Mr. Hair

I've scheduled a procedure with Dr. Bernstein in march. I've done years of research, but would like to see what everyone else has to say. I want to hear both good and bad experiences with him. Especially bad experiences. I want to hear it all. Also with good experiences, I would like to know how natural your transplant came out (hairline). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Mr. Hair

Rugby, I would say if you want to play it safe, have the plugs removed. Then have some laser resurfacing done. I've seen how they smooth out pop marks from acne using laser. You said the top of your head has pitting, and not the cobblestone look. Once the plugs are removed, they should be able to smooth out the top of your head pretty easily. The only problem you'd run into is discoloration from the scars on the top of your head. On the other hand, if you want to go the transplant route (I know correcting the donor scar you have is also a concern). Then I would definitely see Dr. Bernstein. He has a proven history of doing great repair work. Check out www.newhair.com. They have a whole section on repair work. Also, he'll tell it to you like it is. Your donor supply does seems weak, but if he feels he can work with it, what he'd probably do is remove your old plugs and redistribute them as FU's. He'd correct your scar, and harvest any donor he can. And in transplanting, he'd give you a conservative, yet natural look. Also, another poster had suggested Dr. Shapiro. I think he's another good choice for you to see. Both Dr. Bernstein, and Dr. Shapiro have been around doing all FUT and repair work for a long time. The other doctor's mentioned are well respected, but are just now beginning to make a name for themselves. If I were you, and I was going the transplant route, I'd go with history, and a track record (Bernstein, Shapiro). This is my opinion. I hope this helps. Good luck with whichever path you choose. Please keep us posted on whatever you do, as well as what each doctor told you. I look forward to watching your progress. Mr. Hair

Yeah Jim is right, you probably just disturbed the surface of the skin and that's why you saw a little blood. Also don't buy the bs that the scabs come off in a week. Mine took over a month. Just think about it. I'm sure you've had cuts before, and cuts take several weeks to heal, let alone the scabs falling off. Now image having 1,000 or so holes popped in your head. When a doc say you'll look as good as new in a week. That's just total bullshit. The healing process takes time. Mr. Hair

EastCoast, 500 grafts means 500 recipient sites in which 500 Follicular Units are suppose to be placed. What my doctor did was make 500 recipient site, then took all the FU (alot more then 500) that he cut up and placed them in those sites. In a true all FU transplant there should have only been 500 Follicular Units place in the 500 recipient sites (1 FU for each site). But what he did was take a 3 hair follicular unit and a 4 hair follicular unit and place both those follicular units in 1 recipient site. Hence 7 hairs coming out of one hole. The whole time I was under the impression that 500 follicular units will be going into the 500 recipient sites. One FU for each site. So in my math I said, on the high side lets say there are 3 hair in each Follicular Unit. 3 hairs times 500 follicular units would yield 1,500 actual hairs from the procedure. When he told me over 3,000 that means he averaged 6 hairs per each recipient site. Now if you've done your research you would know that a true follicular unit would have at most 4 hairs in it (sometimes 5 hairs). Definitely not 6 hairs. And on me thats the average (6 hairs) I have per each recipient site. I believe another name they use for mini's and micro's is coupling of follicular units. I hope this helps clear up any confusion. Mr. Hair

To help clearify how Doctors who perform mini and micro graft procedures use the term Follicular Unit (FU). Anytime any doctor transplants hair (whether it be a true all FU, mini and micro, or plugs) they are technically transplanting Follicular Units. What you need to know is if they combine these Follicular Units and place them together in one recipient site. This is how I got suckered in when I asked my doctor if he does an all Follicular Unit Transplant. He said "yes" and now I have mini and micros in my head. I didn't find out til 10 days after the procedure when I asked "how many hairs will the transplant yield?" But before asking I did some math myself. I had 500 grafts and figured on average 3 hairs per graft would yield 1,500 actual hairs. Well my doc's answer was alot different. When I asked, he said I can expect over 3,000 hairs! I said how can this be with an all Follicular Unit transplant. He then went on to explain how he combines the Follicular Units to create more density. So beware when doctors say they do FU transplants. Know exactly what the difference is between an all FU transplant, and mini and micro grafts. Also not to rag on you Shadyraver, but your knowledge on transplant seems pretty weak. Before having my transplant I did thousands of hour of research, and I still got scammed. The reason why I went to this doctor, was because Dr. Bernstein turn me away. I was only a N2a and 23, and he said it was to soon for me to have a transplant, and he was right. That's an ethical doctor for you. He put my interest, before his financial gain. Now I've schedule a procedure on with Dr. B in march to help soften my hairline, and camoflage these mini's and micro. Good luck Shady with whatever you choose to do. Mr. Hair

I have a Ronco rotisserie and I think it's great, but you might also want to look at The Goerge Jr. Rotisserie. I think it's even better. Set it, and forget it. Mr. Hair

