baldcasanova

I have posted my 4.5 month pics. Overall it was a slow month but hair did grow and I feel a little better than I did the month prior. i'm hoping the future brings more growth and thickening as well as some sort of hairstyle at some point.

Originally posted by tkerr22:

sounds great. Just try and come to AZ in the winter when it's not as hot as the surface of the moon!

The moon is hot?

Originally posted by Forum Moderator and Satisfied Patient

Hey Robert, when are we getting an update from you> I havent seen any pics in months.

Cas

Originally posted by Jester:

I am 36 years old and recently noticed my hair is thinning and I have a few questions.

Jester see my comments below in bold

1. My hair loss is frontal thinning with very little receeding of my hairline. There seems to be very fast hairloss over the past 3 months. Is it typical to thin this fast or should I look for other causes? In some cases hair loss can occur suddenly but for most people its a gradual process. I would go see a dermatologist to see what may be causing it.

2. I have used rogaine twice a day religeously for 4-5 weeks now with no change. Is this long enough? Should I continue to use it or am I just wasting money? Rogaine is a topical solution that must be applied for so as long as the user wants to see the affects that it produces. Ceasing use of Rogaine will over time eliminate any hair regrowth that one would have achieved, and in some cases, stimulate additional hair loss.

3. I am considering early HT to thick'in up my frontal hair. Will I need to take any time off work to recover from the procedure? If you have the type of job that you can wear a hat, you can go back after a couple of days. best practices are you take a vacation from work to heal your donor area and recipient site, recover from any post op swelling, and grow back a little hair that you may have lost from the procedure due to the doctor shaving the recipient area, etc.

Originally posted by western_star:

Damn, Bobby, The HT sure turned out good. Man, I am impressed. You've come a long way . It seems like just yesterday that you had it done. Look how good it looks now. Looks like it has always been there. The Doc did an excellent job.

???

Originally posted by Bill:

Hi all,

 

I'm at 7 weeks and a little discouraged. I know I definately experienced some shockloss and I look worse than I did before my second HT. It hasn't gotten worse in the past 2 weeks or so I'd say and it seems like any shedding I've experienced has minimized a lot....but it's discouraging looking at 9 month post op pictures from my first HT and seeing some awesome results and looking at myself now and looking like I didn't get one. Any words of advice and or encouragement? I'm doing Minoxodil ad night and taking Propecia 1mg every day. Thanks

 

Bill

just wait it out dude. what else can you do, ya know??

zerro,

im with you, im 4 months post op on Tuesday and trust me i hate this shit probably more than anyone

it will be nice to be able to retire the ballcap. can't wait. time to start livin

i just felt like googling tonight.

heres a BIO:

Blu Stough

In the early 1960s Dr. Stough heard that a dermatologist in New York City, Norman Orentreich, was transplanting hair. He thought this procedure could not only help him with his own MPB, but might also be an important adjunct to his practice. After two or three visits to Dr. Orentreich's office, Dr. Robert Berger performed the first transplants on him, and he returned to Hot Springs, Arkansas, ready to begin his own transplanting practice, beginning with several local physicians who were anxiously awaiting his help.

By the early 1970s he began teaching the technique, organizing the first hair transplant symposium sponsored by the ASDS (of which he was one of the original founders) and the American Academy of Facial, Plastic, and Reconstructive Surgery in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Subsequently he chaired at least a dozen more hair restoration symposia that were the breeding ground of many of the next wave of hair transplant surgeons. Physicians came from around the world to learn the latest developments in the technique at these conferences.

His list of honors is long and includes the presidency of the American Association of Cosmetic Surgeons, as well as membership at one time or another on the boards of virtually all of the dermatologic surgery societies. His son, Dr. Dow Stough, who worked with him in private practice for a number of years, has in turn become one of the most influential members of the community of hair restoration surgeons.

i saw some old links in this forum talking about him but they could not be accessed.

from this read, dr bluford stowe is pretty old now if he was working in the 70s on HT stuff.

cas

i would try toppik, just sprinkle a little in your balding spot. if you still have hair uptop it will stick great. if not, you are just smearing dust on your scalp.

Take a look at this post op pic I took 4 days post. Imagine how I felt!! no hats at work. the first 3 months sucked so bad sometimes i didnt know what to think. after taking these pics I did cut it down a little in front, but what do you do when you got stiches in the back, grafts in the middle and older grafts up front (and the doctor shaves you head for the HT). i even tried toppik! that was just a mess. i couldnt imagine what my coworkers thought. nightmare. almost 4 months later i think they probably forgot... but that time was hard time.

