HTNONO

Alright, I need to make a move on my situation sometime soon within the first half of '10. I'm just sick of thinking, worrying, obsessing about my hair all the time. I've waited over 5 years and need to do something. I'd like to see if I can get some more advice. Spex, how many grafts would you recommend. Can you forward these pics to Dr. Feller and see what his suggestion is? I'd also like to hear from some of Dr. Cooley's patients. I had a consultation with him and felt comfortable. I have yet to hear or see one negative thing about him, and he is only 3 hours from where I live. My main concern is still how will the thick donor grafts match up with my native hairline hair? Is there any way around this? Or do you guys just deal with it. Do people notice? I would love to hear from repair patients with similar problems. I read posts from guys like John Malloy and Slaps who have had similar repairs only to end up worse off. I would be devastated if that were to happen. Once again, thanks for all the advice guys. Please keep it coming.

You can read about my situation in a previous thread, "Looking for help..." Basically, the transplanted hair does not match the natural hair, and there is pitting under the grafts. Also, the density is low and I am losing more hair.

I'm trying to get some feedback from Dr. Cooley patients. I recently had a consultation with him and felt pretty comfortable. If you look at my pictures you will see I am in need of hairline repair. I'd love to hear from patients on their experiences/results from Dr. Cooley. Also, if anyone would be willing to meet in person, that would be great. I live in Raleigh, NC but would be willing to travel.

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I'm trying to continue on my repair research and would love to see some results in person. I live in Raleigh, NC, and am wondering if there are any patients here, or in the surrounding area that I could meet up with. I'd be more than happy to buy a beer/lunch, etc. I consulted with Dr. Cooley in Charlotte and really liked him. I would also like to meet some of his patients if possible. Also, I'd appreciate any comments from his previous patients on their results, patient care and overall experience with Dr. Cooley. I'm still very concerned on the naturalness of these procedures, especially in the hair line. Hopefully seeing someones result in person could sway me to move on with a repair procedure.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Spex. I've been taking propecia for the past 4 years but I believe it is losing its effectiveness. My goal if to have a full, natural head of hair. Is this too much to ask for at only 26? Apparently so. Based on the first hairline picture you posted, I would have to lower it below the line you drew. If you look closely below the red line, you can see pits where I have to tweez out grafts that look unnatural. This is due to my rapidly receding hairline. Just 6 months ago, I used to have hair at that point. When I had the procedure my frontal forelock was completely full, with no signs of hairloss. My bastard Dr. placed grafts right in the middle of this area which probably sped up my hairloss. In regards to BHUK, I am so happy for him that he got his life back. The improvement is undeniable, but IMO, that hairline is still a little harsh. This has nothing to do with Dr. Feller, but with BHUK's physiology, and the dominant donor hairs in his hairline. When the wind blows, or it rains, or if he's on a jet ski and his hair style is compromised, is it still an undetectable HT? That basically is the extent to my scarring in the donor area. Thank God. I do not want the scar to be any longer or go into the sides of my head. I like to wear my hair short on the sides and I taper it in the back to cover up the scar. This rules me out for a "mega-session." I've done plenty of research since my Bosley mistake and have visited 2 coalition doctors. I really liked the second one I met with and he said he could revise the scar with trichophytic closure, and wouldn't have to lengthen the scar. He said he could harvest 1300 grafts to place in the hairline. However, he also admitted that the grafts would probably be thicker and darker than my native hairline hair due to their position in the donor. Every time I try to feel good about possibly getting a repair and a more natural hairline, I look at normal people's hairlines and realize how impossible that is to achieve. I'm still struggling with the fact that my hair will never come close to nature, and will never be "undetectable." A hair transplant is a hair transplant.

Thanks again guys for all the replies. I know my situation doesn't look that bad with the pictures I posted, but I can't stress enough how unnatural it looks in person. Also, I am very concerned with how quickly my frontal forelock has thinned out. Mr. Jobi, I agree there are good surgeons out there doing the best they can with modern technology and the limitations of this procedure. You state that a good surgeon can give you "undedectable" results. I believe that is true only for the right candidates. I simply don't believe I am a good candidate. My hair is so thin that I would need a lot of grafts to get anywhere close to a full head of hair. Also, like Manko described, the transplanted hair does not completely match the native hair. This is my biggest concern. Even if I packed 3000 grafts to my hairline and temples, it would stand out and therefore would be very detectable. I would be more optimistic if there were more people posting results with my similar hair characteristics, light, fine, blonde hair, but there aren't many examples. Maybe someone could prove me wrong.

Thanks for the advice guys. In reality, the pictures don't show the unnaturaleness or pits very well. Also, my entire frontal forelock has drastically thinned in the past six months. In a few of the frontal pictures where I have my hair pulled back, you can see the pits and grafts that I have to tweez where my hairline used to be in May. I've lost about an inch in front of my hairline in that short amount of time. I am VERY concerned about future loss. Even if I fill in the hairline and temples, what happens if I go to a NW5 or more? It's apparent to me that the meds aren't holding up well. Bill, I know it seems like I overreacted on HLH, but I was very young at the time. I have been on propecia for the past 4 years and the effects are starting to wear off. I was doing fine earlier this year when my hair was holding up. Also, it's my opinion that I should have never been given this procedure. I was only 21, with limited loss, and an ethical doctor should have turned me away. For someone concerned about their looks, I basically spent a lot of money to look much worse. Lastly, even if I get another procedure, how natural will it really look? My hairline hair is very fine and delicate, if I put 1200 thick donor grafts up there, I believe it will stand out. I wish I could be more optimistic. If I had better hair characteristics, or was a candidate for natural density, maybe this could sway my decision. Maybe a Dr. could chime in with some advice.

