Time to do something

Thanks Davis91! I appreciate that. Some on hear apparently don't want to hear the truth.

StaggerLee123, you seem to be challenging my post. With all due respect I'm very cautious who I communicate with on here now after the incident with the apparent shill from GLI I was involved in. You read my post incorrectly. I did not say the two procedures with SMG "made no difference at all". I said I have hair where there was no hair before but it is not thick enough to be cosmetically acceptable in my opinion. It is thin and worse in full light of any kind. I have posted photos here in the past several times. GLI did not put ink only above the scar they put it in the scar on my first procedure and at the follow up enhancement. However, neither procedure took because the scar is clearly visible. On the second attempt they apparently overcompensated and the skin above the scar took the ink but scar did not and I'm now left with a large dark band above the scar. Concerning the hairpiece that had nothing to do with the results of the hair growth as I have posted on here numerous times. It was a lace piece which is like a net. It was completely breathable. Just to be certain I consulted with Dr. Bernstein in New York and he confirmed he lace hairpiece would have no adverse effect on the hair growth. Yes, I did grow my hair out on the top and cut it shorter on the sides. It still appears thin on the top. There is nothing that can be done to make it appear the hair is thicker when it is not. When light hits it, it appears even thinner. I agree the right haircut can appear more flattering but the bottom line is the hair on top is still thin and that is apparent no matter the hair style. I don't know who Dr. Umar is but I'm not pursuing any further procedures. I'm not unhappy with my appearance I'm quite self confident. I just feel for what I went through the results are mediocre at best. I'm not sure what gave you the idea I haven't accepted my "situation". I've totally accepted it. I simply posted my results at the request of numerous members. I was afraid if I provided my results I'd start receiving messages like this blaming me and telling me I was the one who needed to accept the situation and putting words in my mouth. Please don't turn this into an argument or pissing session. That is not what was intended. There are a lot of guys out there desperate for information and have asked me to post. Negative responses from people is what causes people like me to not want to post but I did it to hopefully educated other guys out there what they can expect. You have the right to disagree but not to miscommunicate my point. These are my results and I'm not going to call it something that it is not. Best wishes to you.

