Al - Moderator

richie, I wasn't trying to get on you. I feel bad for you because you sort of got dragged into this. I wasn't really blaming anyone in particular, just pointing out how out of proportion the whole thing was getting. I guess it's really notgoing's fault for starting the whole thread about US vs UK price differences. Surely he must have known this would happen. LOL. kidding, of course.

I dated a woman at work a few years ago who told me that when she first saw me, she looked at my hair and thought I was so ugly she couldn't possibly imagine anyone ever wanting to date me. She said she thought if I was already married my wife must be so ugly and probably only married me because she couldn't get anyone else. I knew her at work for a year, but hardly ever spoke to her until she had some personal problems that were affecting her job performance. I took her aside one day and just starting talking to her and telling her what she needed to do and how I understood what she was going through because I went through a lot of physical and mental problems myself. We talked many times and she eventually fell in love with me because she learned who I really was. The whole point is that while I agree that women like sincerity and confidence, they don't see those things unless you have the look that they are interested in first. If they are not interested in looking AT you, they won't see who you are. Over the years I've found that most women are just like most men in that area. They are looking for hot guys just as men are looking for hot women.

What I do when I have definite plans like that is not take any the day before and for at least the first day I'm with the girl. If the trip is longer than that then take half doses every other day. Doing that doesn't effect my hair (propecia stays in your system for 2 to 3 days) and I don't worry about erection problems. I have to say that's been one good thing about having a girlfriend who lives 500 miles away. I always know when I'll be with her, so I can plan my dosage easily. It's a lot tougher while seeing girls in between

This is an unfair question because if I was in category of A I could simply work out and by my choice with no help from anyone else, I could make myself have both a full head of hair and big muscles. However if I am in category B with NW 7 hair loss then there is no way I can ever get myself to where I want to be. So I would choose catagory A since I wouldn't be there long. That's 1000 times better than being stuck in category B for a lifetime.

Oh My God!! I just read this entire thread for the first time. I can't believe all the arguing over a non issue!! The procedure was never done. Both parties felt it was better to try something else (Richie felt a larger session was best. Farjo felt he should try meds for a while) What is so unethical? mick/Farjo said they felt he would eventually lose the entire front area and want to keep as much donor available as possible to cover that in the future, but if Richie really wants something done now they'll do 500 in strategic areas of the crown. Why do you find that unethical? Also the procedure was never done, so you can't make statements as if they already did it. How do you know they wouldn't have actually done closer to 1000 or more? That happens alot at other clinics. How many times do you hear patients say they went for 2500 but the Dr got 3200? How can you make judgements on procedures that were never performed because both parties feel that something else would be better? On the issue of FUE or strip. Mick says they used to do FUE and thought that's what the quote was for but when he looked it up he realized he was mistaken. They no longer do FUE. Frog wants to know why not. Mick gave an answer that sounded logical to me. What's the problem????

I only spend about 10 minutes a day and I cover my entire head. If you have good hair on your sides and back then I wouldn't worry so much about those areas. Maybe just do a few quick passes. You had a HT a while back though, so I'll tell you it does work on getting hair to grow back around the donor scar, so you should use it all along the scar.

Great news for me, thanks! Now I don't have to feel bad about eating all those Big Macs and fries. LOL. I'll just tell myself it's OK since I don't go to Starbucks like everyone else. I feel great now. Think I'll go get a few burgers for lunch. Wait, it's morning. Those Mcdonalds steak, egg, and cheese bagels are delicious.

Am I the only one who doesn't drink coffee?

petesman, I posted a link to that 6 month news study back when Dr Feller specifically asked for testimonials, pictures, and published studies. After I posted several links he said none of them counted because they were ONLY testimonials, pictures, and published studies. Go figure.

Unfortunately I got stuck in an endless loop from 1 to 5 for the past 18 years. You guys who get good results don't know how lucky you are that the procedures done these days can actually live up to what they tell you will be the result. It's interesting that today you are told to expect much less than what was being said years ago, yet the end results are much better than they were back then. And now all the Drs make you sign these huge consent forms that list all kinds of things that might go wrong and yet so many people get a HT done. If I had to agree to even 10% of todays consent forms I probably wouldn't have done it because I would have known everything was lies. I had a half page form that never even mentioned a scar... and that's because they insisted that there's no such thing, so why would it be there. Ugh! Even with todays best docs, it's still impossible to get what I was promised.

Janna, Have you ever had to turn away a prospective repair patient because there was nothing you could do for them? What can you do if the person has no donor hair remaining?

Ha ha. I had to laugh when I read that part. I can just picture the job interview. BOSELY: We want experience. We are looking for an experienced butcher. DR ANDREWS: Well I've been hacking patients apart for over 10 years now. Take a look at this picture of patient # 13. See that wide, uneven donor scar that goes out of the safe area. That is typical of my work. BOSELY: Good, good. What about the recipient areas though? DR ANDREWS: Here's a picture of patient #34. Look at that pluggy hairline I gave him. BOSELY: Very nice. DR ANDREWS: Yes. And I even had him convinced it was state of the art. I told him all this bull about how double and triple follicular units are the new way to go. BOTH: (laughing) BOSELY: But what about pitting? I want to see some pitting. DR ANDREWS: Ah. Then take a look at these pictures of patients #18 and 24. These guys can't hide those pit scars even in the dark. BOSELY: Excellent! You're hired. When can you start?

