gillenator

The regrowth must be kicking in....:cool:

It sure appears that way because of the density yet it looks good on him for his age and overall appearance. Big difference between that and what John Travolta wears.

olsooslo, Sounds just like my family except that my paternal side has no MPB. It's on my mother's side with my grandfather and uncle being a class 6. My two brothers did not have MPB either, only me. Like you , mine started diffusing in my early twenties. It's a good thing that there are no class 7s in your family, and if you progress no further than a class 6, then I think you have potential. The quality of your hair appears very good in the photos so if you do not go overboard with trying to achieve upper end density levels, you should be able to achieve a good transformation IMHO.

Hi Jared, Welcome to this community...in general terms, no clippers really cannot touch the hair follicles because they are imbedded in the underlying dermis layer of the scalp. It's more the outer layer of scalp tissue (epidermis) that can get agitated and possibly even scraped if the clippers are dull or if the clipper head is pushed down too hard against the scalp as the buzz is made. Now, there is a thing called traction alopecia when there is too much tension pulled on the hair shafts from things like braiding however when one's hair length is that short from using a clippers, there's not much tension if any on the hair shafts. Hope that makes some sense...

You're welcome jewelgirl, both surgeons you mentioned would give you a fantastic result...

If you don't mind my asking, when was you last procedure with Dr. Wolf and did you have FUT or FUE?

I used to wear hair systems for 11 years and learned very quickly that one of the fundamental issues with them is an over abundance of density. Oh sure, most all of us would love to have a full dense head of hair however one of the give aways of picking out a system on someone is high density. And I used to get a lot of double looks until I had my systems reduced to a level of density that was more suited to my age. Today, you can get some top notch quality systems that are very hard to detect and if an individual has an advanced class of hair loss and yet really wants a full head of hair, then a system can be a good option. Can be expensive cause like anything else, you get what you pay for...:cool:

At 16 days post-op, those crusts are ready to come off so IMHO, you are fine and no you did not damage your grafts...

You are indeed young at age 25 so my question is, "Are there any males on either side of your family history (maternal or paternal) that have reached Norwood class 7 ?

Most women can easily hide the linear strip scar because of the length of their hair in the donor zone. And if you are having grafts added to your hairline, you should be able to style and either brush or comb your hair across the area to hide the post-op scabs and crusts. Using a little hair spray or gel can help to hold the comb-over in place. The crusts are ready to come off by 7-10 days post-op if you are a normal healer. And if really necessary, you can also wear a scarf or loosely fitted head-band over the area because women generally have many more options in styling than we men do. No one will ever think or know the difference... Lastly, the potential of sympathetic shock loss in the recipient area would be a concern if your hair loss involves a diffused thinning pattern. That is very typical with female related genetic hair loss. If that is the type of thinning that you have, then discuss this with your surgeon because they may advise you to approach your restoration with a lower density level to help minimize the potential of shock loss to your native weaker hair.

A very general response for the average individual would be 5,000 - 7,000 for FUHT and add another 2,000 if it is FUE. We have to consider that donor level density, size of the donor regions, and competence of the surgeon all impact these numbers.

Also wanted to mention that it is nice to hear that you have more realistic goals regarding your proposed level of restored density and the placement of your mature hairline. Hope everything works out for you harin...only you can define what is going to make you more happy and improve the quality of your life...

harin, there are more and more surgeons performing very nice FUE results as compared to a decade ago when FUE initially hit North America and Europe. You really have to do your own search and compare results across the board with other individuals' results that have the same thinning diffused pattern and hair characteristics as yours. In simple terms, you have many more choices and options with FUE. As far as scarring goes, that will depend on a number of factors such as what instrumentation the surgeon is using to make the extractions, specifically punch sizes and methods of extraction (manual or motorized), along with your own physiological attributes inclusive of the quality of your scalp tissue and how well you heal.

dreamer, For many individuals, the donor hair taken from the occipital zone has the most optimal caliber as compared to other donor regions of the scalp. If you were to add any more FUE to the same area, you want your surgeon to make some hair shaft comparisons to select some grafts that have a thinner caliber. That might help to soften the area. That's supposed to be one of the advantages of FUE. To be able to cherry pick grafts from multiple donor areas that have a softer texture, especially when creating a new hairline, etc. Also maybe try to grow the length longer in the entire area. Sometimes that helps, visually speaking. But in time, the transplanted hair will assume its original characteristics from where it was harvested from.

The average window period for stopping minoxidil pre-op is 2-4 weeks depending in who you talk to.

It all depends on the density of the hair. If the density is too thin, then combing it directly forward may not appear as full compared to pulling or brushing the hair backwards. Brushing the hair directly backwards creates illusionary fullness and volume and why many guys style their transplanted hair that way. I do this myself.

I know Dr. Paul Rose very well and used to work with him. IMHO, he does excellent work and worked with the Shapiro clinic in Minnesota for a number of years as well. Although I don't think he likes the cold winters up there... Dr. Rose is also very ethical and well respected by his colleagues in this field. He has been doing surgical hair restoration for many years.

Most of us who have been hanging around these forums for awhile probably know who you are referring to. Have you surfed all of the other major forums? You can also contact the doctor's office and ask for patient referrals who have had work done by him. Ask for ones that have similar patterns of loss and hair characteristics as yourself...

It sounds like you may be a diffused thinner. And if so, the transplanted hair is going to appear thicker in hair shaft diameter when compared to the diffusing native hair within the same area. That's not abnormal especially if you have a higher degree of coarseness (above average) to your terminal hair taken from the donor region. And if you have a wider color contrast, meaning darker hair color, then the differences in caliber can potentially be that more noticeable to the naked eye.

It also comes down to the size of the surface area being grafted and determining the proposed level of restored density. An arbitrary number is too ambiguous without knowing the dimensions of the recipient area. Also, the degree of coarseness is critical in producing the illusion of coverage. The greater degree of caliber, the less grafts needed and vice versa. Although 2,000 grafts may provide a start, you will undoubtedly need more work in the future. In addition, if the surgeon recommended putting some grafts in the lateral hump areas, then he may in fact see some diffusion and miniaturization going on which implies that area can recede and then pull down with additional loss in the near future. You will need reserve donor to fill in those areas otherwise you will develop a break/gap in visual coverage all along that area on both sides. No doubt anyone who has already reached class 6 has more progressive loss in the years ahead so none of us have enough scalp donor to cover the entire top of our scalp including the crown. Lastly, IMHO $10.00 per grafts US sounds way too high when there are enough talented FUE surgeons who charge less and still provide a great result...

If the hair follicle is not damaged, then yes it has the potential of survival. With FUHT, the strip should be microscopically dissected and the techs are able to see the follicles and the curl of each hair shaft. This alone can greatly reduce the rate of transection. If the individual must have FUE, then experience and skill is incredibly important!

On average, it takes roughly 7-10 days for the recipient incisions to heal. That's the key. Once the healing has taken place, it's fine to remove the crusts. Some individuals heal a tad bit faster, some a bit slower.

Dan, No doubt what you are seeing are the crusts which are the dead and dried out tissue from the tips of the implanted grafts.

Sweat will not damage your grafts in any way...

The grafts go dormant for roughly three months before the enter a new growth phase so they are probably just beginning to sprout...