3 month mark

[TrixGlendevon]

What can I expect at the 3-3.5 month mark from an FUT? Will it still be the ugly duckling phase or will it have (just) passed? I am aware there are differences for everybody and genetics etc. play a role but just in general. I ask because I am being sent abroad for 3 months with work and plan to get it done a couple of weeks before I leave so I am trying to plan for that.

[bman3082]

im at 3months right now and still ugly duck tbh

[JayLDD]

2 hours ago, TrixGlendevon said:

What can I expect at the 3-3.5 month mark from an FUT? Will it still be the ugly duckling phase or will it have (just) passed? I am aware there are differences for everybody and genetics etc. play a role but just in general. I ask because I am being sent abroad for 3 months with work and plan to get it done a couple of weeks before I leave so I am trying to plan for that.

Almost certainly still ugly duck, your best bet until at least 5 months is growing the surrounding hair a bit to cover it if possible. I'm about a week after 6 months and only felt past the  ugly duck a few days before 6 months. Prior to that its still not presentable, maybe even worse in the sense as the hair grows out a bit but lacks the density to blend with native hair in any sense and still has a lot of redness. Also the texture of transplanted hair can be ugly which further stops it from blending even up to 6-7 months. 

Such a long, shitty process.

[TrixGlendevon]

4 minutes ago, JeanLDD said:

Almost certainly still ugly duck, your best bet until at least 5 months is growing the surrounding hair a bit to cover it if possible. I'm about a week after 6 months and only felt past the  ugly duck a few days before 6 months. Prior to that its still not presentable, maybe even worse in the sense as the hair grows out a bit but lacks the density to blend with native hair in any sense and still has a lot of redness. Also the texture of transplanted hair can be ugly which further stops it from blending even up to 6-7 months. 

Such a long, shitty process.

Thanks Jean. This is where FUE trumps FUT hands down - the ability to just shave your head for 5-6 months. I am hoping for an extension on this trip abroad then. I can take some leave afterwards too I suppose. I am going to look at your thread now.

[TrixGlendevon]

33 minutes ago, literalno said:

im at 3months right now and still ugly duck tbh

At least you're honest! FUT or FUE?

[bman3082]

3 minutes ago, TrixGlendevon said:

At least you're honest! FUT or FUE?

Rahal FUT 3000 grafts to the frontal third. Yeah not much to report at 3 months idek

[HarryHonolulu]

I'm 71 days out of FUE and it's hard to tell what the heck is going on lol

I buzz my head and I'm kinda getting used to the look... sometimes I definitely see new hair sprouting but who knows if it's native hair or transplanted hair?? 

my whole strategy is basically to buzz everything on the first day of each month until I am a full 4 months out... by that point (hopefully) the transplanted hair will have set in and I will be able to grow everything together 

[Louisjams]

At 3 months you will just be beginning to exit the ugly duckling phase. Months 4-6 are dramatic in a good way, but it feels like it takes forever to get there. You can expect some buyers remorse during months 1-3, just FYI, so that is normal even in people who have a great result. 

[TrixGlendevon]

So, what would be the best way to hide this then with an FUT? Another point is that I do not want to go away with work as a NW4 and then come back as a NW2. The difference would be too obvious. So difficult!

[Dazed]

6 hours ago, TrixGlendevon said:

So, what would be the best way to hide this then with an FUT? Another point is that I do not want to go away with work as a NW4 and then come back as a NW2. The difference would be too obvious. So difficult!

The only ones who might notice are women.  Men don't look at men.  I had FUT in 2011 and went back to work after 2 weeks, and nobody noticed anything.  The hair growth is so gradual they won't notice the transition from NW4 to NW2.  A bunch of guys were standing outside talking about hair and one guy said 'you are lucky you still have hair', I just smiled inside, and that was at about the 6 month mark.  I am at the 2 month mark of FUE, and I look the same as I did before since the shaved area has grown out.  FUT is not hard to hide at all once the scabs fall off.  I had a 2 week 'Ugly Duckling' stage with FUT and about 6 weeks with FUE.

[TrixGlendevon]

Women make up approximately 50% of the office though and it has 150 people in it so if one person notices, everybody will. If there is shock loss in my forelock, it will be obvious too as this may not grow back in time. If there is not, I could get back to the office at just the right time so that I look the same as before the procedure, as you say. This would be ideal as I would then just change over the next 2-3 months gradually. 

My comment regarding FUT referred to the scar in the donor, not the recipient area. I won't be able to shave the hair down to ride it out as I would with FUE.

[HairLossMentor]

Quote

What can I expect at the 3-3.5 month mark from an FUT?

@TrixGlendevon You will start to question the procedure and compare where you're at to everyone else. Except for the redness, don't expect anything at this stage.... I mean that literally. 

You can't start to guess the outcome (note guess) until 6 months.

[TrixGlendevon]

@HairLossMentor - thanks for the reply. Yes, I imagine I will suffer from buyer's remorse as mentioned by another poster above. My question isn't about the result in and of itself. It is more about if I will have passed the ugly duckling stage yet or not so that it is easier to hide the fact I have had the procedure done from people from work when I return to the office from being abroad for three months. Ideally, I would like the ugly duckling phase to have finished or be finishing, the shock loss hair to have grown back, the redness to not be too obvious and the new transplanted hair to not have started growing yet. 

[gillenator]

You are about to enter the growth phase and in the next 3 months you should begin seeing lots of new regrowth!...

[TrixGlendevon]

8 minutes ago, gillenator said:

You are about to enter the growth phase and in the next 3 months you should begin seeing lots of new regrowth!...

So basically, at this stage I should look exactly how I did before the operation (adjusting for genetic differences etc.)?

[gillenator]

Maybe not exactly but that's the transition stage you are in right now.

[TrixGlendevon]

3 minutes ago, gillenator said:

Maybe not exactly but that's the transition stage you are in right now.

That would actually be perfect if I was more or less looking how I do now. Thanks.

[Dazed]

4 minutes ago, TrixGlendevon said:

That would actually be perfect if I was more or less looking how I do now. Thanks.

You mentioned the scar in the donor area with FUT.  That is very easy to hide as long as you don't cut your hair short.  I never even gave a thought to it with FUT.  Many people mention redness, but I never experienced that.

[TrixGlendevon]

21 minutes ago, Dazed said:

You mentioned the scar in the donor area with FUT.  That is very easy to hide as long as you don't cut your hair short.  I never even gave a thought to it with FUT.  Many people mention redness, but I never experienced that.

I mentioned it in the context of shaving my head short to avoid the ugly duckling phase being so obvious. However, with FUT, this is not an option because of the scar.

[HairLossMentor]

Quote

Ideally, I would like the ugly duckling phase to have finished or be finishing

@TrixGlendevon You're 100% at the end of the ugly ducking stage, meaning it won't get any worse. 

It's a long road man. But worth it in the end. Here if you have any questions. 

[TrixGlendevon]

Thanks dude and thanks for the replies!

[gillenator]

Hope you will give us your 6 month update!

[TrixGlendevon]

4 hours ago, gillenator said:

Hope you will give us your 6 month update!

I haven't actually had the surgery yet. I am getting it end of this month (in theory - need to confirm tomorrow morning)

[Dazed]

On 11/6/2018 at 2:57 PM, TrixGlendevon said:

I mentioned it in the context of shaving my head short to avoid the ugly duckling phase being so obvious. However, with FUT, this is not an option because of the scar.

I have no idea why you are in an ugly duckling stage I am 2 months into FUE this time and I look just like before.  I endured about 6 weeks with a horrible FUE haircut, but now its all cool.