mehereyouthere

Looks much much better! Tbh I thought it was already refined haha sure it'll only get even better , congrats!

37 minutes ago, Nordster34 said:

Here you go! I’d say the results will be improved after the refinement for sure. It’s continuing to grow in and thicken. The temple points and hairline are all still pretty sharp, but Dr Hasson said those will continue to soften over time. I do think lowering the hairline by a centimeter or so was key as previously the hairline was high & conservative while the temple points were aggressive & youthful, leading to an unbalanced look. Lowering the hairline a tiny bit and softening the temples should lead to a more balanced outcome. Time will tell but I am hopeful. 

2 hours ago, Balding Bad said:

Taking your pre-op hair into consideration, HT 1 and 2 definitely helped boost your frontal third to a very nice place...but, if I were in your shoes, I would not be satisfied with the results. There's a sparseness to it that I don't feel is acceptable. Hopefully your 3rd HT will get you across the finish line!

Thanks! Yeah I agree the density is lacking but I really like the way the hairline is turning out and that was my main concern going in (plus I use fibers everyday so the lack of density I can deal with, although like I mentioned in the other topic, the goal is to get to a point where fiber isn't needed). I have also found out by scrolling through this forum the last couple days that aside from the HTs that everyone universally agrees are amazing, I have different views than a lot people on here as to what constitutes a natural hairline as well as grading final results.  But yeah I agree density is an issue and hoping it'll be fixed when HT3 results are in

Spent a couple hours reading this entire topic late last night so I'm emotionally invested in your journey now @Nordster34 haha would also love to hear/see an update. I feel like you unfortunately got the shaft in this situation and hope things work out and wishing you the best 

17 hours ago, jjalay said:

How many grafts were used? If this was with 3000 grafts it looks nice, if this was with 4000-5000 grafts then this is definitely missing density and some grafts didnt take.

3700 grafts. Think some grafts didn't take after 1st one so you're pretty spot on. I'm really happy overall with the results so far bc my main concern was making it look natural and like I didn't get a transplant (which is ironic because I openly discuss my HTs with even strangers irl). But excited for the hopeful density this third HT will bring 🤞 

36 minutes ago, Balding Bad said:

Yeah, I'm aware of that and I would essentially use the bank on my frontal third, but to be completely honest, I'm okay with balding/thinning in the crown. The frontal hairline is essential for me because it helps frame my face. Also, while balding in the crown wouldn't be ideal, I'm more accepting to that and concealment with the crown is much easier to accomplish compared to the front of your hairline.

Agree 100%. Fiber use or SMP or body hair transplant in crown is much easier than front third so makes sense to use your best donor hair for framing face and hairline, which is, aesthetically speaking, by far the most important.

35 minutes ago, Balding Bad said:

I guess we're all chasing after perfection. Although I'm curious, how many grafts have you received in total with the 2 HTs? And how many more do you plan on receiving for your third?

Haha I gave up on perfection after my first HT tempered my expectations and made me have a far more realistic outlook on this journey. I had ~3700 grafts between my first 2 HTs but I think the first one I lost some grafts. My third was a week ago and I had 1599 grafts. You can see a couple pics of before my HTs 1/2 and after here: 

Gotcha. Similar mentality about wanting to not need to use fiber daily post-HT, but no such luck after my first 2 HTs. I'm hoping my third HT is finally the one where I can walk out of my place without fibers and still feel confident and not insecure.  When I saw your post I felt like we had similar hair/ diffusion so I was bummed when I got to the end of your topic and saw you were unhappy with your results so far. But best of luck with your journey I think like you said you're one 1500- to 2500-graft HT away from your goal.  

1 minute ago, Balding Bad said:

I've tried it actually and it does help obviously, but my goal with a HT was to avoid having to use supplements like fiber to mask the thinness. Moreover, it's just a huge hassle to apply...I can't see myself doing it everyday.

Amazing hairline 🙌

Looks really good considering where it started but also just generally. Congrats!

I'm on day 6 post-HT 3 and spoke with my clinic today about shampooing moving forward.  They said to not use the same shampoo that they gave for the first week (due to drying out scalp) and that I should use a non-harsh shampoo, and that even baby shampoo would do. I asked specifically about using Nioxin and the Dr said that isn't a problem. After my first two HTs and my plan for this time is to shampoo everyday for the first 2 weeks. In my opinion, high quality shampoo and conditioner mitigates issues of drying scalp, and allows you to continue cleaning scalp and protecting from infection. Hope this helps.    

I feel like fibers with your existing hair would provide a pretty good illusion of density.   

Looks amazing!! How long after your HT did you start dermarolling? And did you choose dermarolling over a dermapen for any specific reason? Congrats on the successful repair!

Also here's one more pic of pre-HT1/2 from the top of my head:

Thanks for the input, here's another couple pics (with and without flash) of post-HT1/2 that's a little higher resolution  

With flash:

Without flash:

Below is a side-by-side comparison of my hair before and after my HT1/HT2 (~3700 grafts combined) with a couple more photos of my pre-transplant hair from different angles (unfortunately lost my phone with a lot of the progress pics between HT1 and HT2). I've already gotten a 3rd HT so feel free to be brutally honest and will probably start a topic tracking my journey, but just trying to gauge what others think of the results of HT1/2. I had diffused thinning for years and hairline was also receding a bit by the time I did HT 1.  Not going to name the doctor to avoid biases in people's ratings/evaluations. Thanks

Left side pre-HT1; Ride side post HT-2:

Pre HT 1:

Amazing, congrats!

2 hours ago, RobertoDeNiro said:

Happy 2024, and a heartfelt thank you to everyone for your supportive comments.

I'm sharing some photos from just a few days ago, and I must say I'm genuinely thrilled.
I've noticed that my hair seems thicker than it was a month ago.

 

And more and more I find myself thinking about whether to go for the crown as soon as possible or if I should just wait  some years and save some money. It's going to be a challenging decision.