a single procedure could have yielded much better results. Perhaps not a wall of hair, but it could have produced denser, fuller looking results. In fact, all the clinics I consulted at, the general consensus and average in terms of graft was in the 2,500-3000 range. So I think with the 2,300 I received, the results should have been much better than this.

Thanks for chiming in @mister_25. I've been following your thread and find it quite serendipitous that we're in the exact same situation with subpar results having gone to acclaimed, world-renowned clinics. We are brothers united by our unfortunate circumstance! lol I was never expecting a "wall of hair," but I definitely expected it to look much better than how it currently is. And when you consider I still had some minor but decent coverage of native hairs, it should have turned out better visually. I've gone from heavily but stablized thinning to marginally moderate thinning. Is that a win? No, I don't think anyone undergoes a HT procedure with the goal of marginal improvement. I feel like only a miracle can turn this around because I'm not seeing or feeling any new hairs sprout up either. So what has grown is pretty much it. I haven't hit up SMG about my current status. I will do that once I hit the 7 month mark, but at this point, I've actually kinda lost confidence in the clinic as a whole, so not sure I would return to them for a "repair" or a 2nd procedure...

Thanks for popping back in! Looking forward to the update, as I'm sure everyone else is!

Wow, incredible!

DRY HAIR - DIMMER LIGHTING

DRY HAIR

WET HAIR - DIMMER LIGHTING

JUNE 19, 2023 UPDATE (180 DAYS POST-OP [6 MONTHS]) Today's update is a special one because we are officially at the 6 month mark, the halfway point, 180 days and counting! Before I get into it, I want to preface that the below statements are MY opinions and feelings in THIS VERY MOMENT. I want this thread to be as authentic and transparent as possible. Also, for the sake of being as thorough as possible with this month's update, I've decided to include 4 batches of photos: 1.) wet hair 2.) wet hair - dimmer lighting 3.) dry hair 4.) dry hair - dimmer lighting So this is a pivotal milestone in the HT journey because, at this point, there's been ample time and growth for a solid baseline to have visually formed...or that's the hope at least. Half a year has gone by and the question at the forefront is: Am I better off today than where I initially was back in December 2022? And, secondly, is a hair transplant supposed to actually provide coverage/density or is it supposed to only provide an illusion of coverage/density? Well, in regards to my first question, it's not exactly a clear cut answer and, in fact, I think it ultimately depends on a combination of several factors and considerations: 1.) angle 2.) lighting 3.) hairstyle 4.) condition of hair (wet or dry) At first glance, when perusing the initial photos below, one might be inclined to conclude I've turned the corner and the "results" are looking great and the hair is finally filling in. I'd be inclined to agree, however once you begin to examine the hair with those 4 aforementioned factors in mind then the results (illusion) begins to fall apart astoundingly fast... According to the "What to Expect After Surgery" literature provided by SMG: What to expect at 5-6 months following surgery A significant change usually occurs between the 5th and 6th month. By the 6th month, about 80% of the hairs should have penetrated the skin. However, only about 50-60 percent of the final visual aesthetic effect has been achieved. Between the 6th and 7th month is the best time to schedule your follow up appointment to evaluate the progression. If my transplanted grafts are at 80% penetration and let's assume the final visual aesthetic is at 50% then that means I'm in trouble because the current 6 month results are seriously a huge letdown in my opinion. Moreover, my brother, who is not knowledgeable with the HT process, inadvertently asked me a confidence-killing question: when's your hair going to start growing? That just goes to demonstrate how poorly it's growing. if I had to summarize my results thus far, it'd be: underwhelming, sparse, pluggy. Obviously there's still 6 months remaining before I can fully assess the results, but as of now, where it currently stands, I'm not inclined to believe it will visually improve in a significant way. There's just a concerning lack of density that I doubt will fill in adequately within the remaining time frame. The frontal hairline is especially weak. Comparing photos from my day 1 procedure, it appears that my frontal hairline received enough incisions to build up a decent looking hairline, but the end result of my 6 month journey thus far seems to suggest otherwise...or I suppose it's possible the grafts just didn't take? I dunno... At this point, my confidence is very low that the density will fill out to a passable natural look and it's beginning to dawn on me that I will likely need a second procedure. I'm not one to be a pessimist, rather I'm just a realist, and the results as they currently stand offer no indication that it'll improve substantially. Obviously I'd love to be proven wrong, but this is just my honest assessment. I hope there's a scenario where I look back in 6 months and laugh off my concerns, but I guess only time will tell... Anyways, moving forward, I will begin ranking my monthly results. For my 6 month results, I will rate it at 3 out of 10. On a side note, my Fin side effects have finally fully subsided and I am planning on starting 0.5 mg twice a week beginning in July... Disclaimer: my last haircut was back on 4/16/23, so it's been over 2 months since my last haircut, the longest I've ever gone without one. WET HAIR

Glad I caught this thread. Looking forward to more updates. Good luck!

