flyby

Hi B Spot, Thanks for the info. If possible I'd like to hear a little more about this aspect of Mops question. "I know Surgeons take grafts from a wide area. Just wondering whats possible without shaving your entire hair off and you wanted to keep extraction zones on edge of your hairline, eg around the ears for example, and keep it discreet." This interests me as well because for someone who has previous donor scars from an old Bosley session I definitely couldn't live with shaving the whole back of my head down for FUE. Would it be possible or feasable to extract donor grafts from a linear strip shaved down across the back. Similar to how the donar is shaved down for a strip just not as wide? _______________________________________________ Shaved down donor area about this wide _______________________________________________ Length of the strip would depend on how many grafts are needed. Obviously you couldn't obtain nearly as many grafts as if someone shaves the whole back of their head, but for someone intersted in FUE into an existing scar (like Spex had) or for someone looking for hairline refinement this would allow them cover the area with exisisting hair and go relatively unoticed. Thanks

Hi William, Like others have said, definitely don't be afraid to travel. I'm from CA as well and went to Dr. Alexander in Phoenix AZ and I'm super happy with my results. Simple 1.5 hour flight for you on Southwest from N. CA. I liked getting away for a few days and made a mini 3 day vacation of it. Stayed at the Ritz which was included in his fee of $4 per graft. I Went on a Tuesday and came home on a Thurs. I Took friday off and relaxed at home all weekend and was back at work on Monday. What's the severity of your hair loss? If you post a couple pictures of your melon you'll get some good feedback here. If your loss is minimal you may want to consider waiting. Do your research and don't rush into anything. Good luck.

Thanks Dr. Feller. I was just looking at the graphic which I thought was the same as the link. VERY Impressive! Your process looks extremely precise and meticulous which I'm sure must help achieve the best yield possible. The video of that NeoFUE tool makes your process look even that much better. It's like comparing a fast food McDonalds process to a Fine Restaurant.

Hi SoCal, Eman has given some good advice. You're young and you've got a great head of hair which would be ashame to mess up by doing something on the cheap. I think most people would think you have a great hairline. If after some time has passed and you've saved up some $10,000 and still feel modifying you're hairline is something you still really really want to have done then that's your perogotive. If I was in your shoes and just Had to have something done then I think I would definitely look into FUE for such a small area. If your pretty certain that you won't have any additional future loss then I think you would be best served by looking into a FUE procedure with someone like Dr. Feller. I'd hate to see a strip cut from that donor scalp just to fill in some temples :-). Good luck! As far as finding a wife goes (don't rush it :-), I think that the only thing holding you back is your confidence and not your hairline. Meaning that I don't thing 97.62 % of the ladies our there are going to really even bat an eye at your hairline so the issue probably is more in your head than with the ladies. (If you were actually balding and 24 then the ladies would likely bat an eye at your hairline and that does affect most peoples confidence.)

I'd also be interested in seeing a video of the actual proccess of Dr. Feller FUE in action. That NeoFue tool (fue vacuum) on Dougs link looks like an assembly line process and it seems to me that it probably would result in a very low yield. I think I'd much prefer Dr. Fellers approach.

Onside. Your results look awesome. I saw your pictures before but didn't tie the two together. Looks like Dr. A only slightly shaved some of your recipient area and it looks like you had a pretty easy recovery time. TC17, from what I recall I believe Dr. A is something like $4 graft. I didn't get shaved down and had like 2700 grafts for my firts HT with Dr. A.

Hi Skeegs, I'm right there with osidekid. Went to Dr. A and I'm extremely happy with the results. Just spent 3 days poolside in Vegas and didn't put a hat on once :-). I've never told a soul I've had something done and no one's ever even asked (or stared at my head :-) so that speaks volumes itself about how natural the hairline looks. Here's a link to some photos I posted in patient results. Best of luck to you and I would definitely highly recommend Dr. A! Patient Results

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz, Buzz. At 42 with a NW7 I would STONGLY not recomend an HT at all. I think the NW7 in Comb's links went through a lot for NO improvement at all! Good luck!

I concur with Dakota 3 100%! Too bad the internet and sites such as this weren't as prominent back in 1993-94. Gotohairforlife. I'm sure everyone here would be happy for anyone who is extremely pleased with their results regardless of where they went. BUT, If Bosley was deserving of a good reputation you wouldn't be seeing the number of unhappy former Bosley patient outnumbering the happy ones by such a wide margin. I'm sure there are some great Bosley results out there but as a whole they're not even close to the top doctors here. With the best docs here you probably would have had fewer procedures, paid much less and received a far superior end result!

