Idan

It looks really good, a very efficient usage of hair grafts. I'll be following.

Hi,
This is my (almost) 1-year update for whoever follows or will in the future.

12 days shy of 11 months:

17 days shy of 1 year:

9 days shy of 1 year.

Today (3 days shy):

I've definitely noticed that the quality of my hair is improving over time, and I'm hopeful that it will become less curly as it continues to grow.

Overall, I'm really satisfied with the hair transplant results. That being said, I'm not totally happy with the hairline, which I feel is a bit too high or lacks a widow's peak if I want to be more specific. However, I lost a significant portion of my original hairline and opted to be conservative at the time of the surgery. I may consider a touch-up to the hairline in the future.

Just have to say that this is a brilliant result. Congratulations.

Short update.

9 months, wet hair (right side is lacking compared to left):

Donor:

10 months 10 days (I think now the right side is already better):

That's an amazing result. Congratulations.

The work looks extremely clean and the hairline is great. Just one question - isn’t it missing some more micro irregularities?

22 hours ago, MazAB said:

Wow, incredible man! Congrats! HLC is by far one of the best clinics in Turkey. You chose well!!! Have you considered taking a topical form of Finasteride? A product called Xyon, is awesome for sustained release of Finasteride to significantly reduce systemic absorption. Might be worth a shot so you have an insurance policy for that gorgeous hair you now have😁

Currently the hair-loss feels pretty stable so I’ll just keep tracking, but if needed I’ll probably use low dose topical finasteride as I know I managed that well in the past.

The product you mentioned sounds interesting so I will check it out. Thanks.

I paid 2.5 euro per graft.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I’ll keep updating in the next months.

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share my HT journey at HLC. I'm now 8 months (and a few days) after the surgery. I'm 35 years old (on the day of the surgery I was 2 weeks shy of my 35 birthday - and I thought an HT would be a great present for me ).

Before committing to HLC, I also consulted (online) with De Freitas and Pekiner. They quoted me for 2700 and 2800 grafts respectively. De Freitas suggested dates in more than a year time and also required a very heavy medication protocol so I didn't proceed with this option. While Pekiner was my first option, some factors made me choose HLC (earlier dates available and a contact person in my country which made me feel more comfortable about the surgery. In addition I had a live consultation few months before the surgery with Dr. Ozgur).

The surgery was performed over 2 days exclusively by Dr. Elif (which I requested). 3201 grafts were extracted and implemented. 2600 at 50 grafts per cm2 on the "U" and another 600 grafts at 20 per cm2 to add some density to the area before. I have to say that the whole process felt extremely professional, and I really enjoyed it. Regarding the hairline, I think that in retrospect I would prefer the to be more V-shaped, and in addition, it's a bit asymmetrical unfortunately(?). I noticed it during the hairline design phase and mentioned it, the hairline consultant made some corrections but it didn't address the issue completely. It's not that critical, especially with long hair, but I would like to hear your opinion.

Regarding my hair loss history and medication: I started using Nizoral 2% and topical foam minoxidil back in 2013 which I used for around 9 years (on the frontal hair loss only). In Dec 2021 I started using topical finasteride+minoxidil solution, and in July 2022 I decided to give low-dosage oral finasteride a try (0.5mg daily for two months and then 0.25mg daily), but I had to stop after 3.5 months due to side effects. In the last 5 months before the surgery I used minoxidil foam 3 times a week (in a vision to stop), and took some saw palmetto pills. Two weeks before the surgery I decided to give finasteride another try - took 1mg weekly (0.5mg * 2). I thought that maybe it could be beneficial for the grafts survival. Unfortunately, I had to stop around two weeks after the surgery, again because of (the same) side effects. Currently, I'm not taking any medication except the Nizoral and I feel that the hair loss is pretty stable (I'm hopeful that it will remain this way - but if not I have some grafts left in my donor which was assessed to have around 7500 grafts available before the surgery).