Individual hairs growing thinner is a sign of hair loss. Normally hair grows for a period of time, then falls out, and a new hair starts to grow in it's place. With Male Pattern Baldness what generally happens is the hair falls out and grows back in a bit thinner. This usually happens for a few growth cycles. Some hairs may also not grow as long, but sometimes this isn't noticed if you don't grow your hair very long. Eventually after a few cycles of repeated thin growing, the thin hairs don't grow back after they fall out. It sounds like you caught your hairloss early and have already started propecia. Using propecia and minoxidil can reverse the trend and start making those thin hairs grow a bit thicker and stronger on future growth cycles. A few follicles that have already stopped growing hairs may start growing new ones again, but they will start out as very thin, short hairs. Hopefully over time they will thicken up as well. Sometimes use of the meds just stops further progression, but since you caught it early that may be enough for you. You have to keep using propecia and minoxidil to continue benefiting from them. Once you stop using them the hair will go back to getting thinner and not growing again. Good luck.

hairscout, Sorry for the late response. Fair enough. At least you actually tried it, so I'll value your opinion on it more than some others. I do have a few questions though. Do you think it's possible that you could have simply been experiencing an initial shed? That didn't happen to me, but I had been on proscar and nizoral before starting the laser comb. I don't know if anyone experiences an initial shed with a laser comb. I also don't know how long you used it. You say your hair was getting more gray. I'm wondering if the hair that was falling out was the darker ones leaving the gray hairs still growing, thus leaving you with a higher percentage of gray hairs AS OPPOSED to making more of your hair go gray. I know I've been having a small amount of the opposite effect. Most of the new hair growing in is dark, so it's covering the gray hairs a bit better than before. Lastly, I find it works best in combination with proscar for me. Were you using anything else at the time?

jwaves, Unfortunately most of this forum is against laser combs. It seems to me that a few people a while back stated their opinions of it without ever trying it and others simply joined in referencing those baseless opinions to make their own and they now think their opinions have somehow become fact because they all share that opinion. Search the forum and ONLY look at the statements from members who have actually tried using a laser comb. Some say it works and some say it doesn't, but that's no different than if you do a search for minoxidil or propecia responses. The point is that it does work for some people. I wish I had better data such as an idea of what percentage of people it works on, what's the best possible amount of growth, what's the normal range of growth, etc. However not many in this forum take it seriously enough to care which is a real shame because I know for a fact that it does work for some people. I am getting decent growth from it after just less than 6 months of use. In another 6 months I may even have enough hair to have Janna dancing a jig and notgoing2gobald praising God about how miracles can happen. LOL As for the laser comb you mentioned, I don't particularly like that one. The web site seems to push the LED lights way too much rather than laser lights. Also it uses 2 AA batteries which I don't like because batteries lose power as you use them and you want to be getting the full power of the lasers. If you want a battery operated unit I would go with a rechargeable one because at least that way you can recharge it after each use so you're always using "new" batteries. There are a few other laser combs that are a bit cheaper than the one you mentioned that I would prefer.

I had a talk with the guy who cloned the sheep. He was showing me how we would all look great with sheep hair, but I think he was just pulling the wool over my eyes.

hairscout, You said that you felt that I was the only one saying laser combs have worked for them. I simply pointed out how that was not the case because to me it felt like you were attacking my credibility. I'm not here to have a war about how many people think it works and how many think it doesn't. However I will point out that most of your quotes are from members who NEVER used a laser comb and are simply posting their opinions based on other opinions of people who never used it and so on. That can never compare to someone who actually used a product. Also one of your quotes: OK. Let's read that again. He used it for a couple of months. He says the hair feels nicer and fuller. Sounds like it's working to me. That's not bad for only a couple of months. Then he stopped using it and says the effects wore off. Hmm... effects wore off... meaning there was something positive happening while he was using it. But they wore off afterwards... Well... yes, of course. That would be the same as minoxidil, propecia, or anything else that might grow hair. Once you stop using it you will lose the effects. That doesn't have anything to do with what was happening when he WAS using it. You can't expect something to work while you aren't using it. So, thanks. I'll add that to my list of people who say they got positive results.

