3699 grafts - Dr Rahal - 11 months

[ScottishGuy]

Hey everyone,

 

After a long absence, I've uploaded my 11 month results to my blog. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

 

This is the shortest I've had my hair for a long time, and I must admit that I did feel slightly disappointed when I saw that the transplanted hair wasn't as dense as I would like, especially on the right side.

 

I did also wonder if the hair line was natural enough to be non-detectable as an HT. It's been so long since I had a hairline that I can't tell what is normal .

 

I realise that not many HTs would look good with such a short cut, so I may have expected a little too much here so I welcome your feedback.

 

I'm likely to be busy for the next week so I may not be able to respond straight away but I'll read all of your comments with interest

 

Let me say that I'm much happier with my hair now than I was pre-op and I thank Dr Rahal for that (just look at the difference vs my 5 month pre-op pics). When I let my hair grow a little longer it looks fine without concealer and a combed forward look (as you can see from my previous blog entries).

 

ScottishGuy

[keithodub]

Hi, first time i've seen your website. Great pics and great results. Although not perfect you've got to be happy with the end product. I go to get a HT next week and am mostly nervous about shock loss and how concealable it is. I've seen alot worse than you got although it must have been stressful at the time. Anyway, just a note to thank you for the excellent and frequently updated pics and narrative... gives me a better insight than previous on what lies ahead. Fingers crossed.

All the best.

[Raphael84]

ScottishGuy,

 

Your hair looks awesome. Your results are amazing. You are approaching or at your mid-30s with a solid head of hair. Naturally, as you have said, your hair is thick which is a big help when considering donor capabilities. You have a great hairline. You can only pick a few areas apart after a "photo shoot", posting them on a hairloss website and in depth analysis. Your hair looks completely natural, your scar is as good as undetectable even when your hair is cut so short. you look great. Great result. Enjoy your new found hair. Great job to Rahal and team!

[Goldilocks]

I see what you mean about the right side looking a little bit less dense than the left, but only in that one photo where you shot just that side of your hairline. In your other photos, it looks just fine!

 

Have you talked to Dr. Rahal about your concerns at all?

[Fingers Crossed]

Scottish Guy, your hair looks great man. I'd be a little bummed too with the density on the right side, however you still have a few more months of thickening left.

[wb280]

Scottish guy, i thought your results were awesome man! I mean, come on, u have gained a lot so i thought u should be a happy man dude

[Megatron]

I think your hair looks very good, definitely a big cosmetic improvement. That said, I too may have hoped for a little more density with 3,600+ grafts planted in the front of the scalp. But, then again maybe this is about the most density one can expect from a HT. I'm not sure. Would love to hear some of the veterans on this forum comment on your results.

 

ps. tnx for the great pics and blog - very honest and informative

[ScottishGuy]

Thanks for all the comments!

 

Reading my first post again it does sound a bit negative but I am mostly happy with the result. I think everyone (no matter how good their result is) always wants just a bit more...

 

Hopefully more of the experienced forum members can comment too.

[Surfarosa]

Scottish guy - I think the improvement is significant & completely natural. Has anyone noticed or commented? Also, are you happy with the appearance of your scar with a #4 clip? I went to a barber yesterday and was bummed when he told me I could only clip to a #6.

[Cant decide]

Surfarosa - Who did your procedure? Is the issue that your scar is wider than normal?

[Surfarosa]

I have had a second opinion on my scars by a Coalition Dr. from this site (to check they were in good shape) & was told that my scars are excellent. I was really surprised I could not clip to at least a #4. I am going to maybe try - what is one barbers opinion anyway? It will grow back & I can always wear a hat. I'm just sick of styling my hair & it's been 2 years since my last procedure. I have very fine hair and it can be hard to keep in any style & I'm very active.

 

My Dr. is not popular on this site so I wont post his name.

[Cant decide]

The interesting thing is people who have had a HT are so worried about showing the slightest bit of scarring coming through the hair. I can understand the desire to hide it as best as possible. IMO,even if it faintly peeks through the hair, 90% of pople would likely not even notice. In addition, of the 10% that would notice, 99% will not know it is a scar from a ht and would just assumed it was from some other ingury.

[Danielkiwi]

Hi Scottish guy

 

You are better off than before but i can truly understand your concerns. After doing a 3600 graft session, the least you need to expect is a good hairline that includes the temple. But, it looks like your right temple and hairline is still a see through...Sometimes i feel people expect you to feel better just because you have some hair in a area where there is no hair!! to me that does not make any sense at all...end of the day, it all boils down to how you feel about the result...and to me it looks like you are not completely satisfied..i would express my concerns to Dr. Rahal if i were in ur shoes..good luck

[Surfarosa]

Can't decide - you are correct and yes we are indeed a strange bunch in that we get a HT in order to cut our hair short. I think that most guys want the same thing - a decent perimeter (hairline) & good density. The (well one of the many) cruel reality of HT is that styling really is very, very limited. The 2 main options facing a hair loss suffer is to either buzz it or get a HT (going on meds I taken as a given).

