NikosHair

1 minute ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

You couldn’t pay me to get erectile dysfunction. The truth is side effects happen twice as much with oral finasteride. Obviously, generic fin is cheaper. But id rather pay and not get ED. 

Read again. There was no difference in the study you cited.

On 3/16/2023 at 11:23 PM, coinflipdrifter said:

I was hit with the worst ED and libido loss I've ever had

Sorry to hear that. Strange how it just came on after previous success with fin.

Did you change brands? There are reports of noticeable differences between generics.

It is worth noting in the study, the Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire concluded:

Quote

There were no significant differences between topical finasteride and placebo in mean scores for any item on the Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire at week 12 or 24. Mean scores for all items were similar between topical finasteride and oral finasteride at weeks 12 and 24.

Now for the big difference for 3 months treatment!

Topical Finasteride $300 vs Generic Fin $25 (and $12.5 if you drop your dose to 0.5mg per day)

The topicals are just money-making quackery. Even topical Minoidil shows very limited scientific results.

You need to lower your dose of the orals until you find the sweet spot for you.

Once you get the drug into your blood, even a low dose will reduce your DHT and help to reduce miniaturisation.

On 2/5/2023 at 10:17 AM, NegativeNorwood said:

I completely agree, it caught me off guard completely and if you think about it is quite obvious, I face palmed myself after seeing that haha.

Have a look at the vid in your 1st post of the thread.

Dr Sethi refers to the angle of the nose as a reference point.

The frozen grafts will be dead hairs.

Don't panic, it's perfectly normal.

The FU's will be embedded in your scalp and primed for growth.

You can gently remove the dead hairs. They will slide out.

If you get any resistance then leave the hair - you're not plucking them!

Removing the dead hairs may reduce the pimples and encourage the new hairs to push through.

8 hours ago, HarryHairy said:

Thank you, Gatsby! Somehow I doubt that this is folliculitis.

Agreed.

Looks like mild Cutis verticis gyrata (CVG).

You may never have noticed it before but due to the HT the area becomes swollen.

May take a few weeks to calm down but nothing to worry.

If there's discomfort, try icing the area. 

You're not trying to freeze the area, so wrap the ice with a cloth.

It should be cool to the touch (not too cold).

Great write up and congrats on your new hairline - Very refined and natural.

I understand your reluctance to go back on finasteride but I would seriously consider a micro dose. eg 0.25mg.

You may find that you can tolerate a low dose and even build up slowly.

Any amount of fin will block some DHT and that's an important factor in preserving your HT.

How many grafts?

6 minutes ago, Fairhair22 said:

I have considered my options and will be starting minoxidil in the coming days/weeks to see if I can encourage some growth and strengthen what I have.

Good idea, combine it with some microneedling too.

Do you have a photo after the scabs were removed but before you started to shed. Normally around 10-14days post op.

There's a current thread which may be of interest.

5 hours ago, NikosHair said:

The 2nd surgery will allow you to assess and tweak the hairline from the 1st procedure, while hitting the other areas.

This is an important benefit of the staged approach.

There are a couple of good doctors that do the mega sessions but most good docs prefer to break it down into smaller surgeries.

There are so many factors that can affect a successful HT - why risk putting all your eggs in one basket? 

If you blow 5k or 6k of grafts and you get a poor result, you're pretty much done.

3000 in the front third will create a great hair line (in skilled hands).

The choice as they say ... is yours☺️

• I would have a plan of 2-3 surgeries with 9-12months between surgeries.
• The 1st would be the front third at around 3000 Fu's.
• You have good temple points and assuming you get good growth from the surgery it will make a massive difference to framing your face.
• The 2nd surgery will allow you to assess and tweak the hairline from the 1st procedure, while hitting the other areas.
• If your donor allows, the 2nd procedure could be larger (3500+).

37 minutes ago, z4ydi said:

Can anyone explain how risky is it to do the motorized extraction for the health of the graft.

In the right hands it's an excellent tool.

Some of the best HT doctors routinely use motorised extraction along with manual where required.

If you flip the question around and ask How risky are manual extractions?

With such a large surgery, fatigue is a factor, Are they as accurate at avoiding graft dissection at the end compared to the start?

