Rahal Hair Transplant

@Mahmoud,

Typically, a surgeon will take hair from all over the sides and back of the head, strategically placed far enough apart so that it doesn’t look like any hair was removed your hair transplant and chores.  It appears that they were assured has taken hair from a concentrated area within one section of the back. 

All that to say, while what we are seeing may not typical, you may very well just be experiencing shock loss.  But there’s really no way to know for sure until your hair transplant for immature is.  Six months time may or may not be enough for any shocked hair to grow back. You may have to wait a full year.  This really varies from patient to patient.

best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Daniel2727,

While hair transplant surgery is a single procedure that occurs during one or maybe two days, hair transplant growth is a process that takes up to 12 to 18 months to see the final result.  But because results don’t just sprout up overnight on the 365th day, there will be tall tale signs of success or failure along the way.  I should caution you however, that is the timeline for everybody is different. In other words, while some may start seeing signs of new growth at three months and significant growth between the fifth and sixth month, others may not even start to see signs of new growth until the fifth month.

all that to say however, I would suggest that if there is little to no growth by the 7th or 8th month that there may be an issue.  Because even slow growers typically see pretty good signs of growth by that point. But again… Stranger things have happened and I have seen individuals who have been exceptionally concerned around 6 to 7 months that turned out to be completely happy by the time they reached the year marker.

typically between one year and 18 months, there still may be some sickening that occurs but for the most part, one’s final result is typically around 12 months.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@SY7,

Yes, it is completely normal for some of the transplant hair to come out with the scabs when gently working them off in the shower.  Unless you experience pain or see bleeding, this phenomenon is completely normal and is just the hair shaft breaking away from the follicle that is safe and sound underneath the surface of the scalp. It typically takes 4 to 5 days for the follicles to become deeply rooted although usually we say a week to be safe.

I hope this helps 

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

I just added the individual photos for those who like to view those over the collages.

Dear forum members and guests,

This patient underwent a FUE hair transplant procedure in April of 2022 with Dr. Rahal, receiving 1835 grafts (4201 hairs).

The surgical details are outlined below:

1-haired FUs: 345
2-haired FUs: 725
3-haired FUs: 654
4-haired FUs: 111

Total Grafts: 1835
Total Hairs: 4201

Other relevant information:

Recipient Area Size: 34cm²
Average Hairs per Graft: 2.3
Recipient Graft Density: 53
Recipient Hair Density: 123
Hair Calibre: 55 Microns

At the time of the procedure, the patient was 36 years old and has been experiencing hair loss and thinning hair since he was in his early 30's.  He does not use any non-surgical hair loss treatments.

His family history includes nominal hair loss on his maternal side and advanced balding patterns on his father's side with higher Norwood classifications.

The patient is very happy with his results.

Collages

Individual

We welcome any feedback you may have.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@hinoon,

In addition to producing outstanding results consistently via FUE, hair transplant repair is another one of Dr. Rahal specialties.  Feel free to provide more information, post pictures, etc. if you want more specific input. You are also welcome to contact me privately if you need anything.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

Dear forum members,

Here begins the journey of a patient who underwent an FUE hair transplant procedure in September 2022, performed by Dr. Rahal. The patient received 2982 grafts, resulting in 5925 beautiful hairs. The surgical breakdown covers various areas in meticulous detail.

Here's the breakdown of Follicular Units (FUs):

1-haired FUs: 467
2-haired FUs: 2096
3-haired FUs: 410
4-haired FUs: 9

The grand tally stands at 2982 grafts and a total of 5925 hairs. 

Here are some additional surgical sundries

Zones Treated: 1, 2, 3
Recipient Area Size: 74cm²
Average Hairs per Graft: 1.98
Recipient Graft Density: 40.3 FU/cm²
Recipient Hair Density: 80 H/cm²
Hair Calibre: 55 Microns

At the time of the procedure, our patient was 29 years old and has been battling hair loss for approximately 6 years. He tried using finasteride before the surgery but didn't continue with it afterwards. He also experimented with Rogaine (minoxidil) but stopped due to dandruff issues.

His family history reveals that both his father's and mother's sides have a strong history of hair loss, as advanced as a Norwood 6 to 7.

Moving forward to today: he is incredibly pleased with his results and wants to show off his new thick, shiny hair and attractive hairline.

We value your thoughts and eagerly await any feedback or reflections you may have.

