Salt-N-Peppa

I think of the scalp stretching like a rubber band. Initially after a HT the scalp feels incredibly tight but loosens enough after a few weeks that you really don't notice it much. ( maybe a balloon analogy would be better?)I guess the trick is to not break the rubber band!! S-n-P

Thanks for all the updates on your progress, it is very helpful. Congrats on a fabulous transformation too. Your photo under the bathroom vanity light exposes a concern that I have on this forum. Namely, sometimes my photos look too good compared with reality. I try to give a proper illustration of my hair growth with harsh lighting but I may be limited by being photographer and subject too. Like you, I have tried to show top views and wet hair that seems to really show the least flattering views. Having said all that, I am estatic to have hair where once I was bare. I can only dream of ending where you are now WRT hair growth. There is only a handful of people on this forum that I regularily track their growth, and you and your extensive blog is one. Thanks, congrats and cheers . S-n-P

I hear you Bro- but I'm sure you have the advantage of youth, I'm a grey bread at 48 so EVERYTHING I do is slower! Cheers

no HT #2 photos yet. I should get a file from Jotronic soon and it includes the post op #2 photos. I'll upload those soon, and also create a blog on this forum that will show pre-op, 3 month, 4 month....through 8 month. It is kinda funny, I got 1960FU on HT #2 and was disappointed that it wasn't 2500. Hair greed I guess. I told DR Hasson that there would not be a rematch, two HT's is enough. Cheers, S-n-P

There you have it, I was asked by Dr Hasson if I wanted to be shaved, I knew from my first HT(4944FU's) with him what his preference was and more importantly the better results were obtained by shaving (specifically the angle that the transplanted hair lies with the neighboring hairs). I definately was looking at the long term solution to my hair loss and deferred to the judgemant of the pros. My second HT resulted in 1960FU's all being placed in basically minimal hair areas, perhaps this is why I was offered a choice of shave/no shave. Again, if there was anything I could do to help facilitate a better HT, I was going to do it. Therefore I said to shave my head.Cheers, S-n-P

It feels kinda like if you score bringing the hot chick to the prom. I have been losing my hair for so long, and unfortunately my confidence too......this has been a HUGE lift to my appearance and how I feel about myself. Like Bill, I am diligent abot going to the gym virtually daily, I watch my diet closely but I had no control over going bald ( BTW, thanks for nothing Dad!!). Now, I feel back in the drivers seat. We are a visual society, and I used to be on the short end of that straw. I can hardly wait for the next 6 months to pass as I just had HT #2 with Dr Hasson last week. Thanks for the kind words. Cheers ,S-n-P

These are photos that I took the day prior to my HT #2 while at Dr Hassons' office. I have included a pre HT photo from 8 months ago for comparison. This HT was 4944FU on the front and mid section of my head performed by Dr Hasson on May 23rd 2006...The crown had no work done, any new hairs there is attributed to Avodart. I am quite happy with the results to date. Cheers, S-n-P

FWIW, I just had my second HT with Dr Hasson a few days ago, in the consultation he asked if I wanted the recipient area shaved. I had no problem with it at all. Anything to help get a better result. The point is that I was asked though, I don't believe that Dr Hasson ( I don't know Dr Wong) has absolutes regarding shaving the donor site. Cheers, S-n-P

Yo B Spot, maybe you're my brother from another mother--- I'm a bit of a slow grower but give me about 8 months and we can compare manes!!! Later, S-n-P

NEVER DO MATH IN PUBLIC, or under the influence of Tylenol #3 etc. I said last night that I had about 2.2 hairs per FU.........actually the math count is- 6904FU's 2184 1's 3184 2's 1536 3's This is actually 1.91 hairs per FU. Total hairs transplanted is 13,160 ( my assumption is HT #1 had identical hair breakdown to HT #2...I think this is a fair assumption). Let me get your opinion on this- I think I'll leave the staples in for 14 days vs. the 10 after HT #1, my logic is there is not going to be another HT so I want to give the donor area to have as good a chance as possible to heal properly. Any opinions on this??

