mister_25

Phenomenal for 7 months, there has been so much improvement, and probably will still be much more improvement to come.

Dr Zarev performing miracles yet again.

Looking fantastic, your almost there

What about wearing fibers or other concealers everyday?

18 hours ago, GeneralNorwood said:

In Dr. Zarev's opinion my beard has different characteristics compared to hair. 

Bisanga thinks the same. 

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

9 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said:

I wish you nothing but the best man, hair fibers are a god send. I still use them. There’s really no downside. Self-improvement is something that we should highlight more in this forum. Perhaps we start a separate section? 

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.

9 hours ago, jjalay said:

You should switch from fibers to dermmatch, it will make your life a lot easier.

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

@Gatsby has in my opinion the most inspiring, incredible journey. Both surgeries were fantastic

@GeneralNorwood I am interested to hear what steps you are considering on moving forward and how you will approach future surgeries from now.

I also want to know, has any of the surgeons that you have communicated with told you what type of obstacles will be present because of the poor planning? What type of issues are present now that would not of been there if you have appropriate planning from the beginning.

You look incredible, Couto did a fantastic job.

Crown is looking great dude, happy for you

8 hours ago, Savemyhairline said:

Op, imo you really need to be assessed under a microscope and only under a microscope, by a professional. Nobody here can tell exactly what happened just by looking at your pictures. I think it’s worth flying back to H&W or at least some top end surgeon for in-person evaluation. Maybe you did continue losing hair, maybe you didn’t, we can’t know for sure. 
 

it is a bit concerning how, according to you, Dr. Hasson described this as an “excellent” result, as I think we can all agree it is not. But I won’t read into that too much. You are very young and spent a ton of money on this, and have finite grafts, so I understand your worry for sure. But before rushing into scheduling another procedure, I think you need to know for sure what exactly is going on. 
 

Konior is unbelievably expensive and IIRC you don’t want FUT, but he does seem to get impressive results with relatively few grafts. There was a case recently here however where he very much underestimated the grafts required and the patient required a second surgery, nobody bats 100. Before scheduling an appointment at all, I think your scalp needs to be assessed thoroughly now that you are 1 year post op, just my 2 cents.

 

if you are happy with your crown at this point though, that is definitely a good thing and I’m happy for you.

I actually had a appointment with my trichologist on the 9th to get a microscopic examination, but apparently the person that does it at the clinic had a sick day or a hangover or something. So I was unable to get it done which was the main reason I went there. Also I would probably visit my next surgeon before I get the transplant for a in-person consult, I feel like its the safest and will give me the most educated approach for my situation. My next appointment is in January so I'll try again for the examination.

I should also note that when I visited my trichologist I asked him just by eyeballing it and examing it if there was ANYTHING of concern at all in the transplanted/balding zones. And he said no, the only concern I have right now is the Areata in the donor.

I mean, right now I wouldn't mind having a transplant that underestimates the amount of grafts I would need if I was told that it was possibility and the yield was fine. It would just mean that I would have to wait for another transplant. Right now my attitude is donor maximization more than anything else. I need my next 2000 grafts to look like 2000 grafts.

I am happy with what the crown achieved in the first procedure, but I would still really want to get it filled in some more.

As for the front, even though it’s not ideal, It’s something to work with. I’m just stuck with the same hair style that I used pre surgery with no flexibility.

To answer some of the comments

I think it’s 70-75% Yield overall, the crown met my expectations fully and I have no issues with the results for my crown as of this first procedure. Frontal third is like 55-65% what I imagined it to be. 

I lost some native hair at the very front of the hairline that contributed a small amount, but ultimately they were very weak and deep in the miniaturisation phase. The rest of the hair that I would have lost made up almost 0 coverage and would only grow a couple of millimeters in the course of three years, this is especially obvious in the right corner.

I have not seen any regression since I started finasteride, you can take a look at my Finasteride thread and you can see where I started from and where I was pre surgery, I may of temporarily shedded due to stopping topical minoxidil but it looks like that has grown back as of now.

I definitely have hang ups on balding early, I do want to say that I am going to therapy for this, that’s about all I can think of to address that problem, if anyone else has any advice on this I’m willing to listen.

I’m not getting any surgery in 2024, I’m aiming for 2025 or 2026. Partly because I am taking time on considering my options, I also want to address my areata within this time and perhaps transition into Dutasteride. Is that a reasonable approach?

I don’t exactly know what to say anymore about people criticising me over my expectations. I did the sensible thing when looking for answers, asking my surgeon. If you think I’m childish, delusional, mentally unstable, brick-wall, gullible, hyper-neurotic, circus monkey, whatever you want to label me fine. But I only put my trust in my surgeons words, was I wrong to hold on when he reaffirmed my expectations and goals as attainable?

I want to also put emphasis on the fact that while the general consensus is that my result is “subpar”. Dr Hasson describes it as “excellent and the result he was looking for”. There is most certainly a mismatch to what the majority here believes the result is, and what the doctor believes the result is. It is also does not match what I was told or implied.

