Xanadu

7 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

What service is he providing besides making this post about him. He’s already been asked nicely by the OP to go on his own thread. But he continues to post after being asked nicely. I think it’s important to respect individuals journeys. 

Here’s the truth, happy patients post pictures that highlight their hair. Unhappy patients post pictures that highlight their weakness. There should be a good mix of both. But the reality is you should post pictures of how you present yourself to the world. That’s the most realistic depiction of your results.

If he’s not a candidate, then I’m not a candidate, @Bandit90 isn’t a candidate, @Zoomster isn’t a candidate. List goes on. I was way worse off before my last HT. My donor was already depleted before restoring the lateral humps. My lateral humps were a lot more eroded as well. I believe Ethans on medication, so hopefully that will slow down his hair loss. But thankfully there’s some new drugs on the horizon like CosmeRNA, Scube3, HMI-115. 

I appreciate the dialogue between you and Readyforhair. I believe you guys have provided your input and opinions in a fair manner and stuck to the facts. Again, I followed pretty much the same game plan as Ethan, so maybe I’m biased in the planning. But it worked out in the end. There are many paths to achieve the final goal.

First, I completely agree with Melvin, both about Etwan and about the stance towards GeneralNorwood. He is being far too insensitive and accusatory in many posts (not only this tread). 

Second, we are talking about what should be preferred in the first HT - a lower HL or full connection over the ridges or humps. I can see Ready's argument, but I think the alternative (which is what Etwan ended up doing) has at least as much merit. In a time of dating and pictures from ones life being taken left, right and center, Etwan can now have an age-appropriate persona in photos right from the very first HT. This is very important in that age. Would it be great to have the humps too? Sure, but I think on the balance they made the right choice for Etwan.

Third, was Etwan using fibres in that photo? Well, it was clear that it looked different. However, if we consider it more closely, one of the angles it was taken at allows some other hairs to shade/cover the missing part, making it look fuller than it is. Since those hairs only shade the area and don't grow there, the colour will look different and less dense. Secondly, and importantly, Etwan said that he didn't use fibres. I don't think etwan has ever given anyone reason to think he is lying. As such, he did not use fibres.

Fourth, I am really thankful to Etwan for his thoughtful and detailed posts and I have followed his journey closely. And I find it very unfair the treatment he has been given regarding the accusations. Thanks Etwan - I look forward to follow the next legs of your journey.

2 hours ago, general-etwan said:

Oh yeah, I should clarify the actual injections weren't too bad at all. But the actual insertions of grafts was extremely painful as the anesthetic kept wearing off.

Ahh. Yes, I had some of that too. It didn't hurt more than I could handle, and they kept asking me if I wanted more injections, but it wasn't worse than I decided to mostly just let them continue. But yes, that did hurt a bit sometimes. Still, I do not regret not telling them that it hurt, but it still was fine.

10 hours ago, general-etwan said:

I experienced a lot of pain all over the scalp, and specifically on the chin areas of the beard. I put up with a lot though and didn't want to make the team stop working all the time to inject more anesthetic, so I toughed a lot of it out, but they still had to keep giving me quite a bit more and more. Many clinics will say HTs are completely painless. Ha! When working on such a large area, and given that the local anesthetic only works for a limited time before gradually wearing off, there's going to be pain involved. But it's something you push through if you really want this.

My HT took 6-8 hours each day, with some breaks and lunch thrown in there too. Dr. Das drew up the plan, performed all of the incisions, and then kept coming back every 30-60 minutes to evaluate all the progress and make sure next section was going to go as expected. Techs were excellent. As you can see in all my images, the angles and direction of all the graft placement is top notch. Zero problems with any of that.

I went to Eugenics too, and I must say that I found the injections almost completely painless. Like a 3/10, and much less pain than for example going to the dentist

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Looks amazing how does it look top down? Would love to see the crown as well.

Yes, that would be interesting to see.

1 hour ago, mtb said:

You’re right. 

Crown getting thicker by the week. 

Yeah the problem is there remaining donor grafts should be used for density rather than lowering the hairline. We’ll see. I’m pretty happy with things. 

