domie

hello again friends! 1000 apologies for my tardiness on the... 1 year anniversary! i still cant believe that much time has passed. as you all can see, theres only reason to be VERY happy with the results. i think the current haircut is a great representation of how wonderful everything has turned out and gives any skepticism a real challenge to defy the results. thank you all for your kind words and support, you have all been awesome!

hello again everyone, its been 10 months (wow, already!?) so time to update you all. as you can see (from the latest pics) im letting the new hair grow out a bit, just to see what happens. ;-) so yes, its looking kinda "scruffy" in this phase. these pics were taken just after a shower, no product. basically, letting the new hair "lie where it falls" on a lazy sunday afternoon cooped up at home. everyone, thanks for your comments. i hope my endeavor will help lead you all to making the right decision(s) for yourself! tumbleweed, from my experience less contrast between hair and skin can help reduce the appearance of thinning. as for a good hairstylist, it makes a difference in that your getting a more creative/stylish cut. it has nothing to do with having a hair transplant... just getting a better, more unique haircut. but i will say this, a very good hair stylist has great abilities to work with what you have, accentutate the positives and make the most of it. give it a go, theres nothing to lose and it would make your wife happy! next photo-sesh at the 1 year mark! take care all! :-)

talk about fun... im in the market for a hair dryer. A HAIR DRYER! who would have thought purchasing styling cream, shampoo/conditioner, brushes, etc would be SO darn fun and exciting! w00t! my friends... w00t!! ps. ill post a 10 month update the end of january.

hello all, as you may have noticed i've started updating every couple months now. the reason being, i thought the process was kinda slowing down a bit but after comparing the 6 and 8 month milestones, wow what a difference!? (where have i been!?) life has put far too much on the table for me of late to be overly concerned with the progress of my HT... and i tell ya, its a great feeling to have that once nagging aspect of my life (hairloss) behind me. its amazing what some length can do for the overall look of the do. i've always enjoyed a little longer, stylized messiness to my do and it seems to be working just fine. hey, im stoked! all, thanks for you compliments. troy, thanks as always. how has this process affected me? jeez... to put as simply as i can, my confidence has shot thru the roof in social situations. and i give all credit to the styling cream... i dont know what they put in that stuff, but WOW! (i kid) eman, your gonna be so siked pal. having this done was one of the best things ive ever done for myself. its changed my life for the better and i have ZERO regret.

now that its here, that 1/2 year sure flew by! 6 month pics are up. no styling cream this time to show you what it looks like plain-o. b spot: haha, thank you sir. i tell ya, its so nice to meet people and not have those nagging voices in the back of the mind... "d00d, their scoping your cranium!" eman: i wish you the best with your procedure! being a "retired baldie" is allllright! troy: every person (that doesnt know of the procedure) has attributed the change to my hair color (natural now vs. bleached then), its been very interesting. i was with a life long friend this past weekend (that i have not seen since the procedure). the VERY first thing he said to me was about my hair, "whats up with your hair!? your not bleaching it anymore, it looks SO much better! more full" it was awesome, what a good feeling!

hey thanks guys, your compliments are appreciated. im pretty darn happy at only 5.5 months! :-) ugly, im sorry but i dont recall dr wongs opinion of diameter or texture. judging it myself, i would have to say my hair type is average... leaning more towards the fine side. john, actually 3500 was the pre-op projected amount of grafts. the total amount after the procedure was 4907 (with over 10,000 hairs).

alright, ive not posted any 1/2 month updates so far... but im so siked from my wonderful hairstylist friends new haircut. i just had to share. first off, i have not told her about the HT... and she has NO idea still after cutting my hair last night!? when i saw her about a month ago (for the first time after the procedure) she kinda stared at me for a minute and asked, "is that your natural hair color? it looks great!" the puzzled look on her face was SO darn cute. so here i am 5.5 months out rockin' that banging cut! a re-newed confidence, and an exciting stage in life! thank you dr. wong, thank you all!

everyone, thanks for the comments. as always, your input is greatly appreciated. :-) now for the "oscar winning" thank you speech.. mrjb and nikkop, its always great to hear compliments (hats off to dr. wong!). your both pumping me up for month 7 (and beyond). guess ill still have to be patient. ;-) although its much easier now that im a "retired baldie" already (as bushy wisely stated). john, i have no idea what the actual density is. all i know is that i wanted it maximized with the amount of grafts i got. joe, its always good to hear from the man that started this life changing journey for me... you my friend are awesome! bushy, your blog has been so incredibly helpful for me. seriously, its been so close in progress that its like i have a window for the future of my do. thanks so much for posting your story. hairbank and troy, as much as you guys have shared your experience and knowledge with this community... imho, you are helping to change peoples lives as much as the dr's that are performing the surgeries. what you share gets people in those chairs (myself included). i would not have done it without seeing and believing. THANK YOU! mad props to all my brothers in hair loss! :-) see you next month, w00t!