To Pat and Bill, I did do scalp exercises but I suppose in retrospect I should have concentrated my efforts of where the bulk of my door hair was, namely the back of the head. I do recall that when I started the exercises at the 6 month point, my laxity in the back was virtualy zero. So, while I did increase the laxity, I really should have been more dilligent and I offer that as a suggestion for others. Nonetheless, my donor strips produced about 2.2 hairs per FU.........so I had a total of 6704FU and about 14,750 hairs total............not bad for a NW 5!!! More info soon. S-n-P

Gentlemen- HT #2 is now complete----here are the details and breakdown. My crown was my first concern since I had a roughly 3 inch circular nearly bald spot there. Approximately 1550 FU's were placed there, virtually all of them 2's and 3s. 904- 2's, 436-3's and the remaining 210 were 1's. Approximately 425 single hair FU's were placed slightly in front of my existing transplanted hair to "soften" it up some and the in the first 2 cm. of my hairline to beef it up some. So- 620 1's 904 2's 436 3's Total for HT #2---1960 HT #1 was ---4944 but no "official " breakdown, I will assume the same percentages would apply though. HT # 1 Strip was 30cm by 1.5 (left and right sides) and 1.8cm back HT #2 strip was 30cm by .6 cm(left side) .8 cm (right side) 1.5cm back Pat, I will blog this in a few days. Jotronic is e-mailing me photos of pre HT #2 and post HT #2......stay tuned. Final thoughts, I was hoping for another 500 FU's but my donor area didn't have enough flexibility ( particularily the back ). So, for all of you readers of this message, start massaging your head so your Doctor can help you without that as a limitation. I'm sure most everyone here has an affinity for the Doctor that they have had a HT with, but I must say that the staff of Dr Hasson is superb. We all know the no one can excel without lots of help, Dr Hasson has first class assistants. I'll write more soon ..........good night S-n-P

I had a lengthy discussion today with Dr Hasson and we have decided upon a plan of action for HT numero two. First a little background. I was a Norwood 5 with baby fine hairs hairs and quite diffuse. May 23rd of 2006, Dr Hasson transplanted 4944 FU's into the forward 2/3 of my head (hairline thru to the front of the crown). I had slightly more than normal laxity and about average hair density. If I recall correctly the strip was 30cm by 1.60-1.70cm Today we dicsussed my desires and his technical views. ....I desire first for my crown to be filled in to the same density I now have on my front 2/3 ( I estimate this to be 1650 FU's).......secondly I desire about 1/2 cm of "soft" hair proceeding my current hairline ( maybe just 250 FU's)....thirdly, any remaining grafts to be placed where ever Dr Hasson deems best ( probably within the front 1/3 of my scalp). While I massaged my scalp quite abit, my sides are very flexible but the back of my scalp ( where most of my donor hair lies) is not as loose :-( I had Jotronic take a video of my nearly 8 month progress, I hope he gets it posted soon. Additionally, there were many digital photos made while I was in the office today, I expect to upload those pictures on this site by the weekend. For Pat, I will ask Dr Hasson to give me a break down of how many 1's, 2's, 3's etc he transplants. I expect 2000 FU's but am crossing my fingers for 2500 because I don't intend to do a 3rd HT!!! Regarding the extensive exam by Dr Hasson, he believes that I am a slower grower of transplanted new hair than average although he did not want to offer what percentage of growth I have yet to go from HT #1. Using magnification, he could see new short growth that was quite fine. His opinion was that doing a second HT in this area did not pose an undue risk of transection ( the other two areas are virgin). This news of course made me happy. Stay tuned for month 8 photos, post HT #2 photos and the video. Cheers, S-n-P

I had a lengthy discussion today with Dr Hasson and we have decided upon a plan of action for HT numero two. First a little background. I was a Norwood 5 with baby fine hairs hairs and quite diffuse. May 23rd of 2006, Dr Hasson transplanted 4944 FU's into the forward 2/3 of my head (hairline thru to the front of the crown). I had slightly more than normal laxity and about average hair density. If I recall correctly the strip was 30cm by 1.60-1.70cm Today we dicsussed my desires and his technical views. ....I desire first for my crown to be filled in to the same density I now have on my front 2/3 ( I estimate this to be 1650 FU's).......secondly I desire about 1/2 cm of "soft" hair proceeding my current hairline ( maybe just 250 FU's)....thirdly, any remaining grafts to be placed where ever Dr Hasson deems best ( probably within the front 1/3 of my scalp). While I massaged my scalp quite abit, my sides are very flexible but the back of my scalp ( where most of my donor hair lies) is not as loose :-( I had Jotronic take a video of my nearly 8 month progress, I hope he gets it posted soon. Additionally, there were many digital photos made while I was in the office today, I expect to upload those pictures on this site by the weekend. For Pat, I will ask Dr Hasson to give me a break down of how many 1's, 2's, 3's etc he transplants. I expect 2000 FU's but am crossing my fingers for 2500 because I don't intend to do a 3rd HT!!! Regarding the extensive exam by Dr Hasson, he believes that I am a slower grower of transplanted new hair than average although he did not want to offer what percentage of growth I have yet to go from HT #1. Using magnification, he could see new short growth that was quite fine. His opinion was that doing a second HT in this area did not pose an undue risk of transection ( the other two areas are virgin). This news of course made me happy. Stay tuned for month 8 photos, post HT #2 photos and the video. Cheers, S-n-P