Pitella, H&W, and Eugenix are great options with shorter wait times. No other doc can gets as many scalp only FUE grafts however. Grateful I found Dr Zarev when I did. 

Yes, sir. 

ha ha. For real. 
 

Attached are some pics from the gym this week. Didn’t put up the Dr Zarev yellow paper at the gym. Ha. It’s getting thicker by the week  

 

Looking good. I would not lower hairline if I was you. Well, I had a HT made with the same hairline, and I would not want it lower. I'm perfectly happy with the hairline.

4 hours ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

 

 

hair will be a important part for self image and confidence regardless of age but in your 20/30 hair is more important. baldness get exponentially more common with older age (if you stick out from the peers it makes it extra hard) and it also affects other aspects of life less.

 

and your look impacts your life quality and experience the most in your young age.

 

a good looking guy and a not so good looking guy will most likely have a very different college experience socially. the difference in that regard between a good looking and a not so good looking man (both in their 50s) wont be as drastic, other factors get more important.

On the other hand, a 20 year old can be a great athlete and be buff and being completely shaved with some sun glasses is a cool look. Whereas, a 50 or 60 year old guy all these things are much harder to pull off to compensate for losing hair.

5 hours ago, Turkhair said:

These type of videos serves no purpose than to generate views, misguide users and scare potential balding men who could’ve been saved from heading down the path of hair transplants and full blown NW6-7.

The makers of these videos/content are really stone cold. Baldness is a devastating disease and it ruins lives. These fearmongerers however don’t care, is just sad.

 

Yes, those videos serve more purpose than all the scaremongers, which have hurt the lives of so many. 

I have heard countless times "I wish I had started earlier"

I think you might not have watched the video.... he is not a scaremongerer.... quite the opposite.

If I remember correctly Etwan is not on Fin and that might explain why this humps disconnects seem bigger now than before. Or am I misremembering and Fin is used?

10 minutes ago, GeneralNorwood said:

 

I am surprised that your latteral hump area looks so bad. To be honest in previous pictures that you were posting i didn't see such lack of density. But now on this photo it's obvious and now when you grew sides longer, the contrast is easily visible. 

You should forget about lowering your hairline and doing the  temples, it's nuts 

Your front looks fine. You just grow hair little longer on the front and you get ilussion of lower hairline and forehead will be smaller. 

The biggest problem is that now sides are disconnected from the front. It's similar case like mine. You have to do laterals, this is top1 priority. Crown work is like blackhole, many grafts needed there.

Sides anyway look best when you cut them short, you have already depleted donor above the ear. 

Sorry that im so harsh, but thinking about doing front right now is delusional. And it's pointless, because your frontal look is on the spot. 

 

I don't know how your left lateral hump looks, but based on this photo you should focus on improving this area that i marked on black "top1". Do this and after 2nd HT you will know where you are standing. No temples, no lowering hairline,  you don't have donor supply for that. 

My doctor is bald as an egg, and has been for all the time I have known him, and he says that he has taken fin for a few years, only for it's properties in lowering the risk of prostate cancer.

16 hours ago, shiba1985 said:

while he does sound credible, just cause an MD posted something on youtube and quoted a few "new" studies does not make it the new truth. 
The link between finasteride and prostate cancer is still pretty complex the last I reviewed. It may decrease cancer but may cause more cancers as it can delay detection. AKA your PSA maynot increase despite harboring a malignancy due to finasteride. While someone not on finasteride will have a sharp rise causing a red flag sooner, and hence able to take action sooner. 

Not saying that he may not be right but take it cause you want to to prevent hair not cause of this. 

 

It doesn't delay detection, rather taking Fin makes it easier to detect.

If you have been scared off from finasteride from all the negative voices online, then there might be yet another reason to reconsider.

This video that just came out is perfectly in line with what my own Scandinavian doctor told me, and which I have previously shared in here. 

I would go for option 1. But perhaps with a bit bigger temple points than you have drawn. That will take a bit more grafts, but have a pronounced effect on closing the forehead, and do so at less graft-cost than moving the entire hairline.

And yes, also add some grafts to the lateral humps (or how we might describe that long top line you marked in red).