Collages

Individual

Wishing you continued confidence and fabulous locks on your journey.

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

On 1/23/2024 at 1:33 PM, _Tony_ said:

So exciting!  I have a very similar hairline and my procedure scheduled for June.

@_Tony_,

That's great to hear.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Dr. Rahal will do to meet your hair restoration goals :-).

Feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

On 1/22/2024 at 1:17 PM, Melvin- Admin said:

Do you have any photos posted outside the car?

@Melvin- Admin,

Unfortunately, the patient lives too far away and couldn't return for us to take photos for ourselves.  Thus, the only photos showing results that we have are the ones the patient took himself.  That said, his results are ultra-impressive, I'd say :-).

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

The above are just a few of the most recent ones.  If you use the search feature, you'll definitely find a lot more :-).

I'm not sure if the below "results" URL is static or dynamic...but in case it's static, I've done the search for you and provided the results.  Now, these are most likely only the results we've presented as I only did the search using this forum category. So hopefully it works :-).

https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/search/?&q=Rahal&type=forums_topic&nodes=17&search_and_or=or&search_in=titles

Rahal Hair Transplant

Here are a few links to some of our recently posted results.

@gaz9318054,

I'm glad to hear that you're happy with the progress of your procedure so far :-).  Have you presented any photos of your progress?  I'd love to see them!

Feel free to send me a private message, if you wish.

I look forward to seeing your progress and results :-).

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@HookHairs,

Thanks for posting and asking about Dr. Rahal.  Yes, I can assure you that Dr. Rahal is regularly producing outstanding results.  I personally try to post one example each week...in fact, i will be presenting another one today.  

I've been working formally with Dr. Rahal for just over 3 years now and before that, over the last 15 years of being in the hair restoration profession.  Dr. Rahal has always impressed me and his nickname "King of Hairlines" is well deserved, in my opinion.

That said, I'm always pleased to see one of his patients posting on the forum.  I'm glad you are happy with your results.  

You said you recently underwent a consultation?  When was it?  I may have spoken with you.

Feel free to send me a private message if you wish.

In the meantime, I'll post a few URLs of several of the recent results we presented over the last several months here for you.  Also, stay tuned for another one today :-).

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Calihome1,

I happen to agree with you that in that one picture, it looks a little thinner...but still very natural.   But even the thickest hair densities will look thinner at some angles and under some lighting conditions.  As you can see, his hairline is very natural and it certainly is very dense which shows at every other angle.  But thank you for your opinion.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Electric,

Generic finasteride and brand named Propecia should essentially be the same - providing both the same benefit and the same possibility of side effects. Of course, there are less than reputable pharmacies that sell knock offs with who knows how much of the active ingredient and other inactives that can and have caused negative reactions

At the end of the day, just make sure that you purchase generic finasteride from a reputable pharmacy and you should be fine.  That said, you may want to get a doctors input on where exactly to purchase finasteride so that you have the best chances of obtaining legitimate generics.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

Dear forum members,

Let's dive into the intricate details of a remarkable FUE hair transplant journey that unfolded in May of 2022 under the skilled hands of Dr. Rahal. This patient embraced a total of 2292 grafts, a bounty yielding 4535 glorious hairs. The meticulous surgical breakdown ventures into different zones:

Here's the breakdown of Follicular Units (FUs):

Zones Treated: 1, 2, 3

1-haired FUs: 373
2-haired FUs: 1596
3-haired FUs: 322
4-haired FUs: 1

The grand tally stands at 2292 grafts, fostering a lush mane of 4535 hairs. 

Beyond the numbers, let's explore additional key insights:

Recipient Area Size: 48cm²
Average Hairs per Graft: 2.0
Recipient Graft Density: 47 FU/cm²
Recipient Hair Density: 94 H/cm²
Hair Calibre: 67 Microns

Now, let's meet the protagonist of this hair odyssey. At the time of the procedure, our patient was a youthful 25, waging a gradual war against hair loss since the tender age of 21. Enter finasteride and minoxidil, trusted allies in the battle for a glorious crown. Family history unveils a paternal lineage marked by hair loss, culminating in a Norwood class 3 saga.

Fast forward to post-op milestones: Emails from the patient at both the 8 and 12-month marks echo with satisfaction, sealing the success of this transformative journey.

Your thoughts matter and we eagerly await any feedback or reflections you might have.

