Bucky O Hair

Does graft count matter as much as the doctor implanting them? I've seen cases on here where a doctor (like Zarev) is able to pull out 8-10K grafts from patients that would normally be quoted as only having about 6K lifetime grafts from other doctors. I've also experienced a high degree of variance between doctors for my own crown procedure...and the range in estimates was pretty high (from 1,750 to 4,000). I went with Dr. Munib and got 1,750 grafts (and the jury is still out on the results) but the postop photos look just as good (if not better) than any 3k-4k crown session. Are we simply putting too much emphasis on total graft count?

You are making an assumption too, that the ones with good reputations cannot make these same mistakes. They do. There are a lot of big name clinics who have diminished over the years. I'm noticing more frequent bad reviews here and there from some of these former top clinics, which was impossible years ago. Things change. There are new doctors that bring new tools, techniques, and ideas. The industry changes for the better, and some of these clinics (who choose not to change and evolve) will be left behind.

There are quite a few people on here who have HTs, and are not on Finasteride. There's no guarantee that Fin will prevent further loss. It just potentially slows down your progression (assuming you even respond well to it), and even then, it still loses efficacy over time. If you have advanced loss and are still hellbent on getting a HT...then it's best to go with FUE and with a good doctor, to minimize scarring (in case you ever need to buzz your hair down in the future).

BOOM! The administrator has spoken, and he is in full alignment with Bucky O'Hair! #neverstrip

My guess is that your grafts were probably transected upon extraction, or they stayed outside your body too long before being implanted again. Did they mention anything unique about your case? Were your follicles larger than normal? Did you experience more than usual bleeding? Good call on not accepting a free procedure from the same clinic. They may have had a new technician working on your head who didn't have the expertise...or maybe your follicles were more challenging to remove, but they didn't adjust or adapt for your case. If you have the money, I'd definitely look into Zarev or Munib.

Was Bloxham's estimate of 7000 for the front/midscalp only? Not including the crown? If he is excluding the crown from that estimate then I would have to say that is way too much, and will probably exhaust almost all (if not all) of your donor grafts. I was in the same boat with you re: my crown in that I thought I would need at least 3500 grafts (or more)...and this is what the tech-heavy clinics were quoting me at. But I was surprised when the doctor-only clinics were quoting me at 2000 grafts. I thought that was way too low and couldn't possibly be true. I decided to go with Dr Munib, and the jury is still out on my results (I'm not even 4 weeks postop on my crown) but the coverage looked great before it shed. I'm beginning to really question the "low" transection rate that all of these clinics claim to make. There's no real way to confirm if a clinic has transected 5% or 20% of the grafts they take out (because you won't really be able to count each newly implanted graft to confirm this). You just have to take their word for it. In my case, if my crown results turn out to be as good as everyone else's here (with half the graft count) then I am convinced that most tech-heavy clinics are removing more than is needed and are just transecting tons of grafts along the way.

Yea, my issue with H&W (when I had my consultation with them last year) was the high graft estimate. They always seem to give very high estimates. Their estimate was double what I got quoted from Munib and Konior. I'm not sure why this is the case, and (like you) I am trying to be efficient and maintain a long term plan (that doesn't involve exhausting my donor). Since you seem to want to stick to USA/Canada for your procedure, I would email Konior to see what he has to say. He communicates directly will all patients, so you'll get feedback from an actual doctor (and not a sales rep).

Eugenix was always a "hair mill" though. They are a very high end one, but they generally do what (I understand) a hair mill does, which is staffing many technicians, and churning out a lot of hair transplant mega-sessions per day. There's nothing wrong with being a hair mill if the results are good, but this was always a trait of the clinic. The clinic probably interacts with hundred of requests per day, so their communication may not be what you like. Why don't you just go with clinic that doesn't do several procedures per day, or a clinic where you are communicating with the surgeon themselves (like Munib, Konior, etc.)? It sounds like you want to be treated special, but maybe you don't want to pay for it? I think most people are trying to manage things within a budget (which is fair) but Eugenix is more of a value-for-dollar clinic where you can score a big session for a reasonable amount. If you don't like that (or do not want to take on any risk) then you should just save up and go to a clinic where the surgeon themselves are doing the work alone. For example, in my case, I was always weary of crown HTs and how there seems to be so much variance between clinics on how many grafts you need in the crown. So, I ended up limiting my choices to the clinics who were very efficient with graft use and still have good results for the crown...and many of those were smaller clinics where the surgeon is the one performing most (or all) of the work. I ended up going to Dr. Ahmad, but almost all of my consultations were with clinics that were in the higher cost end. There was no point in me consulting with clinics that I knew wouldn't give me what I wanted, and then bashing them online for it. Otherwise, I would be doing the same thing you are doing now.

