My experience with Dr. Diep MHTA Clinic (11/12/2020) - FUE/FUT Combo 2622 grafts

[ITA]

Maybe it's a matter of light, but in the sixth month I saw you better than now.

[Britanium]

You have come a long way already, it will continue 🙏

Edited June 21, 2021 by JohnAC71

[Melvin- Admin]

7 months is very early, but the change has been huge already. I’ve no doubt you’ll continue to improve each month. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[WS2020]

It is time for the month 8 review. Just got my hair cut with a 2 on the side.

Donor is continue healing well. My hair looks ok in certain angle but I would like to hear your opinion here about my transplant. My wife made a comment yesterday that even I look better than before, I still look like someone is experiencing serious thinning in the front.

I understand my hair density will never back to pre-hair loss and my expectation is always low. However, I went with Diep because he is known to give good density. I feel the hair is making only small progress since month 6. I know I should wait for a year but should I be concerned? Please feel free to chime in. 

Btw, I am using Minoxidil 5% once a day and I am also back on 1mg Fin twice a week. 

Thanks!

Photo from pre-surgery

Edited July 13, 2021 by WS2020

[RandoBrando517]

Looks good in the front, but yea some thinning in the crown. Big improvement from the bottom picture. 

[Melvin- Admin]

You’re at the stage where angles matter. Now one thing I’ll say is that you will never have perfect hair. There will always be some angles in which you see scalp. Hair length, hair style is where you need to focus at this point. I would try and comb it to the side. Let it grow a few inches. You will see a drastic difference trust me.

[aaron1234]

Your six month pictures indeed look better, but take into consideration that the photos were taken in dimmer lighting then and your hair is dry/styled.  In the 8th month pictures your hair is wet - greasy from applying minoxidil or you're just out of the shower - and it is not combed.  Wet/messy hair clumps together and tends to reveal the thin areas more starkly than dry/styled hair.  Also, the more recent pictures were taken under bight lights.  So it's not a fair comparison at the moment.  

Edited July 13, 2021 by aaron1234

[WS2020]

4 hours ago, aaron1234 said:

Your six month pictures indeed look better, but take into consideration that the photos were taken in dimmer lighting then and your hair is dry/styled.  In the 8th month pictures your hair is wet - greasy from applying minoxidil or you're just out of the shower - and it is not combed.  Wet/messy hair clumps together and tends to reveal the thin areas more starkly than dry/styled hair.  Also, the more recent pictures were taken under bight lights.  So it's not a fair comparison at the moment.  

I normally apply min in the morning and the hair is definitely not wet or greasy when I took the photo. Let me take another set of photos tonight after I wash and dry my hair.

Btw, I don't apply any hair product due to the hair is going straight up due to the angle of the transplant. My hair is extra straight and hard, even compared to other Asian hair.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 minute ago, WS2020 said:

I normally apply min in the morning and the hair is definitely not wet or greasy when I took the photo. Let me take another set of photos tonight after I wash and dry my hair.

Btw, I don't apply any hair product due to the hair is going straight up due to the angle of the transplant. My hair is extra straight and hard, even compared to other Asian hair.

Try and let it grow for a few months. Just the top and keep the back trimmed. I think you will see a huge visual difference in just doing that.

[Britanium]

Be interesting to see some more pics. At 8 months we have a pretty good idea on how our final result might be. How are you feeling about it ? I do agree with Melvin though finding the right length/cut/style can really help.

Edited July 13, 2021 by JohnAC71

[WS2020]

I just take this photos with different lighting. One with flash and the other one doesn't. Just washed the hair and it is totally dry with no product whatsoever. Any feedback is welcome. 

Personally, I am concern.

Here are two after surgery photos to see the placement of the 2600 grafts.

Edited July 14, 2021 by WS2020

[Britanium]

The 6 month pics showed really good growth. But when I look at the 7 and 8 month pics it’s not looking quite as impressive. I thought maybe the lighting or length could attribute to it, now I’m not so sure.

Its definitely worth reaching out to Dr Diep and discussing your concerns. Will be interesting to see how it progresses over the next 4 months. 

[WS2020]

On 7/14/2021 at 12:36 AM, JohnAC71 said:

The 6 month pics showed really good growth. But when I look at the 7 and 8 month pics it’s not looking quite as impressive. I thought maybe the lighting or length could attribute to it, now I’m not so sure.

Its definitely worth reaching out to Dr Diep and discussing your concerns. Will be interesting to see how it progresses over the next 4 months. 

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't think there is much I can do at this moment. I am going to wait for another month and hope to see better density and growth. 

[Melvin- Admin]

These pictures certainly look better then the previous ones. However, if you’re concerned definitely communicate that with Dr. Diep. There could be a seasonal shed occurring that could make the result temporarily look worse. I definitely feel waiting is best. All the best. 

[Britanium]

10 hours ago, WS2020 said:

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't think there is much I can do at this moment. I am going to wait for another month and hope to see better density and growth. 