Originally posted by Artiste:

Markcia, it's the low stress factor. Let these guys start paying to 2 private tuitions, 2 x, summer camps and all the sports fees involved with 2 boys (not to mention the basics+) and see how long this guy's hair lasts.

 

Gotta love it!

NICELY put man. I couldnt have said it better myself! LOL!

Bonzo.. congraulations. it doesnt appear that the doctor did a sort of "fading into" technique though.. you have a very defined hairline of hair. I know this is an improvement, but it still is very hard edged in my opinion...

welcome to the forum. check out Pat the publishers "Visits to Leading Hair Transplant Clinics" thread. he visited a whole bunch of clinics in FL, you can see some of the work goin on in that part of the country.

by looking at your loss, i would saw you need about 3500 grafts or so. perhaps more but i think that would provide decent coverage...you need to make decisions on what you want to accomplish. are you interested in total coverage, hairline only, a mix. costs these days are about $3.50-$5.00 a graft, but there is usually overage so the effective cost is a bit lower. Id say the investment will be about 5-9 grand, depending. i would also say dont go in for less than 2,000 grafts as you need more and it will just leave you wanting more. getting a good HT is addicting... im starting to realize that myself.

do your research, study these forums and ask as many questions as you need to in order to make an informed decision.

good luck,

cas

Originally posted by tymman:

Cass -

looking good so far!! I hope I have that much growth in the next few weeks!

hey guys, i have just updated my album with updated pics. Overall, im having less ingrowns now, more growth. I realize its only 3 1/2 months out, but now where I was cleanly bald, hair is now there... not alot, but a little. enough to feel. more later. I'm optimistic.

Patrick makes a good point. Advertising when placed irresponsibily can lead from misrepresentation to malpractice.

My first inquiry into hair transplantation led me to wilshire blvd. and the bosley office in beverly hills, ca. as i did not know much about transplants, i did know that my hairloss what about to take a turn for the worst and i needed help - fast.

It was just shy of my 27th bday 4 years ago that I visited Bosley's offices; I remember the excitement and wonderment i felt as the elevator made its way up to the penthouse suite. that excitement led to disappointment and depression when the doctor told me that 1.) I shouldn't get an HT 2.)I was too young and 3.)my baldness pattern had still not fully revealed itself and I needed to wait till I was in my 30s. To top it off he told me to shave my head instead! I was pissed off.

A year later i went back to Bosley, and a different doc said he'd operate , but i never got that HT due to the cost (at the time that was my "saving" factor - saving, meaning saving me from Bosley)

The integrity that the first doctor displayed has stuck with me and although I have heard many negative experiences with that corporation, i believe there are more than a few bosley docs that are performing good work.

anyhow i went on to receive 2 hts in different places and eventually heard about the horror stories at bosley. oh, and so that I do not forget, I went to Hair Club for Men and almost got fitted for a wig (deposit billed to CC - returned later) what freaked me out there.... was that there was a patient that happened to be there, and they brought him out (as he had just got fitted), and he faintly smelled like glue!!! the sales person totally claimed oblivious to this fact, but im sure she snickered after hours sometimes about the aroma.

cas

Nashville Kat,

Looks like you got a darn good HT. Congratulations thus far on your growth.

Cas

uuuhhhh... ok. removing the link made this thread unreadable

good job.

Originally posted by JetFlyBoy:

I am a 33 year old who has watched his hair slowly recede for the past 12 years. I have tried things off and on, like Follicare. My most recent stint left me frustrated that I did not see results, but both times I have stopped it seemed like my hair loss ACCELERATED!

 

I am determined to get back on a regimine, and I have my wife's blessing for the costs it may incur.

 

I am absolutely not interested in HT, but was wondering what the "final" word out there was about minoxidial based products actually being effective on a simply receding hairline. Everything I've ever read has pointed to it only working on the crown, but I can't deny that my hair loss accelerated noticeably both times I got off of minoxidil (Follicare).

 

I am brand new to this site, but I like what I've seen so far, and I plan on making a home here til I get this thing under control.

 

Thanks in advance for anyone's time..

 

Jeff

Jetfly,

May I ask why an HT is absolutely out of the question? just curious

Originally posted by arfy:

Check out a website called Bald R Us, they are all about this kind of thing.

