duckling

I would suggest to start with topical route of fin and min first. Because your hair is short so applying them won't be an issue and it won't get stuck in your hair strands which makes them greasy. Once you see that sides are not there (which is very less for topical) and its working for you then either you can continue or decide on going for oral route in case you observe no sides from topical and your doctor recommends that you have no medical condition that prevents you from taking them and possibly get a slightly superior result (according to some studies). Then you can slowly shift to oral route but use little bit of topical to be sure that there is no shedding during the switch and also to check for sides. If there are any then you can switch back to topical. Incase you want to go oral route first and notice no sides then definitely you can continue until you get any sides or until you wish to( if no sides ). But problem will be that you might be scared to take them in topical form now due to sides from oral and also you have no habit of commiting to the topical route on a daily basis for a long period. (which is tedious yes) Third option is go customized option of topical min once before sleep and oral fin ( but at 1 mg for 3 days a week). This stack is used by many in this forum and suggested by doctors on youtube channels. But there is no one fit all method as everyone has different response to it. You will change dosage according to suggestion by doctor according to your gains and sides. On LLLT i can say with short hair this is probably best time to try it as no need to part your hair but use it as a booster to fin & min and not as a standalone treatment. Use the FDA approved device (approved for safety) and use as recommended only so as to not hamper any gain from fin min by irritating the skin too much. But don't start it right away. Let your scalp heal a little. Later on you can also add xyon's topical dutasteride if the fin wasn't working for you or you want more gain than what fin min has given you. This way you will know that how much each treatment worked for you. Note: Also incase you go topical min and fin or just topical min then can use microneedling as people have posted good results with it. This it seems increases the systematic absorption so read into it. As the results may get boosted but the sides which you fear may come. Patience and educated decisions/ changes to routine is the key. Farmer doesn't put everything in the soil and expect things to grow right. Good luck with your journey. 🙂

If the consultation is done in person at the clinic (final consultation before your surgery / regular checkup at the dermatologist ) then do as @Gatsby said as doctor will use magnification to check scalp and part your hair and see which areas you are hiding with length. But if its done by video calls and images you send to clinic (initial consultation) and if you choose to keep lengthy hair then : 1) part your hair. 2) use a good resolution camera. 3)use all types of lightning (indoor, outdoor). Harsh light condition photo is must. 4)Use different angles because with some angles the illusion of density changes. 5)Donor area try to keep short hair as if any donor thining then can be detected and overestimation of grafts is not done. Or keep short hair and repeat steps 2,3,4. Good luck with your consultation.

I suggest you consult a doctor if you are too worried about it as even if we tell you not to overthink (and send you gorgeous pictures 😉 ) still you might do it. Secondly if you choose not to go to doctor and keep taking fin then do it but don't overthink so much about sides and use that extra time to hit the gym which will give you 2 things: 1) when women look at you its not just your hair they are looking at. (When you also looked at that picture did you honestly checked out her hairline 😄 ) 2) self confidence when you look in mirror . (you will be looking at a fitter version of you and not wondering that if you tuck your shirt in then will it show your tummy) Or use that time to get a hobby which also give you one extra card to play than other men who might bore her with just work talk. Good luck with your choice 🙂. And as @Melvin- Moderator suggested fin might help you retain hair which ticks one more box for you.

No buddy you are still not getting what @Gatsby is saying. Being a newbie also i can say that the meds have done wonders for your frontal and mid scalp area. In just 12 weeks where you have just got probably the hair thickening effect and not yet the growth of the hair which would have shed during initial use of fin and min. You can have soo much improvement from meds alone and letting your existing miniaturized hair not fight for blood supply is much better than letting them fight it out with the newly transplanted grafts. And definitely the surgeon will make sure to take care of most of this when placing new grafts (spcaing them out) when using a microscope and its your choice to proceed ahead with surgery but if you know how much meds improved your hair and then doing surgery will let you know that how much surgery by itself has worked for you. It also gives your surgeon an idea of how best to use your grafts to create a much better illusion effect on your scalp of good density if not great. Best of luck anyways if you do proceed with either approach 🙂.