Hairline looks unatural - help! Pics

[dude85]

Hi everyone!

 

I am a 31 year old male. I had an fue hair transplant in january 2013 to lower my naturally high hair line by around 2cm. I had not experienced any hair loss and no history of hair loss in either side of my family.

 

I think i had around 1500 - 2000 grafts put in my hair line and temples.

 

The problem is now that it looks very un natural and has a doll like hair plug appearance. People often stare and ask what the deal with my hair is! I don't like going out in the sun without a hat as the sun shines through my hair and shows the thick dark roots of the hair at the front.

 

I have contacted my surgeon and he said - "the single hair transplants have grown into 2's and 3's due to stem cell replication perhaps" - is this a common thing to happen?

 

He also said he will fix it free of charge.

 

I feel like i need lots of single hairs put in the front hair line and within the transplanted hairs. I need the 2's and 3's taken out of my temples also and replaces with singles to match in with my natural soft hair on the sides.

 

What would you guys suggest i have done to fix this?

 

 

Thanks for your help.

[Melvin- Admin]

I think the problem is the hairline was not a dense pack, the artistry was poor, I would recommend going to another surgeon and getting your hairline dense packed. Since you don't actually have MPB I don't see a risk in doing this. The last two pictures look pretty good is that how you had your hair before the procedure or is it just clever styling to mask the plugginess?

 

Here are two examples of minor hariloss with dense packed hairlines, the difference and the real reason your hairline looks odd is because of the proximity of each graft, if the grafts are not placed closely together they will appear pluggy. In order for the result too look dense and natural the grafts need to be placed very close together otherwise known as a "dense" pack. You can still get your hairline fixed and if you go to a top tier surgeon you'll probably look amazing. Stem Cell regeneration is a scam any surgeon who offers it you should steer clear from.

 

 

[dude85]

Hey! Thanks for your reply. Yes the last 2 pics are how I style my hair to try and conceal the pluggy look but it still shows through.

 

I would like it to be much more dense but with more single hair grafts as I don't think the 2's and 3's look natural in my hair line. The hairs on the back of my head are thicker, darker and harsher than the softer hairs on the top and sides of me head.

 

I have attached an image of my hair line before the transplant. I am happy that my hairline is lower now but I miss having a normal hairline and especially miss normal looking temples!

 

Thanks

[Harebrained]

HTsoon is correct. Poor artistry and placement combined probably has left you with less than desirable results. Stem cell replication? Really? Not sure who this Dr. or clinic is but do yourself a favor stay clear. You seem to have nice native hair and Im assuming good donor by the looks of your photos. You can easily be filled in and "corrected". I personally would not go back to this clinic even for a free "touch up". You have to live with the results regardless of the cost. Find some recommend Drs here on this site and get some consultations. Believe me when I tell you, your one of the lucky ones and good thing you are here.

[Melvin- Admin]

Hey! Thanks for your reply. Yes the last 2 pics are how I style my hair to try and conceal the pluggy look but it still shows through.

 

I would like it to be much more dense but with more single hair grafts as I don't think the 2's and 3's look natural in my hair line. The hairs on the back of my head are thicker, darker and harsher than the softer hairs on the top and sides of me head.

 

I have attached an image of my hair line before the transplant. I am happy that my hairline is lower now but I miss having a normal hairline and especially miss normal looking temples!

 

Thanks

 

When you go to an elite surgeon they will automatically place single hair grafts in rows and rows first before placing 2's and 3's in the hairline, the softness of the hairline depends on the placing of the grafts as well, a sharper tighter dense pack will make it look more dense but it won't look as soft, a hairline that's not as dense packed but still dense enough to appear natural will give the hairline a very soft appearance. You just need to go to a hairline specialist there are plenty fantastic doctors. Typically its good to find a good balance of a sharp tight dense pack that's soft enough to look natural.

 

Dr. Lorenzo is another fantastic doctor check out this result pretty mindblowing. It really boils down to artistry and surgical skill when it comes to hairlines.

 

[Spanker]

Damn. This is really a shame. DO NOT GO BACK TO THAT DOCTOR. The hairline is too low, it is BS what he said about cell regeneration with all of those 2 and 3 hair grafts, he not a skilled physician.

