mister_25

Looking fantastic, your almost there

What about wearing fibers or other concealers everyday?

What characteristics does Dr Zarev and Bisanga say that makes your beard hair different than your scalp hair? Does this mean you are not a candidate for using beard grafts?

So much improvement in such a short time, I bet you are right on the money about two months from now

I've been wearing hats for a little under or over 4 years now, and I did get some "are you balding, is something up" like comments from new acquaintances and such from then on. Generally, the comments bothered me and were made semi-frequently. Until I wore concealer for one night out and then once they had "confirmation" that there is "hair under the hat" they stopped bothering me with it as much. So my advice, is you need to vary with having hair out in its best possible conditions, whilst also having "hat time" if that makes sense.

Temples look really good, excited to see you get more density

@Al - formerly BeHappy Congratulations! You should definitely make a "meet the moderator" topic and share your ideas and anecdotes after your many years of being on the forum

I think that starting a new section is a good idea, I personally see hair transplants and hair restoration in general as a avenue of self improvement. It all contributes to aesthetics anyway which is what we are all chasing so I think it has a relevant place on this forum. I also wanted to thank you and @Z-- in particular for your continued support and help in DMs. You both were very instrumental in helping me find a path forward and I am very grateful for that. What are the benefits of Dermmatch over fibres?

Nothing much really to share, But I'll try to do a small simple update; I'm consulting with other doctors and I have a in person consult booked in 2025. Second Surgery most likely will take place in 2026 (Probably Q4 of 2026). I am attempting to get more in person consults scheduled around the same time so that way I can have a small trip around Europe of consulting with various doctors in person about my capabilities. The spot that had shedded behind the hairline has improved over the past two months, but still will need to be addressed in a second procedure. Otherwise, the hair situation is the same, maybe slightly better or so. Otherwise, I'm getting good at using fibers and have gone out without a hat a couple of times with confidence (with fibers of course). Fibers make me look like I am just "beginning to thin" because of the weak point on my left side hairline, but otherwise with fibers I can pull off a NW2 look pretty well. The issue with fibers for me is that the fibers tend to fall out of the hairline after a couple of hours, so it's something that I'll have to apply in the hairline about 2-3 times a day. The crown and midscalp retain the fibers very well, and I've even seen them stay in for up to three-four days at a time using a hair-spray. Fibers have been absolute godsend on my confidence, I even received one compliment about my hair with them in that really made my week to be honest. If anyone is in a similar position, would highly recommend them. It gives me "breathing room" or even "momentary bouts of confidence and higher self esteem". I somewhat expected this from before the surgery, but during windy days my crown hairs blow upwards and get exposed, because of this I've grown my hair out into a bun to keep the crown hairs in the spot I want them, so that it doesn't get exposed. This works pretty well so far. But it is the only hair style that really works, I am very limited in the styling department. I will for the next couple years be known as "that guy who has his hair in a bun" I had a brief visit with a Dermatologist who has a stake in the HT industry and has trained under a surgeon, and I asked him out of curiosity how much donor he thinks I have left (Asked this a while ago) he said around 3000 grafts but it would be a inaccurate assessment. Right now, since I am in this "waiting" period where my hair will remain stagnant for around 3 years before a second surgery. I am going to put my time, energy and focus onto other aspects about myself that I can improve during this timeframe. Fitness, Diet, Skincare, Teeth, Hands-on Skills and Social Skills as examples, I can always improve and make/create new defining positive features that overpower my primary negative feature (my hair), which will ultimately be getting addressed when the time calls for it. I got this idea from reading a comment that @Der3k7 posted that really stuck with me about being a "self improvement monk" and coming back "levelled up". Don't know why but the nerd in me really took that in lol. So because of this comment, I am not "worrying" as much about my hair in the sense that there is nothing I can do now but there will be things I can do then, I put my time and energy on something that I can do as of now (like hitting the weights at the gym) As for various comments that I never got back to, I'll address some things that I would like to say. I've been really closely looking at my hair since I started Finasteride/Minoxidil back in the beginning of 2021. I've been monitoring it closely under multiple directions, angles, and conditions. I can say with confidence that I have not seen any additional thinning, the only areas that I have lost were very weak miniaturized hairs in the hairline that probably got shock-lossed out from the surgery, but they provided such minimal coverage that it does not weigh on me at all. I asked the doctor for a small amount in the crown to help with covering up, I do not regret this as before my crown was very bald to the point it was a unavoidable baldspot unless I had my donor hairs covering it. Now it looks like a thin spot (that is somewhat covered) without fibers and is filled in (to a much stronger degree, but not fully) with fibers. Before I don't think even fibers would do anything as it was that weak. I apologize if I did not react well about the comments about "forgetting about my 20s, plan for your thirties". I am slowly coming around to the idea that the reality of improving myself especially pertaining to hair is a slower process, and by the time I am in my late 20s (28/29) I can properly reap the rewards from the cautious approach. I am planning to get a second hair transplant nearing the end of 2026 if I can (which will make me almost 27) and that way the one year point for my second surgery will be when I am 27 but almost 28. Thank you for all your suggestions on different surgeons, I have narrowed my list down to three-four potential surgeons that I look on more favorable than others. I am grateful As a additional closing remark I will make, I am over one year on oral minoxidil, and I have not seen as much of a change in my balding areas, but it feels like my donor is almost as thick as what it was before surgery. Dr Hasson after the procedure told me I had alot of Donor hair in the telogen phase that he wanted me to address by starting Oral Minoxidil, could be a placebo but I think that it worked out with what he was saying as II cannot see or feel a difference in donor density. I probably wont be replying to this thread very often. There is something about commenting on this thread that "unbottles" and makes all the repressed feelings and sentiments I have about my hair come out. I hope you can understand.

I am excited to see how your results turn out, the temples and hairline design seem like a perfect fit. Your journey has been difficult, and you have persevered well, you are deserving of a great result that we all think you are going to get.

@Gatsby and @BeHappy are the two names that come to my mind. Both have given great advice and have been "in the game" for a long time. They both have a wellspring of knowledge in the HT World, new and old. I also agree with @Rolandas, He has provided the community with a treasure of educational videos that are easy to understand. I'm a bit sad though that he hasn't made any new videos recently

Honestly perfect

100% should be on the list.

I am going to presume yes, I've had stressful periods where I lose hair. I even had lost transplanted hair temporarily and it has somewhat grown back. I do have something interesting to share, if we are talking about Physical Stress. My Cousin who is much older than me (Late Forties, Early Fifties) was a NW1 solid hairline, in a workplace accident he lost a finger and it caused quite the shock in his body. And after that in a span of about 4-6 months he became a significantly diffused NW6

Happy for you man, I've gone through your entire journey and you finally got a big win that you deserved