1800 Grafts - Dr Maras at HDC - Does this look wonky/natural?

[ITA]

@WonkyHair I, from this photo, apart  a little redness, but I see your hairline very natural.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Egy

[Parasol]

Can you post a picture from a distance so we can get a better idea of what your hair looks like in real life?

[MachoVato]

From what I can see in the photos, the left side is coming in a little weak... so far. But everything else looks perfectly fine.

The zigzag is totally fine. I think you're drawing a zigzag line in your mind that no one (including us hair nerds) would see until you point it out. I'm also partial to the rounded off temples. You're shaving it, but I think it's because you're so used to having deep temples. You're not used to a more youthful temple... in your head, you're still used to your receded look. My suggestion is to grow it out for a few months. Live with it for while. I'll wager you'll not want to punch them out.

A final observation. I think you're doing yourself a huge disservice by this post-procedure academic comparison. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all for hair. I feel you're sabotaging your own transplant.

You have 6 months to go. Maras is a legit (albeit not perfect) surgeon. Trust the process and let your hair grow. Stay optimistic.

[Gasthoerer]

By the way: I looked at some of the more conservative hairlines in this forum and guess what - quite some of them have this rounded edges and the "concave" shaped transition to the center just like yours. IMO the latter is sth you may overlook as the "issue" but also can be part of the solution (as it can be fixed without punching out grafts). The most prominent is IMO @Melvin- Moderator (sorry, for taking your video to make a point). 

 

[WonkyHair]

On 8/14/2021 at 1:59 PM, MachoVato said:

From what I can see in the photos, the left side is coming in a little weak... so far. But everything else looks perfectly fine.

The zigzag is totally fine. I think you're drawing a zigzag line in your mind that no one (including us hair nerds) would see until you point it out. I'm also partial to the rounded off temples. You're shaving it, but I think it's because you're so used to having deep temples. You're not used to a more youthful temple... in your head, you're still used to your receded look. My suggestion is to grow it out for a few months. Live with it for while. I'll wager you'll not want to punch them out.

A final observation. I think you're doing yourself a huge disservice by this post-procedure academic comparison. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all for hair. I feel you're sabotaging your own transplant.

You have 6 months to go. Maras is a legit (albeit not perfect) surgeon. Trust the process and let your hair grow. Stay optimistic.

Hi @MachoVato,

It's the right side that's weak, might be a mirror image on a couple of my pics if it looks the other way round. I agree that of my issues the zig-zags are the most minor.
It's not just that the temples are rounded off, the whole thing is slightly off axis by a few degrees which throws out all the angles. I could see this right from the start and would agree that this has probably made me analyse things more closely than perhaps I'd have otherwise done. Whilst the next few months may bring more growth, they won't fix that issue. I'd love to be more optimistic about future growth but when I have some areas with very little hair and no sign of any new hair coming through it's hard to imagine that it's going to suddenly start filling in... 

[MachoVato]

Oh, I don't think that area is going to fill in either. My comment is really on the self-inflicted anxiety. Again, let it do its thing. Trust the process.

And sure, there's nothing wrong with booking a second HT at the 12 month mark. I certainly would. I just retuned from Dr Bisanga and think you should consider him, for sure! Best of luck... and chin up!

A general comment... IMO most people should get a second procedure. Even the "homeruns" we see on here could use a boost in some areas. 

[WonkyHair]

So 1.5 years have passed since my transplant and I could write an essay about all the things wrong with it, however today I wanted to ask for advice on a specific issue with my transplant, what's the best option when it comes to dealing with bad graft angles? I've attached a few pics below where you can see the comparison between my natural hair and the transplanted hair which sticks straight up at 90 degrees. Is the only option to punch all of this out (which would be 100s of grafts) or would it be better to just add some correctly-angled grafts to try and camouflage the previous work?

[shiba1985]

21 minutes ago, WonkyHair said:

So 1.5 years have passed since my transplant and I could write an essay about all the things wrong with it, however today I wanted to ask for advice on a specific issue with my transplant, what's the best option when it comes to dealing with bad graft angles? I've attached a few pics below where you can see the comparison between my natural hair and the transplanted hair which sticks straight up at 90 degrees. Is the only option to punch all of this out (which would be 100s of grafts) or would it be better to just add some correctly-angled grafts to try and camouflage the previous work?

 

With all due respect brother, you sound like a nightmare patient. Whatever option you choose a) punch out grafts or b) add grafts you will need to come to terms with the fact that surgery is never going to give you what god gave you at birth. You will need to have realistic expectations going into a repair. 