Collages

Individual Photos

Best wishes for a continued journey of confidence and radiant locks,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant
 

@realclient,

As it's already been stated, I definitely wouldn't say that splitting up grafts, for any reason let alone so clinics can charge more, is NOT a "common" practice.  Does it happen?  Yes, but it's not common.  And frankly, with today's advanced FUE technique, especially at clinics like Rahal Hair Transplant that perform FUE exclusively and have for years, there's no need to split grafts for any reason since the doctor can "cherry pick" or select the types of grafts that will ultimately work best for the procedure.  This is done simply by locating and extracting the best grafts for the procedure one by one. 

For example, single haired FUs are needed to re-create a natural looking hairline and are also used in conjunction with larger grafts further back.  Multi-haired grafts (in conjunction with 1 and 2 haired FUs) are used behind the hairline and beyond to create more density.  But ultimately, a healthy combination of all of them is what makes a hair transplant natural looking and undetectable to even expert eyes.

I hope this helps.

Patient Advisor - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Calihome1,

I understand what you’re saying however, A lot of people are under the misconception that a hairline starts with a wall of dense hair.

If you look at the front of any natural hairline, density is always gradual and the hairline starts with single hairs.  The hairline is staggered and uses the feathering effect just as it appears in nature.   And because this is a close-up of one side of the hairline, these effects are more obvious.

But for the record, the density values are above… and here they are again 

Recipient Graft Density: 45
Recipient Hair Density: 109

I hope this helps.

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Nikko,

I know others have already said this and I know you don’t want to hear it but the truth is, at 20 years of age, you are too young for hair transplant surgery. It is far too risky particularly because genetic hair loss is unpredictable and your final hair loss pattern is most likely not yet visible.

While, Dr. Rahal does take one situation and circumstance at a time, 20 years of age is just too young for surgical hair restoration.  in my opinion, consider finasteride and minoxidil for a couple of years to see if it helps stabilize your hair loss and then in a couple years, you can be reconsidered for hair transplant surgery.

in the meantime, you could always consider scalp micropigmentation (SMP) which is a micro tattooing procedure designed to look like small, cropped hair. This procedure is perfect for young men who enjoy wearing their hair cropped short like a buzz cut.

Best wishes,

Patient Advisor - Rahal Hair Transplant

This patient underwent a FUE hair transplant procedure in the summer of 2020 with Dr. Rahal, receiving 2003 grafts (equivalent to 4877 hairs). The surgical details are outlined below:

Surgical Details

1-haired Follicular Units (FUs): 416
2-haired FUs: 566
3-haired FUs: 755
4-haired FUs: 266

Total Grafts: 2003
Total Hairs: 4877

Other pertinent information includes:

Recipient Area Size: 44.5cm²
Average Hairs per Graft: 2.4
Recipient Graft Density: 45
Recipient Hair Density: 109
Hair Calibre: 40-45 Microns

At the time of the procedure, the patient was 36 years old and had experienced gradual hair loss since his mid-20s. He began using Rogaine and finasteride a few months prior to the treatment and continued post-operatively. His family history includes hair loss on his maternal side, reaching a Norwood class 5/6.

The patient expressed satisfaction with his results at 10 months, and a subsequent in-person assessment at 11.5 months confirmed his continued happiness with the outcome. 

Email Testimonial

Results - Collages

Results - Individual Photos

We welcome any feedback you may have.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@mojones,

Shock loss can be scary especially when several months have gone by and you’re still experiencing it. However, because new transplanted hair growth typically starts between 3 to 5 months, five months is still considered early days.  Let me explain further.

Shock loss occurs because your scalp and hair are essentially traumatized a.k.a. stressed during surgery. Post operative shock loss is also referred to as telogen effluvium which is a temporary hair loss due to some kind of stressor.  The transplanted hair is also stressed a.k.a. traumatized because it is literally being moved from one place to another which is why it falls out between 4 to 6 weeks and doesn’t start to grow back for 3 to 5 months. Similarly, any natural hair that was shocked because hair was transplanted in between and around it, will also take time to grow back. Shocked natural hair could take up to six months to a year or two completely return just as it takes about that long for your transplanted hair to grow in and mature.

So while I don’t have a crystal ball as to what will happen in your case nor do I know the specifics of your case, I can say generally speaking that it’s very possible and likely that any shocked hair will return over the next 6 months.  If it doesn’t, I suggest contacting your surgeon to discuss.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Electric,

Believe it or not, large number of men use a smaller dose than what’s  recommended by the company and feel that it’s helping them to maintain their existing natural hair. In fact, sometimes doctors have recommended taking .5 mg every day or 1 mg every other day as opposed to the recommended 1 mg daily.

