BuellerBueller

I am happy to say, with much thanks to this website and it's many users, that I completed my first hair transplant yesterday at the age of 54. For those younger guys who think they'll turn 40 and not care about how their hair looks, trust me, you continue to care about your hair at every age. A hair transplant is something I've contemplated since I was in my 20s. My receding hairline started in college. I loved my hair. My family used to make fun of me because I couldn't pass a mirror without looking at it. Once I realized it was starting to recede, I would sometimes have dreams that it was falling out faster and in clumps. I would wake up and count the hairs on my pillowcase. Those were the early years. As work life got busier and I got older, I just sucked it up and simply styled my hair to look decent in the front. I've been using minoxidil and finasteride off and on for 20+ years. In the last 5 years, I realized I didn't like going to the gym without wearing a ball cap. And then I noticed I wanted to wear a cap pretty much all the time. I decided it was time to start researching hair transplants again. I stumbled on this website (along with others) and was amazed at how the technology had advanced with hair transplants. I was also surprised of the many famous athletes and entertainers getting transplants and looking good at every age. I decided to go for it. I emailed about 5 doctors (all represented on this site), sent pics of my hair and most replied back fairly quickly with their recommendations. The consensus was I needed about 2000 grafts and that I had good donor area. I did a little more research on each of the doctors and Dr. Konior became my top choice for a variety of reasons. I was able to reserve a date and had an in-person consultation with him which sealed the deal. Yesterday I arrived at his office at 6:30AM and met with the staff for about an hour of paperwork. Dr. Konior came in after that and we discussed my goals and then like an artist with a blank canvas, he started working on my hairline. He reached out with his marker like it was a paint brush, placed a line on my forehead and then another and another...he would erase one and then add another or adjust one line and then add another. He repeated this process for about an hour. He was very meticulous, looking at both sides of my face and taking measurements. He absolutely strives to create what is the best hairline for each individual face taking into consideration age and donor availability. When he finally felt he had a good hairline for me, he handed over the mirror and said "here's what I came up with, feel free to make suggestions." I loved it! I mean I wish I had that hairline decades ago. He agreed and so on we went to shaving my head. You've heard how great his staff is and I fully support all those reviews. They are amazing all the way. Without going into every detail, I will tell you that from start to finish it took 13 1/2 hours (including several bathroom breaks and a lunch break), but it sure didn't feel that long to me. I was told I did fall asleep a couple of times, so that's probably why. I returned to the hotel around 8PM. I used a neck pillow and slept at about a 45 degree angle most the night. I woke up this morning, popped an Advil, had breakfast and then went back to his office to have the dressings removed, head cleaned and redressed. I was sent back to the hotel and told to chill and continue to stay upright. That's what I'm doing now which is why I decided to go ahead and share my journey. I'm posting pre-op pics to show my hairline and then you'll see the post-op pics from last night. I also included a couple of pics from the doctor's office BEFORE the surgery started showing the shaved head and lines that were drawn. From what I understand I had slightly more than 2,300 grafts placed with a large percentage being 3 grafts. I will share the actual counts once I learn them. This shows how at a glance I can camouflage the hairline. Reminder, density can be deceiving. The hair on the top of my head is not extremely dense. It's not see through, but not dense. Here is a wet look. This was the pick I submitted online to show donor area. And now the fun begins....here are the day of pics.... If you look closely, you can see where my actual frontal tuft exists. It appears like my hairline is dropping considerably, but it's actually not more than 1/2" to 3/4" max. These next pics are just a few hours post surgery.

Thanks for the update. There should be more for you to celebrate in July than just Independence Day!

Looking fantastic!

They look like they’ve always been there!

Congratulations! I have to agree, your writeup was extremely detailed and helpful. Thank you for that. What a crazy journey we are all experiencing with hair loss. Your quote was fantastic. It’s exactly how I feel (at 54). I looked in the mirror one day and finally said I’m done with this. I’m scheduled with Dr. K next month. Wish I had booked your ABB too! 🤣

Agree! Amazing hairline. Time flys quickly. You’ll have it back before you know it!

Thanks for sharing! What was the time between your first and second transplant? Looking forward to seeing the great progress!

There is never a "good time" for this. I have a beach vacation scheduled 7 weeks post-op with family, kid's and kid's friends. I expect I'll be in the full ugly duckling phase looking balder than ever with the buzz cut. Gotta just stand tall and be proud of what we're doing! I would've been wearing a hat poolside anyway, so what's the difference? LOL

Thanks for the one year follow up. The results are stellar! I like how you mention your confidence shifting for the better during the waiting period. I’m having a 2000+ FUE soon from Dr. K. I’m a lot older than you, but our hairlines are very similar. It’s been so long since I’ve seen hair in my temples that I can’t even envision what it will do to my appearance and confidence actually.

At least you can feel good knowing this is part of the post-op process. By the end of the Summer you’ll be getting excited again (as will we…ha).

Thanks for the follow up pics. Have you had any shedding yet? The back of your head has filled in nicely and quickly!

Good luck! Looking forward to your post-op updates.

It doesn't even look like you had surgery. Crazy! How do you like the army type stubble look? From these pics, it looks like you would look good with even this hairstyle. I've always wanted to shave my head, but have been too chicken. I actually can't wait to be shaved for the surgery to finally "see" how I would look with a buzzed head. Hope its as good as yours!

Thanks! Like I said, it's an amazing feeling to finally be committed to it. Looking forward to seeing your success over time. Thanks for sharing.

I just got lucky with the available date I guess.

Congratulations! I had my consultation on Saturday with him. I left unbelievably excited. I'm scheduled for FUE in May. I feel like a kid counting down the days to Christmas.