 

If you do not have MPB, you should have enough grafts to camouflage that, but you will need a very skilled doc. It may be just camouflage or if may be a combination of fue extraction and more grafts, or it may be electrolysis and more grafts. There are a lot of ways it could go. Go see a top doc and stay away from your original surgeon. Thanks one of the worst cases I have seen in probably a year. Sorry man.

[PupDaddy]

dude85,

 

Precisely as Spanker just said: DO NO RETURN TO THAT DOCTOR. He inexplicably populated your temples and frontal hairline with 2 and 3-hair grafts, which is a huge no-no.

 

Go see a top hairline doc (e.g., Dr. Konior, Dr. Gabel, Dr. Diep, Dr. Cooley, Dr. Shapiro, etc.) to assess your situation. Like Spanker said, there are several possible approaches to fixing this: (a) camouflaging the pluggy work by transplanting lots of newly-exctracted 1-hair grafts in front of, and between the 2 and 3-hair grafts, (b) punching out some or all of the 2 and 3-hair grafts and replacing them either with newly-extracted 1-hair grafts or with single hair grafts created by dissecting the punched out multi-hair grafts into 1-hair grafts, © electrolysis to "kill" the 2 and 3-hair grafts (as an alternative to punching them out and repurposing them) followed by transplantation of newly-harvested single-hair grafts, or (d) some combination of the above.

 

Get thee to an elite hair restoration surgeon with an impeccable record for hairline work and hairline repair work.

[Harebrained]

I couldn't agree more with Spanker. You are not damaged in any way, you just need to be filled in and finished. Luckily enough it doesn't appear you're Dr. did you much harm. Although it appears he doesnt know what he's talking about or he's full of B.S.

Find a Dr. on this site and finish you're transplant. Don't go back to that Dr. for a free followup session, you will be waisting your grafts. You are very fortunate. You're photos seem to indicate you have the potential to get a full head of hair if you choose a Dr that knows what he's doing. When I tell you that you're one of the lucky ones don't take it for granted. You are.... good luck and I'm happy for you that you have found this site! Finish what you started and be happy!

[MrGio-WHTCClinic]

At this point, seek a clinic that specializes in hairline work. You have options to remove the multi-hair grafts. Consider having the grafts removed and replaced as fractionated single-hair grafts. You also could remove the grafts and place new grafts from the donor area. Another option could be removing the worst of the multi-hair grafts to create a softer appearance.

[Matt27]

Is there a guide or any good threads to read on here regarding hairline work?

[Dolph1969]

To be honest, I don't you needed a hair transplant in the first place.

[Sean]

This is very concerning. Get some refund or something. I agree with others, do not go back. You need to go to a very experienced hairline expert. This will need some careful repair. Is the doctor well known? Hope you get it rectified and successfully. Best wishes

[matt3480]

Agree with Sean......not only run away from this surgeon, but demand a refund. You went from not looking thin to now looking thin.

 

Did he really say stem cell replication? Well, by damn, you are a first in history then. You should out this surgeon and he should lose his license. It's surgeons like that who shouldn't be practicing, at all.

 

In my time on this site......I just still can't understand why some of you people pick the surgeons you have. It can't be money because the difference in price is not huge between hair mills and some of the top surgeons. There are about 10-15 surgeons in the US who should be considered and NO ONE ELSE. The rest either plain suck and shouldn't even have licenses or they don't consistently produce quality results.

 

Lucky for you this can easily be fixed by having a top surgeon fill in the areas. Regardless, you wasted, what, a year of your life now and $$ because of a bad decision.

[dude85]

Hi everyone

 

Thanks for the replies!

 

So do you guys think my surgeon knowingly implanted 2's and 3's into my temples and hairline? And this is something that should never be done?

 

If I have some of the implants removed from my temples and not replaced, would it leave visible scars?

 

Do you think I have a case for a full refund?

 

 

Thanks

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Dude85,

 

Sorry to hear you are disappointed with the outcome of your surgery.

 

I wanted to share my thoughts on your above question(s).