 

[John1991]

The shape of your hairline isn't unnatural or odd in the least.  No sane person would look at the shape and think twice.  The density is adequate, though not exceptional.  Your fixation with the supposed imperfection of the shape makes me think you'll never be satisfied with anything, though.

Edited June 25, 2022 by John1991

[Gatsby]

Your hairline is excellent. Many patients would kill for its naturalness. All the best. 

[ITA]

Also in my opinion, your hairline looks great, in my opinion, you don't need anything.

[MachoVato]

Personally, I think it looks pretty good. But hey, it's your head not mine. If it bothers you, get it fixed! It's hardly a big deal, a minor revision.

Look at what @mustang did. He's had something like 15 procedures. He'll never be satisfied even though his hair is arguably the best on the board, period. May be visit Dr. Mwamba for a 300-500 graft revision. Easy peasy. Until you want another revision! haha

 

[CitizenB]

7 hours ago, shiba1985 said:

 

With all due respect brother, you sound like a nightmare patient. Whatever option you choose a) punch out grafts or b) add grafts you will need to come to terms with the fact that surgery is never going to give you what god gave you at birth. You will need to have realistic expectations going into a repair. 

 

Nah, this doesn’t make you a nightmare patient at all. If you want to remove oddly placed hairs do it. If you want to change the shape, do it. If you want more density, go for it. 
 

Since you asked for advice, I will say this: if you want to change the shape and add density I would do that before removing any hair. Even mis-angled hair is hair and can be styled, especially at the length you seem to wear it and as is usually the case, more hair is best.

[Fmulder]

On 8/16/2021 at 7:41 PM, MachoVato said:

Oh, I don't think that area is going to fill in either. My comment is really on the self-inflicted anxiety. Again, let it do its thing. Trust the process.

And sure, there's nothing wrong with booking a second HT at the 12 month mark. I certainly would. I just retuned from Dr Bisanga and think you should consider him, for sure! Best of luck... and chin up!

A general comment... IMO most people should get a second procedure. Even the "homeruns" we see on here could use a boost in some areas. 

@MachoVato, what was making the decision for going Bisanga for second transplant and not as your first surgery?
Also is it almost always that we need to do fillups in second transplant to the first procedure, isn't there a relatively dense first round transplant without fixes?

[mustang]

14 hours ago, WonkyHair said:

So 1.5 years have passed since my transplant and I could write an essay about all the things wrong with it, however today I wanted to ask for advice on a specific issue with my transplant, what's the best option when it comes to dealing with bad graft angles? I've attached a few pics below where you can see the comparison between my natural hair and the transplanted hair which sticks straight up at 90 degrees. Is the only option to punch all of this out (which would be 100s of grafts) or would it be better to just add some correctly-angled grafts to try and camouflage the previous work?

Always best to add than punch out grafts on the hairline

It will need stiches or can leave a "valley" on your skin and ugly scaring. Punching out grafts on the hairline is nothing like taking out a graft from the donor

I see nothing wrong with your grafts but as always its personal taste.

[Melvin- Admin]

If you’re gonna do something, do not get more surgery. I do not feel that you will be happy. To be honest, your hair looks perfectly normal. Further surgeries may only complicate things for you, as you may fall into a vicious cycle of wanting to fix things. 

[MachoVato]

5 hours ago, Fmulder said:

@MachoVato, what was making the decision for going Bisanga for second transplant and not as your first surgery?
Also is it almost always that we need to do fillups in second transplant to the first procedure, isn't there a relatively dense first round transplant without fixes?

I always really liked Bisanga's work. I saw a really good example of his temple points, which is very hard to do. And he had many examples of successful crowns. I couldn't afford him for my first procedure, which required many more grafts. The second was only about 1500 grafts, so it was more affordable. And I have been to Turkey a few times, but never been to Belgium. So why not?

It is hard to know exactly what the result will be when you're sitting in the chair and your head is shaved and they are drawing lines on your scalp. Only after 12 months do you see the result, not every graft survives. It is rare to see a perfect and high dense hairline in 1 transplant. The best transplants I've seen took 2 procedures to refine the hairline and improve density. 

I am considering having another procedure myself. I still want my temples closed a little more. Maybe 200-300 grafts. But the flight to Turkey would be more than the transplant! haha

[gojnasv2]

@WonkyHair any update?

[consequence]

I don't have any issues with the design or zig-zagging. The density could be better, but that's not something the surgeon can control. Please update if you ever come back.