Thanks Bill! Just to clarify though. The first HT was done 12/07 which completed the front 1/3. I then went for a second on 11/19/08 to fill in the mid to back top since the front 1/3 had grown in so full I wanted the mid to back top to match. So that's the part that's 5 months out and it's definitely coming in good. I can tell that the mid to back top takes a little longer than the front 1/3 though. Thanks for your work here. I wish everyone looking for an HT would find this site first to become better educated and speak with other in order to be able to make an educated decision before getting an HT.

Excuse my writing writing below but it's late and I kind of rushed putting this together Back in the mid 90's I had several small mini/micrograft sessions with the craptastic Bosley Medical. My results never really looked awful because my native hair blended in pretty good. As I hit my 30's more of the native hair started to go. I was able to use Toppik pretty effectively but it was becoming more and more apparent that I was getting pretty thin. Especially from a top view. I wore my hat more than I would have liked. Thanks to this site I finally decided to take the step to take care of things. My hair is very thick and my donar is extremely dense and I have alot of it so I knew I could achieve some pretty good results with the right Dr. I chose Dr. Alexander and went in for my first HT in 12/07 and received 2680 grafts. Besides the fact that Dr. Alexanders work was incredible I also required a Dr that would not require me to shave down. I couldn't take off work for very long, hat's weren't an option and I definitely didn't want to go through the akward phase when having to shave down. I was a pretty fast grower and HT1 started to come in very nicely and I was loving the results I was getting in the frontal 1/3 where I received the grafts. After about 11 months from HT 1 I decided to go in for HT 2 with Dr. Alexander on 12/08 to fill in the top since the front 1/3 was much thicker. I recieved about 2500 and I'm now just over 5 months out. Much more to come but I'm super happy with the results so far. I've never told a soul that I've had anything done and no one has noticed. They just think I've been on propecia and have had some great results. I always used toppik before the last 2 HT's so the change wasn't as obvious as you'll see in the before and after photos below. THANK YOU DR. ALEXANDER and STAFF. You're the best! I'm 40 Years old . I look like I'm 30 though Day of HT 1 with Dr. A Day of HT 1 hairline Day after HT 1 top 5 Days after HT 1 Front and Donor shot. Back to work with some Toppik. My recovery time went quick. Fast forward to 5 Months after HT 2 Just out of bed spiked up a little. W/flash Right side bedhead spike w/flash Wet Right Top No flash Top Flash Front Wet flash Front Dry No flash

I very much like Dr. Lindeys school of thought about not going too aggressive. Regardless of whether it's a women or a man, the results that always tend to look the worst are those of individuals who have overdone it and it definitely comes across as surgery. I'm sure many other aging actors such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt etc have probably all had very subtle things such as laser treatment, botox or restaylne but because it's so subtle it doesn't come across as unatural and they simply look good.

I think the final outcome primarily depends mostly on the quality/experience of the doctor and your individual case/characteristics more than on whether not you shave the reciepient area. Spex points are very good and I don't think anyone would argue that it's definitely optimal for the Dr. and staff if you shave the recipient area. With that said there are some such as myself who for many reason (work, desire to keep it my little/big secret, not wanting to go through the ugly duck phase, inability to live under a hat for a while etc.). Also, if you barely have any hair in the area then you've got nothing to lose by trimming it down. I myself had somewhat diffuse thinning and wasn't lowering or really altering my hairline so I was able to conceal it very effectively. As I've said on other posts about this topic, there's no way top Dr's such as Dr. Alexander, Dr. Konior, Dr. Ron Shapiro, Dr. Keene, Dr. Cooley and others are going to risk their reputation of producing sub par results simply by not requiring that the patient shave. These Doctors consistently produce TOP results with or without requiring shaving. The doctor needs to make the call in each situation since session sizes definitely need to be < 3000 and each individuals characterisics are different so in some cases they may make the call to only do it shaved. It's definitely a decision to think about and you should at least meet with 1 or 2 of these doctors to help ease that decision. My own personal choice was to not have a soul know that I've had this done and I've been able to succefully do that without a problem (being single at the time of HT's was definitely a big factor in making that possible). I chose not to shave down and chose Dr. Alexander and I would do the same thing again without question! Good luck in your search.

Hi r4hair, This was also a requirement of mine. I chose to have my procedure done with Dr. Alexander in Phoenix AZ. My first was 2700 grafts and I was super happy with the results. So much so I went back for a second of 2500 a year later. Check out his work. He's definitely one of the top HT Dr's around. If you're not going to be shaving the recipient area you should definitely plan on having less than 3000 grafts as it is more difficult for the Dr. and staff to place the grafts amongst existing hair and this seems to be the max # of grafts clinics will do without shaving. In both I had my procedure done on Wednesday and was back to work on Monday without anybody knowing at all. Best of luck!

Too bad your first three weren't with Bosley at about 600 grafts a pop. Then you could probably get about 4500 on your 4th with H&W . My magic 8 Ball tells me 2467 1837 singles 420 Doubles 210 3 & 4's Good luck Bill!