The hairline shape looks good. Don't change that. How about the desity of the hairline - is that good? Hard to see in that pic

1 hour ago, Hannah-M said:

I have not had a formal diagnosis. I have had this hairline since I’ve been a baby. 
 

my dad so kindly gave me his hairline, as you can see in this photo. Also love my mothers attempt at kindly hiding this five-head with bangs LOL 

Yeah, when I look at your photo I definitely see no balding. You have a strong feminine hairline. A little high yes, but still very normal. I would do absolutely nothing. But of course it is completely your opinion that matters, so whatever you decide, good luck

Where did you have it done?

On 5/16/2022 at 3:26 AM, Barnan12550 said:

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback. I’m 5 weeks out from my first FUE procedure. I was just wondering if you were to shave your head completely bald later on in life(60/70 years old) if it were going to be noticeable that you had one done. 
 

I’m hoping I never do but we never know what is going to happen to our hair later on down the road. I’m so happy after my first I’m only 5 weeks in and hoping I’ll be able to have a second to fill the crown area and add more density. For me I’ll probably need to extract some beard hair. But, I have some time I have to wait in order to figure that out. 

I was NW6 and had 5300 grafts. I have not tried shaving, but so far I don't see any scars or anything in the recipient area. There might be some in the donor area, but my hair is longer there so I'm not sure. Nothing to see, but I cannot be totally sure there. If you get it done a good place, I think the risk of scars that can be seen by someone not looking for it is slim.

On 3/7/2023 at 11:24 AM, Bandit90 said:

Month 12 Update.

So it’s been exactly a year since I had my Hair Transplant at Eugenix in March 2022. It’s quite hard to put into words how I feel, but it has just been a pleasure to see my hair grow back. There are often moments where I just stand in front of the mirror shaking my head with amazement, and questioning if this is all a dream. I didn’t realise how much impact baldness had on many areas of my life until I reflect and compare it. But I have certainly gained more confidence now from looking at my age.   

I want to offer my highest thanks to Dr Sethi and the Eugenix team, when I first contacted the clinic in late 2020, I had come off from a bruising from a good few forum recommended Doctors, who told me that I was not a candidate for a hair transplant and destined me to a life of baldness. But credit to Eugenix they just don’t find problems and gave me the reassurance I could achieve a good result. So I hope my results go a long way for gents who have been denied a shot a surgery, that it is possible in the hands of a capable clinic.

Results-wise, the front and mid-scalp have reached their peak. But the decision by Dr Sethi to put grafts behind the temples and above the humps in the second sitting is paying off. It allows me to pull off a parting style, which was always the style I wanted to do. The crown is starting to fill in and each month, I’m seeing less and less scalp. The donor just continues to blow my mind, being an NW7 my biggest fear was a patchy-looking donor, but 5.8K scalp grafts later I’m getting my hair cut with 1 guard with very little detection of a transplant.

Going forward, I’ll probably use this as my last update for the front and mid-scalp, as you can see there isn’t a whole lot of change happening now. Given the success so far I do keep flirting with the idea of slightly lowering the hairline and maybe getting a widow's peak, so a third sitting next year could well be on the cards, but need to give the crown 12 months before pulling the trigger.  

I wonder if Melvin's fade would further improve this? Maybe Melvin you can comment?

42 minutes ago, NegativeNorwood said:

Very good, definitely way better than a Norwood 2.

More convex hairline shape (somewhat lower at the center than at the corners) would be textbook perfect, but that is so close to perfect that I doubt anyone would complain about it.

 

That above would be perfect IMO but the difference is very small, I would have to hyperfocus to notice the difference. At first glance, any of those hairlines look like a "perfect, full head of hair" to me.

Yes, I would much prefer this to the female one. Well, it's on a guy so juvenile one we might call it. But I guess tastes differ, and that is fine.

44 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Wow his hair looks darker too, a phenomenon with hair transplants sometimes.

Yes, looks like a different person. If these were tow different people I'm not sure who I think look better - perhaps the top one actually.

31 minutes ago, Rafael Manelli said:

Obviously a transplant even without the before photo. 

I think it looks fine.

At least in the car. Because of the lighting inside a car, it is probably one of the most easy places for a HT to look good.

On 9/3/2022 at 5:51 PM, SoSoz said:

Im starting on monday, kinda scared wish me luck!