Some pictures:

At the airport:

Right before surgery:

Right after:

13 days post surgery:

1 month:

2 months:

2.5 months:

3 months:

4 months:

10 days before 5 months:

Different lightning (somehow flattering):

5 months:

1 week shy of 6 months:

6 months:

10 days before 7 months:

5 days before 7 months:

7 months:

7.5 months:

Almost 8 months:

8 months:

I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks for reading.

Edit: I'm not sure why the two pictures below appear twice. If possible I would like them to be removed - I tried to remove by editing the post unsuccessfully.

On 1/19/2024 at 9:00 PM, Jackdaniels said:

I see. You don’t have to remove your message. But why don’t you make your own thread ? It’s good to see another one case from HLC. 

 I will consider doing so positively soon (but maybe it misses the point of "progress", not sure). My point was to give the thread owner some information that might be helpful for him.

On 1/20/2024 at 2:16 AM, duchaine said:

I can’t understand if the single hair in first line are your natives (that I see in the pre op pic) or if they are new implanted singles.

This photo is right after the scrub removal. As you can see I have some native hairs, but most of them are not adjacent to the new hairline. But this thread is not about me so if you have additional questions please PM me.

Edit: Decided to remove the photo to prevent users from being confused with the thread owner.

You can see my pictures on the thread I opened.

4 minutes ago, Jackdaniels said:

I think you should make your own thread and present your hair transplant progress and don’t mix the threads. 

Btw your result from  HLC looks very good to my opinion with high density..I prefer your hairline shape than a V shape one. 

The reason I replied here is because we had the same surgeon and very similar hair transplant characteristics. And I’m two months ahead of him.

If the thread owner or the admin prefer it to be removed I will edit/remove my message.

Hi @FaganBecker,

As I wrote in the first replies to your thread, I also had my surgery performed by HLC and exclusively by Dr. Elif (I also requested her specifically). Similar pattern to yours (3200 grafts; 600 of them were added to increase density in the middle at 20 grafts per cm2, like done in your case) Today I'm exactly 8 months post-surgery.

I will share some photos from 6 months post-surgery and maybe it would be helpful for you.

I have to say that I'm not totally satisfied with the hairline design (would prefer the V shape you have, and it's bit asymmetrical), but it's another matter as I just want to give you a reference to the hairline (singles, multis) and the growth.

I have to say that I feel that I'm a slow grower and I can surely say that the density has improved in the last two months, and I still have short and weak hairs in the hairline. I hope this is going to be the case for you too.

Edit: I noticed that my pictures here may be misleading some users to think I'm the thread owner.

Decided to remove them from this post.

Meanwhile, I opened a thread of my own here, where you can see the photos:

35 minutes ago, duchaine said:

great hairline design, I think the density is very appropriate...I just think HLC overuses grafts.
I saw Couto's works, De Freitas's works etc in great details.
They use 50-60% of the grafts HLC used to cover that area.
At the end of the story, you pay more at HLC...

PS is ALIF still there?
I saw looking for ever but could not find on HLC page

Couto's work is the real exception in my opinion. He uses a minimum amount of grafts which is amazing considering his results.

De Freitas uses much more than Couto, and I don't think he uses a lot less than HLC. Pekiner, Keser uses the same amount as HLC.

Bisanga for instance uses a lot of grafts too, sometimes even more in my opinion. 

In the end of the day, it's about the desired density. HLC does 50 grafts/cm2 at maximum (Melvin said that you need at least 45 grafts/cm2 in the hairline), but maybe other surgeons use the grafts more efficiently before the hairline.

You can find Elif in this page:

https://www.fue-hlc.com/hairline-clinic/

Looks really good. I'll be following.

I had my operation with HLC almost 12 weeks ago (and still considering creating my own thread ). My operation was also performed solely by Dr. Elif. She is wonderful. My case is also very similar to yours in terms of HT planning (in my case they used 3200 grafts, 2600 for the frontal hairline, and 600 at the mid (at 20 grafts/cm2).

Thanks for the update.

That's looks like a great improvement from the pervious update and generally looks awesome. Congrats!
More to come I guess. Keep us updated.

Two questions if I may:

1. Have you been on any medication since the HT?

2. Are you happy with the angles? I saw that you already wrote that "the weird angles are almost gone" or something like that on some comment, but would be happy to hear your opinion in that regards now.

