NARMAK

Try both medications for 12 months and i strongly suggest adding Microneedling with a derma pen once a week at 1 to 1.5mm to try boost your results.

Congratulations on the procedure and looks like Dr Mwamba gave a bunch of time, care and attention to getting you the best outcome possible. The extractions look clean and the work solid. I'm actually shocked about the level of density you got told could be done. What punch size did Dr Mwamba use? I was told by Eugenix they had to use 0.9mm, but recently watching a video, it said that they should switch around the punch size depending on whether its a single, double, triple graft etc. as they could go smaller on the singles but i never remember them saying if they did that. It ended up around 1280 grafts for the frontal hairline on my side, but my Dr eyeballed the density. They never really had a tool to measure the actual density per CM/2. So that's one area i do like to get data of patients because it really helps break things down. I know you mentioned a price of shaven as $3, is that the USD price they offered you before they closed that office and is that shaved for the donor and recipient zone or just donor? Happy healing OP and enjoy the day rest of your time in Brussels!

I'm going to be brutally honest. The clinic that you used shouldn't have done what they did at all. I don't like their pattern on the way the implanted it. Looks like rows which is the hallmark of a clinic that doesn't know how to make things look natural. You should have also been told to use medication like Finasteride and didn't need the amount of grafts they used. There's a huge chance they could have compromised blood flow to the existing hair follicles and speed hair loss up in those healthier areas. If i had to look at the pictures and guess, you may be a little over harvested potentially but it doesn't look like it would be bad and it's hard to tell if it's also just shock loss but i genuinely don't think at a glance doing all your front to crown will have been a small number. The fact they won't even tell you is also terribly unprofessional. OP, what's done is done. I don't want to make you feel bad at all, but you need somebody to give you an honest assessment and it helps educate other people through your experience to learn from certain things. I'm not sure what research you did but i would let people know about how your journey led you there.

Thanks for posting the additional pictures. I think it's difficult to say you've been over harvested based on it only being 10 days post-op. It could simply be shock loss and also the extraction sites being red and inflamed. Wait a little bit and see how things are in a month or so but if you ask the clinic, they should be able to tell you how many grafts were taken and implanted. Do you have any pictures before your operation for the donor area and where the hair was transplanted.

Personally OP i think it's better to stay on medication and save up for the right place and do the job properly. Even myself, in choosing Eugenix i had to work within my budget but i couldn't just go anywhere when i needed a complete temple point reconstruction. So i chose somewhere with a lot of experience in this area and did a lot of diligent research but even then, they had cases on this forum at the time which did cause some concern, but i felt they would strive to address that issue and ensure my result was also good. I have detailed all this in my review thread but even then, i have highlighted areas of concern and what my experience was which is to say perhaps not every choice is perfect, but it should be made with a long term view in mind when you are going to have to live with it for the rest of your life.

If you visit them, then it's always best to have a plan of action and take all factors into account for the long term and of course using beard hair on the sideburn will then limit the ability to use it in the scalp area for crown or midscalp. So always something to bear in mind. Regarding hair trends, i understand what you mean. Personally i have always tried to stick to my own style and as i've gotten older it's favoured longer hair but i think maybe just a bit of a longer length whilst still staying on the shorter side could help your situation. Hair fibres i genuinely think you do get what you pay for but it's also something you do need to learn how to apply and that takes practice. It's not for everybody but something even i am considering using at some point if necessary.

I think i can understand what you're saying you want to do and of course it's an aesthetic surgery and a choice you make, but with your extremely limited beard donor, why not just shave the sideburn a little higher to compensate for the lack of density. You could also possibly grow the hair longer on the sides and back which could help disguise the over harvested areas and maybe if keeping it short use hair fibres.

I think it's easy as pie to travel from the US to India with an eVisa system in place providing you aren't Pakistani in any capacity lol. Overall we probably would need to see some pictures to get an idea of the hairline design you are aiming for and where the 1k grafts may go. It does seem like a lower number than average but based on even what you're saying, it's difficult to picture where the refinement will be exactly to determine the rough graft count.

