new2thissite

PJ is absolutely correct. Most or us, if not all of us, will care about our appearance in the 50's and 60's. I can say that from personal experience.

On November 10 I had my HT and am scheduled to go back to work next Monday (3 weeks from HT). Of course, don't want anyone to know. How does this pic look (under bathroom light without flash)? You think I can pull it off.

Hey Wantego, Thanks for sharing. Dr. Bernstein was my Dr. so I was glad to hear the positive comment from Dr. Oz that you mentioned. I had my procedure November 10. It went well but, of course, won't know final results for a while.

Maxxy, I hear you buddy. I know exactly what you mean. Finding the right balance.

I did what you are doing for first 10 days---4 showers on day after and 2 showers the other days. I started gently massaging around day 10/11. I would think/hope by day 21 everything is set and you can treat as own hair. Dr. Bernstein's instructions at end of week two included - The grafts are permanently in place and cannot be dislodged. The transplanted hair begins to be shed. Patients may return to normal shampooing, brushing and combing and may get haircuts. I am starting to think that we tend to be more conservative than we have to be.

Wasn't he the Dr. who was on the Oprah Show with Dr. Bernstein? If so, wonder why that did not come up? (Assuming it did not come up. I missed the show.)

Dr. Lindsey, I will be happy to ask Dr. Bernstein the question next time I speak with him, though not really sure when that will be. I would have asked him before if I realized that was atypical. In the meantime, I did look at another of his patient's blog to see about staple removal. His was also removed half staples 10 days apart. Relevant link: http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=1314&WebID=600 Thanks for your follow-ups.

Hairnow, Congratulations on your results and thanks for the detailed information you provided on how you went about making your decision and selecting a doctor. I am recent patient of Dr. Bernstein (after doing research as well) and although too early to determine final result, I am pleased up to this point. I think Bill's request for showing the top of your head would be helpful. Also, it is always beneficial, at least IMO, to see the full hairline. Again, congratulations on your results. It looks very natural and dense.

Thanks Eman(k). Appreciate the information. I am hopeful in a week things will be looking pretty OK. I am thinking I may get a couple looks, perhaps, but not to the point where anyone will ask any questions (except maybe my boss) who I will spend a majority of my time with when I return to work.

I went to Dr. Bernstein in New York. I really cannot speak to the reasons for removing half now and half later, though I have complete confidence in Dr. Bernstein's decision to do that. If you do a search by author (new2thissite) you will see some pictures along with some details prior to the procedure. I also created a blog with after pictures. (Links are below as well.) For a variety of reasons, I took a very conservative approach as you may gleam by reading my posts. I think the total count ended up being about 3000 and know I will have second procedure to add some density at a later date. Relevant links below: http://hair-restoration-info.c...881090304#2881090304 http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...e-page.asp?WebID=990

I think this is the link Bill was referring to: http://www.regrowhair.com/non-...oss-every-other-day/

Thanks TonySC. I appreciate your detailed response. I do know what Dr. Bernstein's thinking is---at the end of two weeks, you may return to normal shampooing, brushing and combing and may get haircuts. I was interested in other points of view because, like you, even though you were told you can treat your transplanted as normal, you still are softer with the towel dry. But is that really necessary, particularly at three weeks. Would appreciate hearing from others on this?

For those who are happy with the final results but not comfortable without hat outside, is it because HT looks unnatural/detectable or is it because hair looks thin?

Smoothy, Like you suggested, I did ice down the incesion and that really helped with the couple of staples I was have difficulty with. Other half come out next Sunday and I will do the same. Thanks again...appreciate it.

I will be going back to work in a week from tomorrow (3 weeks from procedure). I did not shave my head and, therefore, have some hair that can cover up any redness or hairs left from the surgery. The best way I can do that though, is to strongly towel dry(or maybe blow dry) my head. Is three weeks too soon to either strongly towel dry or blow dry. I did a search on the topic and did not see a great deal of information on it. Thanks in advance.

ZAZ, On November 10, I had procedure. I plan on going back to work the Monday after next (3 weeks). I did get some trimming but no shaving so I do have some hair to cover. I currently have some scabs (which I started two days ago gently rubbing in the shower) and that has helped. I am hoping to see scabs go away and redness as well within the week. Not really sure how it will look in the next week, but right now I am thinking it should be relatively passable. I will keep you posted, if you would like. It would help if I could blow dry or towel dry my hair. Any suggestions on how long it will be before I can do that?

Smoothy, Thanks. Sounds like a very good tip. Someone also suggested Bactine prior to removal which acts as both an antiseptic and pain reliever? Any thoughts on that. Again, most staples were not a problem but have a couple of challenging ones.

I was instructed to take half out 10 days post op and the other half 10 days later after that, so thinking it should not be issue.

Staples Removal Update: Most came out pretty easy. Several struggled with and came out with some effort/pain. Two were very difficult and decided to hold off on those two for 10 days when we remove the other half.

No problem with baseball cap 10 days post op?

John, I am 10 days post op and was planning to start the massaging. What do you think of that time frame?

Thank you, Dr. Lindsey. I certainly understand. I will be a more informed contributor to this thread later today.

Question for Dr. Lindsey, As noted in above post, tomorrow I am having half my staples removed (by a friend). I think I am less than an hour from your office and therefore was wondering if you are willing, have the time, and the cost of removing half the staples. Thanks

Half my staples come out tomorrow. I plan on soaking with warm water for about 15 minutes prior to removal. I was thinking about taking pain pill (only need one so far, the first night) but based on what I am reading, I will not. Nice to hear it should not be too painful I will let you know how it goes.

TonySC, Did you have work done on the crown where you use the rogaine? You only use once a day?