1869 Grafts with Dr. Diep 2/12/19 (33 y/o Caucasian NW3)

[FUEblonde1985]

Here is an updated picture , 2.5ish years post-op:

I've definitely gotten accustomed to working with the transplanted hair. Not sure if its because the hair has become more natural or not from the growth cycle, or just a mental thing. I've also kept the hair about an inch or so longer on top than I used to, and it has helped with keeping the hair looking natural. It has a tendency to want to flow up when its too short.

Area on left side never filled in. I've basically accepted it and its fine - it's not noticeable when styled appropriately but you can definitely tell that the hair volume in general is just not as "full" there and I kind of do some voodoo magic with hair product to give it a little more volume there. Will need to fix that in some inevitable future procedure. Hair behind the transplanted hair has held out just fine, crown area slowly thinning but will probably not be a real issue for another 5-10 years.

No issues whatsoever with donor area - looks exactly the same as pre-op at the length I keep it (3/4 guard)

Overall continue to be satisfied with the outcome. Not perfect but still a solid 8/10.

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by FUEblonde1985

[Britanium]

Looks really good to me from what I can see 👌thanks for providing a update ! Always really good to see results beyond the usual 12 month point.

Not many transplants are perfect and I do agree with what your saying, it’s learning to live with the imperfections. 

[Melvin- Admin]

That’s quite the incredible transformation. Thanks for coming back and sharing. I do believe it’s definitely improved and looks softer and more natural. The hairs have matured. Your case is a perfect example of that.

[RandoBrando517]

Donor pics?

[Fahri]

Wow! Brilliant progress! 😎

[Berba11]

Looks great - very natural and there looks to be a nice 'softening' of the hair. I wouldn't worry about any lighter/less dense patches at all. If anything, it adds to the naturalness of the look. I do see what you mean about graft direction at shorter lengths, although now that more time has pass and the hair has softened and settled that may be less of an issue.

Overall, the before and after pics show an excellent transformation.

[FUT4000]

Looks really great! Every time i see a successful  transplant example like this one but OP doesnt feel as happy as I do for them, just shows how broad the aesthetic mentality is for everyone. I'm a healthcare provider and when I do an aesthetic case on someone I make sure that me and the patient are on the same page throughout the procedure, but theres always the rare patients that are just never 100% happy and there's nothing you can do about it. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by rambunctious

[haironhead]

Seeing that op just used propecia before, the surgery wasnt prob the best option and when results also wasnt as wished it seems like a bummer, not trying to sound pessimistic but hey, its not a good thing to four yourself. Could prob have saved a ton of grafts if the regimen was a little bit better pre op. Imagine minox and microneedling with propecia, it would def have given some nice results. And if it with a small chance wouldnt, well then we at least tried.

[FUEblonde1985]

Hey Forum,

Adding an update to this thread at the request of Melvin. The transplanted hair essentially looks the same as it did visually from my previous updates. My hair has very slightly continued to thin out behind the transplanted hair - more so in the crown area. I expect I'll probably need an additional HT at some point in the next 5-10 years. It's thinning, but very slowly.

I think at the 1-2 year mark, I was pretty satisfied with just having a decent hairline compared to before. Now I am at 3 years and over the last year I've been increasingly less satisfied with the fact that the technician who worked on the right side of my hairline was clearly less experienced or technically competent than the tech on the left. The picture below shows what I am talking about. I can "cover" up this area fairly well so its not an obvious bald patch behind my hairline, but it does really screw up the flow of the hairline overall and quite frankly, looking at some of the results from the more reputable doctors - I really wish I had just bit the bullet and flown somewhere rather than try to stay local w/ Diep. I felt like I paid a premium price for mediocre work. Yes I know many of the photos posted look real good from the front when its styled, but you can't ignore that there is a good square inch where barely any grafts survived, and its only in that spot. That is the primary issue I have, and secondary to that is the angle of the grafts is not natural - that has not gotten any better as one poster above thought. That said, I won't be going back to him for additional HT work. 

On 11/6/2021 at 7:10 AM, haironhead said:

Seeing that op just used propecia before, the surgery wasnt prob the best option and when results also wasnt as wished it seems like a bummer, not trying to sound pessimistic but hey, its not a good thing to four yourself. Could prob have saved a ton of grafts if the regimen was a little bit better pre op. Imagine minox and microneedling with propecia, it would def have given some nice results. And if it with a small chance wouldnt, well then we at least tried.

