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Ok, so here are some photos I took this morning at the 6-month mark. Please note my hair was still slightly wet from the morning shower. Not a lot of change (in my opinion) for the front part, especially considering the photos from 2 weeks ago. From a quick conversation with Dr Laorwong, he told me that he thinks about 80% of my grafts have sprung, so he expects about a 20% improvement in density by the 1-year mark. Continuing on Min 5mg and added Fin 1.25mg (a 5mg tablet cut into 4) as of a week ago. My donor site is still a little sensitive and red but it mostly doesn't bother me. In general, I look like a plucked rooster at this point 😜 but I know it's temporary...

Thanks @Melvin- Admin

Hello everyone. So I've gone back to Dr Laorwong to do my mid-scalp and crown at the 5.5 months mark. When I scheduled it I didn't actually notice it was slightly before the 6 months mark but I guess that doesn't make too much of a difference now Prior to the procedure I've spoken with him about his idea for the second part and sort-of agreed on a 2000-2500 grafts procedure to cover the remainder of my bald head. The number was surprisingly the same one that I've been quoted by both Eugenix (I've had a consultation w/ Dr Erica) and Hairtran (I've consulted w/ Dr Patty), which made me feel more confident. I'll save the details around the pre and post-op process as it was practically identical in both cases for me - I stayed for the same amount of time in Bangkok, had the same pre-op tests and medications, and the same post-op care for 5 days before I headed back home. I had a pre-op consultation with Dr Laorwong the day before and he examined my donor and was (I believe) quite surprised. I think he didn't expect it to that good. I was telling him that I wanted to use as much beard hair as possible, and as far as I was concerned he could take out 100% of my beard if he can, but he said it might not be necessary. I ended up with 3847 grafts taken from my scalp donor only and implanted into the bald part. The extraction started at about 9 am (got there earlier to get a haircut, medications, etc) and the transplant ended at about 9:30 pm. It was a more difficult session this time than the one I had before. For some reason, I had a lot of lower back pain and a more frequent need to go to the toilet which made them have to pause a couple more times during the whole day. I'm not sure if it was one of the medications they gave me or something else I've taken or eaten or something, but it was extremely annoying for me and I can only imagine it was the same for them. I was also surprised (and a little bit disappointed) that they didn't use beard grafts. I was hoping to leverage beard hair and save scalp hair for the future, but perhaps it won't make a difference... time will tell I guess. All in all, I think I got good coverage now, even though the density might not be great, but as some of you have said in previous comments - compared to where I started from - there's no comparison! Below are a few photos from different moments: Pre-op before hair cut: Pre-op after hair-cut and with Dr markings on my head (my scalp was red in many places with dry skin - I've had this happen every now and then - it comes and goes): Next day after the first wash: Last day (5th day) after the wash: Other interesting (I think) details: I asked the Dr if I should continue with Min 5mg or cut down to 2.5mg - he suggested to continue with 5mg He also suggested to start taking Fin 1mg daily to preserve my hair. I've started taking it (been a week now) but I was surprised as to why he suggested it now and not the first time. He said he thinks I might still be losing hair (as in - my progression hasn't stabilised yet) so it's best to take it I also asked him how many grafts he believes I still have left in case I need them in the future and he said around 1000. Not sure if that's a good or a bad number to have, but I have a feeling that in a year or two, after both transplants have had time to mature and stabilise if I see that I need and decide to go for a third one for density, I'm going to insist on 100% beard grafts, so it won't make much difference. I'll try to get some reasonable photos of my front in a couple of days and upload on the 6 months mark. Thank you all for your support and for following up on my story here!

Interesting what Laorwong said about chest hair - I have enough of it and would rather have that hair growing on my head. In my case, my hair is wavey and even curls at the edges when grown longer, so I would have no issue with the chest hair behaving similarly. Hell, I wouldn't care even if it grew straight while the rest remained wavey. I think of it as a problem I'd like to have I was under the impression he only uses beard as a secondary source and so never actually discussed this with him. I'll see what he says when I see him.

Nice write-up, mate! Did you achieve full coverage with this procedure or are you planning to go back again for a second round?

Good morning, Below is my 5-months progress update. Not much improvement from the previous month. I have ended up not cutting my hair after all and will probably leave it like this until my next procedure at this stage. For the pictures below I've combed my hair to try and get a better degree of detail for density, however, I do not notice any visible improvement in density. I know I still have a long time to go, but not seeing any noticeable improvements keeps me worried.

@Buffaloboy are you able to share more details on where can i get this software and how to run it on an image? I'd like to give it a try on my image(s). Thanks!

Thanks guys. Excited to see what the next months gonna bring I have my second surgery (crown + mid) scheduled for the beginning of April, hopefully, by then, progress will be even more noticeable!

Hey guys, Here's my 4-month update - pictures taken this morning, a day after the 4 "month-versary". I haven't trimmed my donor hair since the last photos, but I intend to do it sometime today or tomorrow. I will not touch my transplanted hair under any circumstances In all honesty, I do not see much difference between months 3 and 4. I have a feeling the hairs are getting slightly thicker, but I don't see new hairs for now - at least nothing that I could pick up on. It might all be my imagination or the fact that I see myself all the time - who knows... I continue to take a daily 5mg oral min. Will discuss with Dr Laorwong when I see him if I should continue with this dosage or drop it down to 2.5mg. Note: I'm aware my photos are not consistent, at least in terms of lighting. Melbourne weather doesn't corroborate at all and I live in a small apartment without a lot of natural light. Sorry about that. Top view: Back view: Left side: Right side: Frontal-top view:

Thanks. Were you / Are you taking any medications pre/post op?

@MatthewDM111 your result looks amazing! I'm particularly curious about it as it reminds me of my situation and (hopefully) future results - so I'm looking at it as a baseline The first thing that caught my attention here was the fact you did front and mid in the first HT and left the mid/crown for the second. I might have missed it in your thread, but would you be able to share how many grafts were put in each one of the 2 HTs (I know a total of 6850 + 1000 from your past HT)? The reason I'm asking is that I had about 4.5k done in my first HT and probably another 2.5k to be done in the second, so I want to know if I can expect a similar result in terms of overall density. Thanks!

Hello, I'm wondering how long you guys take Oral Min (if at all) after you've had an HT? Is there a minimum recommended period and/or a maximum one after which taking it has little to no effect on the results? What is the dosage that you take daily? 2.5mg or 5mg? Keen to hear your thoughts and learn from your experience! Cheers.

wishing you all the best, mate!

not sure about the scars. when i grow my hair a little i can certainly see a difference in density from where follicles where taken compared to where they weren't touched, but that's to be expected. I intend to grow my hair long, chin-length or more, so i'm less worried about scars, personally, if there are/will be any.

hey man. I'm waiting another 10 days to post my 4-month update (at the 4-month mark ), but I don't see a lot of change. I guess I'm also seeing myself in the mirror every day so I'm probably not a good person to judge either hehehe