Thanks.

Hi,

First of all best of luck. It looks great.

Regarding 60-70 grafts per cm2 in the hairline. Are you sure about it? Not familiar with many clinics reaching this density in one surgery.

Hi @mountain,

Would love to get an update. Thanks

5 minutes ago, Rafael Manelli said:

When you say grafts do you mean native hairs?

Yes correct, maybe grafts should be used indeed just for the extracted hairs.

I can't see a lot of difference compared to last month but I think it's still really early to judge - everyone is different and I guess you will have great growing in the following months.

2 minutes ago, Rafael Manelli said:

You’ll be able to distinguish the healthy transplanted grafts from the miniaturised natives 

Thanks but that's not my question.

My question is if there's a chance of killing existing healthy grafts just because they are no longer on the scalp because of normal hair cycle.

Could not find a way to edit it:
I think this topic is more related to "Hair Restoration questions and answers" forum. I mistakenly posted it here (couldn't find a way to delete it and post again).

Hi everyone,

I have a question that just came up to my mind.

I'm about to undergo HT soon and I've already consulted with some clinics. I have a receding hairline and some frontal hair loss.

Some clinics have suggested to avoid implementing hair between the existing hair before the receding hairline, but others (more rated ones) have suggested to improve the density there, for example by adding 20 g/cm2 in that area. The density in this area is bit lacking compared to the back of the head, but there's still pretty much good hair there. I guess that there are clinics that have more confident in doing so and some that have less, but I'm wondering if it's not too risky to implement between grafts that are relatively close, which brings me to the actual question I have (sorry for the long introduction):

We tend to loss some hairs (also good quality ones) every day due to hair normal condition cycle. If a clinic elects to implement grafts between the existing hair - Will it be able to identify these healthy grafts despite the fact that there's no visible hair on the scalp from those grafts?

Thanks,
Idan.

Looks awesome.
Congrats @DutaSaveMe.

Can you state which of HLC doctors were working on you?

Thanks.

Hi @mountain,
Any updates?

Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your answers.

@Melvin- Moderator

Regarding HLC doing other cosmetics procedures - While I understand the concern, I assume that the surgeons for the other operations are not the 4 ones doing the hair transplantation (and to my understanding at least 2 of them are really experienced).

I also find the fact that HLC has a lot more patient threads "informative" in this comparison.

I tend to go for HLC if the other options won't be feasible but would like to hear some more opinions.

Thanks.

Hi everyone (I'm new here, have to say it's a great source of knowledge),

I'm planning an hair transplant in the near future (NW 3 frontal), and after a research these are places I'm considering:

1. HLC

2. HDC

3. Dr. Pekiner

4. Dr De Freitas

Dr De Freitas first available date is May 24, and I wish to do it a lot sooner so probably I won't go for this option.

Regarding Dr. Pekiner, I'm still waiting for his evolution (21 days has passed since I submitted it). He is apparently on the top of my list but I'm still waiting for his answer. (I've also read here that he aborted surgeries if he find miniaturized hair, but it's not makes me concerned to be honest).

The other two option are apparently the most likely ones. I already had consultant with them both and they accept me.

Now let's consider these 2 are the only options - which is better in your option?

My points:

• I have to say I like HLC hairline design more but there're also really impressive HT from HDC of course.
• I like the fact that it's only doctor operation in HLC.
• On the other hand I don't like the fact that you don't know which doctor is going to operate on you in HLC (as opposite to HDC - which are recommended HRN doctors).
• I think that the stick&place HLC using has some advantages over pre-made slits.
• I prefer that the implanting specifically is done by the doctor (I think it's quite important - but maybe it's just my thought).
• In this forum I saw a lot more patient threads from HLC. I'm wondering why but it's make me think more people think it's a better option.
  • There're some really great patient results form HLC, but on the other hand there are some threads with subpar results unfortunately.
  • I guess the more patient review are posted, there's higher chance of subpar results too. But I can't say it's not making me wonder.

I would like to hear some opinions.

Thanks,
Idan.