youngsuccess

Yeah, Rassman's results usually don't "wow" me. This also is one of the worst cases of female hairline work I have seen on this forum: http://hair-restoration-info.c...21087683/m/402101651 I think my last post in the thread sums up the issue there, but who knows since we never got a response.

Thanks for the feedback. Ron J, Post whatever you want in this thread; I don't get butthurt on the internet. I think my application of this hair mascara is getting a little better. "Less is more" definitely applies here. Rather than try to drown the entire area in it, I've been lightly coating and blending in, leaving a few areas more patchy rather than force it. Leaving some of the scar visible may actually draw less attention to it. Definitely ordering me some derm though.

Yeah, I need to maybe order some Dermmatch and experiment with it. But by the time that shit gets here the hair will probably have grown back. I could always buzz it again and try. But what color... medium-brown? My hair is actually a darker brown, but at this length lighter may be the way to go. What I should have done is buzz the head with a #3 first to see how it looked since last time I did that the donor was a lot less detectable, but it was an impulsive decision to take out the clippers. Effective concealer application or not, if I want to continue buzzing down at this length I'm going to need scar revision. I'm wondering where the grafts actually go though: more into the scar, or below the scar into the jagged-looking hair?

Thanks for the replies. Ok, here are the scar pics. Again, the scar isn't good, but I'm still at 6 months. Hopefully the pinkness of the scar itself will continue to fade, which may lessen some of the contrast between hair, scar, and scalp affected below the scar. But I've been experimenting with dark brown hair mascara to make it acceptable: This stuff is designed to mask gray hair; it's not really your conventional "concealer". The application is a little "cakey", but much better than nothing. I may have better luck with Dermmatch, maybe using medium brown. Again, at this stage it isn't about perfection, it's about going out and not getting a second look from 9 out of 10 people. I only took after shots outside because you can't really see the contrast in room lighting that well. Hopefully scar revision via FUE will be a feasible option for me. I want to go this route because my scar is not the worst thing I've ever seen. I don't have an ear-to-ear smiley, and I don't have a scar that's half an inch wide. I don't want to rule out strip entirely, but for me personally I don't know if it's worth it considering the prospects for advancement in FUE session size. I understand there's still scarring associated with that procedure, but if you respond well to the treatment, I don't think anyone can argue that those little scars spread out across the entire donor region is even remotely comparable to a linear strip scar. Click to see up close.

Thanks for the replies. LULZ at "Hitler Youth". All of the grafts were place in the first few centimeters of the hairline, so I was expecting a lot more density for 2000 grafts over these three surgeries, although I think a combination of hair characteristics, physiology, and the fact that the first transplant wasn't great influenced what I have to show for my troubles so far. I know I have more hair loss than most average people think; buzzing down confirmed this. I'm 28 and don't think I'm going to turn full-blown NW7 out of nowhere, but I am keeping future loss in mind. I want to maybe see Feller in the fall and see if FUEing the scar is advisable at this time, maybe a session of 500 grafts total, blasting the the center of my hairline with a few hundred grafts and use the rest to address the scar. That will mean I would have allocated 2500 for the hairline, hoping to have around 5000 left to shoot for a believable balding pattern. This way I can continue to buzz down if hair loss starts occurring more rapidly, and start to develop a master plan that hopefully can involve a few large FUE sessions every few years. I think I have to approach this with the expectation that the crown will be left bare or thin, and to conserve most grafts for behind the *relatively low* hairline, to the center region, and around the sides of the crown. Something like this, although preferably more hair around the periphery of the crown:

I was trying to track down pictures of a transplanted hairline sheared closely, but couldn't find too many on my own, and my requests to see pictures by people who claimed to have done this were ignored. So I buzzed my entire head with a #2 guard on the clippers. The pics were taken without flash under bathroom light, directly under a ceiling lamp in my bedroom, and a a few shots outside in natural light.

Ok, buzzed down with a #3 guard on the clippers. I am pleasantly surprised considering how much I assumed the scar had stretched several months ago. Don't get me wrong: there is still some detectability. However, it's not as profound as I had feared. Plus, I'm hoping that the scar will continue to fade and that maybe even some of the remaining shocked hair will return (although I believe most of it has). Basically from a head-on glance at the back, all is normal. Coming in at different angles you get the "hat-head" look, a little patchiness and some mild dicoloration. And it's mostly the area under the scar, not the actual scar itself. But again, at 6 months I think it's promising. Also the area on the side of my head is basically 100% undetectable in my opinion, the concern is mainly in the conventional donor area. I have confidence that I'll be able to go down to a #2 and have an acceptable look with the help of some hair mascara, which I will be doing and sharing soon. I recently also realized something important: despite my scar I still have the option, to SOME degree, to buzz down. So I'm done with strip. I DID experience some scar stretching. But it could have been disastrous, and it wasn't. Too unpredictable for me to mess with anymore though. FUE from this point on (including in the donor scar), and if signs of significant loss start to loom over me, the plan will be FUE with the intention of keeping a closely buzzed head. Use the magnifying tool to see up close.

