4737 FUT with Dr. Rahal- 11/16/12

[Raphael84]

Mike,

Congratulations on hitting that vaulted 3 month mark. You definitely have that early growth. Your hairline is already looking pretty solid. The crown will catch up over time but crown work generally takes that much longer to grow in, so all normal there. For me the difference between month 3 and 4 was pretty significant, so hopefully you are in for a fun month. All the best. Good solid documentation and great photo quality again, portraying a genuinely honest situation.

[Raphael84]

Mike,

Congratulations on hitting that vaulted 3 month mark. You definitely have that early growth. Your hairline is already looking pretty solid. The crown will catch up over time but crown work generally takes that much longer to grow in, so all normal there. For me the difference between month 3 and 4 was pretty significant, so hopefully you are in for a fun month. All the best. Good solid documentation and great photo quality again, portraying a genuinely honest situation.

[agenteye]

Rahael, thanks buddy! Always a pleasure to have someone so near to me in procedure time, and to have the support and understanding we have with one another! I was excited to see your recent updates as well......and thanks for the PM!! Things are definitely coming right along, and now that I am growing my hair out long for the first time.....it's going to be a true test of how it all looks at a longer length!

Thanks to everyone else who has read and commented on my threads and updates, and the PM's from you all as well! It has been super encouraging and positive to hear your input and comments throughout my journey. Everyone here has been such a tremendous network of support and inspiration, and I can't wait to see what lies in the days ahead for me....and for all of you as well!! :cool:

 

Best everyone!!!

 

Mike

[Cant decide]

Agenteye - How many total hairs did the 4737 grafts make up?

 

Happy growing my friend....

[Janna]

Hi Mike,

 

I found it a bit humorous that you look like a badass with your shaved look but you have disney blankets in the background so not so intimidating...

 

Were you on Fin and Rogaine prior to your procedure? You're coming along nicely for the 3 months mark. The next few months will be fun!!

[Cant decide]

LOL Janna

[hairz]

looking good agenteye.

[agenteye]

Janna-

 

Hahahahaha! That made me laugh out loud! I was actually at my Mother's for dinner when I took those......I can assure you that my home has ZERO Disney paraphanelia in it! Justin Bieber posters on the other hand......that's a different story!!! ;-) And I have been on Rogaine about 2 years prior to my procedure, and Fin for about 5 or 6 years!! I discontinued both about 3 months before my procedure, and started again at the recommended time after my transplant.

 

Can't Decide-

 

Sorry for the delayed response in getting back to you. I had a total of 10,163 hairs total with my 4737 graft transplant. At this point, I was hoping to have more of a noticeable amount of density, but overall am happy and understand these things take time. I will be posting my 4 month update and photos this weekend!!

 

Hairz-

 

Thanks a million pal!!!

 

 

Thanks for all the nice comments and wishes everyone!! I appreciate it as always!

 

Mike

Edited March 24, 2013 by agenteye

[agenteye]

Hello Everyone-

 

Hope you guys are all enjoying some beautiful Spring weather like we are in Nevada this weekend! It's that time again.....another month in the books and I am finally 4 months out from my procedure. Man, does time just fly by!!!

 

I am happy to report that things are moving along fine here. Although there hasn't been much new growth or density since my last post, you can compare my 4 month photos with the ones I took at 3 months, and see that I have definitely let my hair grow out long, and that I have stopped buzzing it with clippers. My scar is almost completely covered now, and I am going to continue to let it grow out a bit to see what the next couple of months have in store for me. Aside from a little shock loss still on the left side of my head in my donor area.....and a slower growing region on the right side of my recipient area......I feel my scalp is taking to the changes as well as can be expected for such a large procedure. I was hoping that I would have more density at this point, but everyone keeps assuring me that I am right on track to where I should be at this stage. My family definitely notices a HUGE difference in my hair from where I was before my transplant procedure. It's hard to gauge when you look at yourself in the mirror every day, but looking back at my pre-op photos, it is definitely easy to see that my hair restoration has made a very big and positive difference in my looks! I feel I look a bit younger and generally have a bit more confidence (Except the occasional low-blow of Disney blanket comments in the background of my photos....JANNA!!) Hahahaha. =)

 

I continue to take my daily regimens of vitamins, Rogaine and Fin!! I also bought a special shampoo (Revita) that was recommended on this website, and have been shampooing with it 5 times/week as recommended by the manufacturer. I feel that it is actually helping with the characteristics of my hair and scalp....and that generally everything feels healthier up there!

 

As always, your input and questions are very welcomed. I appreciate the support on here tremendously....and look forward to seeing what the next few months hold for me. Below are my photos taken exactly 4 months post-op. I am now 4 months and almost 2 weeks as I write this post today....so will be taking 5 month photos in just a few more weeks. I will certainly share the results at that time to show you how I am progressing.

 

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

 

Best,

 

Mike

 

 

4 MONTHS POST-OP PHOTOS

[Raphael84]

Mike,How's things buddy?

Thanks for the update, another solid post. I was real shocked after viewing your photos. Your hair is looking awesome, a huge improvement. Your hairline looks solid and density is improving all over. Obviously, the crown will take more time to reach a similar density, but I would be stoked if I were you. Knowing the changes that have taken place just a few weeks after the 5 month mark, for me, you are in for some great times. It's so easy not to really notice too much change, as you are viewing your hair several times a day, even though you know where you started out pre HT, but comparing the, to earlier images, you are looking great my friend.

