Bucky O Hair

You may be fixating too much on this. It's tough to tell if there is even any difference between your preop donor and your postop donor. Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us when we're looking at our hair every single day during our postop recovery phase. I, too, have caught myself fixating at my donor wondering if there was something different that wasn't like that before (when it's likely nothing notable). What matters most is that there is nothing abnormal or odd looking about your donor right now. Nobody here would have ever guessed that you had a transplant and harvested anything from that area if they saw you walking down the street.

Not a cartoon. It was reality TV. I used to get so much action, tapping Jenny every night. Now that I lost most of my hare, she left me for Willy DuWitt and his NW1 hair.

Are you sure it is ONLY in the implanted and donor areas? How about the areas in between? Also, how long did it take for your nerves to heal when you had your HT? If it is strictly those two areas, then I would ask your doc to refer you to a neurologist to see if it's possible for nerve damage to recur. It doesn't seem like that would be possible, but just in case. My other guess is that it's possibly psoriasis, and the reason why you may be feeling it in your donor and recipient area is that maybe these areas are still sensitive (and more prone) to skin conditions. Psoriasis isn't necessarily visible with red or blotchy skin. Many cases look like nothing is there, but you'll stiil feel that itchy/sunburn/pain feeling there. I would also ask your doc to refer you to a dermatologist.

The HT world is far different than the average industry. All the best information is here, on forums and communities like this. You being a famous celebrity means very little in the HT world (in terms of trying to find a top surgeon), and it's proven by the fact that all these footballers just end up going to the hair transplant clinics that have the best marketing in the UK. Does anyone think that Wayne Rooney took the time to register for a HairRestorationNetwork account and do his due diligence? He's probably surrounded by a yes-man agent who was tasked to find the most expensive and most popular hair transplant clinic in the UK on his behalf, and he got himself a mediocre hair transplant as a result. I'm shocked at how many EPL footballers just go and get HTs in the UK. All anyone has to do is take a look at famous former racecar driver Jacques Villeneuve's multiple botched FUT scars and it will make you wonder why the hell this guy won't do anything to at least correct what was done to his head. The poor guy probably doesn't trust anyone anymore, and would never get back into a HT surgeon's chair, even though there is a lot that could be done to fix his terrible situation.

I doubt it, but I don't know. I haven't seen an FUT scar with SMP in person before. I see it online, but photos are deceiving (especially in the HT world) and I would only want to see what it looks in person. To be honest with you, I am heavily biased because I am planning to keep my hair short on the sides and back and I also want the option to buzz it down to a one guard if I ever decide to opt-out of having hair (if the loss keeps progressing). That is one of my biggest requirements, so naturally I am going to slander FUT every chance I get. But, in my opinion, it's just a no-brainer to me to go with FUE for the sole purpose that you avoid having to deal with the linear scar, and I'm not so convinced about some of the dated arguments that FUT is better than FUE, especially when you pick a good clinic and you see all the great large-session FUE results on here. There are a lot of FUT vs FUE threads that I'm sure could help you in your decision. I just hope that you are not allowing the cheaper price of FUT to influence your decision.

Could it simply be that he combs his hair forward, and it creates the effect of a receded hairline? His ER photos he has a different hairstyle, where it's short but pushed forward toward the forelock. I used to do this, and it always exacerbated my temples. The other photos, he's got his hair slicked back and understandably his hairline doesn't look as pointed. Yes, it does look like he has some natural miniaturization over the years, and in some other photos here it looks like he may be shaving his widow's peak and adding thickeners to make his hair thicker...but I doubt he has a wig or a transplant. McConaughey does look like he had a HT, but still maybe uses the occasional hair system for certain roles or to make his hairline better. He visibly had miniaturizing forelock and receding temples in the early 2000s, but he also looked like the perfect HT candidate with a great donor area and likely no crown thinning. Lots of people lose their hair up front, but have little to no loss anywhere else (I know several people like this). He likely got a HT, but still occassionally uses other things to make it look thicker since a lot of time has passed. He tries to BS everyone about it, and claims that he uses some Regenex shampoo (or whatever) as the reason why his hair grew back. He won't admit to using anything like Finasteride or Hair Transplants.

Yes absolutely. FUE scarring is unquestionably better than FUT scarring and it's not even close. I ride the subway every day and I look at people's hair all the time to see if I can spot a wig, transplant, or SMP. I can always detect the wigs and and SMP jobs. I can also very often detect the FUT jobs. The linear scar is always visible with short hair, and sometimes even visible when there is length there too (if the donor is thinner). I have never once seen FUE scarring or moth-eaten overharvested donor area that people keep warning about, and I am actually looking for them. I have seen FUE scars in person, up close, on the shaved head of a person who was showing them to me. I think it's best to actually judge FUE scars in person, and not in photos. Many FUE scar photos that are being circulated are old photos where the doctors used larger punch sizes. I would try to find someone who had an FUE transplant done with smaller punch sizes and then judge whether it's an issue. Two friends of mine have FUE transplants and buzz the sides and back of their heads, and I can't see a thing. The other person who I met (that had visible FUE scars) had his procedure done 10 years ago, so I suspect they were bigger punch sizes...but I wouldn't have seen them had I not been looking for them. Also, if you have brown or olive colored skin, that will make it stand out more. I've heard of people using SMP to cover it up, so that's also a good option. But based on my experience, it's very difficult to see FUE scars if you are caucasian, unless you are probably wet shaving your scalp.

