M&M

I have my appointment now booked with Shapiro in May. I'm excited, yet nervous as I now realize how premature and uninformed I was with going with Bosley in the past. Oh how I wish I waited! But I'm excited at the prospect of 1000 - 2000 grafts that will thicken the hairline and allow me to style it any way I desire. The downside - recovery time. But I'm hoping my existing hair will cover up the transplants. I'll continue to provide photos pre & post the procedure.

Dr. Shapiro, Great post on explaining Trichophytic Closure and some of the relevant information that you weigh before making a decision. I am scheduled for an appointment with you in May, so I am excited at the prospects! Which of the three techniques do you use, if you don't mind me asking?

All the best and keep us posted! I have my appointment a couple of months after you. I'll be taking lots of pictures pre and post. While I was nervous about the prospect of going under again, I feel I am now going to a top doctor.

All definitely good points. The tough part is that by shaving my head, I admit to everyone that I've had a hair transplant as I can't get more than 1 week off work... But the logic is certainly sound.

When I spoke to Dr. Shapiro's consultant, I was advised that unless the hair is thicker than 20 / sq.cm., then it is not necessary to shave the hair, especially in the hairline area. I'm still confused as to why shock loss would be worse with or without shaving as nothing has changed the fact that hair is still in the surrounding recipient area ... just that it is shorter.

Mike - Welcome to the Forums. I am quite new to this Forum, but not to Hair Transplants as I had my most recent one about 5 years ago with ... Bosley. I am considered by most to have pretty good work by them, but I am seeking Dr. Shapiro to refine my hairline and make it as natural as the ones you see here. There is simply no comparison. If nobody sees my hairline, nobody could ever tell I had a HT done, but if someone looked at my hairline, they could definitely tell something was 'off' or 'not natural'. Here are my photos: M&M Photos

Hi Hairworthy. Who was your bad HT with? First step for me will be to reinforce my hairline, with the second step to minimize the donor scar.

Hi Jagdish, I (sadly) did - yes. They were Mini & Mico (hence M&M) grafts from Bosley. I had a few small surgeries over several years, with each about 100 to 400 in total. Virtually all were 1-2 hairs, with a few 3-4 further behind the hairline. I'd say about 80%+ were 1-2 hairs, though. I don't have any 'before' pictures per se, as I got the HT's to stay ahead of my balding. I only wish that the after looked as good as the before.

I know how you feel and if you are anything like me you will *never* be happy with the Hair club (toupee) as every month you will be reminded how bald you really are (as you have to take it off and have it 'tightened') and every day you will be nervous about someone noticing (and they will). Hair Transplants are definitely the way to go. The link you provided is not the place to go, though (they don't do FU; only M&M Grafts). Dr. Epstein and Charles are very good (based on everything I've seen on this forum) so you should be in very good hands.

Hairworthy - that's exciting and I agree, that is indeed the ultimate test of a successful HT. That's why I'm leaning now towards Dr. Epstein or Dr. Shapiro. Both come highly recommended, don't require shaving of the recipient site and I believe both do exceptional hairlines.

Hi Gorpy! Thanks for the reply. It's amazing how much information I have gathered in the few short weeks since I found this site. Congratulations to Pat (for founding this site) and to everyone who contributes. Wow - what a difference it makes!! For the first time in quite some while I feel both sad and happy. Sad that I never found this information earlier but happy that I have at least found it now and intend to act on the good information and go to a good doctor.

Yes I have ... and that is both good and bad. The reality is that since it was from Bosley, it did provide good thickness, but the hairline is not 'realistic' enough, so that is what I hope to achieve.

I thought this may help to actually post some images... Comments are welcome! Link to photos

This will document my experience with Hair Transplants... Let's start with where I am today.

It's looking really good! I can't believe that just a few days after HT #2 you can't even tell you had something done. That's just great. Keep us posted with the photos.

Thanks for the feedback. I have to admit, I was looking at your photos ahead of time and your hair is 'close' to mine, but yours is a bit thicker, especially in the hairline. The logic behind Dr. Hasson's explanation of why shaving is required is certainly sound, but it makes covering up that much more difficult. Perhaps if I do it in smaller stages so that minimal shaving is required each time? It's funny - I keep seeing photos of people going from nearly fully-bald to having lots of hair, but there seem to be relatively few instances of people who just want to 'thicken' things up.

Edit - Added a link to some photos. I am about a #2 on the Norwood scale after having some Bosley work done. I feel fortunate on the quality of work I did receive after reading some of the horror stories. In general, they offered solid advice the last time I was there approx. 5 years ago saying that I should hold off future surgeries as I am young (28 at the time) and you never know what future advances may be made, so don't use up all of your donor hair now. Again, they seemed honest and were anything but pushy. Anyway, I've had three transplants from them - all quite small in number, say 100 - 400 each - staying 'ahead' of my hair loss. My issue now is that I am hiding the "Mini & Micro" (M&M) grafts by styling my hair in specific ways. The thickness is pretty good, but I just need a better, more natural and full hairline. This brings me to my question. I am very interested in a few doctors - Hasson & Wong, Epstein and Shapiro. I've consulted via email with H&W and am very tempted, but I'm nervous that they have to shave the existing hair. The situation is that I have about one week off before I am due back at work and it'd be rather difficult to wear a hat with a suit... Is it possible to not shave the existing hair and simply fill in between for thickness (in addition to slightly lowering and thickening the hairline)? Last question: I am unfortunately the lucky recipient of a Bosley scar from the donor areas. Unless my hair is relatively long in the back, you can see the scar. Can H&W or another HT doctor close the gap for a less obvious scar? Sorry for the questions and I so wish I had found this forum about 5 years ago!! M&M Photos Thanks everyone.

Edit - Added a link to some photos. I am about a #2 on the Norwood scale after having some Bosley work done. I feel fortunate on the quality of work I did receive after reading some of the horror stories. In general, they offered solid advice the last time I was there approx. 5 years ago saying that I should hold off future surgeries as I am young (28 at the time) and you never know what future advances may be made, so don't use up all of your donor hair now. Again, they seemed honest and were anything but pushy. Anyway, I've had three transplants from them - all quite small in number, say 100 - 400 each - staying 'ahead' of my hair loss. My issue now is that I am hiding the "Mini & Micro" (M&M) grafts by styling my hair in specific ways. The thickness is pretty good, but I just need a better, more natural and full hairline. This brings me to my question. I am very interested in a few doctors - Hasson & Wong, Epstein and Shapiro. I've consulted via email with H&W and am very tempted, but I'm nervous that they have to shave the existing hair. The situation is that I have about one week off before I am due back at work and it'd be rather difficult to wear a hat with a suit... Is it possible to not shave the existing hair and simply fill in between for thickness (in addition to slightly lowering and thickening the hairline)? Last question: I am unfortunately the lucky recipient of a Bosley scar from the donor areas. Unless my hair is relatively long in the back, you can see the scar. Can H&W or another HT doctor close the gap for a less obvious scar? Sorry for the questions and I so wish I had found this forum about 5 years ago!! M&M Photos Thanks everyone.