All the best!

[agenteye]

Raphael-

 

Thanks pal!! As always, hearing from others is encouraging! Your hair is looking amazing as well! We still have some big things ahead of us to look forward to!! :-)

 

Mike

[agenteye]

Well hello again everyone!! Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to Summer. Sorry I haven't made a presence much in the last few weeks....been going through some huge life changes here!!

 

I just wanted to take a brief moment to write in and update my thread with some new photos of my progress up to this point. In a few days, I will be 5 months post-op from my procedure. I'm posting a little early, because I didn't know if I'd be readily available this week to take and post photos....so I snapped these photos last weekend instead. I really can't believe how quickly time flew the last month......and it's unreal to see the progress I've made so far (with hopefully a lot of improvements left to come).

 

My hair has definitely filled in QUITE A LOT.....and seems to be growing almost everywhere that received transplanted hair. It is still overall very thin as far as density goes, but again, it's only 5 months. I seriously feel 10 years younger when I look in the mirror. I no longer wake up every morning and look in the mirror and get depressed about "how I'm going to cover my head today".

 

The right side of my head (and obviously my crown) is a little slower-growing than the left side still. I also still have a tiny bit of shock loss where my scar is on the left side. I took one close up photo in my album (which I provided a link to below), to highlight the way the my hair is growing back in that spot. I am not too worried about it at this point, and it seems to be getting better all the time.

 

Most all of the numbness has worn off completely now....every once in a while I can feel a little numbness in the crown area of my head, but no more phantom pains or sensations. I generally feel really good and have been hitting the gym quite a lot lately. Getting in good shape along with some new hair has definitely improved my self-confidence a good amount. On a scale of 1-10 on how positively this hair restoration has impacted me thus far, I give it a solid 7....and hopefully a 10 at the 18-month mark.

 

Below are photos taken with my iPhone 4S in a variety of different rooms and lighting. The first 6 photos are FRESH out of the shower....with my hair soaking wet!! The rest of the photos in my album are all either dry completely, or I have styling wax in there. There are no concealers being used, and no alteration of any of the images. Sorry for any with poorer image quality....I did my best! =)

 

As always, all comments/questions are most welcomed. I am looking forward to seeing what changes my hair makes in the next month.....as I will FINALLY be 6 months by then!

 

Thanks for reading guys!

 

Best,

 

Mike

 

5 MONTH POST-OP PHOTOS

[Eman]

Huge difference and only at 5-months. It will only get better, you just wait and see!!

 

Take a pre-op pic and place an identical posed picture and you will see the transformation.

 

Congrats and enjoy the continued growth!

[TakingThePlunge]

agenteye,

 

Looks great already! Just checked our your pre-ops for comparison. You must be very happy!

[agenteye]

Thanks Eman, Thanks David!!! I am pretty happy with the results so far, and definitely hope for more to come!! Looking forward to seeing how the next several months change things, as I hear that is when things really start to take off!!

 

Best,

 

Mike

[agenteye]

Hello Everyone-

 

Hope you guys are all having a terrific Memorial Day weekend.....been beautiful here in Nevada!!!

 

I am just writing in to post my current photos. I am now 6 full months in from my 4737 graft transplant with Dr. Rahal. Unfortunately, nothing really too exciting to report from my last month post and photos....hair may be increasing in density a bit, but the change has been very slight and gradual. No surprises really, I was mostly expecting it. :rolleyes:

 

Overall, I am still very happy with my results up to this point. In looking at photos however, I have decided that I will definitely be going back for a second procedure to thicken up some areas, including the bridge (where there were no grafts placed) and maybe some extra crown work. Unfortunately, having dark hair such as mine....you can see all the areas that are thin and contrast with the scalp. This will be much later on down the line, as I am pretty content with the way things have shaped up to be currently. I think it is safe to say, that there was a pretty substantial change when you compare my pre-op photos to where I am today. I figure I will get some added density in the upcoming months ahead, and that will make me a little less self-conscious about my hair than I am as I write this update!

 

The photo album (with link below) was taken exactly 6 months from my procedure. As always, I tried to snap the photos in very natural lighting, and very harsh lighting.....to make my hair appear in the most undesirable way possible. I think it looks much better in person than it does in these photos. To remain consistent with quality and accuracy, I continue to shoot the photos with the camera on my iPhone 4S. Some of the photos are slightly blurry, but give you a very good general idea of where I am. The photos this time around were taken with absolutely zero product in my hair. The photos taken in the green and blue shirt are of me without a haircut......and then I clipped my hair immediately after with a 4-guard on the sides and a 6-guard on top. The photos in the "Haus Bicycle" shirt were taken the same day, immediately after my haircut.

 

As always, please feel free to leave any questions/comments!! This forum is an excellent source of information and support, and I hope to continue to give back to the community in any way I can.

 

Thanks for reading guys, and hope all is well with all of you!

 

Best,

 

Mike :cool:

 

6 MONTH POST OP PHOTOS!

[hairshopeing]

Mate your looking good!!! 10 years younger than Pre op!! I think in another 6 months you'll have a great mop of hair!! Already a huge improvent!!