Large surgeries are super risky, you burn through so many of your limited grafts without knowing how well you respond or having first-hand experience of the clinic.

37 minutes ago, z4ydi said:

and if that covers it well then no need to go for the 2nd session.

Wrong mindset.

You might be 'one and done' or maybe just 'done'🙄

22 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Can you share your pictures? 5,000 sounds like a lot in one shot. Very few have the donor capacity for so many grafts at once. Please include donor pictures. 

This.

Far too many factors in the shopped photo to draw conclusions.

• Compressing the forehead while leaving the TP's unchanged just changes the ratio of forehead to TP. Making the TP look bigger/more prominent, in comparison.
• The volume of hair has been reduced while the TP remain the same. Again, changing the proportions.

Put up some photos of your pre-op hair and surgery photos.

Just looking at where you are now doesn't really show where you came from and the level of density post op.

2 hours ago, z4ydi said:

recommends for your operation about 5000 grafts.

Are you saying 5000 in a day? That's crazy high.

2 hours ago, z4ydi said:

6000 grafts in 2 days

3000 per day is still very high. It's better than 5000 is one day but still undesirable.

Is this option more expensive?

2 hours ago, z4ydi said:

3SE Method

Sounds like mumbo jumbo marketing talk to try and upsell.

Even more expensive for this?

Or just the doc's unique selling point?

2 hours ago, z4ydi said:

Special Implanter Pens. (It's improved DHI pen.)

Of course it is ... then why offer DHI if you get an inferior result?

Poll closing soon - get ya votes in quick.☺️

On 1/6/2023 at 6:55 PM, Sitries1 said:

It seems that some people in this thread are classifying symmetry as straight hairlines with no micro/macro irregularities (hair of Istanbul style).

This is spot on.

• The symmetry as described above is the frame.
• It creates order to allow for variation within the frame.
• Within the frame you can and should have all sorts of variation in hair color, direction, style. etc
• All hairlines will be asymmetrical to a greater or lesser degree. (mother nature does not play by our rules)
• They can still look good with subtle asymmetry but they look good in spite of the asymmetry NOT because of it.
• Always aim for symmetry when setting your expectations with the doctor.

To illustrate the point look at the previous example of an 'desirable' asymmetrical hairline, Jake G.

Is there really anyone constructing their hairline would actually specify to their doctor, I want one side noticeably higher than the other side, as shown in the example?

I think it was the first video where Dr Sethi uses the angle of the patients nose as a guide to the angle of the TP's.

Following the same logic applied to an afro patient you would expect flatter TP's to compliment their features.

I agree hair length plays an important role in TP's.

Very short hair accentuates the angle, while longer hair blurs the line and creates a more rounded appearance.

Additionally, factor in the density of the hairs. 

Remember also the examples of the sharper more angular TP's may be the result of the barber creating the requested shape.

@champybaby How is the scar looking now?

Did you experience any improvements in the texture of the scar?

This thread contains some relevant research which may be of interest.

Another thing that springs to mind from these findings:

• One of the concerns of implanting hairs near native hair is the perceived risk of killing off miniaturized hairs.
• Given the profound improvements in tissue found in the study.
• Could it actually new breath life into the native hair in normal tissue(?)

45 minutes ago, NegativeNorwood said:

I personally prefer the temples designed like @Fue3361, but it's just preference tbh. @Sitries1 hair still looks amazing.

@Fue3361 has an excellent result.

For me the sharper design looks more youthful. 

That said, it could be argued, the rounded option is the best of both worlds. 

A a good barber would be able to trim n sharpen the look, if desired.

As @Sitries1 self appointed PR Agent it would be remiss of me not to highlight the fine work of his TP's😁

19 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

For me, my temples were triangular before going bald.

Another vote for the triangle temples.

They really suit your profile.

Temples and and a structured beard are a killer combo.

3 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I had grafts placed in my donor scars was to vascularize the scar tissue or at least attempt to.

You were ahead of your time in that respect.

The researchers are trying to understand the mechanism for the improvement.

It would be interesting if they are able to find a 'sweet-spot' post surgery to get the FU's planted into the scar.

Early days, but a promising study nevertheless.