You can't blame yourself for over-analyzing the situation; it is your own head after all. Really interested in seeing pics of your hair buzzed down if you have any.

The scar has improved dramatically over the past few months. The first picture is of the donor area after a haircut buzzed down to a #4 (couple days ago); the one to the right of that is the exposed scar currently. The bottom left pic is at two months, the one opposite at 5 1/2. Next month I'm buzzing down to a #3 and I'll share the results. If it's acceptable, I'm going to go for a #2 with the expectation that there will be definite detectability, but I've used hair mascara during my donor shock period with success, so we'll see what happens.

ThatGuy2009, I'd be really interested in seeing how your hair looks buzzed down. I've accepted the fact that donor scar detectability is pretty much guaranteed at that length, so I'm actually more concerned with how the recipient area looks. It's pretty hard tracking down these types of photos; I've only seen a handful. Care to post any pictures? I'd really appreciate it.

Based on this angle, I'd argue that he is a 7:

Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

The bumpiness in the recipient area is pretty clear under the magnifying tool and in some of the pics enlarged. Perhaps that will also improve with time, or at least be obscured by the hairs if the density improves. What does the doctor say?

Looks like a wise plan of attack for your fourth procedure. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I'm inclined to trust Dr. Feller's assessment of this case. You could make the argument that when the fault lies entirely with the doctor and clinic, there are usually a few common indicators of negligence that accompany and possibly influence the low yield: -Noticeable scarring/pitting in the recipient area -An unnatural hairline -Awkward placement/angulation of grafts -A warped-looking donor area In this case, we don't see any of these signs. The outcome wasn't good, but incompetent surgeons seem to always leave their patients with the token signs of botched work on top of the poor growth. I guess we are arguing semantics at this point; but to me, this looks like someone who obviously needs more work, not anything corrected. Good luck to you, unfortunateHT

Whoops, missed these comments. Thanks for the replies. At three months the scar is improving as the redness gradually continues to fade. Will update with pics in a few weeks.

Excellent. A lot of guys would kill for that much hair at 62.

Yeah, I don't know... We've all seen Rahal patients who've had similar types of procedures with far thicker-looking results. The "illusion" of density is more acceptable behind the hairline; you need a stronger front. Decent density does not mean that you expose a ton of scalp simply because you want to push your hair back.

I agree with the comments above. But, there have been several questions recently concerning how low one can buzz down after a transplant. Here's the thing: Most of the answers seem to consider the donor scar; however, I think a lot of people (myself included) are more curious about the recipient area, and the naturalness of the transplanted hairs themselves. Hypothetically, if someone wanted keep his head permanently shaved to a #2 or 3 guard after surgery, and accepted donor scar detectability, would the approach be different? Would the breakdown of follicular units be different? All singles? Would the angulation of the hairs be different than what conventionally would be planned on said patient? I have a relatively low transplanted hairline. If I go on to lose a lot of hair, disregarding concern for the donor scar and allocating the remaining grafts to recreate a believable balding pattern designed for a buzz down may be the best option for me. Would this type of design be the same as if were planning on wearing the hair at a normal length? Again, the size of the grafts, orientation of the hairs, angulation, etc.

I used Nair like twice I think on my patch of chest hair. Aside from the fact that doing that makes me a douchebag, it doesn't work too well either. First problem: the stuff smells FAWKIN AWFUL. Then, you have to leave it on long, like really long before it starts to remove the hairs. And what I noticed is that it essentially leaves you with a stubbly look, as if you had just shaved. It claims to be a product that removes the hair below the skin, but it doesn't work that way in my experience (even though it is advertised as such). You might have better luck with it since your hair has been weakened and I think the stuff is probably intended for light/fine women's body hair.

It's funny because this guy actually took the animation center from this site and added it to his own his own, with the links leading back here and everything. People may assume that he is affiliated with the Hair Transplant Network or possibly even in the Coaltion, as it says right at the top "Animation Center sponsored by the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians": http://www.kielyhealthcare.ie/anim.asp

I agree with dakota: considering your age and the amount of native hair you've retained, the potential for a really great result is definitely there. It sounds like you did well on finasteride without becoming acclimated to its effects after nine years, so it might still do you a lot of good. And of course another advantage is that you don't need to lower/recreate a hairline; you just need to reestablish your existing one with some density. Also, I don't know if you're familiar with the stuff, but I suspect you'd be a great "responder" (can't think of a better word) to concealers in the meantime.

Thanks for your input; this sounds more accurate to me. So from your research it's still a possibility, but 35% is a helluva lot different than 70%.

Agreed. But no one is disputing that hair loss is progressive; we just don't understand how relatively mild loss in late 20s/early 30s indicates an eventual class 7 pattern, the most extreme level of MPB. I don't know that the degree to which the balding will advance can be determined in a 30 year old with a NW3 pattern who might not even have any signs of crown loss whatsoever. Plenty of NW6s won't progress past that point, and a lot of guys start to approach that level way before 45-50. Arguing that men who begin hair loss at 30 are likely to experience more is entirely different from specifically predicting NW7, as even the difference between NW6 and 7 is huge.

Definite improvement.