 

What would be great is if you could do both. HT for perimeter, buzz for appearance of density & a hassle free style. That was kinda my goal. The truth is that if you buzz, it seems you will be showing your scars. Unless you have really thick hair perhaps. if you are like me the #1 goal is not to be found out. Scars are a dead give away. Yes most would not notice but then most don't need to. One person spots it & you can be sure your entire world will know before you do. People are cruel.

 

Scottish guy's style was the ideal IMO.

[Danielkiwi]

Can't decide - you are correct and yes we are indeed a strange bunch in that we get a HT in order to cut our hair short. I think that most guys want the same thing - a decent perimeter (hairline) & good density. The (well one of the many) cruel reality of HT is that styling really is very, very limited. The 2 main options facing a hair loss suffer is to either buzz it or get a HT (going on meds I taken as a given).

 

What would be great is if you could do both. HT for perimeter, buzz for appearance of density & a hassle free style. That was kinda my goal. The truth is that if you buzz, it seems you will be showing your scars. Unless you have really thick hair perhaps. if you are like me the #1 goal is not to be found out. Scars are a dead give away. Yes most would not notice but then most don't need to. One person spots it & you can be sure your entire world will know before you do. People are cruel.

 

Scottish guy's style was the ideal IMO.

 

You are right about the perfect goal..i think with HT's the less is more principal seems is awesome..do you think FUE has a better potential in achieving this goal

[Surfarosa]

Danielkiwi - I have no experience with FUE & it would totally depend on your individual case. I would consider FUE if I decided to do say 500-700 more in one session.

 

I say this as I have an imbalance in my hairline & can't decide if it's worth the brain damage of another procedure (I've had 3) to address.

[Danielkiwi]

Sorry to hear that surfarosa...i havent done a HT yet and it looks like people still worry about how they look after multiple HT's....honestly, i am having my doubts whether it is really worth it...

[Surfarosa]

It's all so individual. I'm glad I have had work done (if I maintain reasonably from here). The results are very, very good but HT is a very limited and fundamentally difficult game. My hair stylist is my best friend (and brutally candid) & she cannot tell.

 

Think about it from a simple facts perspective:

 

1. There is no widely accepted objective measure of hair loss - it's a guessing game based on pictures etc = brain damage & way too much opinion vs. science. HT has a huge quantitative dimension yet we cannot measure stability beyond looking at miniaturization?

 

2. There is limited donor supply for an unknown quantitative task !! Very risky - would you start building a bridge across a canyon if you did not know for sure you had enough to get there ? What design would you use. Your life depends upon getting it right.

 

3. The condition is progressive (drugs help but do they really stop ? If they did halt the process then this factor would less important).

 

4. The qualitative aspect is mind blowing in terms of artistry and technique.

 

5. The baldies last resort (shave or buzz your melon) is eliminated once you cut that first donor strip.

 

These fact make it a pretty crazy task. Use a limited amount of stuff to fix a problem that is only getting worse, whilst potentially causing more problems.

[ScottishGuy]

Sorry for the slow response.

 

Surfarosa> I managed to change jobs and relocate to a different country after my HT, so I haven't spent much time with people who knew me pre-op. Having said that, I do meet a few people that I've known for a while, and no one has said anything.

 

Day-to-day I've not noticed anyone looking at my hair, and even when I cut my hair very short, I didn't get any comments. I work in an office full of guys who mostly have no issues with hairloss so maybe they just don't think about it.

 

I'm happy with the appearance of the scar at a 4 clip. It's 95% hidden, with just one patch of thinness (in an area that was already a bit thin pre-op). The main thing is that there isn't an obvious 'smiley face' so no one would ever suspect.

 

I'm kind of attracted to the idea of getting some nape hair FUE'd into the hair line to soften it. I have very coarse hair, so perhaps this would be a good way to improve density and naturalness. Despite the great improvement that the HT has brought about, I still feel that my styling options are limited.

[Surfarosa]

Scottish guy - all in all are you:

 

a) Glad that u had the procedure ?

b) Regret it ?

c) Go back & forth ?

[wolvie1985]

Sorry, I don't think this is a good result and you have every right to be disappointed. Clearly the growth wasn't optimal. Dr. Rahal should offer a free touchup, especially on the right side.

[ScottishGuy]

I've not regretted having the procedure so far. I'm certain that if I had not gone through with it, I'd be wishing I had.

 

However, I can't really do anything with my hair apart from combing forward. If I comb it back it is too see through for my liking. The coarseness of my hair tends to catch my attention too.

 

I want to try and grow my hair, but it tends to look silly when it gets longer (the hair around my ears is thin and sticks out at all sorts of angles). This is nothing to do with the HT of course, but the difference between areas of thick and thin hair looks more obvious when the hair is long.

 

It's strange to see the range of opinions on this post regarding my result. I wish my result was slightly better, but I don't think it is bad and certainly seems to compare well with other HTs. Very few HT patients post pics with extra short hair (although I wish they would). The reason for that is no doubt because most HTs are not dense enough to look good with short hair.