I guess it's just a matter of what % difference will the FUT give you (with a good surgeon) over strictly doing FUE. I've seen NW7s on this site pull off 10,000 grafts with Zarev and end up with a nice looking head of hair that they wear (with short sides and back). If you did FUT first (then decide to go to Zarev), then I assume this would this mean you could get 12,000 total grafts. Is a 20% increase worth it to lose the ability to wear your hair short on the sides and back? I think people underestimate how important it is to wear your hair short on the sides and back, and how it creates the appearance of more volume on the top of your head. You would lose this with a scar. Then again, I have seen some great SMP in the scar (@gatsby being one of them) so this would mitigate any scar visibility as well. It's just a difference of opinion. The most important thing is to go to a good surgeon (regardless of your strategy) and to not let money and travel time be a significant factor in your decision (even though it's hard not to).

That's just it. It's all about the doctor. IMO, it's better to just save up and go with the better doc, than to put a scar on your head and maybe get an extra 1,000 to 2,000 grafts (if you are very lucky) when you have the top FUE doctors pulling record numbers of grafts from NW7s without seemingly affecting the appearance of the donor area.

You are a NW6 and still in your 20s. I get that money may be tight, but you cannot cheap out on a hair transplant especially with this level of loss. Don't get a procedure if you cannot afford one, and do not get a procedure if you're not willing to travel a few hours for a good one. If I were you, I would reach out to Dr. Zarev for your level of loss, and do what I could to save up money in the meantime (while you are on the waiting list). Personally, I would advise against an FUT procedure. You have many more decades of life, and you will experience further loss. You may want to one day buzz your head (when you're in your 40s or 50s) and you'll regret the linear scar on the back of your head.

Yea, my hair is fine and I just had a procedure with Dr. Munib three weeks ago. However, my procedure was for the crown (not the hairline), and surprisingly he only used 1750 grafts for a pretty sizeable area (whereas all quotes from other docs I consulted with were in the 2400-4500 range as I am a NW5). It looks great so far in terms of coverage. The guy has great artist skills. I wish I had my procedure with Munib for my hairline though. It's not that my first HT with Rahal was bad. It looks fine, but I think it could have been better. In terms of who I think the best HT docs are...I would say Munib and Zarev are a step above the rest.

Nonsense! You'll experience hair greed like the rest of us, and you'll be back here looking for ways to fill that donut in as well.

I'll throw in my (heavily biased) opinion. #1 - Do not go with FUT. Go with FUE only. I'm biased against FUT, as I think that in the long term, the scar will become more trouble than it's worth. #2 - Do not factor cost too much into your decision. If you cannot afford the HT, then don't do it. Save up, and do it in the future. #3 - Do not base your decision on things that do not matter (i.e. the friendliness of staff, familiarity with a specific country, strict December time frame). This should not matter in the least bit. I know that #2 seems like a dumb thing to say because money is important...but it seems like you had picked your desired doctor, and are now looking for reasons to go with the others due to cost. This could impact quality, and if it goes wrong, then you'll spend a lot more money trying to fix a bad procedure. With #3...it seems like you've narrowed your requirements to a specific country and a specific timeframe. This cuts down your options drastically. A flight away, is a flight away (whether it is Thailand or Europe) and your recovery time will still be 3-6 months whether or not you have a couple of months off work or not. If you can subjectively look at your current option and say that you would go with that doctor, even if you had limitless funds and limitless time off to recover...would they still be your pick?

This is true. As I get older, I notice that I look a lot better with beards than without. I personally wouldn't use up all of my beard grafts for my head. On the other hand...you can probably get rid of all the "neck hairs" lol. Nobody cares about neck beard hair, and I have to shave my neck hairs off all the time when growing a beard. If Pittella offers a solution where he can create a hairline for you that you can trim down to very short level (to blend well with the existing hairs on your head) BUT without using up any of your face hair (and using only beard hair), then I would look into what he says for that. Also, another thing is that...I would also assume that you would get at least some visible facial scarring if you removed all your facial grafts (for which you would no longer be able to cover up by growing a beard). So there's that risk there, even with the best of surgeons.

I did PRP for my first HT. It was injected into the recipient area only though. I did get growth at about the 3 month mark, but I don't know if the PRP actually accelerated growth or improved healing. A lot of people get growth at around 3 months, and I was also on some hair growth supplements like MSM, Vitamin E and Biotin (which may have helped too). PRP is expensive, and even though studies do show some improvement from it...I don't know if it is significant enough to make it worth the cost. I just had a second HT three weeks ago (with a different doctor) and he told me that PRP is not necessary. So I didn't do it this time. Even though it's only been three weeks, my recipient and donor have healed just as quickly as the first time around (actually, it's been better this second time around).

It all depends on whether you plan on taking finasteride in the future. If no, then it makes sense to get off the stuff as soon as possible so the doctor has a better idea of what he's working with prior to surgery. Not sure how staying on finasteride will help you for the surgery, if you just plan on rolling off it afterward. Do you have any photos of your donor area? I find that a lot of docs don't comment on Finasteride use anymore. I had several consultations with top docs over the past year, and there is quite a bit of variance in opinion. So long as you make a decision and stick to it. It seems like jumping on and off the stuff won't help you in your situation.