im five months post-op now, and loving the results. at this point the new hair is still somewhat thin (kinda whispy), but looks great in certain lighting. under close scrutiny, it could still use so more density... im very excited still for whats in store and very curious how far this will go? 6 months = 50% growth, is that what ive read? if im still under 50% IM ECSTATIC! as mentioned, im 5 months post-op and been on the propecia/proscar for 6 months... i actually think i am getting that dreaded "shed" ive seen people talk about here. i've noticed alot of fine hairs shedding the last couple weeks... darn it! when do those come back again (a little help anyone)? kinda sucks its right in the middle of the new hair fireworks show, but nonetheless im pretty darn stoked! w00t!

troy/hairbank, im here to entertain you guys! after all you have done for this community (and personally influenced my decision)... sheesh, the very least i can do. faceless, we're living the same dream (4gr range) i really hope my progress helps you out. and with the operations being so close in time as well... awesome! keep up that PMA (positive mental attitude)! ugly, you know what you must do! eman, yes i think about my hair everyday... but now its "YES!" as opposed to "ahh man" before the procedure. i forgot about it for a while, but now the fireworks are starting... kinda hard to turn away yaknow? the few friends that do know are starting to say "wow!" others that dont have no clue (as far as i can tell) although its tough to be patient at times, part of the beauty is how gradual the process is. people really do start to say, "hmm you look different? you been workin' out?" scar, its RIDICULOUS how minute it is. i forgot about that pretty much as soon as the staples were out. no way it could be seen swimming... im curious how it would look with a shaved head actually? besides proscar, no daily regimen. no worries with the questions, im here to help how i can

4 months my friends, and im happier by the day... GROW GROW GROW! still plenty of room for improvement, but it is so nice to see results starting to become apparent. in darker light theres a full hair line looking pretty sharp! in brighter light still looks pretty thin but its only month 4... i actually used a little STYLING GEL the other night?! woh!? suhwheet!!

wow, that is a great looking head of hair troy. there are so many people that would "kill" for that "do" (myself included). you have got to be pretty darn excited with your results, im happy for you!

eman, hey no worries, im more than happy to share (and i plan on being prompt with my monthly updates). now that those first few milestones have been acheived in this process and the results are starting to become apparent... it is such a great feeling! one to share for sure! brian, without a doubt (in my experience), lighter hair has been much easier to conceal thinning, but i dont think it is lending much help to the "natural look" you refer to. the new hair has come in gradually and relatively even (so far)... so im lead to believe that the color of the hair does not make much of a difference in that respect. hope that helps.

jakevig, i have not taken anything to speed growth. 1 month prior to the procedure i started taking propecia (1 a day), and as of today i have switched to proscar (i plan on taking it every other day). also, i have been taking a b-complex vitamin (almost daily). i did bleach my hair prior to the surgery for exactly the reasons you stated. once it seems safe to do so, i may bleach it again... but this time i dont think it will be needed for any reasons related to density. and thanks jake, i look forward to keeping you posted! troy, thanks alot for your encouragement, you have always been helpful. it is a pleasure to share my experience with this great community.

another sleepy weekend morning, another month, wow?! rolled outta' bed and snapped another handful of photos to share with the great HRRF crowd. The progress is apparent in comparison to the previous months. Although i do feel that the pics look slightly more full (dense) than what i see in the mirror (or at certain angles), but a sign of whats to come! Amazing how gradual the process is, but i do feel an exponential growth rate is imminent. without doubt, im super-siked for month 4! w00t w00t!

time does fly! 2 month stage is here and although the pictures at this point are not too dramitic (hair wise), a lot has been gained in the areas of receding numbness and the "redness" fading. not one single person has noticed the "redness" to date (and wont at this point) and i have not wore a hat since the staples were removed. the donor scar has got to the point where it is next to impossible to find by touch and in some areas to even find visually. besides staying out of the sun, life is completely back to normal and all is well. just waiting for the crop to start sprouting! next update June 30th. take care fellahs!

