GHTJourneya

Top doctors tend to be very pessimistic about the outcome, they underpromise on the day of surgery so that they do not run into any unexpected issues later Have you considered doing scalp micropigmentation on your donor area, so that you can extract some more grafts and cover up any patches?

I have a device with 272 diodes by Kiierr, is the original by Capillus? Do you wear hair pins to split the hair on areas that are thicker, or do you just wear it as usual? My concern is that as the hair gets longer it blocks the light and the follicles receive less light My experience with my laser cap is also positive, but I would like some recommendation regarding how to wear the cap as the hair gets longer. My assumption is that longer and thicker hair blocks the light, so that we need to use hair pins to make the roots visible to the diodes

As the time goes by post-op, there are no spots left and I am sceptical about wearing my laser cap on a full head of hair as the diodes "can't see" the follicles (apart from the front part of the hairline). What is the point of wearing a laser cap if the light cannot penetrate onto the scalp as it is blocked by the actual hair? Would hair pins work? First world problems

I was using topical minoxidil 10% + azelaic acid 5% pre-op I stopped roughly a week before surgery and started again 10 days after surgery but replaced topical minox with oral minox 5mg. My experience so far with oral minox is positive, I do not have to mess around with topicals and I got some beard growth, too

It's 3-3.5 EUR per graft, depending on how many you need and also when you book it. This may be now different due to inflation. Based on what I have seen so far, I am convinced that De Freitas should charge at least double the amount of money than they currently do. It is crazy that they can achieve this result at this price range

Absolutely, I really like the density and the overall slope at which hair comes out. It happened gradually and I did not realise, but now that I look at my previous photos I see what you are talking about The only thing with hair transplants is that the transplanted hair is 3-4 months behind in terms of length compared to your native hair. Depending on how you wear your hair, that may be more evident. I need to wait for a couple of months before I get a proper haircut to even these parts out, so that the hair will blend even better

Yes, this is how it looks on average Depending on how much I use the blow dryer, I can probably make it look a bit longer and more voluminous, but I try to limit the use of blow dryer especially when not needed My donor area looks untouched on a 3mm - 5mm fade, I haven't not noticed any issues there. I got 2.8K grafts extracted, and I have enough to do another procedure and still be on a decent fade, I think. I don't really know to be honest, I will find out in 5-6 months, during my one year review

6 months, 10-15 days (photos taken on different days) @De Freitas Clinic is a gift from the skies I will try to post a more formal update with more pictures, apologies, it's been a bit busy lately Two big wins is that sometimes I do not use my hairdryer, and I am not concerned about windy places anymore!

This photo was taken a day shy of 5.5 months, and I think that as time goes by, the amount of good hair days happen increases. (To be honest, though, I think that this angle helps a bit) I decided to delay my second prp treatment to month 7.5, but I am still researching if PRPs are effective My current routine includes dutasteride 2x/week, finasteride 5x/week, oral minoxidil daily and laser cap 3x/week (alongside with Ketoconazole shampoo 3x/week) It looks like the length of my hair around the temples is 3 months shorter than the rest of my native hair, which now makes sense. That's another reason for waiting a complete year to see the results, which means a maximum hair length of 9 months, and that is if you don't have a proper haircut until then

If you consume half a pill of any marine collagen supplement, that is more than enough to cover whataever collagen reduction you might experience, if any. Note that most patients take vitamin supplements alongside with minoxidil, and vitamin-c alone boosts collagen production. Oral minoxidil will boost your beard, frontal hairline, and potentially your donor area. It is far better than topical minoxidil and far easier to consume/apply. At a nanoscale, even breathing will deteriorate your skin. If you experience any side-effects, report that to your doctor and you will work it out. Restoring collagen levels on your skin is easier than resurrecting hair follicles

I provided a pharmacy in Spain with a prescription, including oral minoxidil and finasteride. Oral minoxidil can only be made in a lab as there is no commercial product, but the pharmacy missinterpreted the rest of the prescription and also created their own in-house finasteride pills for me. I know that the commercial product of Propecia or other brands go through regular control which guarantees the quality and the effectiveness of the product. I am afraid that an in-pharmacy lab-made finasteride pill, may contain insufficient (or overdose) amounts of finasteride due to the fact that substances have to be measured and mixed in different devices. What if the person responsible for this makes a mistake? What if the device that mixes the product and forms pills distributes way more finasteride in a pill and no finasteride in another pill? Should I trust pharmacies and get their lab-made version of finasteride (which is usually a bit cheaper than branded products too)?

I had a first prp session 3 months post-op, and I am now considering doing a second one at ~6 months post-op, but I am not sure if I should postpone it, or if I have to do it at all. Do prps affect hair graft survival, apart from speeding up the process and potentially bringing your hair at the healthiest and most voluminous state? If graft survival and the overall is affected by prps, then I will go ahead and do another one, but if it does not matter much then I can wait and think about it a bit more

5 Months, 5 Days I am shocked at how good it looks under bright sunlight, the roots are getting thicker and the hair more mature I will try to take more detailed photos of the progress closer to 6 months

5 Months - completed 150 days That was by far the biggest difference I have seen in these first 5 months. It looks like the hair has thickened, and it looks good even under bright lights or during daylight (In one of the pictures I tried to separate the roots, so that you can see that the transplanted hair looks thinner than the native one, when taking photos perpendicular to the grafts)