Bill, this post ties in with an earlier thread about people hyping their HT Doctor. In both cases, I have no problem with accolades being give IF we are presented the photographic evidence. Otherwise it is only a late night TV testimonial to me... Cheers, S-n-P

I imagine that most of the coalition Doctors are booked thru January at this date. However, if you have flexibility for travel plans, there are often cancellations. Let the staff at your choice of Doctor know your situation and I'm sure they will try to work with you. My experience with Doctors in general is they want a full schedule when working and lots of days off for their golf game :-)

I hear you bro- after my second HT, I plan on waiting for future developments in hair cloning ( which I saw a segment on TV just last night, somehow it involves stem cells...... ) Hair greed, hair envy....I got all of those ailments. S-n-P

EXACTLY RIGHT. If you don't think you have a Doctor that will give you a natural look, don't do it. You and the Doctor must be on the same page PRIOR to your HT. "Measure twice and cut once" Cheers

oh, sorry I didn't answer before....I don't have any pictures at 7 months wet but I promise to get some 8 month pictures that show ,wet, dry and hairline . As I answered earlier, the wet look on me, at this point , seems to really expose more scalp than the dry brushed back look. Once I have my crown attended to, I will try a brushed forward look with a little gel on the front hairline. Cheers

Too Thin- I have not had any work on the crown yet. I was essentially bald on the crown ( about a 3 inch diameter) but by using Avodart for the past 7 months there has been some growth of baby fine hairs....maybe 10 per cm square. Just a guess. The second HT will concentrate on the crown. I am estimating that about 1500 FU should fill my crown at 40 cm per cm squared. Some members here really concentrate on the front half , since I am a bit older than most here, I prefer a reasonable coverage over my entire head. Just my personal preference. FWIW, as I was leaving Dr Hassons' office 7 months ago, he said I would not be back.......I said to him "you wanna bet". Again it is only because I really desire minimal coverage throughout. Cheers. S-n-P

This is for Cousin It----My hair line addition is to add about 1/2 cm of "soft" hairline to the front of what I currently have. I am quite pleased with where the hairline is now but i think visually, for a 48 year old, a few distracting hairs in front would be even better.!!! Cheers

Thanks Gentlemen for the encouraging comments-- Hairbank, I think 2000 +/- 500. The vast majority of that total is for the crown. It really depends on my laxity and what Dr Hassons' opinion is. I, unfortunately, don't think I have the greatest amout of hair for harvesting---probably average at best. Faceless Man--Thanks bro, Happy Holidays, be safe!! Cousin it----I'll post 8 month photos that will capture my HT to date from multiple angles---then I will also post my post HT #2 initial results..... Bill--Thanks, you are a maniac on this forum- and I appreciate the love. I am very pleased to date. Like you, I go to the gym every day. I try very hard to watch the diet, try to dress proper etc etc. but I had no control over my hair loss. It really did affect how I felt about myself. Now, I feel my total presentation to others matches more closely head to toe and it makes me feel so much better. Perhaps a bit narcistic, but it is a very visual society. Quite possibly, getting an excellent HT is one of the best decisions I have made in my life!! Stay tuned for the 8 month photos. Thanks again. Cheers, S-n-P

yo, pushing 40- back in the day, I had an aircraft accident during Air Force pilot training. Partly because I was too full of testosterone to be scared and because my squadron commander strongly suggested that I fly the next day, which I did , I never had any demons. I'm convinced that if I had taken time off to get my mind right, I probably would have never flown again. Which is what I do today. Most of us have phobias. Mine is rats----I'll squeal like a little girl if I see one. Whooooo, I feel better getting that off my chest. Cheers

For some reason the picture looks somewhat better than real life. I've tried various lighting but nothing I've found yet looks quite exact. I am very happy with where I am at right now, but , of course I'm hoping for greater density and somewhat thicker hair shafts as time passes. I also still have quite curly hair to date. I'm told it straightens out over time. When I play with gels, it seems to mat the hairs together creating more scalp visibilty, actually making the HT look tless dense ( but a more modern, stylish look). I believe that part of the process for me is to get my eyes to adjust to view my hair as a total stranger would see me. I'm sure I will always be my worst critic. Cheers

I had some requests after my 6 month photo upload to focus on the hairline with the next set of pictures. I have included one "before" photo from 7 months ago. My HT was accomplished by Dr Hasson (4944 FU). If there is enough laxity, and Dr Hasson believes there will be no safety issues, I will have my second HT in mid January. The second HT will be for the crown and a slight lowering of my hairline ( maybe 1/2 cm or so). Cheers