 

Before saying that. I do want to state that parts of my explanation touch a little bit on some of the pitfalls of FUE. I don't want this to come off as an anti-FUE statement nor do I want to detract from the real goal at hand: getting this resolved and making you happy. However, I did feel the need to float that "warning" out there a bit!

 

Having said that ...

 

No, I do not think 2-3 hair grafts were intentionally transplanted into your hairline. Nor do I think "stem cells" had anything to do with this. Here is what I do think happened:

 

When looking at follicular unit groupings from the surface of the donor region, it is sometimes difficult to tell what is truly a "single" versus a "multi" follicular unit graft. This happens for a variety of reasons: groupings that are close to one another; hairs that are difficult to see above the surface because they might have a slight variation in color or texture; one follicle in a grouping may be in a "resting" phase and isn't cycling and growing a hair at the moment; or the follicles in the group are simply cycling in a different order and their respective hairs are penetrating the surface at different times.

 

No matter the cause, the result is the same: if you only view the follicular unit groupings from the surface without seeing the actual bulbs underneath or examining the tissue under a microscope, you can sometimes mistake a "multi" graft for a "single" graft. This means that a graft that looks like a single is placed where singles should be placed (the hairline(s)), but it turns out to be a multi when fully mature.

 

Unless all FUE grafts are inspected and cleaned up under a microscope, this can occur.

 

Something else that may have occurred: you may have had singles in front of some of multis (which is standard), but they simply didn't grow well and it left you with a multi -- that should have been broken up behind singles -- growing as the most anterior graft in the front.

 

This may be relevant for another reason: it appears as if the grafts experienced some character or textures changes. This usually occurs when the internal portion of a follicle becomes permanently distorted during the FUE extraction process. This leads me to believe you may have fragile grafts that can't withstand a lot of manipulation; singles tend to be more fragile and less hearty than multis in general, but fragile grafts with FUE manipulation could explain why the yield of the singles may have been even less than the multis -- which further explains why you may have multis "in the front."

 

Removing the multis with FUE tools may be an option. However, this may leave visible scarring in the front.

 

What might be a better option is transplanting singles around them. This may be a better approach in general because you could basically just do another procedure to address all of the areas where you are concerned.

 

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to ask any additional questions.

[Harebrained]

Do you know where your singles went? You should have at least gotten an exact graft count. The whole stem cell replication thing would be a dream come true for most of us here.

This Dr./clinic should be exposed here to potentially save someone else's grief. You deserve no less than a partial refund. Don't accept any free follow ups with this doctor don't waiste your precious doner!

[Mick50]

I'm getting a bit annoyed with with Dr Bloxam subtly or otherwise blaming FUE for the cause for sub par transplants I actually went with basically a tech clinic in Turkey which cost me 1750 pounds for 4200 grafts and in my opinion my result matches any results i have seen on this site, so just think if you went with a top FUE Doc you could get possibly a better result ,my hairline is good and natural people are amazed that I have hair again ,can people explain how In got this result if these tech clinics are as bad as they are made out to be

[lorenzo]

Sorry to see your pictures but this work is subpar. You were not a easy case to start with because you have dark hair, thick hair calibre and white skin. This type of case need a doctor that is experienced with these characteristics or else it will not look natural. Angles, and density are extremely important. Not to mentioned you are having your hairline lowered so this work is easily exposed and needed to have the illusion of matching the hair directly behind.

I would NEVER go back to the same doctor. I would ask for my money back and choose an experienced doctor to repair it. It appears that you have great donor so a repair is possible. I think this doctor would have given you the same result regardless of the technique because the angles are messed up, the density is low and it appeared unnatural how the hair leaves the skin.

Don't pick the cheapest doctor pick the best even if this means waiting. In the meanwhile you can research as much as possible.

Good luck!

[chrisdav]

Who was your doctor dude85?

[ArochaHair]

With all due respect to Dr. Bloxham, this result has nothing to do with the so called "pitfalls" of FUE. If it did then we'd be seeing a lot more of these problems than we do.

 

This case is quite simply one of carelessness and inexperience. The grafts were placed without consideration of the hair and scalp color contrast nor for the hair texture. Lorenzo is correct in that the dark coarse hair on fair skin requires experience. I won't even get into the angle issue.