thanks for the comments guys, its always refreshing to get positive nods from the knowledgable HRRF crowd, you all rock! you are so right about the "ride" troy, without a doubt this is the biggest decision i have ever made. at times "the voices" can kick in and try and play mind games, but the level of anxiety has faded in the light of anticipation for the coming results. also the healing process has made things much easier, not feeling so "fragile." eman, i flew from sf to vancouver late wed night, had surgery thursday, flew home friday evening (including a bart ride through sf and oakland with a car full of "gangstas" around midnight, then walked 2 miles home from the station), rested at home sat and sun, and worked monday morning. i wore a hat until my staples were removed (by a friend) 10 days later, shaved the domb that day with a #1-3 (pics are up, should be helpful to your situation). the redness is still there but not that noticable and fades everyday. just get a little sun before you go, i had zero for months before my procedure and it has not been an issue for me. dr wong had given me the exact same count and i ended up (very happily!) with over 4900. you have no idea how nervous i was making the decision, i was wrecked for a few weeks debating the options. after getting my facts straight and knowing the process, for me it boiled down to, "do i want to shave my head for the rest of my life? (because thats all that was left to do without any styling options left) or do i want to do something about this look i hate?" after that simple fact, the decision was much easier for me. when i was in the chair, whenever the word "scalpel" popped in my head, i just thought of that nagging feeling i had every single time i looked in the mirror... and i made it through what was not easy for me personally. hope that helps you out, and again thank you all for being a part of the ride!

hello again everyone! another milestone has been achieved in the HT journey, the 1 month mark... woo-hoo! everything has gone very smooth, staple removal was an absolute breeze, had some serious shedding right after that but i'll take that in hopes it will be back that much sooner. scar fades everyday. besides being an ass clown and standing in the sun on my lunch breaks the last 2 days (just prior to these pics) i have taken great care of the investment (thank god i didnt burn). ;-) yeah, its already easy to forget whats been done. :-) so as i stated in my blog, im 1 month post-op, balder than ever... and SO glad i had the procedure done! its all about the final results... rockin' that bangin' cut! woot-woot! hope these pics help those who need it, and also any input from you vets is greatly appreciated.

hey think, im 18 days post op as well. congratulations. it seems we've had similar shedding. was it impossible to not play with it before the shedding for you too?! i buzzed mine right after the staples were removed and couldnt stop rubbing the crop! it seems we have the same tenderness on our scars as well. my scar is pretty smooth and mostly undetectable to the touch (besides some remaining tenderness). i am experiencing some numbness in the donor/recipient area, but thats to be expected, taking a B-complex to help the nerve regeneration. redness see,s the same as well, i can still see some of the graft placement, but it seems to be fading away. as far as the ledge goes, i would not worry about it. ive seen some post op pics where the scar had similar characteristics to yours and turned out amazingly well. it gets better every day.

i just flew to canada (from california) to have my procedure done at H&W in vancouver. i did an online consultation with them through their website and got an estimate for everything i needed.

hey spurs, 4-5 weeks to recover, you lucky dog! let me know if there are any positions available there! i just went through the process and felt the same apprehension you are feeling. im 10 days post-op now and i only had 2 days off of work (4 total with a weekend). i just posted my 10 day pics sportin' a new buzz cut to even things out... this may be helpful for you.

hello again everyone, the staples were removed just last night, 52 total. piece of cake. today was time to tighten up the cut a bit (not that Dr Wong didnt give me a great haircut or anything). i used a #1 to a #3 strategically (this was a first, giving myself a haircut), im really happy with the results. ive lost a lot of the hair the past couple days rubbing off the "crusties" but im hoping that means they'll come back sooner! till next time, cheers guys!

all staples removed with no major incident! infact it was mostly a breeze, 1 bleeder and a few small "stingers" other than that it was a contant string of me saying, "you just pulled one out?" so yes kids DO try this trick at home if you have good help! the entire time my friend (yeah i chickened out with the brother playing dr) could not stop commenting how small the scar was. thank you dr wong! by touch, i can only tell where the incision was because my skin is still a little sensative in that area. other than that its gone by touch. i didnt have too rough a time with the staples (besides sleep) but it sure is nice to have them out.

so from what a gather, the staple removal process can go as smooth as ice or be an agonizing form of torture, nice. haha! i'll be sure to let you know how it goes. i've read taking a warm shower prior to removal helped relax the tissue so i'll give that a go (along with the betacaine supplied by H&W). by the way, i forgot to mention its an OLDER brother that would be removing the staples... for those of you with older brothers that loved to torture the younger siblings, im sure you feel my pain. and to top it off hes pretty bald and loved to point out the fact i was losing my hair, so im sure he's gonna make me pay! should be a hoot... hmm? maybe i should ask a friend?

Hello everyone, Tomorrow is another milestone in the hair restoration adventure... removal of staples! I'm very happy to get these out and move onward with the process, but also a little apprehensive over getting these yanked out by a clumsy brother!? Since i will be doing this without the assistance of a DR, I was hoping some of you veterans could share some helpful tips for all of us newbs.