Overall though, I am adjusting my expectations into something less due to my limited donor capacity that I was only recently made aware of. I am probably going to have to live with a somewhat bald crown because I probably want to use all my remaining grafts bolstering the front. This is very disheartening for me because I was led to believe that it would be full along with the rest of the balding zones after all my surgeries.

I just want to say, that in no way am I rewarded for this post and the transparency I provide. I think it’s quite obvious that I shared how vulnerable I am about my hair, and my emotions associated with it. Anyone can go back looking on this thread and see I asked questions over and over again that usually devolve into tirades that aren’t much to do with the question itself. It’s whatever though because at the end of the day, receiving new questions like do I have fine hair or coarse led me to search the answer and narrow down factors that I had against me and for me. I just don’t appreciate when the topics falls outside the realm of hair.

@consequence I am always grateful to comments that tell me the truth of the matter, rather than buttering me up with falsehoods that I would like to hear. However basic flat statements like “Any ethical surgeon should reject you as a patient, your mindset is a recipe for disaster” is a largely unhelpful statement, what am I as a HT patient who is mid way in his journey am supposed to get out of that? You didn’t give reasoning as to why it would be a recipe for disaster, and I am unsure on how my mindset is a issue considering people had reiterated to me constantly that my approach and mindset was not a issue before hand. 

And the closing comment of “it’s just hair” is diminishing of what I put in. I put in time and energy researching, waiting for the procedure, waiting for the results to unfold, time working hours at my job, financial resources towards the procedure, efforts to conceal the ugly duckling phase by dodging social outings. All for the promise that I could greatly rectify the thing that bothers me most, and a “middle of the road” or “subpar” result is obviously not what I am looking for. So no it’s not just hair, it’s years of effort, hard work, insecurity, confidence issues and more. 

I like many other people, do not want to be labelled as a “hyper neurotic, brick-wall, unthoughtful, mentally unstable circus monkey” who also is destined for a middling result that won’t last after asking the poster to leave my thread alone from their input.  I’m not sure where you got “unthoughtful and brick wall” from considering I literally got a dutasteride prescription per your own advice. Also when you say “no more comments from me on your thread because, frankly, it's like talking to a brick wall.” You do realise you posted two comments in response right?

Just to clarify, the reason I was hesitant to begin dutasteride is I’ve seen cases on r/Tressless of people switching from finasteride to dutasteride and losing hair fast because it did not work for them. I don’t think it is as simple as 70% DHT reduction to 90% DHT Reduction. Regardless, any decision about my hair and scalp I proceed with absolute caution and always research first. 
 

I am a week away from the one year mark, so my result is practically finished. I’m not entirely sure if I want to continue updating this post for reasons that should be fairly obvious. And you all know how I feel about my transplant anyways.

Out of all surgeons, regardless of location and budget, can anyone tell me who you would go too if you were me and why you would go to them? So far my list has been narrowed down to Couto, Ferreira, Konior and Ahmad for a second surgeon.

1 hour ago, Savemyhairline said:

Okay dude I need you to understand that is very NOT normal and you unfortunately have been exposed to evil. Frankly based on what you’re describing, these “people” deserve to get their a$$ beat. They were never your friends, and in a way you are lucky that this is what showed you that instead of down the line where you could have lost money or otherwise been screwed over.

 

I usually don’t condone violence but assuming these were non-disabled males, you would have been in the right to beat the s**t out of them. Consider looking into a martial art, I think that can also increase your confidence.

 

bald/balding guys may be the blunt  of the joke sometimes but not what you’re describing and certainly not by friends.

True, I'm all the more better for having these people out of my life. It was a shock when its happened and the feelings are definitely lingering, but I am better without them then with them.

10 hours ago, consequence said:

Any ethical surgeon should reject you as a patient. Your mindset is a recipe for disaster.

10 hours ago, Sunset Dune said:

100% agreed.

This comment is so ridiculous, gave me a good chuckle.

My attitude surrounding my hair is that I am unhappy with what the transplant has achieved because it does not meet the expectations that we’re reinforced by the doctor. And I want to resolve this issue with the best capabilities preferably earlier than later. This is the most common mindset people have on here. Are they all disasters waiting to happen?

What my “process” is before surgery, I will research, follow and do everything to make myself the best possible candidate. So far what I’ve done and what I am doing is;

• Stabilise my hair loss
• Three years Finasteride Usage
• Three years Minoxidil Usage (Almost one year of Oral Minoxidil)
• Changed diet and lifestyle to address overall health
• Will spend whatever money he needs on his hair, not going for budget options
• Actively converses on forums with regular users looking for advice
• Actually follows said advice
• Sees a therapist to address the mental side of it all

So someone that actively wants to do something about his hair, researches and does the informed decisions based on his research but is still unhappy because expectations aren’t met and still wants to meet those expectations by going through multiple surgeries is a “recipe for disaster”. You must be joking.
 

I am not the type of person that likes back and forth arguments, so instead I'll just ask you this respectfully. Don’t comment on my thread anymore. I don’t value your input enough to look past the condescending comments.