 

I would also strongly caution against adding single hair grafts in front of the new hairline as that only lower the hairline more which would be a bad idea in this case. The best approach would be some sort of removal either with electrolysis or through carefully targeted FUE extraction then revisit once sufficient time has passed and evaluate the need for density. In other words, unfortunately, this is not a one procedure fix.

[Sean]

Dude85, youve heard the verdict, people see there is an issue.

 

Now, realizing this may take multiple repairs, request refund from the responsible party/surgeon so you can pay for those repairs. You even have evidence here.

 

I would not go back to same surgeon. He may end up eating your grafts trying to repair in the same zones and etc screw up your donor, possibly.

 

It would be nice to know who this doctor was so that others are aware for their safety. As well as their clinic address.

 

Email the doc and cc yourself. If issues persist you can contact several agencies.

 

It is clear you need to move forward with this strategically. Sorry this had to happen to you. As an existing repair patient myself, it really blows and i certainly know how frustrating this can be.

 

Good luck.

[esrec]

Dude85,

 

Sorry to hear you are disappointed with the outcome of your surgery.

 

I wanted to share my thoughts on your above question(s).

 

Before saying that. I do want to state that parts of my explanation touch a little bit on some of the pitfalls of FUE. I don't want this to come off as an anti-FUE statement nor do I want to detract from the real goal at hand: getting this resolved and making you happy. However, I did feel the need to float that "warning" out there a bit!

 

Having said that ...

 

No, I do not think 2-3 hair grafts were intentionally transplanted into your hairline. Nor do I think "stem cells" had anything to do with this. Here is what I do think happened:

 

When looking at follicular unit groupings from the surface of the donor region, it is sometimes difficult to tell what is truly a "single" versus a "multi" follicular unit graft. This happens for a variety of reasons: groupings that are close to one another; hairs that are difficult to see above the surface because they might have a slight variation in color or texture; one follicle in a grouping may be in a "resting" phase and isn't cycling and growing a hair at the moment; or the follicles in the group are simply cycling in a different order and their respective hairs are penetrating the surface at different times.

 

No matter the cause, the result is the same: if you only view the follicular unit groupings from the surface without seeing the actual bulbs underneath or examining the tissue under a microscope, you can sometimes mistake a "multi" graft for a "single" graft. This means that a graft that looks like a single is placed where singles should be placed (the hairline(s)), but it turns out to be a multi when fully mature.

 

Unless all FUE grafts are inspected and cleaned up under a microscope, this can occur.

 

Something else that may have occurred: you may have had singles in front of some of multis (which is standard), but they simply didn't grow well and it left you with a multi -- that should have been broken up behind singles -- growing as the most anterior graft in the front.

 

This may be relevant for another reason: it appears as if the grafts experienced some character or textures changes. This usually occurs when the internal portion of a follicle becomes permanently distorted during the FUE extraction process. This leads me to believe you may have fragile grafts that can't withstand a lot of manipulation; singles tend to be more fragile and less hearty than multis in general, but fragile grafts with FUE manipulation could explain why the yield of the singles may have been even less than the multis -- which further explains why you may have multis "in the front."

 

Removing the multis with FUE tools may be an option. However, this may leave visible scarring in the front.

 

What might be a better option is transplanting singles around them. This may be a better approach in general because you could basically just do another procedure to address all of the areas where you are concerned.

 

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to ask any additional questions.

 

Interesting Blake.

 

In your experience, do singles and multiples behave much differently during the regrowth process, both in terms of pace and maturation and/or survival, independent of procedure type?

[CaliHairGuy]

I'm getting a bit annoyed with with Dr Bloxam subtly or otherwise blaming FUE for the cause for sub par transplants I actually went with basically a tech clinic in Turkey which cost me 1750 pounds for 4200 grafts and in my opinion my result matches any results i have seen on this site, so just think if you went with a top FUE Doc you could get possibly a better result ,my hairline is good and natural people are amazed that I have hair again ,can people explain how In got this result if these tech clinics are as bad as they are made out to be

 

I am pretty sure he is hypothesizing what could have happened. I didn't take that as a slam on FUE procedures. Buy hey, see what you will...