Very eloquent post Thana! You speak wisdom beyond your years.

Glad you found this forum and don't take too much input from your hairstylist about an HT since I doubt she/he's actually done much research on it :-). Depending on the hairline and density you're looking for, you'll be looking at anywhere from 3500-5500 grafts to get a very nice result from a top doc. Consider consulting with Dr's outside the Bay area as well because location of the Dr. should only play a very very minimal role in your decision. I'm in the L.A. area and went to Dr. Alexander in Phoenix and had two procedures of about 2700 each. The first HT came out awesome and I'm 4 months out from the second and am expecting the same. Check out his work here on the forum. His rates are $4 per graft which is about the same for all of the top Dr's. Spend some time over the next couple months getting as much information as you can and do some phone consultations with some top Dr's before making a decision. If you're not already on propecia/finasteride and rogaine/minoxidil than you really should give it a try. It will definitely help maintain what you have and you may see some new growth as well. Best of luck in your journey!

Seems very odd that H&W would say that Minox makes the donor mushy since I don't know why anyone would even be applying minox in the donor area since that hairs going nowhere. Maybe there's more to it but I'd like to see what H&W have to say.

Hi PK, Definitely get on propecia/finasteride and rogaine. I've heard numerous stories of Hair Club trying to rebrand finasteride with some nice name at a huge markup. I think you're doing the right thing by just going with the buzzed look. It appears you're headed towards NWVII. In my opinion HT results on NWVII rarely look better than having done nothing at all and sticking with the buzzed/shaved look. Looks like you've got a nice shaped melon so you probably look good with it. With regards to black dots/pores it's probably best to visit a dermatologist. He can also give you a perscription for propecia if you're looking to give that a try as well. Best of luck to you.

Probably best to ask your doctor but I'd give it at least 2 weeks after your HT to think about starting to use rogaine. I used to use the liquid but I'm loving the foam much better for me. Nice to see the conservative hairline approach. I think your gonna be very impressed in about 7 months +. Good luck.

I'm definitely agreeing with most here. You should definitely hold off for a while. Your hairs still looking very good IMO and the original HT came out very nice. I'll bet you're the only one noticing it too much. Most transplants on a patient with more advanced hair loss won't even look that full. I also know alot of people without any hairloss who could take a picture like that and see scalp. Hopefully you won't be chasing the dream of having the density you had when you were 17! I do think that the initial HT was pretty aggressive but the top and crown of your head are still looking very strong and from your post it sound like you have family history on your side. I'd get on finasteride if you're not already just as a precaution. I don't think that removing the transplanted hairs at the temples is really an option. To do this he would have to do FUE and I don't think removing these would help much. Especially since they were part of the hairline redesign from the original HT. Good luck with your career as well!

The melon's looking awesome Predator! Nice results especially this early. Hopefully your existing hair doesn't plan on having any more loss so you won't have to take this ride again (most will). Looks like your existing hair was pretty strong with little or no signs of thinning so you're ahead of the game. Best of luck to you and hopefully after all the healing runs it's course you'll have no regrets at all!

Hi Arson (hope you don't live up to your name) Dr. Cooley continues to put out some top notch work from what I've seen. Glad your first HT was with a great Dr! Flying cross country was definitely better than not flying and going to a less skilled Dr at the time. As far as hair loss goes I don't think there's anything too new other than there are probably more great Dr's now and their techniques and session sizes continue to improve. I'm in the LA area as well and I went to Dr. Alexander in Phoenix AZ for two seperate HT's. I'd highly recommend him if you're not looking to travel much. Check out his work on this site and I think you'll be impressed and find that he's amongst the best here. Very easy flight from LA. Dr. A covered the hotel expense and I chose to relax a couple nights at the Ritz. Your post says 200 grafts but that sounds extremely low unless you have a very small area you're looking to touch up. Most of the top docs here are about $4 per graft. Best wishes

Are you sure your web developer didn't use pictures from other clinics by mistake . I remeber the nice excuse the other clinic gave when using H&W patient photos Site looks nice. In the photo section you should have a link to the patients video if they have one.

Hi GTDL, Hopefully you'll be a lucky one and you're hair loss pattern has stabilized. Based on family history you can probably get a better idea. Dr. Feller would be an excellent choice for you if you do decide to go forward with an HT. In my opinion 2000 seems a little aggressive but that's best left to you and the Dr based on your desired results. Not sure what your budget is. but you look to be an excellent candidate for FUE and Dr. Feller's work with FUE in cases such as yourself is pretty elite based on what I've seen. If you do book a date with Dr. Feller you'll have a much more enjoyable time if you plan your site seeing time before the HT. You'll be ok to get out and about after with a hat on but you'll probably feel more like just relaxing in your room. Good luck