Approaching 11 Months Post Op - Still Not Completely Satisfied

[Born2Shine]

So... In a couple weeks I will be at 11 months. Under the right lighting... I still see countless tiny hairs coming in in the hairline that are almost invisible and obviously have not matured yet.

 

Overall... I feel quite happy about the progress I have made. There has been a substantial improvement and I rarely wear hats anymore which is a big step forward for me.

 

That said... I can not say that I am 100% satisfied. I realize that I am a perfectionist and so some of this may actually be in my head.

 

I am attaching a photo that shows my hair pulled back using a hat so you can see the current state of my hairline on the left side.

 

This side was always lagging behind from the beginning of my growth. In the temple, it goes back just a little bit further than I want. For some reason, there is a grouping of hairs that are below the rest of my hairline right before the temple area. I placed a blue dot right below where these hairs appear.

 

These hairs seem to make it look like there is some monor recession in this left temple. I am not sure why these hairs are there because I do not believe that there were grafts placed there and I do not think it was intentional.

 

This minor recession seems to throw off the hairstyles I would like to wear. Sometimes I like to spike my hair back with almost a slicked back look. When I look in the mirror, this slight recession seems to throw off the style. In my mind... it would look far better if the hairline came down slightly on the left temple.

 

If it came down slightly, I think I could pull off more radical hairstyles and my hair would look better with both the slicked back style as well as a buzz type cut.

 

When I had my procedure done, I told the doc that I was looking to be a little more conservative. Since my recession was somewhat minor, I guess I was actually looking to be a little more aggressive. I basically allowed the doc to place my hairline where he thought it should be.

 

Honestly... I wish my entire hairline was just a little bit lower as I already have a high hairline to begin with. My fear would be that the lower hairline would not match the rest density wise and might end up looking much worse than it does now. With a higher hairline, it seems that even minor recession is a lot more pronounced than on those that have a naturally lower hairline to begin with. It seems that lowering the left side just slightly would make a huge difference in the overall appearance. Again... some of this may just be in my head.

 

When the grafts were placed... It actually looked a little more straight on this side than it does now. Like I said, I can still see small fine hairs, but I do not think there are going to fill this in as much as I would like even after they mature. I am attaching a photo of the graft placement on the left side so you can compare the placement to my current growth.

 

I a really torn because I do not want to go through all of this again. I wish I would have been just a little more aggressive when I had this procedure. However... what is done is done.

 

How many grafts do you think it would take to bring down this left temple a bit and to get a little more temple closure?

 

If I decide to go ahead with another procedure, would getting this done with a smaller number of grafts be a lot easier than going through what I went though last time?

 

Should I just wait and give the hairs more time to mature and see where I am at 14 months?

 

Like I said, I know I am a perfectionist, but this is bothering me. It seems to make styling my hair much more difficult than I feel like it should be. That is a big part of the reason I had this done in the first place.

 

I was considering getting a consult with a doc in Bangkok that seems to be getting some great FUE results. I can't think of his name but some of his work was recently posted on this site.

 

 

Let me know your thoughts... Thanks!

Edited July 4, 2016 by Born2Shine

[Dolph1969]

I don't think you need anything done. I would leave well alone . Probably still maturing up to 18 months.

[RadioRunner]

Your hairline looks superb bro. I too am a perfectionist and tend to be hyper-critical, so I totally get where you're coming from, but from these pics it looks solid.

 

Who was your HT Doc?

 

There was this one thread on here, I believe by someone who had their HT done by Feller, who wasn't satisfied at 12 months. So he went back to his Doc and the doc told him to wait 18 months before making and decisions. He even posted pics at 12 months and it looked like it could have def been denser. But he posted again at 18 months and it looked beautiful. Totally filled in and natural. I don't remember the thread name, but if you do some digging I'm sure you could find it.

 

Cheers

[starscream]

That hairline looks pretty good in the pic. I wouldn't do anything to it if I were you.

[Spanker]

Are you on fin? Do you have any preoperative pics? At 43 or yrs old or so, I do think you could blunt you corner recessions slightly and it would be appropriate. You do have a naturally high hairline. I think you can have a high hairline and somewhat blunthe corners, or you hlcan have a lower hairline like mine, with recessed corners, but I don't think most people should have both.

[Born2Shine]

Thank you for the comments.

 

You see what I am talking about though right? I am attaching another photo where I have drawn in the "ideal hairline". I would like to see this area just as dense as the forelock. I would like to be able to slick back from the temple and look like there is no recession.

 

Even if I had this filled in, my hairline would not be straight an would still have a natural looking curve. For some reason... it actually looks a bit more receded to me in the mirror than it does in the photo.

 

It still throws me because this side looked a little more "straight" and closed than the right when the grafts were placed. However, now it looks like the right side looks more filled in and without recession.

 

This can't be in my head, right?

 

I went to Asmed. Like I said, overall I am happy and feel having the procedure done was definitely the right decision. The density on the right appears to pretty much match the original density even under harsh lighting. If the left was to match up, I would be ecstatic.