I have read on here many times that members wish other members would post after their hair restoration journey has been completed because so many people come on here when they are gathering information to consider the procedure then after they have it done they are never heard from again. After a five year journey in hair restoration I am offering my opinion at the request of numerous members who have sent me private messages asking for an update. I will attempt to keep this a brief as possible and want everyone to understand this is my opinion from five years of observation and my experience. Others may have had a different outcome. In 2007 I went to Jeffrey Epstein in Miami for my first hair transplant. He was highly recommended here as one of the top doctors. Nine months after my first hair transplant I posted a photo of my results here to obtain opinions from other members. I had never had a hair transplant so I wasn’t sure what level of progress I should have achieved by that point. To my surprise my photo created a firestorm of responses that something was not right, that I should have far more growth than what I did. Dr. Epstein saw the post and called me and said for me to come back for another procedure and it would be free of charge. I did that and received very poor results from the second procedure as well. I went to several coalition doctors for their opinion and they agreed for the number of grafts I was supposed to have received the results were lacking. I even went to a dermatologist that Dr. Epstein sent me to in order to rule out a scalp condition and I received a clean bill of health. I requested a refund of the nearly $10,000 I paid Dr. Epstein and he refused. He asked why I felt I was owed a refund. I provided him with documentation from the other doctors saying my results were not what they were supposed to be and his observation during visits to his office that I had virtually no results. He refused a refund. Shortly after that the Hair Transplant Network revoked Dr. Epstein’s membership as a coalition doctor. I heard from several other guys who had the same experience the same time that I did, some he provided refunds to others he did not according to our correspondences. Then Dr. Ron Shapiro in Minneapolis learned of my situation and offered to perform a surgery free. I gladly took him up on his offer because after dropping $10,000 with Dr. Epstein and seeing very poor results I had no money left to continue to try to make this right. After the first transplant the results were much better but I still didn’t have enough density to be cosmetically acceptable. Dr. Shapiro offered to complete another surgery free of charge, and again I accepted his gracious offer. Each transplant I waited at least a year before having another one. After the second one with Dr. Shapiro my hair was thicker than it was but still not cosmetically acceptable in my opinion. I was not bald, I had hair where there was no hair before but it was thin and looked even thinner if any light hit it. Now that my donor supply was exhausted and I still hadn’t achieved hair thick enough to be presentable I felt I was at the end of the road. Then I started hearing about Scalp Micorpigmentation (SMP). I researched four of the largest companies in the country that offer this service. After nearly two years of research, consultations and soul searching I decided on Good Look Ink. I had reservations about this procedure but knew if I ever wanted to remove my hairpiece this could possibly be my only option to achieve that. That procedure did not turn out well for me although it has benefits for some which I will touch on shortly. In order for this procedure to look right one must keep their head shaved. If the hair is allowed to grow it will not look right with the SMP underneath. The day I was to board my plane to have the procedure done I received a voice mail from GLI saying they had reconsidered me as a candidate. They felt my hair color would not match their ink. I felt there was another reason behind it because they had seen me in person at a consolation, I had mailed a hair sample and sent dozens of photographs in the 18 months I had been considering the procedure before I actually did it. They knew exactly what my hair color was. I flew up there and had the procedure. I felt GLI did an adequate job on my hairline it didn’t look weird and overall what they did look believable. However, there was one huge problem. They could not blend or minimize my hair transplant scar. When I left there I had a very visible scar across the entire length of the back of my head that looked like a giant smiley face. They assured me it would calm down and go away. It never did, so I went back for what they term an “enhancement”. Not only did the enhancement not change anything to make the scar less visible it now made it worse because they overcompensated with the ink and created a dark band directly above the entire length of my scar making it even worse. Now I was forced to grow my hair back to cover this hideous mess. As I mentioned earlier, the hair needs to be shaved or buzzed in order for this procedure to look right. The item that they felt would be a problem ended up not being a problem at all. I have no problem with the ink color or the way it was distributed. What ended up being a huge problem was the fact they could not minimize the scar and not only could they not minimize it but they made it worse by over compensating with too much ink above the scar. I had two other companies that provide this service provide an opinion of what they thought of the work. They both agreed it was not acceptable. An added strange twist to this story is the fact that a “client” of GLI’s contacted me and claimed to be someone who was concerned and interested in my procedure and outcome. This individual messaged me on here. His profile name was Jholcollege11. He befriended me and we swapped email addresses then phone numbers. This guy messaged me daily which I thought was a bit over the top but figured maybe he was just friendly and wanting to compare notes on the procedure that he had supposedly had at the same time I did. Considering the problem I had with the service that GLI provided I requested a refund. Not only did GLI ignore me but then suddenly I began receiving threatening and harassing text messages, voice mails and emails from Jholcollege11. I know his real name and have his address. After this went on for a couple of weeks I contacted my attorney about it and law enforcement officials were contacted to have the threats on record. The threats stopped but had I received one more law enforcement would have taken action. I can only guess this individual was a shill for GLI. I can’t imagine why he would suddenly turn from a concerned party to sending threats after I requested a refund. GLI ignored me and the complaint I filed with the Better Business Bureau. However, I took care of the situation on my own and I am satisfied with the outcome. If you are bald, have not had a hair transplant and don’t mind a shaved or buzzed look GLI can work for you. However, if you have had a hair transplant and have a scar from the strip surgery I would be very careful about this. The photos they have on their website showing before and after clients with hair transplant scars do not look anything like what happened to me. To sum up my experience it has been a roller coaster. If I knew I’d have to go through everything I did at the beginning I may not have gone through with anything. I have had to let my hair grow back to cover the scar which looks a bit odd with the SMP under it but I believe I notice it more simply because I know it is there. So I can’t recommend or reject hair transplants or SMP. It will have a different outcome for each individual. Mine has been a mixed bag I am somewhat happy with parts of it and unhappy with others. Good luck with your hair restoration goals.

