Rahal FUE 2033, High-Res(ish)

[dannyde7]

Hi Everyone,

 

I received my FUE early last August and am nearing the 10 month mark and wanted to share my experience since I don't think there's an entirely up-to-date offering of Rahal FUE photos and experiences out there right now. My 2 week and 9 month photos should be pretty high resolution, so click away to get a sense of how the work looks up-close. FYI, I'm 30 years old and received the transplant at 29.

 

I received 2033 grafts with a density of about 59 grafts/cm2 at the hairline feathered back to around 50 grafts/cm2 at second zone, which was about halfway into my forelock. I had originally been slated for 2500 grafts, but Dr. Rahal said that, because my donor density was on the lower side of average, because I had good hair characteristics (wavy hair, medium thickness and somewhat coarse), and because I'd likely need another procedure, I could get away with less grafts and thus he bumped me down.

 

Here are the results, in chronological order, starting from the top left:

 

• 
  1. 3 months pre-op, right side. This is where I was losing my hair the most.
  2. Immediately pre-op, top. Take note that Rahal's technician, Mike (who is great, by the way) styles your hair right before surgery so that Dr. Rahal can get a better sense of how you're thinning.This is not how I styled my hair, so few noticed I was losing my hair.
  3. Immediately pre-op, right.
  4. Post-op, day 2.
  5. 2 weeks post-op, top.
  6. 6 months post-op, top.
  7. 6 months post-op, right.
  8. 9 months post-op, top.
  9. 9 months post-op, left.
  10. 9.5 months post-op, top, wet. I took this about 15 minutes before writing this post.
  11-12. 9 months post-op. I want to show how, when my hair isn't styled properly, the illusion of density can become revealed.
  

 

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the results, though I'd like for my right side to thicken up a bit and fill in, if that's still possible at this stage. Larissa, Dr. Rahal's post-op patient coordinator, has mentioned that Rahal will offer a touch-up if things don't even out over the next few months. Take note that the 9 month photos were taken in a very harshly lit bathroom with bulbs right above my head, so nothing is really being masked.

 

A few notes on my experience at Rahal and hair transplants in general:

 

• 
  Rahal's office is very professional-- I don't think people take much stock in support staff before getting a transplant, but I can say that Rahal's support is superb. Everyone there was eager to help answer questions and have been diligent about following up. Larissa is excellent and a great resource. When I had some minor nitpicky complaints about my experience, one member of the staff called me and talked for an hour about my time at Rahal's guest house.
   
  Future transplantees should take note that hair characteristics, donor density, and even the softness of your skin are important factors in how a transplant will go or how the final product will appear.
   
  I believe a lot of Rahal's genius comes from how he positions and angles the hair so as to create natural layering, grouping of hair into locks, and shadows.
  

 

Feel free to ask me any questions or PM me. I'm an open book, for the most part.

Edited June 1, 2016 by dannyde7

[mav23100gunther]

Looking real good Danny boy!!!!

[ontop]

Excellent job he did there buddy & yep I agree you have good characteristics also which is a good bonus.

[ru5884111]

Looks good. Unfortunate that the right side might need to be fixed, but it's happened before and turned out fine.

 

How does the left side look at this point? Looks solid from that one picture but I can't tell. Can you possibly get a few more pictures of that? Very interested because your situation seems very, very similar to mine (and have been trying to get comfortable pulling the trigger on a procedure with Rahal).

Edited June 5, 2016 by ru5884111

[dannyde7]

The left side is pretty perfect, though previous to my surgery, my hairline was lopsided, with my forelock tilted toward the left side of my head, so there was already more hair there to begin with. Here are some pictures, from left to right:

 

1. Left side, just shy of 10 months.

2. Left side, pulled up with a comb.

3. Right temple, just shy of 10 months.

 

The right side has actually thickened up a little over the past 2-3 weeks or so. When you're watching your hair grow in, you have a tendency of looking for thick sprouts budding from your skin, but what you often overlook is there may be impossibly fine hairs that have already sprouted and that are easily missed-- these will thicken with time and add unexpected density.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions or need any more pictures.

[ru5884111]

Thank you very much for that, man. One quick question, this is something I've always wondered about: the state of your hair pre-op, at the front of your hairline where it was at its lowest point, was that receded or thinned at all? It's hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like it wasn't, but there is hair transplanted to that area, so maybe there was? I've just always wondered if the thick, healthy native hair that's among transplanted grafts grows back at its normal rate or if it grows more slowly like the new grafts.

 

Would love if you would update this as things progress, and I've subscribed to this thread, so I'll be back too. I really wish you the best of luck and I hope that things end up better than you ever expected.

