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Dan Didocha has glowing reccomedations??? That's news to me. There's nothing wrong with wearing a hair piece if you are willing to do the maintenance and willing to make the compromises that they require. Unlike Hair Transplants, a hair piece is not permanent and you can change your mind... that's not true of a hair transplant!!!! I've heard that Hair Club is not the best place for a hair piece, and it's also not the cheapest either. They try to jack extra money out of you with expensive maintenance fees, extra costs, etc. I don't think a hair piece is for me, but as I get older I have become more comfortable with the idea (I got screwed up with my original transplants, and my results are not good). LOTS of guys wear hairpieces to cover a bad transplant. If you think you might be okay with a hair piece, probably the best time to try it is BEFORE getting a transplant, instead of wearing it out of necessity like I might need to do, AFTER a transplant. A hair piece is not as big of a committment as a hair transplant, and it will give you more coverage than a transplant will.

Hair caliber is a huge factor in your overall coverage!!! Guys with coarse hair will have better coverage than guys with thin, wispy hair. Supposedly "hair caliber" is a bigger factor in coverage than the total number of grafts (!!!) If I recall correctly, hair caliber can range widely, from something like 20 microns all the way to 150 microns. Now I don't even remember what a micron actually amounts to, but that is a giant range of values (20 to 150). Most guys are somewhere in the middle. It's okay to use other patients results as a way to begin the hunt for a doctor, but when you compare different guys, remember that every patient is different (and remember that photos can be deceiving, even in the best situations). You are almost never comparing "apples to apples". Rather than looking at just "coverage" look for a natural result, look for a nice simulation or recreation of a hairline, artistic ability, consistent results, good long-term planning, etc... certainly not JUST coverage. One of the dirty little secrets out there is that some clinics use concealors in their patients hair, when they take pics.

Stick with the Propecia and hopefully that will put the brakes on your hair loss. I question the logic behind recommending 600 grafts. That's a trivial amount that's not going to accomplish much of anything, for most guys. It indicates an old-school type of outdated approach. Before you get any more hair transplant work done, PLEASE make sure you do plenty of homework on what the best techniques are, and who the better doctors are. If you only needed 600 grafts, then you could have possibly held off on surgery completely, for the time being.

Pat's front looks grafty and I knew he had work done (although it is not offensively bad). Some guys don't mind being spotted as a transplant (or a toupee wearer) as long as it looks reasonably good. Other guys want it to be totally secret, that they had a transplant. On that level, Pat OBrien's transplant fails the test. Obviously Pat doesn't care who knows, if he appears on their website. Pat looks extremely thin in the back, as noted by others. You rarely see him from that angle on TV, only just a glimpse in passing. Pat's result from Bosley are better than Wade Bogg's results from MHR, from what I can tell.

LOTS of guys "think" their scar is undetectable, but if they shave their heads later they are surprised, "gee it's not as undetectable as I thought". The truth is that the "pencil thin" scar is not as common as most clinics claim it is, and you should realistically expect to use your hair to cover up the donor area. If your scar does turn out to be "pencil thin" then consider yourself ahead of the game.

It is different than the existing hair in the balding zone. Transplanted hair is typically coarser than the hair that was replaced. In some cases it's an issue, in some cases it's not an issue. The hair you may still have up top is probably thin and fine, while the transplanted hair from the back of your head is sturdy and coarse. A very few handfull of doctors know how to convincingly simulate the soft transitions of the hairline. From what I hear, Dr Shapiro is one of the few. I don't recall hearing ANY complaints about his work... ever. Yes, that is pretty much the routine. People who say you can "style your hair any way you want" are full of crap. Sure, go ahead and style your hair any way you want, you may look terrible but you styled it the way you wanted to, right? You will most certainly pick a hairstyle that conceals and covers the maximum amount. Remember that a transplant only simulates coverage, it doesn't restore a full head of hair. The only guys with massive amounts of hair after a transplant, are the guys who barely had any hair loss to begin with... in which case their decision to get a transplant is often questionable in the first place. MOST guys will pick a sensible hair style that gives good "layover" and covers the most. It's probably the style you went into the clinic wearing, but hopefully better in the end (since you are probably currently styling your hair using that strategy). If you have specific desires and goals for styling, then you need to discuss this with the doctor before surgery (before signing up for surgery, ideally). You can probably forget about radical spiky hairstyles, extremely short hair, parting your hair down the middle, and so on. Think COVERAGE. A successful transplant for many guys will end up looking like they have "some" hair loss, but they managed to halt it, and if the doctor is especially good then hopefully nobody knows it was a transplant. Most doctors are NOT especially good and their work looks like a transplant, to anyone who is not walking around with their head in the clouds. You're on the right track with Shapiro. Most doctors are NOT doing all FUT transplants. The big hair mills like Bosley, MHR, PAI and NuHart put FU grafts in the front, and mostly Minigrafts everywhere else. Their "logic" is that only the hairline needs to look totally natural. Sorry but in my opinion the WHOLE HEAD needs to look natural. Clinics love to use a lot of Minigrafts because it's faster, so they can crank out more guys that way. Try to find a clinic that uses all microscopically-dissected FU grafts, where you are the only patient the doctor works on that day. You don't want a clinic that cuts corners, for speed's sake. LOTS of guys with Minigrafts are going in for repair work. Obviously guys with the big plugs want repair work too. The transplants that look most natural are the all-FU transplants. I hear that on some guys, Shapiro will use a small smattering of Minis to create certain zones of extra density (ask him, I am curious). This is totally different than the approximately 70% Minigrafts 30% FU graft tranplants that the chain clinics use. My recommendation is to request "all-FUs" (and of course, NEVER get a strip excision transplant at a place that doesn't use stereo microscopes to dissect the grafts). FU grafts look more natural than Minigrafts. The single MOST important thing is that the grafts look natural, and that's even more important than "coverage". If your grafts don't look natural you're in deep trouble!!!

