Slick

Guys, thanks for your comments hrvoje14 You're right, these guys have their own (major) issues and we taunt each other back and forth. It's usually just good natured BS but in this case seemed to cross the line. I fully expect to catch some more hell about this but have some ammo I can fire right back. Never been the guy to cut others down but since it's turned "no holds barred" I'll point out their insecurities and see how they handle it. These guys are almost 30, don't have jobs, and still live with mama! Enough said :-) mattj I haven't lost much more compared to those photos. Propecia has slowed my loss way down. Without it I'm sure my crown would be totally gone. I guess I should just count my blessings that my hair is mostly intact as I was losing quite quickly in my early 20s. Agreed definetly not worth the stress. atomic & hdude I wonder why people act like this. It seems like human nature to badmouth others and belittle them. I decided to keep my big mouth shut and not post on fb and just deal with it as it comes. People can say some nasty things especially when they don't have the courage to talk direct. I'm sure these guys were bad mouthing me for a while as there have been some subtle clues before this. Atomic, I would be interested in hearing your story and how you ended up dealing with those guys. emperor Thanks for your story. I'm sure one day I'll look back and chuckle too. Probably right after HM comes out :-) I can relate to being deflated and am still trying to decide my next move. I'm sure it could always be worse with bad work, people finding out etc... Good luck with your next transplant I'll be interested to see how it turns out as we have very similiar hair types.

Ja-man, I would agree 100% that we are our own worst critics. But most of my friends are my age or younger and aren't sympathetic to hairloss. A few that used to enjoy making light of my balding have also started to lose so their comments have mostly stopped. I haven't told anyone about my transplants but I have lots more hair then I did at 22 so I know that some people suspect for sure. I've had girls who used to give me grief run their hands through my hair with a puzzled look on their face. I've had another friend unexpectedly shoot a hi-rez picture point blank of my hairline (my hairline stood up well). Loud mouth has been one of the worst so I'm not surprised he has found out. I think when people notice a change (even if for the better) it just invites more scrutiny. Your last statements are spot on, I have many other things that deserve my attention but this will be a long road for me to accepting hairloss. hrvoje, I guess I'm anxious about the whole situation because in my experience people will nitpick at any little thing and do it in the harshest manner possible just to up their own social status. It only takes one guy at the party calling me out for "fake hair" to get people snickering the whole night. I've been around friends who comment about other bald guys and just rip them apart. I think taking steps to conceal loss just comes off as more desperate and just adds ammunition to the taunting. One a side note I saw your pics and think your transplant is looking great. Give it a few months and I think your hair will be looking solid even in the sun. I wouldn't recommend going down the dermmatch road trust me :-) Thanks for the comments guys

Hey all I don't post here much and when I do I typically don't get alot of response but would like to share a personal story in the hopes that maybe someone can relate and possibly give advice. I'm almost 29 and have had 2 successful transplants restoring more or less a full look in the front 2/3rds. I started using dermmatch 6 years ago after my first transplant as a cover up while waiting for the growth and unfortunately it has stuck with me since. Recently as my crown loss has progressed (still minor to mild loss) dermmatch has become less and less convincing. When applied well my hair looked passable but I can say it definitely gets old applying this stuff everyday. Not to mention the powder gets everywhere and my bathroom will start to turn "medium brown" if not cleaned every few days. Most importantly the paranoia of wearing this stuff can really test your limits of sanity. I can imagine it's the same level of paranoia as a wig wearer always wondering if it's detectable. In short not a healthy way to live life. Lately I had been getting the feeling a few people had suspicions as I would get indirect comments hinting about their knowledge of my use. These comments usually came while drinking and always gave me pause but again the paranoia can really get into your head so I would just shrug it off and carry on as usual. I have another friend who's balding himself and would sometimes rub his hand through my crown and give me one of those smirks. I was hanging out with him and another friend (loud mouth with no tact) and out of nowhere loud mouth is comparing me to a group of people in history who would "wear makeup and color their hair". His delivery was smooth and sounded well rehearsed I just can't remember the term he used. Anyways they dropped this on me and I was stunned and didn't really have a response. They both seemed quite amused and brought it up again later in the night as well. I really didn't have much to say the rest of the night and basically just sat there waiting to sober up so I could get the hell outta there. I'm not sure if I could consider that my most embarrassing moment but it will be something that I will remember a long time into the future. I got home and had a sleepless night and was in such an emotional state that I even called off work the next day. I think they know their comments affected me because they have both been calling me the last couple days to get together. I did hang out with balding friend after that night but have been wearing hats since. I didn't bring up the situation and he didn't either. So at this point I'm looking at damage control and could use some advice. I know this information will get around and probably has already. Loud mouth has a history of using sensitive information against people and bringing it up at unfortunate times (big crowds, parties, etc...) I was thinking about taking control of my own situation and just tell people myself via facebook. I was thinking of posting something along the lines that over the last 6 years I have experimented with different haircuts and have been dying my hair bi-weekly in an effort to disguise my balding. At least it would be on my terms but worry this would just open myself up to unnecessary ridicule. I don't really see that solving the issue with loud mouth though as I can see him still putting me on the spot weather I publicly "confess" or not. Ideally I would like to get another transplant and be done with it but I'm not sure that's a realistic goal. I have aggressive loss, am still young, and am destined to be a NW6 (hopefully with high sides and crown not dropping too low). These last few days have really changed my outlook on things and even has me reevaluating my friendship with these guys. I'm thinking of just buzzing my hair as short as I can without the scar showing (#4 or #5) and just wearing hats for a while. Definitely not my preferred solution but am not comfortable at this time hatless showing a bald crown. At least when somebody yanks my hat I can just suck it up and claim that my crown has started to bald faster. Would appreciate any comments/advice anyone can offer.