I actually tried minox at the same time I started propecia (around 7 years ago) and got some pretty awful side effects. Heart palpitations, terrible headaches, and somehow it made my face look strange? I'm also using keto shampoo (not much I know) but also started microneedling with a derminator a few weeks ago. I'm going to see how the microneedling pans out for about 6-12 months, and if I am still unsatisfied, I will look into trying dutasteride. I might give minox another go but that is a last resort. I haven't done research lately to see if there are any other promising things people are doing for results.

 

On 2/29/2020 at 1:16 PM, FUEblonde1986 said:

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by FUEblonde1985

[John1991]

I can definitely see how that area is annoying.   I think two takeaways people should have from this forum in general is a) don't skimp on the price and b) don't hesitate to do some traveling.

Edited April 13, 2022 by John1991

[Willyd]

If possible can you post some better quality updated photos please including the normal way you style your hair under normal lighting and bad lighting as well. I only say that because anyone with a hair transplant or heck even sometimes without hair loss at all can make their hair look bad under bright bathroom lighting while parting their hair. I appreciate your update because it’s always good for the community to see an updated post on a hair transplant result whether the patient is happy or unhappy.

[OliverAtom]

On 4/13/2022 at 7:29 AM, FUEblonde1985 said:

Hey Forum,

Adding an update to this thread at the request of Melvin. The transplanted hair essentially looks the same as it did visually from my previous updates. My hair has very slightly continued to thin out behind the transplanted hair - more so in the crown area. I expect I'll probably need an additional HT at some point in the next 5-10 years. It's thinning, but very slowly.

I think at the 1-2 year mark, I was pretty satisfied with just having a decent hairline compared to before. Now I am at 3 years and over the last year I've been increasingly less satisfied with the fact that the technician who worked on the right side of my hairline was clearly less experienced or technically competent than the tech on the left. The picture below shows what I am talking about. I can "cover" up this area fairly well so its not an obvious bald patch behind my hairline, but it does really screw up the flow of the hairline overall and quite frankly, looking at some of the results from the more reputable doctors - I really wish I had just bit the bullet and flown somewhere rather than try to stay local w/ Diep. I felt like I paid a premium price for mediocre work. Yes I know many of the photos posted look real good from the front when its styled, but you can't ignore that there is a good square inch where barely any grafts survived, and its only in that spot. That is the primary issue I have, and secondary to that is the angle of the grafts is not natural - that has not gotten any better as one poster above thought. That said, I won't be going back to him for additional HT work. 

I actually tried minox at the same time I started propecia (around 7 years ago) and got some pretty awful side effects. Heart palpitations, terrible headaches, and somehow it made my face look strange? I'm also using keto shampoo (not much I know) but also started microneedling with a derminator a few weeks ago. I'm going to see how the microneedling pans out for about 6-12 months, and if I am still unsatisfied, I will look into trying dutasteride. I might give minox another go but that is a last resort. I haven't done research lately to see if there are any other promising things people are doing for results.

 

 

Sorry to hear this is happening. 

What are you thinking now for that right area? What clinics are in your mind to go for a touch-up?

Hope you can share your ideas. And do not worry, you have a great donor area so you have enough to turn out perfect 😉

[hybonix]

Sorry to hear that you are not satisfied. I would love to see the hair dried out under harsh light so we can get a better idea. If you want a touch-up, which surgeons are you looking at right now? I may be biased, but Shapiro does amazing work that is very natural. However, there is a long list of qualified surgeons that can easily patch that up with some repair work. Shouldn't take a lot to fill it in either.

[HairRun]

I also had a transplant with Diep that needs to be repaired, right now my number 1 pick is Shapiro

[A Fue Good Men]

On 4/13/2022 at 3:44 PM, John1991 said:

I can definitely see how that area is annoying.   I think two takeaways people should have from this forum in general is a) don't skimp on the price and b) don't hesitate to do some traveling.

He didn’t skimp on price…he went to diep who charges some of the highest rates in the US

[John1991]

57 minutes ago, 5BetaReductase said:

He didn’t skimp on price…he went to diep who charges some of the highest rates in the US

"... I really wish I had just bit the bullet and flown somewhere rather than try to stay local w/ Diep."  OP

   It was the traveling that was the issue here.  I was just including point one because I think those two things are the primary reasons people end up going to doctors that, quite frankly, either aren't top notch or aren't actually who the patient would like to go to.  