The procedure was over around 8:30 p.m. but I had an umbrella with me just in case Post-op: I avoided direct sunlight by not going out much and by having an umbrella with me at all times for the first month. During the second month I started wearing loose hats, but I don't like hats in general so more often than not I used a hood (hoodie, jacket or similar) In FUE it is common for patients to be awake through the entire procedure, although some people sleep due to the medications I felt very relaxed but I didn't sleep, it was a relatively easy operation. The most difficult part is dealing with your self-image during the first three months, especially when you look into the mirror and see that ugly duckling egg of a head 🐤

The clinic asked me if I needed a taxi to go back to my hotel and they booked it for me. They also provided me with food, water and everything I needed throughout the day I stayed in Valencia an extra 5 days after my operation, just to make sure that I am close to the doctor should anything happens. Everything went smoothly, but I did not regret staying there extra days I was a bit more cautious at the airport, mainly to avoid sunlight and not to hit my head. It was not as difficult as you might think. At the end of the day you don't go around bumping your head when you travel normally, do you? 🤣

Update: 4 months, 1 week I noticed some improvement in the last week that appears to be somewhat more significant compared to the previous weeks, but it might just be that the hairs are getting longer, I am not exactly sure. The front hairline grows a bit faster compared to the area from the temples towards the crown (photo attached was taken outdoors, in daylight)

I used to apply minoxidil on my beard, too. I remember having to wait for an hour after microneedling my beard so as not to make minoxidil go systemic I am not sure if there are any concerns about oral minoxidil going systemic, for now it just looks perfect. I don't have to apply it and mess with my hair, it works on the entire scalp and beard, and taking a pill takes a couple of seconds, applying would take a good 2 minutes at the very least

It looks like oral minoxidil (2.5-5mg daily) is as efficient and effective as topical minoxidil (5-10% daily), potentially with some more side effects (low blood pressure in particular). I used to apply minoxidil to my temples and my receding area. But I switched to oral minoxidil post-op and now I am wondering since I take a pill, is that equivalent to applying minoxidil to my entire scalp, including my donor area? If that is true, does oral minoxidil also promote beard growth?

4 Months Some progress, hairs are getting longer, some more hairs are sprouting, but still a long way to go I can place myself in a relatively dark room, use a hair drier and my fingers to pull my hair back and make it all hair look more dense than it actually is. But I do not like that, so my photos attached are in a standard room during daylight and open windows. I let my hair dry naturally after having a shower, and instead of pulling them back, I try to take my photos straight through the grafts, to show you the bald truth 👩‍🦲 I believe I am an average grower, not too fast, but not too slow either. Current routine: 5mg oral minoxidil + 1mg finasteride (but some days I swap finasteride with 0.5mg dutasteride) + vitamins + laser cap + ketoconazole 2% 3x/week

Usually doctors provide you with post-op instructions regarding what you should watch. They tell you not to watch George Clooney or Chris Pratt, because it has been clinically proven that these actors affect hair graft survival. You should also limit your exposure to orange & brown colours of any kind, as human retina is indirectly connected to your follicles and different wavelengths of the spectrum might alter your blood supply network. In all seriousness, when I had my transplant I was going crazy post-op, I even thought that drinking too much water might affect the result. Relax, enjoy life and watch as many dark romantic horror drama comedies as you like

Does nutrition (including drinks, alcohol and caffeine) have any effect on the progress of a hair transplant, can it actually affect graft survival? I asked some doctors about it and here is both what I know and what I was told: - [doctor A's say]: It is not clinically proven that nutrition is related to hair loss. Patients with some form of deficiency may experience some form of hair loss, but it is not yet understood if that kind of hair loss will be permanent. - [doctor B's say]: Getting hair-friendly vitamins is a nice way to ensure your hair has all the nutrients it needs to grow. As long as you follow a normal diet you have nothing to worry about. - Does that mean I can drink a beer, have ice-cream and pizza? - [doctor B's say] Yes, you can eat what you usually eat, as long as you follow a healthy diet, mischiefs are allowed every now and then. [What I know]: According to some studies (will cite the dois when I find some time), food types with high-glycemic index (like white rice, white bread, pasta) cause sugar spikes which may lead to seborrheic dermatitis (or insulin-induced telogen effluvium, but that does not count as hair loss nor can affect graft survival). The effect of scalp dermatitis on graft survival is not very well understood either. I would highly appreciate your opinions on this, it looks like it is not very well understood and there is zero guidance on post-op nutrition, apart from the usual vitamin & iron rich supplements that doctors tend to prescribe.

You mentioned world class doctors, you clearly did some research. I highly doubt you only have 3K before it looks depleted, typically 4K is the low-end of the spectrum. Regardless, why don't you use 4K and simply do scalp micropigmentation on your donor area, and keep your haircut relatively short, or more like a medium/high fade? This way you can get more grafts and cover the depleted areas. Anyways, I would prioritise the frontal part (+temples) and the rest could be covered with body or beard hair, as you said, or even a partial hair system. I had my HT done by Dr. De Freitas. Excellent work as well, really high standards as to donor area/density. Most people have a density around 2-2.5 hairs/graft, so it's absolutely normal that you have more 2s than 3s, like the rest of us. I think HT doctors are always parsimonious, they won't tell you that you're an amazing candidate because they don't want you to have unrealistic expectations. It might turn out better than what you think. Best of luck

It looks like I cannot my original post anymore, here are some before photos. Unfortunately it is not still very clear where my hairline is as hairs from the back cover the front line, but for what it's worth I put them here. (If you can edit my original, please move these there, thank you)

@ObtuseAlbatross133, it looks good and indeed similar to mine (also done by Dr. Freitas). I do believe he and his team are at a world-class level and you result will be a homerun Picky advice, you should avoid strong, direct sunlight for the first three months as it may affect the color of your skin in the transplanted area (I noticed there was a lot of sun light in one of your post-op photos) Happy growing