[ontop]

IMHO people who class themselves as perfectionists dont make good candidates for HT.

 

Your hairline is what I would call is good & is something most can live with, so best wait a while longer before you start nit picking a good result it seems.

 

People need to understand prior that having a HT is far from a "perfect" solution but with the experience Dr & skill can be a look that somebody can live with comfortably & that is what people need to keep in check with there expectations prior HT.

 

Sorry budd dont to sound mean just be honest, your hair looks good, & like OP said it could well mature somemore in several months.

if for whatever reason you still cant live with it, you could go back for a touch up but dont rush it just yet.

 

I wish you well.

[Born2Shine]

Are you on fin? Do you have any preoperative pics? At 43 or yrs old or so, I do think you could blunt you corner recessions slightly and it would be appropriate. You do have a naturally high hairline. I think you can have a high hairline and somewhat blunthe corners, or you hlcan have a lower hairline like mine, with recessed corners, but I don't think most people should have both.

 

Yes... I just want to "blunt" the corners like you mentioned. At least on this left side. Any idea how many grafts it would take to do that?

 

I am wondering if this would be a minor operation where I could go down to a crew cut and have it not really be so noticeable. Perhaps it would look like I had a slight injury there for a while?

 

BTW, I had minimal recession to begin with and I have plenty of grafts. They are not doing me any good on the back of my head. If it is going to make me happy, why not do it?

 

Thanks again

[Spanker]

You are probably talking 200 to 300 grafts just to bLunt the left corner where you drew it in. I would think closer to 200.

 

You never answered my question about fin, and I think you should be on it as it will extend your result.

 

But overall, for your age, your hair situation is good, and if a couple hundred grafts are going to make you happy, then I say go for it.

 

I agree with others that your hair already looks good, but it seems that your risk is low and based on your feelings of dissatisfaction, the reward could be high. I say go for it.

[Mikey1970]

I had a horror experience with a tiny procedure once. It caused shock loss inches away from where the work was done & then I needed a much bigger procedure (which I have just had done) to try and fix it.

 

My experience is that I have learnt to now be happy with a good result. Small procedures do have risks in my opinion.

 

That said, it could pan out fantastic for you. Just make sure you are aware of the risks.

 

For what its worth, I think your hairline looks great.

 

Good luck.

[Born2Shine]

I am still trying to figure out something. From the immediate post op photos, it looks like this temple was a little more closed off. Yet... below a certain point, I am not seeing any hairs growing.

 

It doesn't make sense that NONE of the hairs in this area would have grown, right?

[Born2Shine]

Well... I have to say it seems that this is another case of my mind playing tricks on me. I was traveling the past 10 days and I had been looking at my hair under a totally different kind of lighting in the condo I was staying in.

 

In this lighting... I could not see any of the fine hairs that are growing in. Like I have said before, these hairs are almost invisible if you are not looking under the right kind of light.

 

Now that I am back in my place with the overhead lighting, I can see countless tiny hairs (longer than vellus) that all coming in all along the hair line. I see many in the area that appears to be bald and recessed in the photo I posted.

 

It looks like these hairs should make a substantial difference in this area once they get mature and thicken. There is really no way of knowing how much more this area is going to fill in over the coming months.

 

I think it goes to show that you can still have a lot of hair growing in the later months even though you may not be able to see the hairs under your current lighting conditions.

 

I was unable to see these hairs at all until I got back under these bright overhead lights. When I tilt my head just right under these lights, I can see countless shorter fine hairs still coming in all throughout this area.

 

Crazy...

[ontop]

Late bloomer folicals! which this does happen, thats why doctors tell there patients to wait till at least 12 to 18 months to see the full result.

When you hit the 18 month mark then thats as good as it gets.

 

Your looking good there...try not to be to critical of yourself! & yes the mind do play tricks with you on a daily basis.

[Qneedhair]

Have you ever seen someone with an almost flawless hairline? The kind of hairline that is that is too perfect? Unfortunately, I have seen many and it leads me to believe that there has been a hair restoration procedure done. Then there are those hairlines that are imperfect with slight wisps of hair along the hairline to soften it ever so lightly. This type of hairline makes me do a double take and makes me wonder if a procedure has been done or not. To me, this type of hairline IMO is "more ideal" than the"too perfect" hairline which can be easily detected.

 

I had a friend who had the "imperfect" hairline and I was impressed that it was a hair transplant at all. Sometimes when we strive for perfection it becomes more obvious that you're hairline is from a hair transplant.

 

A good hair transplant will have people guessing and wondering if you had something done. If it's too perfect then people will know. Ask some opinions from people who don't know you and see what they think but I like what has been done to your hairline.

 

Strive for perfection at the expense of being detected or slightly imperfect and keep them guessing ...just my two cents but something to ponder.

Edited July 8, 2016 by Qneedhair

[ontop]

Yes your correct..

hair greed & perfection can be people's down fall.

 

Thats why I have been impressed with Dr deip hairlines....some people don't like his zig zag stuff but I do as it looks kinda natural as can be.