Although it may be convenient for you to get a HT simply because you will be in Turkey for work...I would not factor this into your decision AT ALL. Getting a HT in Turkey is more of a 'value for dollar' choice and not a quality choice. The best docs are not in Turkey, but it's still possible to get a satisfactory result...but you'll have to spend more time on this site to make sure you don't make the wrong choice.

Well, the first issue is that you didn't go to an IAHRS doctor. It's critical that people at least do this to ensure some level of quality assurance. A lot can go wrong in an untrained doctor's (or technician's) hands when removing your grafts. FUE is more challenging than FUT, and they have to be able to remove each graft WITHOUT transecting the grafts. They also have to be efficient in the way they work, by making sure that they do not keep the follicles outside your body for more than a couple of hours before implanting them into your recipient area. My guess is that you might have ended up losing a percentage of your hairs due to transection. However, your two-week postop photos don't really show a crazy amount of density either (and you were pretty bald in that frontal area beforehand). Your two week photos are pretty much a snapshot of what you final result will look like (since your new hairs would not have shed at this point). So, your current result isn't bad at all when you consider the lack of density in the two-week photos (and how bald you were before your procedure). Your result likely won't improve much after this 10-month mark and you're pretty much looking at the final result. You dodged a bullet as as it could have been a lot worse considering you went to a random HT doctor. I wouldn't be too down about this. Your result is actually pretty decent and could be improved with a future procedure if the added density is important to you. Big improvement from where you were before the procedure. You just need to be careful when picking a doctor for any future procedures, as you want to be efficient with your precious donor grafts.

This isn't true.

What's funny is that there is an NIH study that showed that people who suffer from hairloss work out more often than people who don't, ha ha. So it's not really a cause and effect thing when you see a bunch of jacked bald dudes out there. They were likely bald or balding well before they were working out (or it was the main motivator for them to work out in the first place). I don't believe there is anything conclusive out there that shows that working out causes hair loss. Same goes for masturbation or sexual activity. It's easy to assume this would be true due to temporary boosts in testosterone levels with any of these activities. What's strange is that in that same NIH study, it suggests that high-intensity exercise (which is assumed to increase dihydrotestosterone the most) actually also produces a protective effect against this by elevating endogenous antioxidant defense mechanisms. Yet the low-intensity exercise group didn't produce the protective effect, and may result in more hair loss. So...in short. Dump the treadmill and hit the weights!

Good idea. A friend of mine had trouble trying to conceive with his wife for a long time. He went off Finasteride and now she's pregnant. It's also bad for a pregnant woman to be exposed to Finasteride, so he's laid off it. It's best you do too when trying to conceive. Also, I agree with the above comment. Cancel your Elithair consultation. Also, I would do more research on Eugenix. I believe there are multiple packages with different doctors, so you have to be sure to pick the best one to handle your case. Many people on here (including the Mod and Senior Members) went to Eugenix and had good experiences, but there are a couple of posters who did not. Try and figure out the reason why, and make a good decision. I personally know nothing about Eugenix, but based on the reviews here I believe they are a good clinic, but things can still go south with technician-heavy clinics so be sure to pick the best package.

A hair transplant is a risk whether or not you are on Finasteride or not. People lose their hair with our without the use of Finasteride. It tends to lose its effectiveness over time and it seems to be a mixed bag of how well people respond to it. There are some people here who were long term users but have rolled off of it over time. It's not a guarantee, though it helps eliminate some risk (assuming you respond well to it). What's more important is to not cheap out on a doctor who will leave you with scars (if you eventually have to clip your hair down to a short level). You seem to have a good donor with high sides, so the area can be covered. The drawback for you is that it will be expensive, but I would reach out to any of the top docs in Dr. Zarev, Dr. Ahmad or Dr. Pitella for consultations. You'll want to use up the least amount of your donors and max out on how well they are used in your recipient areas, so it's important that you go to a good doc.

I think you're getting Minoxidil confused with Finasteride. Finasteride is the one that gives you sexual side effects. Minoxidil is the one that can give you heart problems. I don't use Minox, but there are a lot of differing opinions on Minox on this site. However, your hair will continue to grow with or without the use of Minox. I assume your doc is saying that your hair will grow faster during this recovery period by using it? You're not supposed to use it shortly after surgery, but can start using it 1+ month afterward I believe. I'll leave it to the veteran Minox users on this site to advise you on how to take it. But if you're concerned about the side effects, then maybe don't take it. I think a large chunk of HT patients on this forum do not use it at all.

Whey protein isn't a supplement. It is a food. It's essentially powdered cottage cheese (with the whey separated from the casein protein) and then dehydrated (like evaporated milk). It's just a powdered dairy product that should include nothing other than whey in it, though I'm sure several different brands will add other things in there like sweeteners, flavoring, etc....but consuming whey is no different than consuming other high-protein dairy foods like greek yogurt, milk, etc. So, to answer your question...consuming whey would have the same effect as consuming more milk or yogurt (which is zero). A "supplement" would be something like Creatine...and I've heard that Creatine usage may cause some hairloss, but again, it seems to be a very negligible amount based off of what's out there.