Hey all thanks for the positive replies. I've definitely come a long way and it's easy to lose perspective of that when focusing on my thinner areas. I will admit I'm a definite perfectionist and sometimes overly so. I've posted another pic on my weblog at Matt's request to show my result under more normal lighting. I would say in 90% of situations my hair looks quite good (I do use dermmatch on the crown into the midscalp). However high resolution digicams with flash can be quite humbling. Having a night out on the town with friends and of course the girls love to snap a ton of pics usually at arm's length. That's the 10% when my transplants appear thinner then I'd like. I think with my hair caliber it's unrealistic to expect different. I tried to show this in the cropped pics but they are resized during upload and most of the detail is lost. Alot seems to depend on the angle of light hitting my hair. On a bad angle my temple points totally disappear and I show alot of scalp. A good angle and I have rockstar hair. Overall I'm coming to terms that I don't think I'll ever be completely happy with my hair (unless HM were to come out) but I'm happy with the work done and Dr Paul is a miracle worker considering what he had to work with. Scar on the right side leaves a bit to be desired but haven't decided if I want a revision at this time. The scar seems a bit low in that area and there was some permanent shock loss so I'm not sure how much I'd benefit from one. As far as naturalness I have no complaints. Even I can't tell which hairs are transplanted vs. native so I don't expect anyone calling me out as having a HT. I have gotten some long stares and even people rubbing their hands through my hair to see (I assume) if I'm wearing a toup. I think the most observant ones may notice a color difference from my real hair to dermmatch so that invites some curiosity. I will say that after this transplant a couple people that didn't know me well guessed my age in early 20s so under most circumstances my hair is very convincing.

hey all uploaded some pics of my final result to my blog. Some pictures in social settings and also some hi res shots. I have some mixed feelings about my hair but think my result looks ok considering my characteristics. Take a look and please comment http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...pyID=4868&WebID=1547

Hey all have seen some good progress the last few months and figured I'd do an update. I'm at 9 months & 1 week and things are looking pretty good in front especially. Laying flat my hair looks very good. If I try to spike the front it's still somewhat see through though. I'd be curious to know what my original density was because the transplant looks to have been placed with good density but with my fine hair I still have a thin look with certain styles. My hair is definetly looking much better, I've been cutting it shorter and have stopped using dermmatch in the front completely. I'm still using it in the crown where I haven't had any work done. 1 more round for the crown and I'd have a full head of hair. No plans to go back yet as I don't want to deplete my donor too quickly. Can see some shorter hairs and even felt a new sprout or 2 in the last few weeks but but dont expect many more sprouts just thickening. I will give Dr. Paul credit, he called me the day after my last post when I made the comment about the low density at 6 1/2 months. We talked for a few mins and he was able to reassure me that things were looking good and wait it out a bit. It put my mind at ease and I appreciated the follow up since I haven't been able to make it back in to SMG to meet personally. My only concern is my scar on the right side looks to have some widening. The pictures dont show it the best but it was noticable after my last hair cut with a #4. Its a bit concerning because when I touch the area it's totally smooth with no stuble at all so I'm not thinking there will be any regrowth. For now I'm waiting it out to see if there's any improvement. The left side and back scar look great even better then the first transplant just the one area looks to have widened. All in all I'm pretty happy and am looking forward to the next few months.