That picture is very zoomed in and there's not enough context of whether this is a month or few weeks post-op, or maybe after a full 12 months. Do you have any other pictures that can allow us to better assess things for you and can you give information on which clinic you went to, the grafts quoted etc.

Don't go on "Best Clinic" but research carefully and find a clinic that can specialise in what your particular hair transplant needs are and a clinic that specialises in that. You wouldn't want to have afro hair and go to a clinic only experienced with fine straight Caucasian hair for example. Also, some clinics and doctors for one reason or whatever see a drop in quality or results and this is why its also best to find recent independent patient reviews on not just here but similar places where the reviews actually independent and not just fake 5* Google or Trust pilot reviews. Share your pictures, blur the face if needed and let us try help even a bit to see what we could recommend as a course of action. Sometimes people need to start medication first and re-evaluate. Sometimes they need to do that and save up and make contact with the right clinics for the hair transplant. Its always case by case.

I don't think my case is comparable tbh. OP has pretty well defined temple points even if the shape seems very acute. 2010 grafts is what my final count was and that was with 730 grafts for a full temple point rebuild and my hairline was arguably more receded looking than OPs wet hair comb back. I do not for the life of me see unless it's going to be super dense packed how the 2k grafts has been assigned. It looks like OP only needs his frontal hairline reinforced which would usually be maybe 1000 grafts if not less and then temple points maybe 250 grafts to support the reshaping of them. I'm not an expert of course but i would say with OP being in India, he should have had an in person consultation.

Personally i don't think there's enough science to back it up that PRP alone does anything effective by itself for hair loss and for the cost, it's basically modern day snake oil. That said, i did get it with my HT and there is evidence to suggest some benefits in particular situations but paying through the nose isn't a good idea. You are better off with Finasteride, Minoxidil and Microneedling as your core protocols and using Nizoral with 2% ketoconazole and making sure your vitamin levels and scalp health is maintained at an optimum. That's the real "fertiliser" if you ask me. Making sure your scalp health is good.

So i have read about this and watched a previous video about it, but it seems unusual for it to happen i guess from most results you see within the first 12 months. Particularly even 5th to 6th month where an area seems to thin out i guess compared to the other areas. Right now, i'm hoping it's just temporary because if that's how it will look with de-synchronization then it's definitely not dense looking enough to look satisfactory to my eyes on an everyday basis without fibres, so i'll probably be going for a 2nd pass sooner rather than later.

Melvin, i feel like you'd be best placed given you have had multiple procedures and likely to have maybe some experience on this front. I've been keeping a close eye on my hairline as things grow in and i know that sometimes there's uneven growth, but i have a particular area just off centre to the left of my frontal hairline and it does appear visibly thinner now than the right side in a similar place and generally the frontal hairline apart from that area is looking thinner. The kicker for me seems to be that it actually has gotten thinner within the last few months. Now my possible reason for this was that maybe some of the hair grew for a bit and got length but then maybe fell into a telogen phase and that's why they have shed in that area. Is that normal in your experiences for maybe specific patches? I don't intend to panic or anything but it's an annoyance as the hair felt like it was becoming easier to style and visually not stand out at the frontal hairline as much but this puts me back a little bit.

I personally felt comfortable about 7-10 days post-op when i had done my first head wash and could wear a baseball cap without worry. In terms of going out without a hat, it was probably 4+ months when my hair had grown long enough to comb down and over the recipient area. I think it truly does depend on whether you care about people knowing you had a HT or feel conscious about the possibility of getting looked at a certain way. I personally didn't want any undue attention and tbh, even now i do still feel conscious in brighter sunlight that the hair is too thin and visible. I won't know how exactly the final 12-18 months result will look because I'm not even at the 6 months mark yet.

*accidental double post*

I would personally give the Finasteride and Minoxodil a full 12 months but use the time left to research and save up for a great clinic for my situation. Realistic goals are also important.

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. It simply depends on you and what you feel comfortable sharing and with who. Personally, few people know besides my immediate family and some very close friends outside of this community. I stayed working remote as long as i could and wore my hair down over the HT for long enough to cover it. It's a bit easier to style more normal now, but ultimately i think it's up to you to decide.