I have read on here many times that members wish other members would post after their hair restoration journey has been completed because so many people come on here when they are gathering information to consider the procedure then after they have it done they are never heard from again. After a five year journey in hair restoration I am offering my opinion at the request of numerous members who have sent me private messages asking for an update. I will attempt to keep this a brief as possible and want everyone to understand this is my opinion from five years of observation and my experience. Others may have had a different outcome. In 2007 I went to Jeffrey Epstein in Miami for my first hair transplant. He was highly recommended here as one of the top doctors. Nine months after my first hair transplant I posted a photo of my results here to obtain opinions from other members. I had never had a hair transplant so I wasn’t sure what level of progress I should have achieved by that point. To my surprise my photo created a firestorm of responses that something was not right, that I should have far more growth than what I did. Dr. Epstein saw the post and called me and said for me to come back for another procedure and it would be free of charge. I did that and received very poor results from the second procedure as well. I went to several coalition doctors for their opinion and they agreed for the number of grafts I was supposed to have received the results were lacking. I even went to a dermatologist that Dr. Epstein sent me to in order to rule out a scalp condition and I received a clean bill of health. I requested a refund of the nearly $10,000 I paid Dr. Epstein and he refused. He asked why I felt I was owed a refund. I provided him with documentation from the other doctors saying my results were not what they were supposed to be and his observation during visits to his office that I had virtually no results. He refused a refund. Shortly after that the Hair Transplant Network revoked Dr. Epstein’s membership as a coalition doctor. I heard from several other guys who had the same experience the same time that I did, some he provided refunds to others he did not according to our correspondences. Then Dr. Ron Shapiro in Minneapolis learned of my situation and offered to perform a surgery free. I gladly took him up on his offer because after dropping $10,000 with Dr. Epstein and seeing very poor results I had no money left to continue to try to make this right. After the first transplant the results were much better but I still didn’t have enough density to be cosmetically acceptable. Dr. Shapiro offered to complete another surgery free of charge, and again I accepted his gracious offer. Each transplant I waited at least a year before having another one. After the second one with Dr. Shapiro my hair was thicker than it was but still not cosmetically acceptable in my opinion. I was not bald, I had hair where there was no hair before but it was thin and looked even thinner if any light hit it. Now that my donor supply was exhausted and I still hadn’t achieved hair thick enough to be presentable I felt I was at the end of the road. Then I started hearing about Scalp Micorpigmentation (SMP). I researched four of the largest companies in the country that offer this service. After nearly two years of research, consultations and soul searching I decided on Good Look Ink. I had reservations about this procedure but knew if I ever wanted to remove my hairpiece this could possibly be my only option to achieve that. That procedure did not turn out well for me although it has benefits for some which I will touch on shortly. In order for this procedure to look right one must keep their head shaved. If the hair is allowed to grow it will not look right with the SMP underneath. The day I was to board my plane to have the procedure done I received a voice mail from GLI saying they had reconsidered me as a candidate. They felt my hair color would not match their ink. I felt there was another reason behind it because they had seen me in person at a consolation, I had mailed a hair sample and sent dozens of photographs in the 18 months I had been considering the procedure before I actually did it. They knew exactly what my hair color was. I flew up there and had the procedure. I felt GLI did an adequate job on my hairline it didn’t look weird and overall what they did look believable. However, there was one huge problem. They could not blend or minimize my hair transplant scar. When I left there I had a very visible scar across the entire length of the back of my head that looked like a giant smiley face. They assured me it would calm down and go away. It never did, so I went back for what they term an “enhancement”. Not only did the enhancement not change anything to make the scar less visible it now made it worse because they overcompensated with the ink and created a dark band directly above the entire length of my scar making it even worse. Now I was forced to grow my hair back to cover this hideous mess. As I mentioned earlier, the hair needs to be shaved or buzzed in order for this procedure to look right. The item that they felt would be a problem ended up not being a problem at all. I have no problem with the ink color or the way it was distributed. What ended up being a huge problem was the fact they could not minimize the scar and not only could they not minimize it but they made it worse by over compensating with too much ink above the scar. I had two other companies that provide this service provide an opinion of what they thought of the work. They both agreed it was not acceptable. An added strange twist to this story is the fact that a “client” of GLI’s contacted me and claimed to be someone who was concerned and interested in my procedure and outcome. This individual messaged me on here. His profile name was Jholcollege11. He befriended me and we swapped email addresses then phone numbers. This guy messaged me daily which I thought was a bit over the top but figured maybe he was just friendly and wanting to compare notes on the procedure that he had supposedly had at the same time I did. Considering the problem I had with the service that GLI provided I requested a refund. Not only did GLI ignore me but then suddenly I began receiving threatening and harassing text messages, voice mails and emails from Jholcollege11. I know his real name and have his address. After this went on for a couple of weeks I contacted my attorney about it and law enforcement officials were contacted to have the threats on record. The threats stopped but had I received one more law enforcement would have taken action. I can only guess this individual was a shill for GLI. I can’t imagine why he would suddenly turn from a concerned party to sending threats after I requested a refund. GLI ignored me and the complaint I filed with the Better Business Bureau. However, I took care of the situation on my own and I am satisfied with the outcome. If you are bald, have not had a hair transplant and don’t mind a shaved or buzzed look GLI can work for you. However, if you have had a hair transplant and have a scar from the strip surgery I would be very careful about this. The photos they have on their website showing before and after clients with hair transplant scars do not look anything like what happened to me. To sum up my experience it has been a roller coaster. If I knew I’d have to go through everything I did at the beginning I may not have gone through with anything. I have had to let my hair grow back to cover the scar which looks a bit odd with the SMP under it but I believe I notice it more simply because I know it is there. So I can’t recommend or reject hair transplants or SMP. It will have a different outcome for each individual. Mine has been a mixed bag I am somewhat happy with parts of it and unhappy with others. Good luck with your hair restoration goals.