[dannyde7]

If you're asking me if the front of my hairline was receding-- it was, but very slowly and at a much slower rate than the corners of my hairline. I think Dr. Rahal lowered my hairline about 2 mm in the front, which was exactly what I wanted-- I didn't want a "low" hairline that made me look like a 20 year old-- I want to look my age, which is 30. There are some "golden ratios" out there about where the front and corners of a man's hairline should sit in relation to the wrinkles on his forehead or some nonsense, which actually aren't terrible guideposts to understanding where you might want to have Dr. Rahal draw your hairline. Dr. Rahal has indicated that I'll probably need a second procedure in my life, so I think he took this into account when he drew my hairline. Oh well. (I should also note that he drew the hairline at about 6 AM, when I was half awake, and I just kind of nodded and then off we went to the operating room-- if I had been more cognizant, I probably would have fought back, but honestly, I think Dr. Rahal had the right idea for a hairline that properly frames my rather ovular face)

 

My native hair grew back fairly quickly-- at about a month and a half after the surgery, my back/donor was sufficiently grown in that I could get a haircut to even things out-- I pushed my shaved-back forelock over my recipient area and rocked a caesar cut for about 2 months. At month 3-4, enough of my native hair had grown back that I could style my hair more and show the front of my hairline (I kept the sides covered). I have pics somewhere I could show you if you want.

 

Just FYI, for the first 7 months or so, I took like 3-4 MSM/Glucosamine/Condroitin pills a day, which makes your hair and nails grow wickedly fast. I recommend you do the same.

[Over-Rated]

Looks great.

 

Can you show us how you styled your hair post-op until it grew in?

 

Also, are you on finasteride/and or minoxidil? or no?

 

Thanks!

[ru5884111]

Wow, thank you again for the insight.

 

Can you tell me what you mean by "if I had been more cognizant, I probably would have fought back, but honestly, I think Dr. Rahal had the right idea for a hairline that properly frames my rather ovular face." Do you mean you were considering something different or more specific with the hairline?

 

Also what made you choose FUE over FUT? I still go back and forth about this constantly.

 

Did the doctor give the okay to use MSM, by the way?

 

Would also appreciate the post-op styling pictures.

[dannyde7]

Looks great.

 

Can you show us how you styled your hair post-op until it grew in?

 

Also, are you on finasteride/and or minoxidil? or no?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Here you go:

 

 

• 2.8 months with my hair back so you can see the recipient area

  2.5 months or so-- this was a professional photo for our work website. My bangs are covering the recipient area.

  4.1 months-- pretty much showing my hairline at this point

 

 

Yes, I use rogaine foam and take finasteride every day, and have been doing so for almost 4 years now.

[dannyde7]

Wow, thank you again for the insight.

 

Can you tell me what you mean by "if I had been more cognizant, I probably would have fought back, but honestly, I think Dr. Rahal had the right idea for a hairline that properly frames my rather ovular face." Do you mean you were considering something different or more specific with the hairline?

 

Also what made you choose FUE over FUT? I still go back and forth about this constantly.

 

Did the doctor give the okay to use MSM, by the way?

 

Would also appreciate the post-op styling pictures.

 

Sorry for not being totally clear-- I'm using the word "cognizant" as a synonym for "awake." I got very nervous the night before my procedure and didn't sleep much at all, which is an experience I believe many have. On the day of your procedure, you go to Dr. Rahal's office, fill out a waiver, and then meet with Dr. Rahal, at which point he inspects your hair and proposes a hairline. I had been imagining a hairline that was more angular with higher temple points than the one Dr. Rahal proposed, and if I had been less tired and nervous, I probably would have asked for line adjustments. However, in looking at my hairline now, I think the hairline Dr. Rahal drew makes complete aesthetic sense in how it frames my face, which is somewhat narrow.

 

There seems to be a large emphasis on this forum for technique and the mechanical science of a transplant-- the punch sizes, what solution was used to hold the hairs, etc. All of these are important, but I think a good doctor will have a strong understanding of many other elements of a transplant-- the angulation of the grafts, the creation of shadows, the hairline shape and how it balances against the rest of your face, etc.

 

At the end of the day, I wasn't entirely sold either way between FUT and FUE. I think the reason I chose FUE was that I just had a basic aversion to being "cut"-- I wear my hair relatively long as it is anyway, so I wasn't exactly concerned about hiding a scar. I also don't have a very lax scalp.

 

MSM/Glucosamine/Chondroitin pills are recommended by the clinic. I bought them in a drugstore in Ottawa and then bought a second pack through Amazon.

 

See picture 10 of my first post to see what I mean by "styled." I just mean that the hairs are all in one direction. It's when I start pushing hairs in different directions on my right side do things start to look thin. Either way, I'll post some updates again eventually. Believe it or not, I still can see some hair sprouting in and around my hairline.

[ru5884111]

How are you doing this month, Danny? How's the other side's growth?

[dannyde7]

How are you doing this month, Danny? How's the other side's growth?

 

Thanks for following up. Things have improved, though it isn't perfect (but what is?). I'll post an update at some point soon.

[ru5884111]

Yes, please! And glad to hear it -- things should still get better from here, but let us know what happens.

[ru5884111]

Any better these days?