Alright, I give up on trying to make an album, nothing is working. So, I made a website. Please look at my pictures and let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to everyones comments, suggestions.

Alright, I give up on trying to make an album, nothing is working. So, I made a website. Please look at my pictures and let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to everyones comments, suggestions.

Here are pictures of my current hair situation. I am a NW3V with a quickly thinning frontal forelock and hairline. In addition, I have about 700 pitted grafts in my hairline and temples. I am looking for advice on how to fix my head!

Bill, I tried to re-load my album, but it still won't work. When I tried to preview it, I got an error message that said Topic_IOD is a mandatory field. Does that make any sense? Any help is appreciated.

Here are pictures of my current hair situation. I am a NW3V with a quickly thinning frontal forelock and hairline. In addition, I have about 700 pitted grafts in my hairline and temples. I am looking for advice on how to fix my head!

Bill, When you get a chance can you see what is wrong with my album? I don't know why it doesn't load. I uploaded 10 pictures. Than, I have followed BHUK's case closely. I have much more native hair than him, but it is thinner, and more blonde. Also, once again, I find his hairline to be harsh. Don't get me wrong, it is an unbelievable change from his previous bad work, and I am happy for him that he has gotten his life back. He shows some picks on HLH with his hair pulled back and admits himself that it is not completely natural. The grafts are thicker and darker than his native hair. The guy lost 14 years of his life to get a transplanted head of hair. IMO, it's not worth it. Once again, this is my opinion. I realize that I have unrealistic expectations, but I was lied to when I went into this. Hopefully, when my album works, you can see what I'm dealing with. Unfortunately, the pics don't really show how bad it is in reality.

Thanks again for all the responses guys. I just posted an album under another thread, "From Bosley with Love." Unfortunately, I can't get it to load when I try to open it up. Maybe you can help Bill? Behappy, I couldn't agree with you more. It makes me sick when I see a victim who gets blamed for, "not doing enough research." When you are young, desperate, and a Dr. tells you you are a perfect candidate, and can get a full head of hair, it's hard to say no.

Thanks for the swift replies guys. Bill, I just sent you some pics via email. M&M, I've followed your story and am glad you have found help after Bosley. It angers me so much every time I read about people's negative experience with that clinic. I can't believe they've been allowed to butcher so many people for so long. I look forward to posting pics to get your opinions. I tried that irfanview software, but still couldn't resize my pics.

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for a long time. I used to post under the same name about 3 years ago on HLH before getting kicked off by Farrell for posting my negative views on HT's. Since then I've stayed off the boards, tried to stop thinking about my hairloss, and life was good. Unfortunately, what do you know...I started losing more hair. I first started losing my hair my senior year of high school, but never noticed it. By the time I was 19, I had a pretty pronounced NW2-3 hairline. For my 19th birthday, I asked my Mom for propecia. How f'd up is that! However, it never regrew my temples and my receding hairline constantly nagged me. I freaked out and would do anything to fix my one problem. After seeing the infomercials, I went to Bosley. BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!!! At the ripe old age of 21 I received 700 grafts in my front hairline and temples. Not one second of every day goes by that I don't regret this decision. I am constantly paranoid if people know I've had this done, if they can see my "plugs, and how much of a freak I will look in the future as my hair loss progresses. So much for getting this surgery to forget about hairloss. Now I think about it even more. I was hoping my hairloss would stabilize for 5-10 years and I could hold out for HM or some better MPB treatment. Unfortunately, I recently lost quite a bit of hair on my hairline, and I am forced to tweez out the existing grafts, leaving only pits that I cover up with a horrible hair style. Basically, I'm much worse off than where I started. I'm not going to get into my views on this procedure and this corrupt industry, because I don't want to get kicked off again and I'm doomed to continue getting HT's to keep a somewhat normal appearance. I simply question how natural HT's really look even from so called top docs. My biggest problem is that I have fine, blonde hair, and all of my grafts are darker and thicker than my natural hairline hairs and stick out. I have yet to see a transplanted hairline that overcomes this inherent HT flaw. And transplanted hairs maturing and matching native hairs in time is BS. I've had these grafts for 5 years and they look just as bad as when they first grew. When you take thick, non-MPB donor hairs out of the back of your head, and move them to the front, they will not match. Plus, my sides and back are darker than my front. I have taken pictures and am trying to start an album, but the files are too big. I would love some help on how to make them smaller so I can show you guys what I'm dealing with. I'm really looking for advice from people who have been in a similar situation, and have found a solution to move on with their lives. 26 is too young to be worrying about hairloss, much less a bad HT. I just want my life back. Any advice, comments, words of encouragement are greatly appreciated.