Senior Member JON86 Posted April 13, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted April 13, 2016 Really impressive results. I followed your first procedure from beginning to end and really thought that was a nice result. This one is just the slam dunk. You have a killer hairline now will have density. Now it's just a bonus every month for you just watch it thicken and improve. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member spyk777 Posted April 13, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted April 13, 2016 Superb Results. Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 13, 2016 Really impressive results. I followed your first procedure from beginning to end and really thought that was a nice result. This one is just the slam dunk. You have a killer hairline now will have density. Now it's just a bonus every month for you just watch it thicken and improve. Congrats. Hey Jon, thank you for the support. The density is definitely improving from month to month. I'm excited to see what it'll look like at around 6-7 months. After my last surgery, I noticed the peak of my growth around that time. Take care! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 13, 2016 Superb Results. Congratulations. Thank you, spykk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Etownone Posted April 15, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted April 15, 2016 Amazing results. Solid work. Very impressive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted April 16, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 16, 2016 Amazing results. Solid work. Very impressive Thanks, Etownone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted April 27, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) I'm at 5 months and 1 week post op. There hasn't been much change since my last update. I mentioned I'd post a comprehensive update at 5 months, but I want to wait until my recent growth spurt catches up to the length of the rest of my hair. I still have many short, fine, immature hairs growing all throughout my recipient area. After my first surgery, most of my transplanted hair was already mature and growing thick at this point. I'm hoping most of the fine hairs I'm referring to transition into terminal hairs because the density in various areas behind my hairline currently does not reflect the density at which the grafts were transplanted. If you closely look at the photos I posted from top down about a month ago, you'll see the thinner areas I'm referring to. Many people say that 5 months is too early to judge, but I can assure you that after my first surgery, what I had at 5-6 months was essentially the same as what I had at 12 months. I am aware that second procedures are said to take longer to develop so I'm really counting on that. On a very positive note, my hairline looks much thicker. Actually, I haven't had a hairline like this since I was 18 or 19 years old. I'm absolutely satisfied with the way it looks today. I posted a photo below to show what it looks like after I apply product in my hair. So, my plan is to post another update around the 6-7 month mark. By that time, I hope the area behind my hairline thickens up. It's been a crazy long journey for me. I've spent around $30,000 for my transformation. Like many other people on this thread, this is money I worked very hard for so that is why I am so critical about my progress. If anyone has experience with delayed growth after their second procedure, please share your experience to give me a peace of mind. As always, thank you for your time and take care! image sharing sites Edited April 27, 2016 by jkm3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Pedro1982 Posted April 27, 2016 Regular Member Share Posted April 27, 2016 Amazing result at 5 months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britishhairways Posted May 2, 2016 Share Posted May 2, 2016 Hi, great results and thanks for sharing your journey. I was really interested in the recovery regime you describe in some of the posts. Would be grateful if you could summarize what you did and how you think it helped the process. Thanks so much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted May 2, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 2, 2016 Looking good at 5 months! 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 jkm3 Posted May 4, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 4, 2016 Hi, great results and thanks for sharing your journey. I was really interested in the recovery regime you describe in some of the posts. Would be grateful if you could summarize what you did and how you think it helped the process. Thanks so much I hope this helps: 1. The first 8 days: I made sure not to touch my recipient area with my hands or allow the recipient area to brush against anything at all. 2. Day 1 Post op: I took slightly warm filtered water, placed it in a large cup (about 20 ounces), and gently poured it over both my recipient area and the donor area). No shampoo. 3. Day 2 post op: I removed the bandage from my donor area for good. 4. Day 2-9: I used the same rinsing method described above, except I also applied shampoo in the recipient area and donor area. Every doctor has different protocols, but Dr. Diep provides shampoo (Grafcyte) and a sponge. I would take the sponge, dip it in my warm filtered water, add some shampoo to the sponge, foam the sponge up, and drench the soapy water over my recipient and donor area. I would do that once a day and then rinse the soap off with about 20 ounces of water. I would also rinse without soap 1-2 more times a day. So, typically, I'd pour 20 ounces of water over my recipient and donor area in the morning (without soap), I'd do the shampoo wash method I described around the afternoon, and I'd rinse the recipient and donor with 20 ounces of water again before I'd go to sleep (no shampoo). 5. Day 1-9: I applied Antibiotic just on the donor (Dr. Diep prescribed some cream). 6. Day 2-9: I applied Organic Aloe Vera gel to my donor once a day and, additionally, I used an Aloe Vera spray on the donor about 2-3 more times a day (purchased at Trader Joes). 