sonnyboy11

Wise comments above. I would also say to check out New Hair Institute. Rassman is top notch from what I have heard. I used Pak there and he the results are good so far (although I am still waiting for full growth). Do NOT go near Bosley.

Yea, I think I had to do like $1k up front with Pak. But it was refundable up to a certain time. It sounds like a normal practice to require some fees in advance but it will depend on the doctor I guess.

Hi guys- quick update. I got my first hair cut yesterday. The rear donor area is much improved! I was honestly not sure how it was going to turn out since I had let my hair get pretty long in back since Pak did my ht. But I got it trimmed short and the combining of my 3 scars into one scar appears to have really yielded a nice result. The hair stylist handed me the mirror and I prepared for the dreaded "look at the back of your hair" moment as she swung my chair around- and much to my surprise, it looked fine for the first time in years! So mission accomplished there. Not much in the way of growth just yet... but I did get quite a few more pimples. Yay pimples! I did want to say that as a New Year's resolution, I have decided to curtail my wearing of hats. Enuff already with the damn ball caps! It feels great, even tho it freaked out a couple of people at work who have never seen me without one. Oh, and sorry again for the lack of photos. All I can do to find time to post this during the holidays (work is crazy busy this time of year).

Well, I am certainly not going to try and counter the statements of an M.D! But I did have a similar situation with a couple of stacked scars and some hair in between. Ok, maybe not quite stacked as they were offset from each other a bit. I did have a strip pulled and the scars pulled together into a single scar. So far, I can see there is improvement in the overall appearance of the donor area (it does not look as thin in that area anymore). However, I did discuss some a possible FUE procedure with my doctor (Pak) if I ended up not satisfied with they way things looked. So, there is already some improvement for me and I am pretty critical so it's not just me hoping it looks better- it does. But long run I may consider some other options if I think the donor area is not quite how I want it. I suppose it all depends on the patient and I know everyone is different.

I think you're fine bro. Take a look at this link and scroll down to read Bill's comments http://hair-restoration-info.c...181009473#3181009473 Get some aloe vera. And be a little more careful next time!

Naw, I said squat to em, eh? Most of them think I just pussed out. Not a problem. When I go back and start lighting them up, they'll forget about the time I took off. Dr. Pak at NHI- about 900 grafts. Got about 3200 total so far but not all from Pak. Pak knows what he is doing. Wish he had done all of mine but I got my first transplant back in '94.

Interesting topic. Makes me think- I was just in to see my dermatologist the other day (had to zap a couple of skin breaks courtesy of too much sun) and she noticed the pimples on my head. I literally spent the next 20 minutes explaining that was normal and answering questions for her about hair transplantation. How long does it take to grow, did it hurt, etc. We even got into the subject of dandruff and skin issues (her specialty0 and what if any affect a ht might have to cause or exascerbate such issues. I did notice I needed to get on top of my dry scalp issue after my latest ht. She took a close look and said that it must be working since she saw no dandruff. Anyway, not to prattle on, but goes to she that even professional doctors in other fields don't seem to know much about ht procedures and are at least curious how it works.

I play hockey too. I stopped for a while after my transplant. Actually have not played since that so going on about 90 days. My reason there is that with a tight fitting helmet and all the contact, I did not want to take a chance on stretching the scar area. I also stopped doing crunches or any type of excercise that pulled on the back of my head. Now, pls keep in mind that this is just how I feel! I am almost certainly being over-protective but I just want to make sure my investment works out as planned. If that means taking a few months off from grinding pucks out of corners, then so be it. I am pretty sure I will get back to playing in another month or two. I should also mention that I ride motorcycles a lot and use one to commute to work. Even for that I was not fond of wearing my normal helmet since it fit so snugly and I could feel it pull on my donor area when I moved my head. So I switched to a slightly larger helmet. Not the best solution but I gotta get to work!

Ok, so no pics yet but here's an update- I am starting to get quite a few pimples now in the recipient area at the 90 day mark. I feel like a teenager fer chrisakes! I know that pimples are a good sign so I mostly just leave them alone. I have had a couple get kind of big though so I have carefully popped those to release the pressure. I have not had a haircut since the procedure so I probably don't have the best opinion of how the scar on the donor area has turned out just yet since my hair is pretty long back there. Right Now I cannot even see it. I still suffer a bit from 'melon head' in the back area where it is still numb, but for the most part I don't even think about the transplant during daily routine. So, it's definitely growing in, but I think I'll know a bit better what I am looking at in another 2-4 months and after a haircut... and after some of these pimples go away! Oh, and lastly (for now) after reading up a bit on these forums I got really proactive about my dry-skin dandruff which I have contended with in the past. Thanks to whoever recommended the Nutrogena T-Gel (4% coal tar). That stuff works! Still use a little aloe these days too on the donor site but I don't really need it. I've just decided I like aloe.

Dunno about #2 and #3, but internal stitches that dissolve over time are nothing new. They were used in my transplant but I also had some staples used on part of the scar removal. In general both were uncomfortable for a time. The stapled area felt much better after the staples themselves were reoved after 10 days. The area with the internal stitching never really hurt but I noticed a marked improvement in general comfort after 5 weeks. The stitches are designed to dissolve. Leave them alone and deal with it. It'll get better.

Are you saying once daily hairwashes in general (all the time) or are you mainly referring to the few weeks following post-op? Washing daily really dries my hair out unless I condition every single time. Edit- nm. I see now how that you meant that in response to the initial post. Carry on!

I've been using Aloe sans alcohol on my recipient/donor area as well. Get a clear one without any dye or alcohol. I have scaled back the amount of times I shampoo to every other day at most. That definitely helps with the dry scalp. I also use Paul Mitchell conditioner on my hair after I shampoo and towel dry. That is a leave in conditioner and does a nice job keeping the follicles moisturized. Lastly, with all this dry air out west lately, I have been running a Honeywell filterless humidfier at night. That probably helps my throat and hose more than anything but it does seem like my skin is not as flaky.

I haven't heard of any doctor's that offer a 'discount' if you elect to have more HTs done over time. The success of your hair transplant is subjective in the sense that it's impossible to predict just how much hair it will take to keep a person happy. It seems to me that most HT patients have at least some touch up work done over time, if not another full HT session (I've had four in 15 yrs). Again, all that will depend on what makes you happy, so I don't see why any given doctor should offer a discount for that.

Although I am no expert, my guess is your discomfort in your donor area, as well as the tightness, does indeed have something to do with the size of your session. But don't worry about it too much. From most of what I have read it appears that much of the sensation of tightness fades after a while. I still have some tightness after 6 weeks and I only had around 1000 grafts done (touch up work). It took me till around 4 weeks before I felt totally comfortable sleeping on my donor area. One thing I did that might help you- I used quite a bit of Aloe on my donor area. I also made sure to use a good conditioner on my hair in general once I was able to shampoo normally again. I have always had dry skin, so, although it may just have been psychological, using mosturizer and aloe really seemed to help me.

The first one is a myth. Male hair loss and pattern baldness is mostly genetic. Applying hair gel ain't gonna matter one way or the other.