Yeah, I would say it's pretty hard to tell without seeing atleast your eyebrows, as well as a side view to see how far your temple recession has progressed. If I were you, I would definitely look to have your temple's filled in some more. And, (yes, I'm going to buck the trend) I would say your hairline can come forward some. I would guess about a quarter of an inch. The reason for having a hair transplant is to look like you have hair. Not like you have hair, but are balding. Currently, it look like he's a balding man. Bringing your hairline forward some I don't think is that big of a deal, but Note I said "some". I would rather have my hairline more forward, and a thinning, or bald crown (the monk look). Then have a high, deep forhead. And I think this is what this gentleman is thinking. If you don't mind me asking, who preformed the procedure on you? The quality of work looks good, and undetectable. Mr. Hair

Cocopuff, Good luck when you talk to Dr. Bernstein. I actually have a consultation with him this coming monday. Also, I don't know if you know this, but there will be an open house at his Manhatten location this coming wednesday the 15th which I plan to attend. There you'll get to actually see a procedure done on someone, as well as see other patients there who've already had it done. You'll get to inspect the results up close. And when I say up close. The last time I went to an open house of his about 2 years ago, he had his former patients sit down next to a person who's never had work done, still had his original hairline, and under magnification you got to examine the non-transplanted head compared to the transplanted head to see if you could see any difference. I wouldn't have known the difference if he didn't tell us who was transplanted and who wasn't. I thought it was incredible, not only that his work is that good, but that he's so confident that he'd put anyone of his heads up against a natural head. Not only in a side by side comparison, but under magnification as well. Anyway, good luck with whatever you chose to do. Mr. Hair

Thanks Jim. Mr. Hair

What time, and which channel is 20/20 on? Avacor, what crap. I hope they expose it for the bullshit it is. Even the pictures on the commercial looked doctored up. Their all blurry, and fuzzy. On another note. Did anyone catch the Bachelorette last night? Not a single bald or receding guy on there. Even the black guy had a nicely cropped fro. Just figured I'd point that out. Mr. Hair

dodgedabullet, I to after having mini and micro grafts put in, pulled them out right after the procedure, and I'm glad I did. I had 3 and 4 hair grafts on my hairline and I knew that wasn't right. Especially since my Dr. told me he was doing a FU transplant. The next day after the procedure when the head dress was taken off. It was clear that this grafts shouldn't have been there. I pulled the most noticeable ones out, but left a few behind. Now what I do is take the 2 and 3 hair grafts that are still there and just pluck them down to 1 hair grafts. I seem to work fine, but sometimes I have to go to the larger plugs behind the hairline and thin them out to, just so it looks like a nice progression back into my natural hair. Mr. Hair

Sunya, when you tie your hair back, how tight do you pull it? Because if your pulling it pretty tight what might be happening is what's call Traction Alopecia. Thats what happens to people who wear weave's, tie braids in their hair, or just tie their hair back real tight. That constant pulling rips the hair out and eventually that hair stops growing. Tie your hair back, but keep it loose. Also I'd suggest going to see a dermatologist. He might put you on rogaine which wouldn't be a bad idea for you. As far as a hair transplant. They can be pretty tricky with woman. I'd say hold off on a transplant and research all your options, but if you do decide a transplant is what you want, then definitely go see someone like Dr. Shapiro who has experience with woman transplants. Hope this helps. Mr. Hair

I had a transplant when I was 26. To answer your question "is 26 too young for a HT?" I would say yes and no. Yes, it's to young depending on what you think your future hairloss will be. And No it's not to young if you have a good idea of what your future hairloss will be. Now before everyone starts jumping on me and says "there's no way you can tell what your future hairloss will be." That's correct, you can't tell. But I feel you can have a pretty good idea of what it could be. For me, I looked at my family history. Every male in my family both mother and father's side (grandfathers, uncles, brothers, cousins) was at the most a Norwood 3 with no balding in the crown. So knowing this I figured I'd reinforce my hairline which was thinning out (I was a Norwood 2a). Everything worked fine as far my future hairloss. I still have plenty of hair on the top and back of my head. Also I stopped taking propecia about 2 years ago and have not experienced any loss to the top or crown. But the front has thinned out slighty, and the problem now is that I had mini and micro grafts. And even tho no one has noticed anything, and I mean no one. I know that it's time to go in and soften up the hairline before it does become noticeable. The way it is now, I figure I could probably go about another 2 years (oh, by the way I'm 30 now. HT 4 years ago) before my existing hair thins out enough for the grafts to be noticeable. But I just want to get it over with and move on with my life. As far as being a 4 or 4a at 26. That's some rapid hairloss. Where do you think you'll be as far as hairloss in the next 20 years? What do the males in your family look like? I would say, at best you should be very conservative with your hairline. Dr. Bernstein is the right man for the job, because he'll take everything into consideration. Also, when thinking about a transplant, know that you'll probably have to have it done 2 or 3 times depending on what you want your finally result to be. Dr. Bernstein can definitely give you a good result after just one transplant (I've seen patients of his that have only had one transplant), but your going to look thin as figsy will tell you, and your probably going to want to fill it in some. Then as PRoseMD explained, if your baldness progresses you might have to go in for touch up work. But staying on propecia will help atleast prolong having to go back under the knife. Hope this helps. Mr. Hair