Not much you can do but wait, and then contact Dr Diep if needed. 🙏

Edited July 16, 2021 by JohnAC71

[hybonix]

On 7/12/2021 at 5:52 PM, WS2020 said:

It is time for the month 8 review. Just got my hair cut with a 2 on the side.

Donor is continue healing well. My hair looks ok in certain angle but I would like to hear your opinion here about my transplant. My wife made a comment yesterday that even I look better than before, I still look like someone is experiencing serious thinning in the front.

I understand my hair density will never back to pre-hair loss and my expectation is always low. However, I went with Diep because he is known to give good density. I feel the hair is making only small progress since month 6. I know I should wait for a year but should I be concerned? Please feel free to chime in. 

Btw, I am using Minoxidil 5% once a day and I am also back on 1mg Fin twice a week. 

Thanks!

It's harder to notice more density and volume when you analyze it closely every day. However, your hair will continue to grow into the 12 month mark and fill in. I thought I was not getting any progress from Month 7 to 8, but when I looked at photos from each month, there is a marked difference. I would only start to analyze your hair transplant results at 12 months and reach out to Dr. Diep if there is anything you do not like. However, this is quite the transformation and it's looking great imo.

Lastly, I got a haircut which made my transplant hair look weaker when compared to prior months and made me freak out. It looked like I thinned out and I got super concerned. My recommendation is to let the front grow out and use a clay or styling gel to provide a uniform look. I picked up some Aveda clay which volumizes the hair and lets me style it to make it look more dense. It's a natural look (no shine) and really helps the transplanted look. It's pricey but worth it: https://www.aveda.com/product/17776/16733/styling/mens-styling/aveda-men-pure-formance-grooming-clay#/shade/2.5_fl_oz%2F75_ml

Also, you may want to up your frequency of Fin as twice a week will have little effect. I recommend Mon, Wed, Fri and then increase it to M/W/F/Su once you are comfortable with it three times a week.

 

[WS2020]

Month 9 update:

Another month pass and I had a fresh haircut today. I took Melvin's advice and asked the stylist to just clean up the top and not cutting it short. I feel a little discourage because not sure I see any improvement compare to the last month.

My wife comment is the hair looks ok from far away or in certain lighting (last photo) but I looks like having diffusing hair loss when she sees me up close. It looks even more obvious if she see my hair when I was sitting down at my work desk. Instead of being bald before the surgery, she said I look like I am going bald.

So, what do you guys think? Am I having too high an expectation? I went with Diep because of location and density, even his cost is relatively high. I thought 2600 grafts should cover more of my scalp especially my hair is actually very thick, even in Asian standard. I don't even care if it is not looking 100% nature but hope to accomplish the look on not looking significant hair loss.

Feel free to comment. Not going to hurt my feeling... 

Edited August 15, 2021 by WS2020

[Britanium]

At 6 months it was looking really good. Now 3 months later it does appear weaker in places. Really not sure what’s happening here. It would be good to now hear feedback from Dr Diep. It’s not going to suddenly improve over the next 3 months or so. Is it a failure ? No but it’s not looking great considering the month 6 pics. Now without product and In that lighting I would be expecting more at this point. Yes you have had growth, but it shouldn’t be looking weaker at month 9. Just my opinion. The work looked superb and month 6 I thought everything was on track. But now like yourself I’m wondering ? 

[ITA]

@WS2020Yes, I confirm what I wrote some time ago, that is that in the sixth month you looked better, the pics of the procedure gave hope, the work seemed clean.  I can advise you to do a visit to your scalp (a biopsy would be ideal) before doing anything else.

[hybonix]

I would contact Diep immediately. Month 9 should give you a pretty darn good idea of how the transplant is going to look. The next three months is maturation and tad bit more volume/filling in. The shape, hairline and overall look should be present at this time. I sincerely apologize for what you are going through and it may be something other than the transplant itself. But this is a big difference:

[Melvin- Admin]

I think the difference is the lighting. I have to say it looks improved from last month. I would give it the full 12 months before reaching a conclusion. That said, definitely keep Dr. Diep in the loop. If you live close, try and get an in person consultation.

[aaron1234]

I'm wondering if you are on meds?  And do you think your native hair might have thinned since the HT?

Edited August 17, 2021 by aaron1234

[PluggedIn]

I wonder if the issue is the grafts are placed in neat rows. I could see that having a see through effect in certain lighting. The grafts were extracted that way too. 

[juancbz45]

Another problem here that I think is important to mention is that, 2622 grafts is a small amount of grafts for a fairly big area to be covered. I have seen similar areas being covered with 3200-3500 grafts, providing this way a good coverage. 

[Berba11]

Hey @WS2020,

You've achieved a significant cosmetic difference from where you've started - no doubt about that! So do try to keep that at the forefront of your mind as you move forward.

The biggest difference between month 6 & 9 for me is the lighting. You've obviously covered a very large area with a fairly conservative number of grafts. I've been quoted around 2500 - 3000 grafts for a very similar amount of frontal recession to yours, but mine doesn't quite extend back to the mid-scalp as yours does.

You'll possibly need a second pass to achieve the desired density, which isn't uncommon. Like I said, you've come a long way - there's more good news than bad news here!