Senior Member win200 Posted July 27, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted July 27, 2015 This really looks like it's shaping up to be a great result. I know people say that things can turn around in months 8-12, but let's face it--you can usually spot a disappointing transplant by months 3-4. This, on the other hand, has all the signs of being a home run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harhar Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Just curious, about how much did you bring your forelock area down (to improve the high forehead). The temples looked like they have filled in nicely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thatoldchestnut Posted July 28, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted July 28, 2015 Looks like you should be on to a winner here ZX! Rahal really seems to excel at making a good head of hair great. Hope you have fun in the coming months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted July 28, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted July 28, 2015 Thanks everyone for the positive comments. This really looks like it's shaping up to be a great result. I know people say that things can turn around in months 8-12, but let's face it--you can usually spot a disappointing transplant by months 3-4. This, on the other hand, has all the signs of being a home run. I have to agree on this point. Some people's growth at 3-4 months quite dramatic compared to others and it always seems to signal an excellent outcome. You can certainly bet I have been scouring the forum for examples of growth at 3-4 months and comparing mine to those pictures with great interest. Just curious, about how much did you bring your forelock area down (to improve the high forehead). The temples looked like they have filled in nicely The forelock/hairline was brought down by over 1 cm - perhaps ?1.2 cm. With the creation of the widow's peak the lowest point probably reach 1.3 centimeters below my original pre-op hairline. Dr. Rahal was definitely assessing the proportions of my face carefully to ensure it fit well - measuring my proposed hairline to my brow, brow to nose and nose to chin - to make sure one was not out of portion with the others. I remember in my initial meeting with Dr. Rahal he drew a very conservative hairline ... I mean very conservative - hairline 0.3 cm lower which I wasn't totally satisfied with. In my opinion it was way too high and didn't address the 'sloping forehead' that my hairline recession had caused that I had hated so much. Its that point in the skull where your forehead is mostly vertical than takes a quick angle change as it starts to create the dome of your head. My hairline was a couple of centimetres into that 'dome' area. I was still excited to proceed with the prospect of addressing future hair loss and figured I could still negotiate a lower hairline leading up to the actual day of the operation. I had chatted with the patient advisor Chad Cooper - who is great by the way and told him my concerns about wanting a lower hairline after having paid the deposit and date scheduled for my appointment. I felt at 36 years of age, holding at a Norwood 3 for near a decade, and having genetics that didn't seem to go past Norwood 3-4 - I thought I could get away with a lower hairline. I was anxious about the hairline design right up until Dr. Rahal drew it the day of the surgery when he blew me away with my 'dream hairline' without my saying a word about the design, besides my preference for the addition of a widow's peak. I suspect he and the patient advocates closely communicate patient concerns as all my concerns were laid to rest with a few strokes of the pre-op pen across my forehead ... haha. Here is a zoomed in picture pre-op of the hairline design close up. I think that the space between each set of lines is 1 cm, so you can see its over 1 cm. Sorry for the long winded answer but thought the details may be interesting for some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted August 15, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 15, 2015 A bit of free time ... here are two pictures at a a bit past 4 months. Very pleased. I still am looking forward to more growth in the temples and thickening of the hair grafts. In photos and to non-critical viewing it is a HUGE improvement over my previous receded appearance ... now the final 8 months I am excited to see what further improvements will come so that even when I closely inspect I will be satisfied. I have no doubt that it will get there. So happy I went to Rahal's clinic! Because I cant imagine having to continue to stress out about my hair and spend effort in worrying about that. Now I can concentrate on other insecurities :-) Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Rawkerboi Posted August 15, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted August 15, 2015 Your biggest insecurity is already eliminated So stop stressing now,,, Still 8 more months to come.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairshopeing Posted August 15, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted August 15, 2015 Looks great for 4 months looks like it's gonna be a belter of a result! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted August 15, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 15, 2015 Thanks Rawkerboi and Hairshopeing! The neat thing is that no one in my circle of people know anything is different. Dr Rahal really created a natural hairline that doesnt seem to draw any attention ... bad attention that is. Also I would always pull my hair forward and down to hide the receded temples so it would never appear as it does in my pre-op picture I just attached. So people wouldn't see the pre-op vs 4 months post-op look now when they look at me, just that I style my hair somewhat differently than before Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member mav23100gunther Posted August 16, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted August 16, 2015 That hairlne is awesome - dam! I want one of those. Have you noticed more attention coming your way from the opposite sex? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member matt3480 Posted August 16, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted August 16, 2015 Wow, looks amazing! You look like you have some killer donor hair characteristics....definitely always produce the best results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harhar Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Looks very good. My question is that since the transplanted hairs were in the front, did you have for a period longer hair in the back and shorter fuzz in the front. Was it obvious during that period that the front hairs were transplanted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thatoldchestnut Posted August 16, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted August 16, 2015 Wow, already looks great at 4 months, you sir are going to be one seriously happy camper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted August 18, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 18, 2015 Thanks all for the positive comments. Looks very good. My question is that since the transplanted hairs were in the front, did you have for a period longer hair in the back and shorter fuzz in the front. Was it obvious during that period that the front hairs were transplanted? Yes there was a period where there is varying lengths to the hairs. Even if you get a hair cut the transplanted hairs tend to grow slower than the native hairs around. It is "obvious" that they are different lengths however if you already have/had minaturized hairs in the areaa you can't tell which are miniaturized or newly transplanted, unless of course you never had any hair in the areaa. Some people seem to get regular hair cuts once able to to keep the hair the same length. I have had a hair cut once a month since month 2 but still the lengths end up being different. Let it be known though the common Joe would not know they were 'transplanted' as that is the last thing they would think those hairs represented, but rather that you were balding in the are ... though the truth is you are actually un-balding in the are I would say months 1, 2, and 3 to a certain extent looked a 'little off' while now in month 4 I am pleased with my appearance. I got a hair cut yesterday and my barber who I hadn't seen for over a year noticed some 'strangeness' in the area because the hairs were less dense and shorter than else where. He didn't know what was going on 'have you been shaving this area here?', I said 'no, I just leave it as is'. He was of course staring very closely at 4 month progress and could tell something was up in the area. I didn't feel like telling him. Probably by 12 months he won't have much to say about the area. That hairlne is awesome - dam! I want one of those. Have you noticed more attention coming your way from the opposite sex? Thanks mav! funny question. Being married with a kid, I don't routinely put myself in a situation where I can 'get attention from the opposite sex', or don't pursue to see if I can get a phone number or an extra notch on the bed post. I have always acted confident with the opposite sex, dressed reasonably well, been in shape and so on so I have never had a problem in that department. I still get my regular smiles and looks from the opposite sex but haven't noticed any 'statistically significant' increase i.e. from going from dud status to Brad Pitt fame. I think more interest from the opposite sex would be noticeable to guys who have a hair transplant who previously had low confidence and all of the sudden start acting confidently, putting themselves out there and then are naturally more appealing to women. When you feel more confident you put yourself out there, usually dress better, work out more and so on and it converts to better dating/relationship status. I do feel better about my appearance to be sure, however I wouldn't let my dislike of my previous hairline affect how I carried myself or acted on the dating scene, though to be honest I did style my hair to hide my recessed hair line and was careful in rain/wind when with females. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted September 21, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 21, 2015 I am now a few days past my five month post-op with Dr. Rahal. Things seem to continue to thicken and grow of course. I am very happy with the results already and even if things became stuck at these results I would be a 98% happy customer ... but with 7 months left of growth and maturation I am expecting to be a 100% satisfied customer. The hair is thick for sure, growing at a slower rate than my native hairs and each time I get a hair cut the shorter hairs are always the transplanted hairs, which creates a wave of hair in the front of shorter hairs probably a inch or two shorter than the native hairs. Not noticeable from a non-critical viewer's eyes though. The right temple which was the more recessed temple is aesthetically 'cured' however again with critical observation - especially after applying Rogaine and the hairs clumping a bit together it is a bit less dense than I would be comfortable with if my hair were to ever get wet in public. Having spoken with Rahal's clinic I was told that new hairs tend to pop out until about 9 months so that this area will get denser and continued maturation of the hair follicles would occur to 12 at which time the transplanted hairs will grow the same speed as the native hairs. So even if I can get my right temple just a little denser I will be content and I have no doubt that it will as I have seen a few stubble hairs here and there within the temples, though its hard to see with the longer transplanted hairs obscuring the view. Again this has no real aesthetic benefit from where it is currently - as to me it looks great still - just to calm my critical eye just a tad more :-) As Ive said all along I would highly recommend Dr. Rahal's clinic to anyone as even by 4 months post-op I had already let go of my hair insecurities. One thing I smile about whenever I see us transplanted hair guys post pictures, especially Norwood 3s or 4s who get transplanted to a Norwwood 2 - we always like to grow our hair as 'TALL' as possible and spike it up in the front as we like to proclaim now 'Look how dense and spiky my hair is!! Hear me ROAR!!" ... I am doing the same thing and will see how tall and bushy I can get it ... that whole 'pompadour look' that so many of us had wished we could achieve years ago. Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member SunSeeker Posted September 21, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hi zx_toth. Thank you for sharing your FUE pictures. Big change! I'm considering FUE myself and I've read through your thread a few times. I was also wondering if you have any of that topik powder in your hair in the 5 month pictures you shared? It seems like this stuff can be helpful after an FUE. FUE for me?? Maybe??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted September 21, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 21, 2015 Hi zx_toth. Thank you for sharing your FUE pictures. Big change! I'm considering FUE myself and I've read through your thread a few times. I was also wondering if you have any of that topik powder in your hair in the 5 month pictures you shared? It seems like this stuff can be helpful after an FUE. No I have not used any product in my hair besides the application of Rogaine foam twice daily in those pictures. I bought Derm-match and used it maybe a handful of times in the 2-3 month post-op phase as I was uncomfortable with how it looked at that time but haven't used it since month 3. I actually threw out the Dermmatch on a recent cleaning purge ... it was expensive stuff for only using it 5 or so times several months back ... oh well it made me more comfortable with my appearance back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Stig Posted September 22, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 I am now a few days past my five month post-op with Dr. Rahal. Things seem to continue to thicken and grow of course. I am very happy with the results already and even if things became stuck at these results I would be a 98% happy customer ... but with 7 months left of growth and maturation I am expecting to be a 100% satisfied customer. The hair is thick for sure, growing at a slower rate than my native hairs and each time I get a hair cut the shorter hairs are always the transplanted hairs, which creates a wave of hair in the front of shorter hairs probably a inch or two shorter than the native hairs. Not noticeable from a non-critical viewer's eyes though. The right temple which was the more recessed temple is aesthetically 'cured' however again with critical observation - especially after applying Rogaine and the hairs clumping a bit together it is a bit less dense than I would be comfortable with if my hair were to ever get wet in public. Having spoken with Rahal's clinic I was told that new hairs tend to pop out until about 9 months so that this area will get denser and continued maturation of the hair follicles would occur to 12 at which time the transplanted hairs will grow the same speed as the native hairs. So even if I can get my right temple just a little denser I will be content and I have no doubt that it will as I have seen a few stubble hairs here and there within the temples, though its hard to see with the longer transplanted hairs obscuring the view. Again this has no real aesthetic benefit from where it is currently - as to me it looks great still - just to calm my critical eye just a tad more :-) As Ive said all along I would highly recommend Dr. Rahal's clinic to anyone as even by 4 months post-op I had already let go of my hair insecurities. One thing I smile about whenever I see us transplanted hair guys post pictures, especially Norwood 3s or 4s who get transplanted to a Norwwood 2 - we always like to grow our hair as 'TALL' as possible and spike it up in the front as we like to proclaim now 'Look how dense and spiky my hair is!! Hear me ROAR!!" ... I am doing the same thing and will see how tall and bushy I can get it ... that whole 'pompadour look' that so many of us had wished we could achieve years ago. Z That's a bad ass hairline - Dr Rahal produces the best densly packed hairline in the world - how do you top this result? Absolutely awesome man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Spidey Posted September 22, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 looks incredible! My 1036 graft FUE with Dr HASSON. https://hassonandwong.com/timeline/fue-hair-transplant-timeline/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted September 22, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 That's a true "wow" result already. Congrats! David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member win200 Posted September 22, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 This is such a killer result. The anticipation for my 10/8 procedure with Dr. R is driving me crazy. How old are you, BTW? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Noodles123 Posted September 22, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 So true.... My friend had a transplant done by Rahal 1 year ago this week, and I regularly see his hairline up close and personal. It looks amazing and holds up under even extremely close scrutiny. I actually accompanied him on his trip, and there was a last minute cancellation from another patient on the day of his surgery. Dr. Rahal offered to fit me in since I had him take a quick look at my hairline which I wanted to refine from a previous transplant. Now seeing my friend's result one year later, I'm kicking myself that I didn't take Rahal up his offer. Ugh..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member win200 Posted September 22, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 I know! I've been delaying a second surgery forever because it's so inconvenient, but I know a year from now that I'll be so grateful that I just took the plunge and got it taken care of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ItHasToLookNatural Posted September 22, 2015 Regular Member Share Posted September 22, 2015 This result gives me a hardon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zx_toth Posted September 23, 2015 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 23, 2015 This is such a killer result. The anticipation for my 10/8 procedure with Dr. R is driving me crazy. How old are you, BTW? I'm 37 years old and this is likely the best hair line I've had since high school. I never felt like I was going 'bald' or seriously receding until I was probably 26. A couple of instances that have stuck with me throughout the years when I think back. I specifically remember a tiny bit of miniaturization in the front-right side (not quite temple) in high school and not understanding what was happening. I was not too worried about it and just would get that trimmed to the scalp as it was annoying. I remember a few times people saying 'you are going bald' when in fact I just had started off with a high forehead with a tiny bit of miniaturization starting. I remember when I was in my early- mid twenties I grew my hair long to shoulder length and liked the look. After watching 'Blow' with Johnny Depp where he had his hair long and swooped to the side I had an acquaintance say 'Why are you wearing a comb over, are you going bald?' I laughed and moved my hair around showing him I was not anymore than a Norwood 3 but just liked the style at the time. Had that look for several years and at times I really noticed how temples were quite deeply recessed, or more so anyway. Still looked ok in pictures I thought. Didn't bother me too much but wondered whether my hair would stabilize. I remember by my mid-twenties long hair started to look stupid because my forehead had recessed a fair bit and the temples recessed a fair bit more so there was no density when combing my hair back and cut it shorter and generally have kept it shorter since. That solved the problem of deepening temples as I could 'fan out' the hair in the front and create an illusion of temple hair coverage. From the age of 26 onwards I have at varying times become quite obsessed with my hair loss, with a couple years here and there where I generally didn't care to others where it has driven me mad (almost). Ive noticed the last 3 years it had been increasingly difficult to cover the temples with that 'fanning out' of the front hairs as the miniaturization was obviously continuing on the temples and was about to 'reveal' the true extent of my hairloss in the next couple of years if I did nothing. Now at 5 months post-op I am SO relieved that I no longer have to ensure my hair is 'just so' to look fuller. I can wake up side of the bed and have a hairline that looks like any 25 year old norwood 2 at the gym ... haha. Being in medical school at an older age means that I still go to the campus gym where undergrads go ranging in age from 18-26 typically (26 being that masters degree age person) and of course no surprise a large number have solid Norwood 1-2 hairlines and I constantly see this and this skewed demographic of course made me even more conscious of my hairline. Im not concerned with getting old as much as I am going bald, if that makes any sense - graceful aging 'fit with a full head of hair' :-) Way more information than you asked for but these random instances popped into my thoughts. This result gives me a hardon Not a compliment I was looking for but thanks, I guess ... lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Td06 Posted September 23, 2015 Senior Member Share Posted September 23, 2015 Impressive results for only 5 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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