I got sides until I really put aside the fear. And that is super hard with all the scare campaigns. Once I managed to really get rid of the fear I had no sides and I have had no sides since, but it is really hard to truly ditch those fears. It took me about 6 weeks.

14 minutes ago, ST91 said:

Hi all,

I'm curious if there are men that had their HT done in the 90's/00's and have further regressed in the meantime. Do you guys have some examples by any chance?

Reason I'm asking is because I'm told to manage expectations with my current donor. I could live with having a balding crown when it's 'age appropriate' (which for me is like ≥45 years old), but I don't feel the same about the front and middle, which are thin now in my early 30's. Crown area is still okay atm.

I often see older men with decent hair and a balding crown. I think it looks fine on them, but I'm not sure if it looks weird when a HT was done previously.

The internet is full of cases like that. Usually the areas that continue to regress are the areas which were not transplanted. But even transplanted areas can regress with time due to age-related thinning etc. However, in many and probably most, the transplanted hairs stay strong, and stronger than the hairs which were not transplanted.

14 minutes ago, 12345 said:

Did you find it effective? Did you experience any sides? how did you incorporate it into your regimen and did you continue to purchase and use this brand after your finished the jar?

I didn't know it was there otherwise I might have considered it.

10 hours ago, general-etwan said:

Update, 6.5 months.

First thing to say: the front scalp is looking awesome and I'm just so thankful to have hair back at the front. To no longer have a receding/balding appearance is life-changing!

 

I went to a Supercuts for a trim-up for the back and sides. Bad idea. Not a horrible cut, but chain salons simply do not know how to do a true fade haircut. I don't know what it is with the hair stylists there, but they don't have the skill/tools to do a professional fade (military-style, tight). And especially with my now unique pattern of hair density across the entire head, they really don't know how to handle it. This is how it turned out. Here, it's also time to look at the crown situation. You can see where the work was done (thick, dark hair) and then the area below it in the lower crown that was not yet addressed. This area, as we know, has probably thinned over the 50% from original that is the benchmark for never being able to recover, even with finasteride + topicals. I'm somewhat maintaining that hair, but it's never going to thicken and match the appearance of the hair above it or below it in the donor area.

 

 

 

A few days later I went back to my local barber who is very experienced in cutting all kinds of fades, and he understands my HT and density pattern and how to best customize it using all his tools. He and I agreed to clean up the entire top a little as well because I wanted to see how it looked a bit shorter/trimmed up. I plan to let it grow longer in the future, but here's how it looks shorter now:

 

I am still obviously super thrilled with the way the front has come in. I've began ditching hats and feel so renewed being out in public with real growing hair on the front of my head! Best thing I've ever done for myself.

 

 

Now begins some strategizing and planning for a potential 2nd procedure, whether it be later this year or sometime next year. I think there's really only one way to address this and create more uniform density of hair thickness and texture across the entire head, and that's to move some more hair from the upper donor area right up to the lower crown area. And use some more beard hair if needed.

 

I know there will be those who point out thinning in the lower donor area and on the sides above my ears. It's important that I express that I am completely content overall with it. I said from the beginning that I can easily deal with back and sides thinning, because I am a firm believer that top-of-head hair is SO much more important to maximizing appearance. We can see that my upper donor area still appears completely untouched with all the grafts taken from it already, so it should be able to have another 1,000 grafts or so taken with minimal thinning.

As long as this lower crown area remains significantly thinned out and weaker, I will require constant haircuts to hide the variance in hair density and thickness across the scalp. Within a few days, the donor area looks thick and dark again and the lower crown sort of stops growing at a certain point and will always look bare in comparison. The ultimate goal is to have more uniform appearance, and that way a more typical fade (longer on top, in the "horseshoe" pattern that balds in MPB, shorter back and sides) can be done and also let go for at least several weeks with every part of the head growing uniformly together before each trim-up:

I've come a long way already for sure, but I'm not stopping here. I'm determined to maximize this situation and reach what I consider a full fix for life!

That first barber made it worse looking, and then the next one made it look sweet. It's something for others (me  ) to learn from - how important a hair cut is. 

Overall, looking good!