Billy Bob Thornton is bald. If you see him with hair, it's a hairpiece. Nic Cage has bad transplant results, and he wears a hairpiece in the movies. Occasionaly you might see him (The Tonight Show) without the hairpiece, wearing a bunch of Couvre and Toppik... and STILL looking bad. Sly Stallone has bad transplants and wears a hairpiece all the time. As a totally wild guess I'd say half the actors in Hollywood wear hairpieces. They're a whole lot more common than transplants, and the guys who get transplants need to cover them up with hairpieces, Couvre and Toppik.

Pic #3 shows an error message, I tried a bunch of times, couldn't make it work. You get the idea from the first 2 pics though.

Here's the back. Lots of times, doctors are showing the frontal hairline only, as if that's all that matters. Sure it's vitally important, but when you see a transplanted hairline, sometimes guys just assume that there's the same amount of hair behind it. Not necessarily so.

However, additional angles would give a better idea of what the results look like. How often do you see patients at this angle? This is the same guy as pic #1, taken at the same time, same camera, same room etc.

Don't just go on a few pics, when judging a doctor's work. Whenever possible it's best to see patients in person. Pics can really fool you, even when the doctor has good intentions. You need to see a transplant result from all angles, not just the front. Look at this, looks pretty good right?

Don't just go on a few pics, when judging a doctor's work. Whenever possible it's best to see patients in person. Pics can really fool you, even when the doctor has good intentions. You need to see a transplant result from all angles, not just the front. Look at this, looks pretty good right?

Some guys do not want to undergo an invasive surgery like Strip Excision just for their hair, and they opt for FUE. As far as which method yields more hair, an FU graft is an FU graft and it doesn't matter how it's harvested if it's healthy. If you transplant an equal number of grafts then the total yield will be the same, when done correctly. As far as the minimal scarring from FUE or the "moth eaten" claim. if someone digs through your hair and examines closely, then they will find evidence of FUE hair transplantation. But the same is true of strip surgery or any other kind of hair transplant. Some of the people who downplay FUE seem to have a vested interest in Strip surgery. FUE is certainly not a perfect solution, but hair transplants in general are flawed and are never as good as what you had "pre hair loss".

The pics are not loading. Can you try again?

I don't know DR Barrera, but I advise you to steer clear of Dr. Carlos Puig in Houston. He did a terrible job on me, plus he ran a dishonest clinic too.

Thanks. I can't post at the rate I used to, but I hope to be around for a while.

The doctors shouldn't be making it the responsibility of the patient, to bring them new customers. This is cheezy.

1.2 cm is usually about the height of the original donor strip, so it is unforgivable that your scar is also that size. You should try to get the original doctor to pay for scar revision surgery.

Hawk One big reason you might pick Dr. Woods is because you don't want a strip excision procedure. Dr Woods ONLY does FUE (non-strip) procedures and has the most experience in the world doing this technique. IF you wanted non-strip transplants (FUE) then Woods would be your top choice, in my opinion. Some guys don't care about the linear donor scar from Strip surgery, if you don't care then more power to you. For the guys who want to avoid the linear donor scar (or just avoid that type of surgery) then FUE is the way to go, and Woods (and Dr Campbell, his sister) are top picks. If you're up for Strip surgery then you have more choices for doctors, as FUE is still rare.

To answer the original question: The hair that will be transplanted is shaved first. After it's transplanted it usually grows for about a week or two, then the transplanted hair falls out and goes into a dormant phase that lasts about 3 months. After about 3 months the transplanted hair begins to emerge, and grows at the usual rate: about a half-inch per month. So 6 months after surgery, your transplanted hair will be about an inch or inch-and-a-half long. Depending on your complexion, the area may still be pinkish or maybe not. If you don't know the basic mechanics of how a transplant works, then you are in no position to decide on surgery. (No offense intended). Learn all the facts and all the pros and cons, before you decide you want a hair transplant.