I would argue that FUT is very disadvantageous for anyone who is still in their early 20s and could end up with further loss that would expose a linear scar in the near future. FUT vs FUE results are debatable at best, and if you're already concerned about a linear scar (as you stated) then it's obvious to me that you shouldn't get FUT. Also, I think you're thinking with your wallet (since FUT is cheaper) and you're letting price and geography influence your decision over actual results and long-term plan.

It's still pretty unprofessional, IMO. The answer should have been a simple 'no' and an explanation as to why technicians play an important part of the whole procedure. What if the customer was okay with paying the 20 euro price tag? Would Dr. Bisanga have taken the money and proceeded with conducting a hair transplant procedure by himself (which is something he likely never does) and compromise the results?

Something seems wrong. I've seen videos of Bisanga talking about how HTs are a team effort with both the doctor and technicians all playing an important role together (which is true). But by offering a "VIP service" at five times the price to eliminate the lowly technicians, pretty much contradicts what he says and dismisses his technicians as a bunch of 'lesser-thans'. Having techs is beneficial as it reduces the amount of time your grafts are out of your body and also allows your doctor to focus on the most important part (the implanting of your grafts to the recipient area), rather than tasks such as cleaning/sorting/counting each extracted follicle. There must be some misunderstanding here.

Recipient is what you need to protect. After a HT, your recipient area is red because your body is trying to heal it and you don't want to slow down that healing process by adding a sunburn on top of it (so that it doesn't slow down the healing and possibly impede the growth of your newly transplanted hairs). So, wear a hat for the next six months. Your donor area, on the other hand, just needs to heal its extraction wounds. This is usually resolved pretty quickly within the first couple of days/weeks by keeping it clean and applying polyderm (to avoid infection). Your donor is not going to be bright red/pink like your recipient, and you didn't just plant thousands of new follicles into your donor that you're hoping to grow. There is also the matter of allowing your nerve endings to heal in your donor, and that will happen naturally over the next few weeks..however, I don't think the the sun has a significant impact on this. I mean, I guess if you badly sunburn the area, then it would probably slow down your donor area healing. ..but the purpose of the whole "avoiding the sun" thing is geared moreso to protecting your newly transplanted grafts in your recipient area.

This is very obviously not a hair transplant. He just has deeply receded temples and a narrowing forelock, so he went for the mohawk look and wet shaves the sides of his head. Many people have this hairloss pattern (deeply receded temples and forelock, but no crown loss). You can even see that his hairs in the front are soft and miniaturized too, with a bit of recession going inward as well (from the side angle photo).

Are you sure? I believe that 'scalp redness' is the result of your blood being sent there to heal your skin (similar to why your skin is red after a sunburn). It doesn't make sense that it would stay permanently red. That would mean that your body is permanently trying to repair your skin, and failing to do so (which I don't think makes any sense).

It may be worth consulting a doctor and getting a blood test done in advance of committing to Finasteride and Rogaine, as it will alter your hormone levels and it's good to keep track of the change in your levels in case you get side effects.

Damn it! I am 16 days postop and I love my new hairline and short haircut look. I don't wanna shed!!! Question... Is this 'resting' (telogen) phase generally 90 days from the day you shed? What about shockloss of native hairs in the donor and recipient area? Does that usually happen at the same time as the transplanted hairs?

Buddy, you're good to go. People begin working out from 2 weeks to 4 weeks postop. Different instructions are given (depending on the doctor), and the latest I've ever heard was 4 weeks for lifting heavy weights.

I think you may have lost most of your transplanted hairs due to phone charging. Let that be a lesson to you. Your obsession with your phone has cause you to lose all your hair. No, you're fine. Your doc just doesn't want the local anesthesia to settle and build up on your face. But you're already a few days postop, so you're fine even then.

I'm currently taking a few supplements to potentially aid in recovery and speed up hair growth. I'm taking Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Glucosamine/MSM, and High EPA fish oil. I bought some Biotin too, so I will be taking that soon as well. These are all supposed to aid in hair and nail growth, with some being anti-inflammatories. I usually don't take vitamins or supplements, but I figure why not try it out during this postop phase. I'll report back here in a few months if I feel like it did anything, lol.