Hey @Style22, any updates?

Hey @Hairfulthinking, thanks for the update. Sorry to see there hasn't been much meaningful improvement from the month prior. That said, I've seen some posts on this forum where people really do turn the corner at 9 months, but usually their past months were slightly better as well. Obviously everyone is different, so there's still a chance for you to turn the corner, but in the meantime I think it's important to temper expectations. I'm rooting for you though! Also, for the sake of transparency and for a fully documented journey, I think you should still provide an update at the 8 month mark.

Hey @Hairfulthinking - I'm legit in the same situation as you. Approaching the 6 month mark and my hair is looking sparse, thin, and pluggy. Definitely curious how we'll both turn out, but rooting for the both of us in the interim!

Looking forward to seeing how this one plays out. Looks promising!

Curious to see how this turned out but highly doubtful we'll ever hear back.

Any update on this buddy? It's been a year now. Hope the density improved.

You and I are essentially an identical situation. I'm about 6 months out and my current results are mirroring yours. Hopefully we'll turn that corner soon!

Hope you're right! Hopefully month 6 we'll be seeing something amazing! 😎

Gatsby, always good to hear from you, man! And you're absolutely right...that's the right mindset to have! It can just be difficult to maintain, as I'm sure you're aware. Slow and steady, slow and steady... lol

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Yeah, waiting is definitely the hardest part. What's frustrating to me is that I'm still doing my same routine with trying to cover my frontal balding when I style my hair in the morning and it's bewildering to me that I still have to resort to this...but I'm trying to keep the faith that this technique will hopefully eventually be a thing of the past...

Appreciate the moral support! 💪

MAY 20, 2023 UPDATE (150 DAYS POST-OP) Greetings my Follicly Challenged Friends and welcome to Month 5! So this post is 2 days late of day 150, however I made sure to snap these photos on day 150 to reflect accuracy. As you will see in the photos below we are starting to see some visible improvements over last month. I must admit and as evident in my reply to @Melvin- Moderator, I was starting to lose the faith at around the end of April. To me, the growth was happening far too slow and I was beginning to question whether my procedure was a failure. I had sought out results of early/fast growers who had above average (amazing) improvements at month 3 and 4 and used that as my baseline for comparison and I gotta say that mindset will only set you up for disappointment. Even though I told myself to just wait it out and trust the process, I couldn't help but get ahead of myself and cause unnecessary anxiety as a result. Subsequently, as the days progressed after my initial freak out, I started to notice the growth continue day after day. In-person, the frontal hairline looks way better than in the photos, but then when I tilt my head downwards the illusion of "density" is ruined and in harsh overhead lighting, oophfff, the illusion is absolutely destroyed! You can see that it's still sparse and not dense at all (yet!) and scalp is totally visible and I just look like I'm thinning...but, hey, it's only month 5 and according to my buddy who underwent a HT procedure himself, he assures me that months 6 and 7 is when the magic happens...so I'm gonna heed his words of wisdom here and keep my fingers crossed! 🤞 Even with all that said, I gotta say, I still do find my frontal hairline to be very weak so far...and I'm not really seeing any new follicles sprout up...but I guess I need to just take a deep breath (inhale) and trust the process... (exhale) On a side note, I'm still not on Fin and still have no plans to get back on in the immediate future, but I want to try 0.5 mg once a week when I feel I'm ready to do so. I want to make sure the negative sides are completely gone. My recipient area has been clear of folliculitis for the most part, however it's my donor area, specifically the lower portion of the nape (right where the hair ends and the bare skin of the neck starts) that I'm noticing a decent deal of folliculitis. It's manageable in the meantime, but definitely annoying. Also, my right portion of the hairline (which was lowered beyond the natural hairline) seems a bit funky to me. It seems quite artificial and there's almost a line of visible skin immediately behind it, which amplifies the wonkiness to it. I've noticed it for the past 2 months and feel like I need to cite it for the sake of transparency. That said, I'm not terribly upset about it at the moment since I know time typically corrects this...but still wanted to flag it since it's worth mentioning. Anyways, y'all came here for the photos to gawk at, so here you go! Please feel free to provide any feedback if you have any...good or bad. Thanks!

Haha @needmyhairback you're right on time with your post being exactly on day 150. I should just use you as my monthly reminder. 😄 Thanks @A_4_Archan for your words of encouragement! Glad to see you are seeing visible improvements! Hopefully my latest month 5 photos are an even more marked improvement. 😊

Wow, bro...just wow! Those results are incredible! Very happy for you!!! 😁

Nice, it's looking great! Glad to see the gap eventually filled in!