Hi Janna, I'm having my procedure done at GLI on Saturday. I'll stop by your office Friday to say hi and see Dr. Shapiro. I go back to GLI Monday for my follow up. I can come by your office again Monday and you can take photos if you'd like so you'll have another example of Dr. Shapiro's work blended with SMP.

This looks great. I think a hair transplant and SMP complement one another. I'm very excited to be getting SMP done with GLI on June 30. I had a hair transplant with Dr. Shapiro on June 30 last year!

Here is a guy who has hair with some length to it. He looks good to me. Maybe after experimenting I could push passed a 3 guard if I wanted to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qihRVIZ35ug&feature=relmfu

Well today it happened. I am scheduled for CTHR (SMP) with Good Look Ink. I have been researching this for about 18 months. I've had phone consultations, in person consultations and emailed questions to a couple of companies not to mention gathered information here from guys who have had it done and guys who have researched it intensively. My last remaining concern was the length I could keep my hair. GLI was up front and told me in order for this to look its best I would need to keep my hair cut at a 2-3 guard. That is shorter than I'm wearing it on top of my head now but probably about the length on my sides and back. I've never had hair that short on the top but I think I can pull it off. I'm just sick of wearing a hairpiece especially after four hair transplants. Oddly after I booked my procedure with GLI I received an email from NHI which was answering an email I sent them yesterday. I also included photos of my hair. They said they were declining me as a client because I wanted to keep my hair longer than a buzz cut. Now it turns out that I've decided to go with what GLI told me which is a 2-3 guard so with that information NHI would probably have done it. However, I'm finished with my search and that is water under the bridge at this point. I just want the freedom of no hairpiece. The good news is with the 2 guard I can probably forget about the crown piece now and wear nothing!

Most people I have spoken to believe GLI has the best hairlines.

Thanks, I was able to reach him on the HIS forum.

whacked, where are you looking? I agree some have severe helmet heads but some companies do a better job at fading the hairline.

Thanks! I feel that 95% of what I'm learning is from guys who have had it done. I'm not sure what to believe from the companies selling it. One I'm considering has not responded to three emails in the past ten days simply trying to set up another consultation since they apparently refuse to communicate in writing. I sent you a private message about the difficulty I'm having reaching "hatinghats". I was wondering if you could possibly help me get in touch with hm. I believe with the information I'm getting from you and him combined I may be closer to making a decision. It sounds like this is not a one shot deal that I'll have to go back for a touch up in 30 days. One of the companies does three to five sessions and one company only does one. It makes me wonder how there can be such a difference when the process is probably very similar. My hair is aburn/red/blonde. They said they could match it. I wonder what color they'd use? Dr. Shapiro beleives a light grey would be best for me. I'm in contact with another guy who had this done. He is very happy with the result but he is going back to have his crown darkened. He said the skin there is thicker and doesn't take the ink the same way other areas of the scalp does. He has his hair buzzed so I can't really get a feel from him if this would work for me since I want to keep my hair a little longer than buzzed.

I think this was designed for someone in your situation. It should work well.

With a laser.