[Melvin- Admin]

On 7/14/2021 at 7:12 PM, FUEblonde1985 said:

Overall continue to be satisfied with the outcome. Not perfect but still a solid 8/10.

I don’t think it’s fair to start talking like this procedure was a botch job. Hair transplants are an “illusion” of density. Trust me when I say almost EVERY hair transplant by EVERY surgeon has weak spots. He posted this just last year. 

The obvious to point out is OP has fine blonde hair. Of course, comparing  results to some of the Spanish doctors  results with thick, coarse, Spanish hair wouldn’t make sense. 

[RTC]

Diep seems to have consistently poor quality output not befitting a supposedly top doctor.

[AlexMeister21]

I'm about 6 months post-op of my second Diep transplant and I feel like I'm in a similar situation as OP. My hair could look pretty normal if I style it and I'm under favorable lighting conditions, but there are definitely thin spots. Still have about 6 more months of growth, but I feel like I keep waiting for a miracle to happen and to suddenly have an explosion of growth in the sparse areas. 

[FUEblonde1985]

11 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I don’t think it’s fair to start talking like this procedure was a botch job. Hair transplants are an “illusion” of density. Trust me when I say almost EVERY hair transplant by EVERY surgeon has weak spots. He posted this just last year. 

The obvious to point out is OP has fine blonde hair. Of course, comparing  results to some of the Spanish doctors  results with thick, coarse, Spanish hair wouldn’t make sense. 

I’m not sure that I’m talking like it’s a botch job. I’m just stating what the results are and the problems I see. Initially I was just happy to have a full hairline but as time has gone on - the issues have started to become more of a problem for me.

 Most people who know I had a HT think it looks good and they also agree with the issues I point out. It still looks good because I work around the problems but the fact is there is a significant patch where the grafts seemed to have failed and the hair is definitely not angled correctly. Would some other doctor have done better or worse? No way to know. I’m just not totally satisfied with the outcome and I will go somewhere else next time, presumably with someone that has shown to have more consistent results (and hopefully better trained technicians).

[FUEblonde1985]

2 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I'm about 6 months post-op of my second Diep transplant and I feel like I'm in a similar situation as OP. My hair could look pretty normal if I style it and I'm under favorable lighting conditions, but there are definitely thin spots. Still have about 6 more months of growth, but I feel like I keep waiting for a miracle to happen and to suddenly have an explosion of growth in the sparse areas. 

By month 6 you should be able to see which grafts are going to grow. The hair will take a couple years to reach full thickness but if you don’t see any hair at all in certain spots, it probably won’t magically appear down the road. If your main complaint is overall seems thin, it might just need time to thicken.

 

[JP28]

18 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I don’t think it’s fair to start talking like this procedure was a botch job. Hair transplants are an “illusion” of density. Trust me when I say almost EVERY hair transplant by EVERY surgeon has weak spots. He posted this just last year. 

The obvious to point out is OP has fine blonde hair. Of course, comparing  results to some of the Spanish doctors  results with thick, coarse, Spanish hair wouldn’t make sense. 

I agree with weak spot pretty much all hair transplant need a touch up anyway, disagree with the Spanish hair since it’s not a thing just like there is no Italian hair or French hair… got 7 brothers all have different hair texture and color… Antonio Banderas looking people aren’t the majority in Spain although that’s what Hollywood want people to believe. 

[AlexMeister21]

12 hours ago, FUEblonde1985 said:

By month 6 you should be able to see which grafts are going to grow. The hair will take a couple years to reach full thickness but if you don’t see any hair at all in certain spots, it probably won’t magically appear down the road. If your main complaint is overall seems thin, it might just need time to thicken.

 

It's hard for me to tell but I see some very fine vellus hairs but they haven't grown much. There are some areas where I don't think I see any grafts at all which concerns me. After my first transplant, I had some pretty thin areas around my left temple. After my second transplant, this area still looks pretty bare at 6 months.

[FUEblonde1985]

16 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

 

I’m fairly certain the bald spot I had was on my radar around month 4-5 but I just quietly assumed it would catch up but it never did.

[BDK081522]

@AlexMeister21 just curious as to why you went back to the Diep if you were unhappy with the first transplant. Was it just the lack of density that bothered you or were there other issues such as angle of grafts or healing of the scar?