gillenator

Just when you thought you have heard everything?

All hair that is DHT receptive should try and be saved!

Allowing the hair to grow to a longer length will definitely make a difference.

Most guys opt for the topical form of finasteride to avoid having sexual side effects however applying it topically will still get systemically delivered.

On 12/30/2023 at 5:12 PM, secondtryuser said:

Thanks @gillenator

If I may check my understanding if what you say - does this mean a stubble hair that doesn’t grow is no cause for concern and the graft is still alive so a new hair will eventually grow? I’m concerned as I have many of them, about 1mm in length while the rest of my hair is 1cm in length. 

Here’s the thing, at one month post-op, it’s all speculation…once a hair follicle goes into the resting/dormant phase it will rest for 3-4 months until it moves into a new growth phase so it’s best to just chill and give it adequate time as time tells all things…otherwise you will drive yourself crazy guessing.

A dead hair is a hair shaft that has disengaged from the hair follicle and is usually because the follicle has entered a resting phase…a new hair shaft will push out the dead one in most cases otherwise it will just eventually come out from hair washing.

10 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Eventually this will resolve by itself. You might try a course of antibiotics. The best thing to do though is to consult with your surgeon regarding this. Most importantly of all do not squeeze them to prevent scarring. All the best. 

More words of prudent wisdom and good advice from Gats…IMHO, the antibiotics would only be considered if an infection developed and like Gats well stated, discuss with your surgeon.

10 hours ago, Gatsby said:

At 1mg oral equivalent I would say yes if you use it consistently and leave it on the scalp for at least four hours. 

I agree completely…Gats, would you be okay to leave it on the scalp and sleep overnight?…at 4 hours and beyond I feel the active ingredient is well systematically absorbed into the scalp and bloodstream.

3 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

I am a repair patient with bad angles who has had 6 surgeries thus far. Short story I went to an electrologist today because I was just curious about that as an option. As part of the consult, I asked her if she could remark on my scar tissue, and she said that yes while I do have scar tissue, it was not bad at all to her and my scalp looked pretty good. 

I am consulting for my 7th surgery and one thing I am hearing constantly from doctors is "you have already had 6 surgeries which means a ton of gnarly scar tissue this is going to be super difficult to work with"

...but the electrologist is saying my scar tissue is not bad really.

My question is - is it possible to have 6 surgeries (including 3 repairs - extractions of previously implanted areas) and have scar tissue NOT be an issue?

HappyMan, you are one of the repair patients that I have taken a keen interest in and am hoping nothing but the best for you…sone of the more difficult aspects of scarring are that it’s difficult to ascertain how much, and how deep it is into the dermis layer and beyond…another difficulty is to ascertain the composition of the tissue because it can vary as the healing takes place…the scar tissue can be softer in one side and tough as rubber on the other side…how is the blood 🩸 flow in the scar matter?…these aspects cannot be accurately evaluated by a visual examination alone…and a number of surgeries are going to produce a fair amount of scar tissue irregardless of what the electrologist’ opinion…she is not a M.D. (surgeon) with extensive experience, no offense…but let’s face it, having that many procedures is invasive and will create numerous amounts of scar tissue…I pray that I have not discouraged you my brother.

45 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Are you able to post pictures with your eyes blacked out so we can get a better idea of where you are at? I too am a repair patient. 

Photos especially of the donor area would be helpful.

47 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

It would depend on part on what Norwood level you were. If you were a Norwood 7 like myself you could have surgery a day at a time like I did (with the right doctor). If you are say a Norwood 3 I would wait as long as possible between surgeries to get the most out of the transplant. Of course if your hair loss has definitely stabilized due to medication then this is not as much of an issue. 

Well said and Gats had an exceptional surgeon!

On 12/25/2023 at 2:33 AM, Gatsby said:

To get an idea of a hyper responder have a look at @Viney’s results to medication. 👌

Very exceptional!

9 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

I have seen a few instances on Reddit where, if they catch their MPB early enough (say they arent worse than NW2 and have only been suffering from MPB for 1 year or so) AND they are super young (early 20s), i have seen cases where hair regrowth has occured.

But even so, these people are the minority. 

At best, you should only expect to halt future hairloss with meds.

Getting hair regrowth from dht meds should always be viewed as a miracle/minority case. 

Most of us men with MPB will experience a significant decrease in the progression of our hair loss which for myself was a huge victory…what I have observed has been the young men who get started early with meds have the best potential to realize any regrowth gains without surgery.

A lot of the post-op discomfort is related to nerve damage…it’s the random stings and sharp pings in the scalp that can be bothersome…on average, hair grows at approximately 1-2 inch per month.

If the blades are not sharp, the guide will not help minimize the drag and tension that the clippers can put on the hair shafts.

Yes, it’s very normal to feel pain 3 weeks post-op wherever there have been incisions made…many patients feel pain for several months however the level of pain decreases with time.

If you have done enough research or adequate research then yes we know what to look for.

Don’t borrow if it will put you in financial stress and/or emotional stress.

8 hours ago, Berba11 said:

I highly doubt anyone here has damaged their grafts with a shampoo so no one will be able to answer the question.

Also, your grafts are under the surface of the skin, so unless you do some pretty serious post-op damage to your scalp I'm not sure how you damage your grafts beyond the 7 day mark.

It’s very unlikely to damage grafts with shampoo.

You have very good hair quality and you also are correct that you have more of a recessionary pattern of loss…however, anyone who has MPB will have some degree of diffusion, some more than others.

Having said this, a big factor of your case has to do with your wide color contrast with that black hair on a fair complexion…the high visual impact area is your frontal zone and so every graft must be carefully selected, positioned, and “anguled” perfectly or the result may not look aesthetically natural…the first several rows of your hairline should have a somewhat thinner caliber with the grafts behind them gaining caliber to better achieve the illusion of density…remember, it’s the illusion that can be achieved without having to dense pack when individuals like yourself have optimal hair quality.

Both surgeons that you are considering do top notch work but I highly recommend that whoever you are considering, look at as many mature results with patients that have as similar hair characteristics as you.

Lastly, I feel some surgeons are sorely overpriced and again, by comparing results, there are other very talented FUE surgeons who can give you an awesome result without paying those exorbitant fees!…just put in the time researching the top established talented FUE surgeons who have the track records and documented results.

2 hours ago, jjalay said:

Yes the growth in the crown usually takes longer because of the blood supply, but at 4 months its really too early to make any judgments. I mean you might see a good result on the hairline at 8 months anf on the crown it might take 12 or 13 months.

This is true and I also concur that the slower growth is related to the blood supply in the posterior area of the scalp…a full mature result in the crown can take up to 15 months or so.

On 12/9/2023 at 2:03 PM, mojones said:

Can you explain the shed cycle? My hair lost significant density after my procedure. I noticed the shock loss two months ago and it still hasn’t grown back at 4 months.

At 4 months the hair that was shocked is just starting a new growth cycle and still not visible until it grows an inch or so…on average hair grows 1/2 inch per month.

15 hours ago, streethawk said:

I used clippers after a month- was fine

I bet your clippers were sharp and the blades were not dull…the more dull the blades, the more tension is created.

You have good hair volume in the frontal third section and IMHO, wait on doing any surgery as that should be the last resort…I definitely agree to start finasteride for your crown and see how much improvement there is in 12 months.

I forgot to mention that every patient is entitled to a copy of their chart.