Taking a lower dose and then potentially switching to a higher dose later is not going to squelch it’s effectiveness. It’s either going to work for you or it’s not.

The possibility of side effects are very real but they are considered rare.  It’s also stated that most individuals who experience side effects will stop experiencing them with continued use.  But, there is also a small percentage of men who have stated they have experienced ongoing side effects even after stopping the medication. This is referred to as post finasteride syndrome (which is considered relatively controversial in the hair restoration community).  That said, it’s important to speak with your doctor about the advantages, limitations and potential side effects associated with this medication so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not it’s for you.

I hope this helps.

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Maorizio,

this is a personal choice that you are going to have to make. But I do suggest considering the pros and cons before coming off any medication. The issue is this. Hair loss is a progressive condition and it will continue up to the point that genetics dictate. Hair loss medication can so down, stop or even help to reverse this process as long as you continue taking it. If your hair loss has been stable due to medication, coming off well almost in definitely put your genetic hair loss into overdrive and you’ll begin losing that hair that was saved due to medication.

if your hair loss has stabilized because you aren’t genetically programmed to lose more hair, then coming off any medication won’t matter.

The problem is, there’s no way to know for sure other than simply coming off the medication to see what happens. The problem is, if you do lose hair because the medication was working, you won’t recover that lost hair even if you resume taking medication.

On the other hand, you may be like me and decide that you don’t wanna take any medication long-term if you could avoid it because you don’t know of any long-term risks. I made a choice about 10 years ago to come off finasteride because I genuinely don’t believe it was working from here based on all of the evidence I’ve seen since I started. 

10 years later, I haven’t lost any additional hair and my hair transplants remain strong.

in your case, you will have to determine at what point your hair loss stabilized… Was it when you started medication or was it before that? And if it was before that, how long before that?

like I said, there’s a risk factor in coming off medication especially if you suspect it was working for you.  but if you’re pretty convinced that your hair loss has stabilized on its own without medication,  then you may make the choice to stop taking it to see what happens.

At the end of the day, it’s your choice. But I do think there’s a pretty big risk that you will Resume losing hair especially given that you do still seem to have a lot of natural hair that could be lost if medication is the reason you haven’t lost more.

I hope this helps 

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@avisaxena33,

I haven’t read any of the responses so I apologize if this is repeat. While I Norwood class five or six could undergo a hair transplant surgery and be satisfied depending on expectations, the primary problem is that your donor area is exceptionally thin which really doesn’t make you a good candidate for surgery at all. Also, you’re only 24 years old and it’s possible that hair loss Will progress even further.

while I know it’s not the same, if you are used to or enjoy wearing your hair cropped short like a buzz cut, you could consider scalp micropigmentation or SMP.  This is a micro tattooing procedure where tiny, that like tattoos are placed all over the fitting areas of the scalp to make it look almost identical to buzzed or cropped hair.  To those who have never heard of research the procedure, this may sound ridiculous. But many men, especially young men with advanced hair loss or those who purposely choose to wear their hair cropped like a buzz cut as their long-term hair style have gotten SMP and are very happy with the results.

there are other non-surgical options as well like hair systems, etc. At the end of the day, none of them are perfect but they do offer options for men with advanced hair loss and nominal donor.

I hope this helps.

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant

@Cro40

There really is an optimal hairline to present an illusion of density for one’s hair transplant. Because ultimately, it depends on a number of other variables that matter just as much.

As a for instance, I’ve seen some individuals that look like they have denser hair when they weren’t short and when they wore it long.  This was simply because their hair caliber was a bit on the thinner side and when worn long, it just appeared a bit more straggly than someone who wore their hair long with a full head of hair.

At the end of the day, I think each hair transplant patient should experiment with different hairstyles and links to see what works best for them.

For me… I know where my hair longer and even up in a man bun which makes my hair appear completely full with absolutely no thinning.  Whereas when I wore my hair short, my hair still looks pretty good but my hair was obviously they’re looking in the crown and above the occipital ridge such as where Norwood class 6 individuals are thinning.

So in reality, it’s all a matter of preference and what you think works best for you.

Best wishes,

Patient Advocate - Rahal Hair Transplant