Depends on your expectations. Are you comfortable with just rebuilding a hairline and sporting a bald crown? I am a NW5 (heading to a NW6) who just fixed my hairline and it looks great. I still have a 3 inch wide balding crown, but to be honest I don't really mind it (since it doesn't look too bad with a short cut). I guess I always had more issues with my receded temples and weak hairline than I did with my crown. You could do SMP, but it generally looks better in combination with a HT. You could go to a respected HT doctor and have your donor area examined to see how many you can realistically extract and then you can decide where you would place them. I would check out some of the NW6 results found on this board and see if it meets your expectations. Or you could try sporting a short cut buzz and see if you like it.

I see the two doctors have given you wildly different estimates. So, I think you need to determine the following: #1. - What is your balding area that you are trying to cover (in cm2)? #2. - How may total available follicular unit (FU) grafts do you have in your donor area? #3. - What is the average density you are trying to achieve? Is it 50 FU/cm2 or something less (like 40 or 30 FU/cm2)? #4. - How many grafts are available to be removed via FUT (with your current scalp laxity) and how many can be removed via FUE? Ask your doctor to measure your balding area and ask them to analyze your donor area to give you an estimate of how many total lifetime grafts you would be able to transplant into that area. This should immediately answer questions #1 and #2 and this is something ALL doctors should be able to provide you. If they are not able to provide you with an answer to these two questions, then they are not qualified to give you a hair transplant. With some simple math, you should be able to answer question #3 and calculate the density (in FU/cm2) for your balding area, and you can have a conversation with your doc about how you want to distribute that across your balding area (i.e. do you want to go more dense in the hairline and less dense in the crown...or just an even distribution of grafts across your scalp). If you are actually interested in FUT over FUE, then you have to have the doc confirm how many of your lifetime grafts will realistically be able to be removed with your current scalp (question #4). Never mind the stupid scalp exercises. The doc should be able to give you an estimate of how many they should be able to remove, and you can decide if it's worth putting a wide linear scar on the back of your head for the amount that FUT can provide. If you have a tight scalp, it won't be worth it. Once you have the answer to all these questions, then you can probably make a sound decision on whether or not you will be able to get the HT that meets your expectations. Always plan for the most realistic case scenario. Having the answers to these questions will help you with that. Also, remember to plan for the worst case scenario too (in case you have future loss and whether you are comfortable with a buzz cut years down the road). Are you okay with a linear scar in the back of your head? Are you comfortable sporting a balding manlet to hide the scar? Would you do SMP to hide that scar? Would you go the BHT (with beard and body hairs) to fill any future gaps in case you've exhausted your lifetime grafts? Don't mean to scare you, but these are the questions that need to be asked to each doctor and yourself before making the jump.

A good friend of mine took Fin back in 2009 and suffered from PFS and depression as a result. He never fully recovered. It's the reason I will never take it.

FUE

You are doing the right thing by getting tested for low Testosterone. If I were you, I would ask your doctor to give you a full hormonal (endocrine) test to see what your levels are for all of your hormones (Testosterone, DHT, TSH, Estrogen, etc.) so you have a good understanding of what your baseline levels are currently at. Most people just choose to take the drug, then gauge how they feel by using 'side effects' as their litmus test to see how they're doing. To me, this is a little bit reckless as it is better to do a baseline test of your hormones, then do a future test to see how it has actually affected your hormone levels. You may not experience side effects, but you may have thrown your levels off without even knowing it. You may end up with elevated estrogen levels (resulting in gyno) that you may not notice until it's too late. So I would do a before and after test to be certain. Also, there are a lot of people on here who use finasteride topically (or do micro doses of fin instead of taking a full 1mg pill every day). They could probably provide you with any insight as to whether or not it has been beneficial for them.

I've had similar issues with ALT/AST being elevated, and I reversed the issue with liver supplements (mainly Silymarin aka Milk Thistle). Also, you should try to reduce saturated fats and simple carbs (white flour and added sugars) from your diet, as it can exacerbate fatty liver disease. However, if the underlying issue is Finasteride then you should stop taking it (or at least reduce your intake to micro dose levels and not take a full 1mg pill) then take another blood test in the future to see if it has improved. Examples of some of the liver supplements that have helped me reduce my elevated liver enzymes:

The best thing to do before committing to any long term drug like Finasteride is to do bloodwork (to get your baseline results) and then get bloodwork done again 18 months later (to see how it has affected you). Standard bloodwork (including ALT/AST liver testing) should be done, plus some detailed bloodwork on your Endocrine system (Free Test, DHT, TSH, Estrogen, etc.). For example, a lot of people end up having their estrogen levels skyrocket after using Finasteride, yet they use 'side effects' as the measure to determine if they are okay. Just because you do not have visible side effects, doesn't mean that you don't have a issue that you need to address. It's always good to get bloodwork done to check all this.