New hair growth or hairs that are still growing and maturing after first sprouting? I would find it highly, highly unusual for a hair to end up sprouting at 18 months as a new follicle for the first time post-op.

No, this isn't research based per se, but just as people microdose oral Finasteride, i thought maybe similar would apply to oral Minoxidil although given i'm not one for general half measures, i'd probably end up on 2.5mg everyday sooner rather than later from when i start.

I just wanted to ask if you have any before and current pictures you could share at all. I know i said i'd keep Minoxodil in my back pocket for a while, but the thought of possible extra regrowth along my crown, midscalp etc. and possible thickening of existing hair alongside making it improve in texture and shine seems tempting to maybe try it even at 3x a week on 2.5mg which is what seems to be the standard UK dosage becoming available. I am concerned with having trichosis but with the possibility to laser those areas it's difficult to know how much it would affect you unless you tried. Hair greed has me curious, probably still not get on it for a while but be nice to see a comparison.

As a person who basically hit the nuclear button and went to Dutasteride, my advice is to slowly load your dosage and build up to a full transition if that's what you intend. I didn't and went a full 0.5mg a day and had to level out after months. It wasn't bad to the point of making me want to stop, but a more sensible and measured approach is recommended. I was just hyper focused on restoring the maximum amount of hair possible and not lose a moment after letting myself be put off Finasteride by fear mongering a decade earlier and likely losing ground. Honestly, in hair loss its slow and steady that wins because it genuinely is a marathon BUT i won't lie and tell you it isn't hard. Most guys want to look their best in their earlier prime years of 20s and 30s but most guys aren't set up correctly for the long tern until late 30s and 40s these days. So focus on that fact to maintain yourself because where others peaked at their 20s and declined, you have a chance to peak and maintain. Either way, the choices you make are ultimately your own and you have to own them. Good luck.

It's always a case by case basis. Ultimately some carry off the "Illusion" better than others if density, skin to hair contrast, hair calibre and other factors play in their favour. Usually people are told to grow hair longer with a hair transplant generally but i guess just as the saying to not go too short is mentioned, going too long could expose the density or rather lack of for some people. Ultimately until hair transplants get unlimited grafts, we can't act like everybody will have the same pre hair loss look. Even then, we do not know how much density surgeons will truly be able to recreate. Could we see them go even higher than native density? That's going to be something that needs a clinic study and multiple trials over the best method. Single setting, double or several etc.

You can get the frontal hairline done if you want but the midscalp potentially getting worse is more og a concern and then if the hair behind the transplant receded, you're basically skating on ice trying to chase. The donor is finite, so making the best use of it is crucial. Right now, giving medication and Microneedling 12-24 months to work, possibly using Minoxidil and see how things shake out then decide if you want to go ahead for the front and feel you stopped further hair loss in its tracks. If you look at my hair transplant for example, although i literally had no temple points, i'd been on medication for at least a year (Dutasteride 0.5mg everyday) and the hair loss progression didn't have obvious diffuse thinning and generally looked positive to go with a frontal restoration as aggressive looking as i went for. You are in your 30s which puts you at a better age but don't rush into anything. It's more permanent and difficult to undo surgery as well as costing you more financially and emotionally in the long rub.

OP, the top down picture shows you thinning and medication is probably the best action to help with that. Finasteride to halt further progression and see how things shake out for 12 months. As for the black lines and quote of 3k grafts, that's ridiculous. I had just over 2k grafts and that resulted in just over 730 for the temple points. Then the rest towards the frontal hairline. I do not think there's any chance you can expect realistically to have to transplant 3k grafts in that small space. Some pay claim the hairline is too low and straight and to a degree they would be right but you sometimes can get away with it IF you do it properly and qualify. However, i would be extremely wary in your situation because of the hair loss in the midscalp. If i was in your shoes, medication with Microneedling is my first course of action and after 12-24 months, re-evaluate for a HT and save up during that time and sending out consultation requests to reputable clinics with genuine patient reviews.