 

The shaved look is big now, I see a lot of guys doing it. I live in a big city and every day I see guys with shaved heads, hanging out with good looking chicks. At worst, most girls don't mind, and some girls really like it. Because I have hair loss myself, I can't help but notice 90% of these guys shaved it probably because of hair loss. Who cares? Nobody else really cares except other neurotic bald guys like us. Only a neurotic person who needs to get a life (me, I guess LOL) is going to stare at your head looking for the "missing stubble".

 

Some people say that only big muscular guys look good with shaved heads, I don't think that is true. Look at Moby, Michael Stipe (REM) Billy Corgan etc. These guys are far from muscular. I'm sure there are lots of other examples I can't think of, right now.

 

You can still try using Propecia, even though you are shaving your head. It may be a good idea (?) to try to retain the hair you still have, even if your hair is shaved or short. If you ever change your mind you will appreciate saving that hair. It's good to keep all your options open. Hell you can always wear a hairpiece again, if you change your mind.

 

I would say go for it.

well those guys you mentioned: Moby, Michael Stipe (REM) Billy Corgan all look pretty scary with their bald heads but i do see your point.

yo,

i guess i can "feel you" on the name choice. i feel the same way. i project alot based on my frustrations and im sure if I wasnt losing my hair that wouldnt be a problem....sucks, i need counseling i guess!

but back to your story, there are other guys on this forum who have had a HT and also wear a wig until the HT grows in. As long as your scalp is getting air you should be fine. I am curious what you look like without the wig, if you post a pic we can help you determine how much you may need, but keep in mind a LOT of doctors refuse to work on you until you are a little older and they can determine your MPB loss pattern.

if you have severe hair loss like me, then obviously it will take more grafts. I have had 2800 put in so far i think another 2000 may do the trick, im 2 months post op, after 2200 in my second ht. im 31, but when i first started looking into HTs I was 25 and noone wanted to take me as a patient. not even Bosley Medical (if anyone can believe that)

good luck

cas

8-5-05 Update

so still under the 3 month threshold, so the HT really hasnt started to grow in yet. for the sake of consistancy i am posting an update...

some inside and some outside. hopefully ill start getting some growth soon.. I have a lot of white hairs coming in, so hopefully hey turn dark brown soon.

cas

harryben,

I snapped a few pics this morning, some inside some outside. Its been 2 1/2 months, so technically the HT hasnt really started to grow in yet.

Take a look at my link: http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums?a=album...1043731&f=2566060861

I agree things do look worse outside, but i recommend using some sort of masking agent (like toppik) to help blend.

for these pics i didnt use it, just so i can monitor my honest progress...

Originally posted by spoon:

Originally posted by Mahair:

An excellent hairtransplant should be undetectable under all conditions period.Nobody should have to do behavior modification around a H/T.That is why you must research the doctor who will be doing it so carefully.Very few can acheive this objective.

We're not even talking about the same thing here.

I qualified every statement I made by specifying I mean GOOD transplants, i.e. all-FU, current state-of-the-art transplants with densities of 40-60 FUs/cm2. I hope we agree that a transplant on a guy with any significant degree of hairloss, e.g. NW4+ CANNOT restore the density of a non-MPB head of hair. So given that, it only makes sense that in bright lights, a transplant will look thin, depending on who's looking at it. That doesn't mean it's detectable as a transplant, it just means it's going to look thin. So what? Guys with zero MPB show scalp in really bright lights also.

spoon,

i live in los angeles, 2 miles from venice beach and 3 miles from santa monica beach. i am in the direct sunlight all the time.

i didnt get an ht to hide under a hat.

we'll see how my ht looks once its completely grown in and i am hoping it doesnt look thin... if it will well shit, im adding until it doesnt. wit curly thick hair on the sides i feel this is an achievable aspiration.

1st doc gave me laughing gas, felt like a bong hit and i felt really wierd. stayed awake a lot of the time

2nd doc gave me valium, i slept the whole time.

its actually pretty awesome.......

i think its also good that all different hair types are mixed together now in the men's photo section. before it was segregated into groups. And today i noticed that the HTN has a new homepage too, very slick.

if there could be area where people can upload their own photos, that would be very cool. maybe one upload for b4 and one for after.....

...keep up the good work... great site layout....

for the record i posted a link to your previous pics and then someone closed & locked that forum. pretty scandelous stuff.

i never get no love on this site from pat he either doesnt like me, or like non-whites, or whatever. i'll leave it to god and judgement day.