It seems like everyday there are more and more young guys coming on this site looking for advice on transplants. I think the reason for this is that society is becoming more and more materialistic, and vein. Kids theses days are putting a big emphasis on style and their appearance. I think in the coming years we're going to see an explosion of young guys looking for help with their hairloss, and an explosion in those seeking hair transplants. My advice to you young guys is to be careful. Do your home work and research, and don't rush into anything. Good Luck Mr. Hair

Paul, Dude, your desperation and determination are leading you down the road to disaster. You don't want to read the writing on the wall no matter who points it out to you. Poster after poster has told you not to do it. But your insistence has made a few of us recommend you see Dr. Bernstein, and all of us told you what was going to happen when you went to see him. And we were all right. Why were we right? Because we little young one have learned from experience, and are trying to keep you from making the same mistake many of us had. But your stubburn about your decision. So go pay some unethical doctor to perform a hair transplant on you, and I promise within the next year you'll be back on this site crying about how big of a mistake you made. But, oh well, we can always use another person on this site to help the next young guy try to understand that a hair transplant is a mistake at such a young age. Obviously we don't have enough guys to point it out to you now. So come join the club of people on this site who are miserable about the worse decision they made of their lifes. You'll be one of the regular poor soles here logging on everyday hoping that today is the day the mircle cure is discovered, and finally you'll be able to correct the mistake you made at 23. Good luck man. I pray for you. Mr. Hair

Paul, I'm just posting to back these guys up. There is no way you should be having a transplant at 23. If you think hairloss sucks now. How do you think a bad transplant would make you feel for the rest of your life? Especially, if you go to a place like MHR which will not give you natural results. Imaging not even wanting to look your own mother in the face, because your ashamed of what you've done. Once your in on a transplant, your in for life. Especially if you start young. You'll be chasing your hairloss for life with more procedures. And remember, besides it being expensive, it's also surgery. Once you go through a HT Surgery once, your not going to be to eager to run back for another procedure. But if you start young, your going to have to whether you like it or not. If you insist on going to talk to someone, definitely see Dr. Bernstein. He's definitely the best in NYC, and I would say one of the Top 3 Hair Transplant surgens in the world. He'll probably kick you out of his office like he did me when I went to go see him at 22 23, but on the way out he'll give you good advice. Also spend time (months, if not years) reading the posts on this and a few other sites. You'll learn alot from what people like Jotronic has to say. Check out his site, and you'll get a clear picture of the good and bad with Hair Transplants. Mr. Hair

Thanks for the reply Figsy. I'm going to read your posts, and if I have any questions I'll get back to you. Also do you live in the New York tri-state area or did you fly in? Mr. Hair

Figsy, can you tell me more about your procedure with Dr. Bernstein. I looking to have work done by him in the spring. Was this your first transplant, or did you go to him for repair work? What norwood class were you then, and are you now? How many FU did you have placed, and in what area? Do you have any before and after pics? Did you experience any pain during the procedure? How was your post-op healing? Any swelling? How long did your procedure take? Was it strip, or FUE? Would you say your results are 100% natural? Has anyone been able to tell you've had a transplant? Anyone else who's had a procedure with Dr. Bernstein please come forward and tell of your experience. And please ad pics if you can. I know he's great, and have seen his work first hand. But when it comes to Transplants, you can never have enough reassurance of the experience, and most importantly, the final result. Thank you in advance to anyone who shares their experience and results. Thanks Mr. Hair

Vocor1, great post. Mr. Hair

Yeah, you'll be in no shape to drive home. Take a cab, or spend the night.

Hi all, I'm new to posting on this forum, but am a veteran when it comes to hair and hairtransplants. Some may recognize my username from thebaldtruth.com. Anyway to ad my two cents about hairlines to low and adjusting them. Laser is a possible option, but I wouldn't say the best option. They don't have a laser out there that can pin point each individual hair. Instead, when they do hair removal with lasers, the laser blast a section of hair about the size of a dime. To my knowledge that is the smallest they can get it. Also it won't get rid of the hair completely. You'll have to have it done several times. With each time the hair growing in thinner and thinner til it's completely gone. Electrolysis can pin point the individual hair, but I hear it's very painful, and again will require several follow ups until the hairs doesn't grow back. Plucking the hair is also another solution, but I don't know how many hairs you'd have to pluck to get your hairline to where you want it to be. Also plucked transplants will grow back. 4 years ago I had a transplant with mini and micrografts on my hairline. My solution to make them look natural is by plucking the 2 and 3 hair grafts along the hairline to make them seem like individual units. This works great for me, and no one has been able to tell I've had a transplant. But every couple of weeks I'm there infront of the mirror plucking the new hairs that sprout. My suggestion to you is to talk to Dr. Bernstein. I feel a procedure like FUE with the 1mm punch that they use to remove individaul hair follicules can correct your low hairline. If you go to NewHair.com they have a video on the FUE procedure. If this procedure can extract single follicular units from the back and leave virtually no scar, then they should be able to do it to a hairline that is to low. Even if a very small scar is left behind. You can then opt for laser skin resurfacing, and you should come out looking absolutely normal. I know Dr. B has already corrected people who have had hairlines to low. So I suggest you call him. I hope this helps you and anyone else in this same situation. Mr. Hair