Thanks Davis91. The more I learn the less I realize I know! Scar5, I'm guessing "hatemyhat" is on another forum? This is the only one I'm on. Also I like your description of deeper=more smudge, shallower=more fade. If the method for longer hair length isn't dots but more of a blanket coverage (I may be wrong but that is my understanding) will the smudge factor be less of an issue?

Scar5- More good info. In your opinion is SMP something that can be done and look natural for guys who want to wear their hair longer than shaved or buzzed? I don't want to be stuck wearing my hair shaved or buzzed for the rest of my life and I think I look better with a bit of lenght to my hair. What I've not been able to determine is whether or not it will work with longer hair. I'm told it can be done but there are two different methods but I'm not clear what those are. All I want to do is lessen the contrast between my hair and scalp which is very evident in bright light. I will try to reach out to "hatemyhat" as well. Thanks

Scar5-Also, do you have hair? I'm curious if you had the SMP removed with a laser if it damaged your hair follicles? Lasers are used for hair removal but maybe a different type is used for that. One of my concerns was if it needed to be removed would the laser used kill the hair follicle.

Scar5, Thanks for your reply. This is great feedback! If you’d rather not say who did the job that was a disaster can you say if it was any of the three I’ve considered, GLI, NHI, or HIS? This is becoming a very scary and tough decision for me. The work Dr. Shapiro did is growing in but I only have about six more weeks until the one year point after my last surgery so I believe most of what I’m going to see has surfaced. The problem is I don’t have the density I need to be cosmetically acceptable so I believe SMP may beef it up a little to give the appearance of more density. Most of my questions have been answered in my consultations however where I’m totally confused as is Dr. Shapiro is the fact apparently two different methods are used, one if the client has hair with a longer length and a different method if the client is planning on keeping their hair buzzed or shaved. I’m planning on leaving some length to my hair. I’ve only seen one photo in GLI’s gallery of a client with some length to their hair however, in the before photo their hair was a lighter color like mine and in the after photo it was dark. I’m wondering why. I’ve emailed GLI twice with questions but they apparently refuse to respond in writing which is a little unsettling.

After two one hour phone consultations and an in person consultation I had a few more follow up questions for GLI. I have sent two emails in the past 10 days with no response. Dr. Shapiro has been contacting me and we are discussing SMP. The lack of response is not in GLI’s favor.

I will suggest to GLI that they start a profile here and come onto the forum and answer questions that some of us have. This would be the best way to learn about the service right from the source.

What is the issue with two tones? I'd think variation would be more natural than one flat color. Everyone has different hues to their color. Is there an option in between what they use for buzzed/shaved hair and longer hair? I don't want to have the shaved/buzzed look. My hair will be fairly close on the sides and back but maybe 1.5" on top.

I need to find good examples of guys who have had SMP who wear their hair longer than shaved or buzzed. I asked NHI three times if Dr. Rassman's mother had SMP along with other questions. All three times they answered all of my other questions except that one. It appears they do not want to discuss that.

Scar5, have you had SMP done? I can't remember in previous posts if you said you had it done. If so I'd love to chat with you about it. You seem to have a lot of good information about it. I'm learning but it seems the more I learn the less I realize I know.

According to what I was told by each company here are the pros and cons in my opinion of the two facilities I'm looking at GLI and NHI. This is based on my understanding of what I was told by them. Good Look Ink Advantages: $195 touch ups, won't blur or bleed (they say), uses multiple colors and matches hair color (NHI had an argument against this), longer hair is okay, fades hairline, fewer dots for an individual with hair. Disadvantages: Because they go deeper it could potentially damage the follicle if care is not taken. Not sure if advantage or disadvantage: Goes deeper into the skin, only one session required, deeper ink may cause ink to bleed under the skin. New Hair Institute Advantages: Fades hairline Disadvantages: Uses only black ink except in a rare case (they explained why), recommends only buzzed or shaved hair, $500 touch up, same amount of dots for everyone no matter if they have existing hair or are totally bald. Not sure if advantage or disadvantage: Three to five sessions required, less deep into the skin, shallow placement of ink allows ink over time to bleed out of skin not under it as deeper placed ink could. There are two different processes, one for buzzed/shaved hair and one for longer hair. The client must decide before the procedure which they want because the process for buzzed/shaved hair will not look right with the method used for longer hair and vice versa.

Ouch, I hate to see this. You are both good guys who just misunderstood each other. : (