Yes, over 2000 posts, and the owner of the website (Pat Hennesy) has never deleted a SINGLE POST of mine (that I remember). Even the posts that criticized doctors (including an occasional shot at doctors who may have been on his recommended list). I've given Pat kudos before for not censoring my posts, even the rough ones, and I do it again now. THAT'S HOW YOU RUN A CONSUMER-BASED FORUM CORRECTLY! Yet we have a new forum moderator, who deletes some of my posts and blocks my posts. Why? Because I wrote that I didn't think Dr AP of India was experienced enough for other guys to pick, and that Dr Poswal was certainly not someone I would pick. I laughed at a newbie's post, who said Arvind was the best doctor in the world (and I still laugh about that one). When I wrote that, then Dr Arvind's employee Steve Gillen blasted me, saying that I was only saying that, because I had tried to extort free grafts from Arvind and Arvind turned me down. My response to Gillen was that I would REFUSE free grafts from Dr. Arvind. I only want the best doctors now. Unfortunately Robert the Moderator removed my response, and let all the posts from Steve Gillen stand... including ones where Gillen was referring directly to me. WHY??? Playing favorites, Robert? Is that fair? Robert, if you and Gillen think Dr. Arvind is so good, then why isn't he recommended by the Hair Transplant Network? I'm sure Dr Arvind would LOVE to be recommended by this website? Do you have the integrity to let this thread stand, or will you censor me again? You deleted my post last night, and the entire thread it was in. 2000 posts, Robert. Not one instance of censorship from Pat, yet you delete my posts criticizing Dr Poswal, and my response to Gillen.

Yes, over 2000 posts, and the owner of the website (Pat Hennesy) has never deleted a SINGLE POST of mine (that I remember). Even the posts that criticized doctors (including an occasional shot at doctors who may have been on his recommended list). I've given Pat kudos before for not censoring my posts, even the rough ones, and I do it again now. THAT'S HOW YOU RUN A CONSUMER-BASED FORUM CORRECTLY! Yet we have a new forum moderator, who deletes some of my posts and blocks my posts. Why? Because I wrote that I didn't think Dr AP of India was experienced enough for other guys to pick, and that Dr Poswal was certainly not someone I would pick. I laughed at a newbie's post, who said Arvind was the best doctor in the world (and I still laugh about that one). When I wrote that, then Dr Arvind's employee Steve Gillen blasted me, saying that I was only saying that, because I had tried to extort free grafts from Arvind and Arvind turned me down. My response to Gillen was that I would REFUSE free grafts from Dr. Arvind. I only want the best doctors now. Unfortunately Robert the Moderator removed my response, and let all the posts from Steve Gillen stand... including ones where Gillen was referring directly to me. WHY??? Playing favorites, Robert? Is that fair? Robert, if you and Gillen think Dr. Arvind is so good, then why isn't he recommended by the Hair Transplant Network? I'm sure Dr Arvind would LOVE to be recommended by this website? Do you have the integrity to let this thread stand, or will you censor me again? You deleted my post last night, and the entire thread it was in. 2000 posts, Robert. Not one instance of censorship from Pat, yet you delete my posts criticizing Dr Poswal, and my response to Gillen.

It's not smart to just let all your hair fall out, and expect a hair transplant will replace everything. It doesn't work like that. For one thing, there isn't enough donor hair to cover your whole head, with anything close to real density. A smart approach is to try to conserve the hair you still have. Transplanted hair never looks as natural as your original hair (well maybe there is a rare exception, but that is not the rule of thumb). Transplants can't replicate the density of your original hair, unless you are talking about a VERY LIMITED area. If you can maintain your hair as it is now, that would be ideal. The more hair you can keep, the better a transplant would look. Although on the other hand, the more hair you still have, the greater you need to be concerned about shock loss. The ideal situation is that your prevention regimine works so well, that you don't have to resort to a transplant ever. That does happen occasionally. I'm not sure why you would rule out Propecia, but still use Minoxidil. There are health risks that go along with any of the (useful) treatments (even the so-called 'natural ones'.) Just because Dr Feller does something, doesn't mean you should do it too. Everyone's hair loss is different. If you were 40 or 50 years old and only had minor frontal recession, there would be less at stake, for a guy who doesn't want to take Propecia. You have all-over thinning at a fairly young age, which is a sign that you could lose everything, if your prevention regimine doesn't work (or only works to a certain extent).

Act now and get a free keychain.

One month isn't enough time to really judge your hair transplant. Give yourself a year or so. Nobody ever said it's impossible to get a good transplant at a hair mill like MHR or Bosley, but your odds of satisfaction go WAY UP when you look for one of the small handful of better clinics. Please post your pics, because what you think is "good" and what everyone else thinks is "good" may be totally different. Some people think McDonalds makes the best hamburgers. Yes it's a hamburger however whether or not it is the best, is open to interpretation. If MHR is finally using microscopes, that would be progress. Too bad they had to be dragged into it, kicking and screaming. They're only about 10 years late on that. But progress is good, for the sake of the newbies. There are other problems with MHR besides the microscope issue, however this is a start in a better direction.