consequence

This guy from 5 months to 6 months is one of the most insane transformations I've ever seen:

5 months 

6 months

Some people are patient and do everything right but never get what they want, others make every mistake possible and get blessed for no reason whatsoever.

What a cruel sense of humor the Hair Gods have.

Man I wish we had follow up on this one.

Penny in a well for you @Looking for HTif you ever return and post an update.

Who was your surgeon?

Can we see some pics?

I don't think any reputable clinic will even consider you before a year.

Interesting to see how many times Pekiner's name got mentioned here.

Softness of the line is part of what makes a great hairline but it's also important look at overall design -- ie. shape and temple points.

Some like Eugenix or Ferreira are more sharp and angular, others are right angles almost like the edge of a table (Leal), and others are more curved (Konior) and some don't even build temples usually (Freitas, Hasson). To me, the softer edges look more natural than the sharp/angular ones; when I see a really sharp set of temples it looks unnatural to me like an anime comic book character.

Everyone has their own preference, but it develops only after looking at a bunch of cases.

5 hours ago, Fue3361 said:

Just checked the label.  Yeah, those are not the dosages.  Did I write that somewhere in this thread?  Damn, just checked, I did.  Crazy how memory can just be wrong like that!

The dosages were:

5mg Sildenafil

5mg Tadalafil

3mg Arginine

2.5mg Minoxidil


I had it right on other thread.  Somehow got it confused on this one.  Here's from other thread:

That's really interesting. So baby doses across the board, I'm guessing to avoid blood pressure issues. Thanks for checking.

DId you experience issues with any, uhm, unwanted boners?

This is just incredible. Body hair, multiple prior surgeries, so many things going against you and then Eugenix pulls it off like this. That triangle of FUT story is one of the wildest things I've ever heard. I know it's said people with tatts are risk takers but wow. Congrats on making it through your journey.

Do you have any pictures of your hair grown out after the prior surgeries but before this one?

On 8/5/2023 at 7:24 AM, Anthropos said:

Hello everyone, sorry for the late update. 

Please find my update at 6 month.

I really saw an improvement between month 5 and 6.

All images, except one, are taken with wet hair and direct light on to have the best idea of the progress so far.

It always looks worse on camera than in real life

I'm still waiting for the 12-months results but I feel that I will need a touch-up. For example, the bottom of the left side temple point has not been implanted I and I would like it to go lower like on the right side.

But so far I'm quite pleased with the improvement and I definitely think less about my hair than before, which is a huge relief.

Have a nice week-end !

Ferreira's patients at 6 months looks like other surgeons at 9 months. 

Also don't feel self conscious about your temples because someone made a comment. Ferreira does like those deeper and more angular temple points, but it's totally within the range of what's normal. Less angular than Eugenix but much more angular than Konior or Couto. There are surgeons like Hasson or de Freitas that usually don't even build temples. Yours look fine. 

I hope you come back and provide an update!

After looking at a large number of cases, you do get a "sense" of whether one is one track at 6 months vs a bit behind or ahead. I'm not sure about the 50% at 6 months, 100% at a year time frame, it might be a bit more sigmoidal the response curve. 

But the question is kind of meaningless unless we define our semantics. What I mean is, how do we define "percentage"? Percentage of what? Of final hairs grown? Of hair shaft caliber? Of the "illusion of density"? How do we measure an illusion?

I think most hairs have come in by 6 months but are thin. Some people sooner, others later. Caliber and texture ensue, and can enhance the illusion dramatically. This is because an expanding fat cylinder covers several times more area visually than a thin one. The path of this coverage probably looks like a sigmoidal curve, with thinner haired people crossing the asymptote later than thicker haired people.

I think you're closer to the beginning part of the curve then the later at 6 months because caliber means more proportionately.

But until an accurate AI algorithm comes along that can objectively grade an illusion, studies are limited by how the researcher subjectively feels. Interesting idea though.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk please rate comment subscribe.

Fin is DHT 70%, Dut is DHT 95% And eventually there's a decent chance you would regress even with dutasteride. But that's where I would start.