Crown your story really hit home with me as I did a lot of the same things when I had my 1st HT. I told people I was going on vacation and of course people wanted gifts so I also ordered things online and had them shipped. I had an apartment at the time and had friends several doors down so that made things even more interesting. I would take the elevator to one floor below get off and use the stairs to my floor. I was always paranoid and drove myself to the edge of insanity. I basically hid out for 2 weeks and was a hermit. Honestly it was a horrible experience lying to everybody and trying to keep the story straight. I also did the fake tan and used the "friends shaved my head" story. I did make it through without anyone finding out but felt guilty selling a huge lie to my friends and coworkers. Hope everything worked out for you. I learned my lession and won't make up any more crazy stories like that again. For HT #2 I kept it simple and wore a hat for a while. No one seemed to care and I made it through the ugly duckling stage no problems and with a lot less stress!

Thanks ezduzit. I took a look at your blog and think you will be a happy guy in a few months. Your scar looks much improved and with your hair texture you should get some decent coverage in the hairline. Congrats on choosing a quality surgeon, the work looks very good!

Hi all, added some 6 1/2 month pictures to the album. I think people were noticing something up with my hair as I was getting some "rug" comments so I decided to go in for a shorter cut a couple weeks ago to quiet the rumors. :-) My hair on top is about an inch long and with it this short the lack of density is obvious if I'm directly under any bright lighting. With dermmatch in my hair it looks awesome especially with my hairline filling in. Trying to stay patient which is definitely difficult but as of yet I haven't been blown away by the added density. I do still feel some ingrown hairs so hoping there is a lot more to come. I do realize it's still early so I'm hoping for the best. On a positive note I was looking through some old pictures the other day when I was in my early 20s and I have come a long way. I didn't realize how bad my loss was at the time so from then to now is a night and day difference. I've tried to show honest pictures and many are the worst case views with a harsh flash. Under normal room lighting it looks much better. I will try to get some outdoor pictures next update to show a more normal view. Till then cheers!

Bill, Thanks for the encourtagement. For 5 months I'm pleased. My hair right now is probably back to where I was at 21. Thinning but looking ok in most conditions. I'm excited for the next few months and waiting for the final result. Patience is key.

Hey all added a 5 month update to the album. Just had a cut and length on top is 2" and sides are a number 5. I think it's looking pretty good for only 5 months and hope for a lot more to come. Noticing more hairline growth and can now see some shorter hairs coming in across the top. The wet shot still looking thin but I do notice a difference from preop. Hoping for the best and will keep the updates coming. I appreciate any comments! Thanks guys

Hey guys added some 4 months pictures to the album. I've been noticing some growth at the hairline which is maybe 1/2". Its hard to notice growth on top since it blends with the native hair but i do see some improvement. It seemed like my growth really took off around 4 months last time so I think the next couple months should be exciting. I had the sides and back trimmed a few weeks ago and the scar seems to be healing well. Also the shocked hair is returning and the scar can no longer be seen through the donor area except for a couple arears. No one has said anything and I've been feeling comfortable going out without my hat and just a bit of dermmatch. Will keep the updates coming, cheers

The pictures look great. How far back in the crown were grafts placed?

ALDO, Thanks for the encouragement. I'm trying to stay positive and keep busy to keep my mind off my hair. I'm sure in the end it will be worth the wait. My pictures did show minor shockloss with #1 but I haven't noticed much with #2. I had a lot of donor shock with both transplants though. With my diffuse pattern I think it's tough to notice shockloss unless it's a massive thing. I think my shocked hairs from #1 did return. Congrats on your procedure. Who did your surgery?

Hey guys a quick update for 3 months. Have noticed some pimples on top so I think things are starting to happen. Hair looks slightly improved from last month but I think thats just because the existing hair has grown. Bill, I do agree the second month seemed to take forever. Have been feeling anxious about the surgery and having doubts so I'm looking forward to some growth to calm my nerves. I'm starting to get the bozo look with the back and sides so much longer then the top so I'm planning a cut in a few days and will post a scar pic then. Overall I think my hair looks pretty good with the dermmatch in. I haven't had any comments or noticed any long stares so I think I was able to pull of the HT without anyone noticing. I do have a buddy who loves slapping off my hat and has exposed my "natural" hair a couple times but even then I didn't get any balding comments. Luckily this was in bars where the lighting was low so I can pull of a somewhat full look even without the dermmatch. But if I got caught out in the sun I'd be busted as a baldy! Not sure why this gives him such a rise but he's done it several times so I've become used to him and dont let out much of a reaction. Looking forward to next month since everything really started picking up at 4 months last time. Hoping the results will meet my expectations. My fine hair doesn't give much coverage but am hoping for the best. I think I definetly look better then I did at 23 when my loss really started taking off. Although looking back at my pictures from the first surgery I do think I've lost more hair while on propecia. Hard to tell, I will see what dr paul says next time at SMG. I do think propecia has slowed my loss and I even gained hair when starting it so maybe it's all in my head and propecia is working great. Well so much for a quick update, will post a couple more pictures after the next cut. Cheers!