7. Day 9: By this time, the light yellow crusts on my recipient area were mostly gone, thanks to the frequent rinsing. To get rid off all of the remaining crusts, I allowed water from my shower head to indirectly flow over my recipient area while I soaped it up with baby shampoo and very gently used my fingers to massage the few areas that still had crusts. 8. First 2-3 weeks: I took great care not to allow my recipient area to rub or bump on anything. Additional Notes: - When it came to my hair transplants, I researched any topic from every possible angle before I committed to an action. I advise everyone to do this. Don't just take take one person's word. - Frequently rinsing the scabbing recipient and donor sites will keep the areas clean and slightly moisturized, which helps prevent heavy crusting. If you read medical articles, you'll find that crusting delays wound healing so it should be avoided (in the safest way possible). - For the first 9 days, I suggest using a neck pillow and a few regular pillows to build a solid and comfortable base around your body so you don't accidentally rub your head against anything while you sleep. - I took these steps in addition to taking the oral medications Dr. Diep prescribed to me. These are the methods I used after my second hair transplant and I barely had any crusting left by the time I first touched my recipient zone to shampoo and remove the remaining crusts (by day 9). If you look at the photos I posted early on, you'll see how healthy my scalp looked by that time. I used great care, effort and informed judgment to have two successful procedures. It blows my mind reading about how poor some people take care of their heads after a transplant. We have a limited donor supply to cover a potentially large balding area and hair transplants cost a lot of our hard earned money (I spent around $30k), so, it's only logical to protect both our grafts and our investment. I hope this helps. Take care! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member spyk777 Posted May 4, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 4, 2016 Excellent dream results. Your post op care is different from what Dr Diep's paperwork details. I guess modified- but makes sense. I am going for my second session this month. The first framed my face well but it lacks density. Do you have any advise for second round. Did your first hair transplant suffer any consequences from the second. It does not look like it in the pictures. Thank you for sharing your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted May 12, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 12, 2016 Excellent dream results. Your post op care is different from what Dr Diep's paperwork details. I guess modified- but makes sense. I am going for my second session this month. The first framed my face well but it lacks density. Do you have any advise for second round. Did your first hair transplant suffer any consequences from the second. It does not look like it in the pictures. Thank you for sharing your journey. Thank you, Spykk! Yeah, I used his directions as a foundation for my post op care, but I definitely modified them a bit. My second hair transplant did not interfere with any of my initially transplanted grafts. I did go through a period of shock loss, but I believe most of the hairs that shed from that were native. At almost 6 months, the shocked hair is growing back and the change from the second transplant is clearly evident. What you'll get from a second procedure, if everything goes right, is a substantial change in density. Of course, it depends on how much hair you have now and how many grafts will be transplanted during the second session. I'm lucky to not have any significant hair loss in the back half portion of my head. But my hair is very fine compared to average so I've needed 4,700 grafts just to finally eliminate the appearance of thinning hair. After my first transplant, I still looked like I was losing hair in bright lighting conditions like being outside on a sunny day. I'm an outdoor fanatic so I saw the first procedure as almost pointless since it didn't solve the appearance of thinning. Now, I can be on the beach during the brightest time of the day and my hair would still look full (although not perfect). I guess my advice is to make sure that the amount of grafts you decide to place in between you're previously transplanted and native hair will actually make a significant difference. I'd need to see a photo to tell you if it would. Let me know if you have any questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member spyk777 Posted May 13, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 13, 2016 Thank you jkm. I will also try to moist it a little more often as my scabs before was hard to get rid off even after day 9. Hoping things go well again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted May 16, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 16, 2016 Hey there! So, I'm one day away from my 6 month mark. Everything seems to be going according to plan. At this time, I still have a lot of short hairs that are growing and slowly reaching the length of the rest of my hair. Due to this additional late growth, I should see a substantial change in fullness and density at around 7-8 months. I took a few close up photos of the areas on my head that can use additional density. Thankfully, those are the areas with the most short hairs growing so I'm assuming that these spots will fill in more once all hairs reach the same length and diameter. Other than that, I'm really happy and excited about my progress. I have what appears to everyone a full head of hair. I can wear it combed back or forward and it still looks full. Although there are thinner areas here and there, I'm still very satisfied with my second pass. I want to discuss the concept of hair greed. I recently noticed that I don't use my pre-first hair transplant balding state as a bench mark for comparison any more. Although I have not forgotten where I came from, I can't help but feel that my hair can be better and better. It's like I started with a huge problem and my first transplant made the problem a lot smaller, but didn't completely solve it. Similarly, my second hair transplant made that problem even smaller, almost to the point that it feels like the problem was never really that big. But the problem is still