The amount of psychological distress the recovery process has caused you, when you've really had a significant improvement, is very concerning. And that's coming from me, a neurotic.

Beyond that you should be aware that with how advanced your hair loss is at a young age means there's a good chance you're going to end up at a high Norwood and be left with only transplanted hairs on your head down the line, and even those can fall out depending on harvest site and where your Norwood is going to take you eventually. That's despite avodart and whatever CB RU PRP you try. You're just on fin, which means that point will most likely come sooner for you. You need to plan for the long term, not just your 20s. Hair restoration is a marathon not a race.

Either way, good luck.

With the aggressive nature of your hair loss at a young age, there's a strong possibility that you've lost underlying native hair as well during your recovery, contributing to the loss.

Do not consider further surgery until you maximize medical therapy. This means oral dutasteride, oral minoxidil and keto 2% shampoo. Then reassess after a year. Otherwise you're pouring sand into a bucket with a hole in the bottom.

I don't think you should consider strip unless you're sure you'll never want to shave your head. This is very hard to know at such a young age.

How is everything looking? Could you provide photos with more natural lighting and distance? The extreme contrast makes it very difficult to see what is actually going on.

This is disappointing for 7 months, but beard and body grafts are so tricky. How are you now?

I don't have any issues with the design or zig-zagging. The density could be better, but that's not something the surgeon can control. Please update if you ever come back.

I agree, though it is an improvement, it's not a thick or robust hairline for 10 months.

Have you thought about PRP or laser helmets? I know you can't take oral finasteride, topical? Oral minoxidil? Ketoconazole shampoo?

Please keep us updated.

Can we see pics from the front with your hair pulled back? Also not on selfie mode if possible so we can see full resolution. 😇

You do seem a bit behind the curve for 6 months but no way to know till 12 months.

I don't think the caffeine shampoo is a good idea. May consider adding oral minoxidil.

This is a disappointing result from Wong.

It does seem that FUEs might come in a bit wispier than FUT for some people. Having density issue of my own at 6 months and definitely wondering if I should have gone with strip in the first place.

Definitely let us know if you get a revision.

Really strange that fin or minox was associated with a shed of the transplanted hairs, as they normally shouldn't be DHT sensitive.

The patchy back and forth and sudden growth over a week makes me think of lichen planus or a nutritional deficiency (vitamin D is a huge issue for darker skinned people in dreary UK type climates, and supplements need K as well). I'm generally in favor of getting lab markers and biopsies with atypical growth patterns like yours.

Definitely keep us updated.

It does seem like the density never quite got to the point where it blended perfectly, but still it looks quite good, especially considering that it wasn't a first pass.

If you end up getting a second procedure or trying medical therapies to help please let us know.

1 hour ago, Gatsby said:

I think for six months it's looking excellent. Allow for another six months for any new growth and thickening to progress. Thanks for sharing @consequence. 👌

Thanks @Gatsby you are a pillar of the transplant community, appreciate your positive attitude. I know this is small change compared to all that you've gone through. 🙃

12 month update?

Wow. You were done at 6 months.

In the words of Street Fighter, Perfect Victory.

May I ask what meds you are on (if any) and for how long? Did you do anything else like PRP or laser helmets? 

Did Dr. Heitmann do both the extraction and implantation himself or was there a team?

Here are my 6 month pics (24 weeks).

Edit: Actually a little over 5 months, I did my dates wrong. 

The right hairline and temples are essentially complete and indistinguishable from my native hair, super happy about those parts.

The left hairline is still a bit pluggy, maybe an 8/10. I've been looking at other results at the 6 month mark and then seeing how they ended up at a year to see if I'm on track or if I need to try something like PRP or get on Viagra/Cialis. 🍆

Switch to oral dutasteride, add on ketoconazole and give it a year. You've had improvement, see what meds can do.

With how rough psychologically this has been for you, I'm not sure getting another surgery is a good idea. Hair transplants are not for the faint of heart.