That's not true. Here are some posts from this forum. Artman502 Two good friends have used it for a litle under 2 months and are already seeing results ---------- YODA Posted September 06, 2007 09:42 PM All the proof I need is growing out of the top of my head. You can read post after post after post from guys like me saying it Works, or guys like Dr. Feller saying it's Hogwash. You won't really know until you try it yourself. YODA After being on laser therapy, the quality of my hair improved greatly, more vibrant, thicker, even more less fall out than when i was on the other parts of my treatment alone and it even allowed me to cut back from 1.0mg of Dutas a day to only 0.5 and twice daily application of minoxidil to only once I tried that before and got a massive shed. Not only haven't I shed this time, my hair is actually becoming thicker and fuller..... before laser therapy i was only maintaining what i had...now, I've cut my drug intake in half, added LLLT and i'm gaining hair! It's LLLT therapy...it works for me at least... ------------ rodfl Posted May 24, 2006 10:13 PM The Hairmax laser comb does work and I have used it for four years now----While it may not regrow you a full head of hair---while using it with propecia it has prvented me from losing my hair ---------------- toofunnyman It is too early to report much about the laser comb at this point but it is making my hair more manageable and healthier. I have been using it for one month ---------- Harve Posted May 19, 2007 09:57 AM Hey guys, I purchased a laser comb a few months ago.(I can't remember how many) But I have been using it regularly, every other day for 10 minutes at a time. I can honestly say that I see improvement in my hair. I've had transplants in the front so that hair is healthy, but the hair behind it was getting very thin and wispy, increasingly revealing my scalp. I was even considering a possible 5th!! procedure to put some more hair in this area. However, I have noticed THAT hair is covering my scalp better after using the laser comb. It is thicker and stronger. I should include also that I believe at least a few dormant follicles have been jump-started too. Those who've had transplants know that when your transplants start sprouting hair, you can often feel the little prickly hair, sort of like a whisker. I believe I've had a few of these "jump-started" follicles in the area where I use the laser. It's not like there everywhere, but I have noticed a few. I've used topik to fill in this area and I've noticed that I'm using less now. So I just wanted to offer my experience using the comb. I also use propecia. I think the two work great together. ---------- nickcpa88 Posted February 14, 2006 06:48 PM I have been using the laser comb for approximately 5 months and have seen improvement in the density & thickness of existing hairs on my head. Now I wasn't expecting this to be a miracle cure for baldness, but I figured every little bit helps - and this has to some extent. ---------- buddyebsen Posted February 14, 2006 06:57 PM I have used a homemade lasercomb since Nov 1 and I can attest to Dr. Bauman's obervations that it has improved the quality of my hair and so far has reduced any shedding almost entirely. ----- finnari Posted May 22, 2007 06:48 PM I to noticed an "improvement" in the way my hair looked after laser for six months.

Works for me. I don't think you're going to find anyone who has ever tried it to know if it works However the idea is that it's the laser light energy that does the trick, not just any kind of light.

I think some of the confusion may be because of the names. The Coalition list of members pay to be listed. Then there's a recommended list. This sounds like we have sponsors (coalition) but here's who we actually recommend you go to (recommended list). When you look at it as someone who doesn't spend a lot of time on this forum (or newbies) it's not hard to see why they would have the view that we put anyone into the coalition who pays. It also sounds like those Doctors are not who we really think are the best Doctors because the other list contains the "recommended" Doctors. I think we should seriously consider changing the name of the recommended list to something else with some sort of a disclaimer that it is a 2nd best list if you are unable to have your HT done by an elite coalition Doctor.

Hmm... notgoing2gobald is from San Diego. He must have gone to UCSD. That would explain some things.

A laser comb is not a hair transplant. You're not going to go from NW 4 to looking like you have a full head of hair in 9 months. OK, so tell me... are you using minoxidil or propecia? I see too many posts about how laser combs don't work from people who use minox or propecia and admit they don't see much or any growth from those, but keep using them because surely they must be halting or at least slowing their hairloss. Well if that's fine for minoxidil and propecia, why is it so bad if a laser comb does the same? Wouldn't it actually be better because there's no side effects with a laser comb? Do you people have to have side effects to believe something is working? I don't get it. Can someone explain this to me? I've been using a laser comb for almost 6 months now and I've gotten more growth with the laser comb, propecia, nizoral combination than I ever had with anything I tried in the last 22 years INCLUDING some of my HT procedures.

josh, those last 2 pictures show your hair loss a lot more. The first one didn't look so bad. This might be a great time for you to have a HT because you still have enough hair to cover the work while it's healing.

Some of us can't contribute many answers to your questions because we are in our own twilight zone... never ending horror movie I should say. We can't style our hair at all. Not even the anchorman side part can cover our baldness and scars after many hair transplants. It's as if Moses stretched out his hands and parted our hair so that all that remains is a few strands on the bare bed of scalp. Our story started long ago and no longer has meaning to those who are recent hair transplant recipients and hair mop wannabees. Some of us are doomed to only experience hair fetish from afar and never able to love thy own hair style. What's that you say? Repent oh sinner of plugginess and large grafts. For you shall find comfort in repair techniques.... but no, it is not to be. For it is written that hair seeks hair, to have hair requires hair. To move hair across the barren land there must be hair growing abundant in the low lying fields for taking. But that is not to be, for God has struck down the follicle. God has made it known that no growth shall ever come from replanting of follicular units on the holy ground and he shall leave additional scar marks to remind us each time we try to go against him. We shall wander the earth for many years in search of peace and hair, but we will never reach the land of the hair mop.

Magnolia, If you're sure it's your ovaries that are causing the problem then why not think about having them removed after you have the baby. I realize that's a difficult thing to do for some women, but you will already have a child (don't know if you have others) and if it solves the problem, then maybe you should think about it.