there and my mind still wonders whether I can make it completely disappear. Once I saw and experienced baldness firsthand and then I started solving that baldness problem with hair transplants, I've analyzed my results with great scrutiny because I'm aware of how much hair I lost and exactly how many grafts I had transplanted to cover that loss. Most people, if they had my current hair, but never knew baldness, would probably never think about getting a hair transplant. But I know baldness very well. The countless hours I spent masking it before I turned to hair transplantation will never disappear from my mind. I want additional grafts because I want to feel like the problem was never there. But logic tells me that the problem will always be there. After all, my transplanted density will never be like my native density. And I can't push my frontal half too far because I'll most likely need to work on the rear half of my head in the future due to the progressive nature of hair loss. That is why hair transplant patients with substantial hair loss need to practice compromise and acceptance. We must accept that our hair will never be perfect and make a compromise between what can realistically be achieved and our expectations. Hair transplant veterans should try to be as transparent with their experience as possible. We need to give future hair transplant patients a realistic and accurate portrayal of our results so that they can have accurate expectations. I posted 8 photos with this update. Most of them are taken from the top. I had my bedroom window completely open and took the photos under natural sun light. Three of the photos will show the areas with weaker density. 20mb image hosting images upload greenshot pic hosting click image upload image upload no compression image hosting over 10mb image hosting free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted May 18, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 18, 2016 Thank you jkm. I will also try to moist it a little more often as my scabs before was hard to get rid off even after day 9. Hoping things go well again.... Good luck with the second procedure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member spyk777 Posted May 18, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 18, 2016 Looking great!! Keeping track of your progress. Hair God's appears to be in favor of Dr. Diep these days!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted May 22, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2016 free photo hosting screen capture software temp image upload how to do a screen shot photo host photoupload screenshot on pc photo hosting image hosting 20mb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member spyk777 Posted May 22, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2016 Awesome!! Do you think it has the density now to grow it shoulder length. Really looks great. What product have you applied. How does it look in sunlight. Your documentation and photos are really thorough. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Etownone Posted May 22, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2016 Wow. Amazing results. Congrats. Looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted May 25, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 25, 2016 Wow. Amazing results. Congrats. Looks great. Thank you, Etownone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted May 25, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted May 25, 2016 (edited) Awesome!! Do you think it has the density now to grow it shoulder length. Really looks great. What product have you applied. How does it look in sunlight. Your documentation and photos are really thorough. Thank you. Hey Spyk. Thank you! I don't know how full it will look if I grew it to shoulder length. The density looks good now, but thinner areas might show more if I grow it that long. I normally just shampoo and condition my hair and go out that way with the hair naturally laying forward. Ive missed doing this the most because that is the way I normally wore my hair before losing the frontal half. I sometimes use hairspray or hair wax when I go out. It also looks good in sunlight. People wouldn't notice that I've lost hair or that I'm losing hair. However, If my head is in direct sunlight and I have my hair combed back, my hairline still doesn't look 100% full. I might get a few hundred more grafts placed there, along with a touch up in any areas that are still thin 6 months from now. Edited May 25, 2016 by jkm3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member jkm3 Posted June 20, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 20, 2016 (edited) My hair is continuing to thicken. I still have hundreds of hairs that are about an inch long all over the recipient area so I'm expecting some more improvement. I feel amazing that all of my past balding areas are now completely covered with thick healthy hair. What I'm most happy about is that my hair doesn't even have the appearance of thinning. Although the density isn't what it was originally, it still looks thick and people do not look up at my hairline or suspect anything. For all they know, I never experienced hair loss. Big thanks to Dr. Diep and his exceptional group of assistants. I believe no other Doctor in this world could have surpassed Dr. Diep's work on my case. The few who know I had work done are blown away and those that have known me for a while, but are not aware of my surgeries, frequently comment that my hair looks really healthy or that it looks thick and that I should grow it out long. Dr. Diep's work speaks for itself again and again. He deserves all the attention and hype he's been consistently receiving for the last few years. Take care! image hosting free image hosting free image hosting free Edited June 20, 2016 by jkm3 Resize photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted June 20, 2016 Senior Member Share Posted June 20, 2016 Looks awesome already and lots more to come! 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 jkm3 Posted June 23, 2016 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 23, 2016 Thank you, David! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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