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My FUE journey. 2900 grafts. Amazing results after just 5 months. Done in Tijuana, Mexico.


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Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here so bear with me. In January of 2021 I finally took the plunge and got an FUE procedure by Dr. Cortez at Hair Medical Restoration (HMR) in Tijuana, Mexico. 
I received 2200 grafts in my temple area, and about 700 grafts in my crown area. 

At the time of writing this I am just over 5 months post-op. I knew I would see some decent growth around this point in time but I wasn’t expecting this much! I can’t wait to see how much it will improve over the next 7 months. 

I am beyond happy with the results and if anyone is apprehensive about getting this procedure done, I say go for it. It’s life changing. 
 

I’ve attached several pictures to this post which I tried to put in chronological order. Basically you all can see how my hair looked pre-surgery and how it looked at various stages after the surgery. 

I’ll be happy to answer any questions anyone has for me. To be clear, I am not an expert on this subject so any answers I give are solely from my personal experience, but I’ll do my best :)

 

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1 minute ago, Dillpickle123 said:

Looks great 👍 I want to do mine there too have seen great results will probably book it for next year once I’m on fin for a year, do they give you the option to shave your head completely or not?

Both me and my friend got our surgeries there a week apart and they shaved both his and my head. There wasn’t an option not to.

 

I can’t imagine it would look very good if you don’t shave it all though. It would probably look pretty strange with some areas with scabs and other areas with normal looking hair. I say let them shave it all off and wait patiently for the results. You won’t be disappointed! 

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22 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

This is really good work. Very good growth too. Thanks for sharing your journey so far. So many more months for further growth/maturing 👍🏼
Actually nice seeing a Dr Cortez result on the forum 🙏

Thank you for the nice words! I researched the hell out of the doctors in Tijuana and the Cortez brothers seemed to be among the best. Plus I DM’d a few guys on this forum who had gone there and they were pleased with their results. 
 

I hope others realize Tijuana isn’t nearly as bad of a place as it’s made out to be. Given how much money one can save, it should be a no-brainer to go there 😛

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1 minute ago, Justincalisd said:

Thank you for the nice words! I researched the hell out of the doctors in Tijuana and the Cortez brothers seemed to be among the best. Plus I DM’d a few guys on this forum who had gone there and they were pleased with their results. 
 

I hope others realize Tijuana isn’t nearly as bad of a place as it’s made out to be. Given how much money one can save, it should be a no-brainer to go there 😛

Yup the work i have seen on other forums from them has been very good. Be great to see more posted here. 👍🏼

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4 minutes ago, Justincalisd said:

Both me and my friend got our surgeries there a week apart and they shaved both his and my head. There wasn’t an option not to.

 

I can’t imagine it would look very good if you don’t shave it all though. It would probably look pretty strange with some areas with scabs and other areas with normal looking hair. I say let them shave it all off and wait patiently for the results. You won’t be disappointed! 

On the YouTube videos for some that went there they didn’t have to shave their heads but they only needed the hairline fixed that’s where I found out about hmr they look like they do an excellent job at a great price too, my hairloss is only in the hairline mostly when I emailed dr Cortez in February he said I needed 1500 grafts but I want to get on fin for a year before I go and would prefer to not shave my head completely since it’s just my temples that need hair 

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17 minutes ago, Dillpickle123 said:

On the YouTube videos for some that went there they didn’t have to shave their heads but they only needed the hairline fixed that’s where I found out about hmr they look like they do an excellent job at a great price too, my hairloss is only in the hairline mostly when I emailed dr Cortez in February he said I needed 1500 grafts but I want to get on fin for a year before I go and would prefer to not shave my head completely since it’s just my temples that need hair 

Yeah I can understand that. Perhaps it varies from patient to patient. Everyone’s hair loss situation is unique. Wouldn’t hurt to ask Dr. Cortez if you can get by without shaving your head. 
 

Let me know how Finasteride works for you. I’m a little hesitant to take it (although I know it works) due to the side effects. This is the first time I’ve had a full head of hair in years, and it would be a shame to waste it if other certain “things” don’t work lol. 

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20 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

@JustincalisdCould you get your friend to post his result on this forum too ? 🙏

I can ask him. I doubt it though. He and his wife just had a baby so he’s busy with that. However, I saw him recently and his results are pretty good. Not as good as mine but still a world of difference from how his hair used to look. Everyone is different and people will see results at different paces than others. Plus, I have a 1 week head start on him lol. 

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3 minutes ago, Justincalisd said:

I can ask him. I doubt it though. He and his wife just had a baby so he’s busy with that. However, I saw him recently and his results are pretty good. Not as good as mine but still a world of difference from how his hair used to look. Everyone is different and people will see results at different paces than others. Plus, I have a 1 week head start on him lol. 

Thanks 🙏 worth a ask. More Dr Cortez results we see the better 👌

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9 minutes ago, Justincalisd said:

Yeah I can understand that. Perhaps it varies from patient to patient. Everyone’s hair loss situation is unique. Wouldn’t hurt to ask Dr. Cortez if you can get by without shaving your head. 
 

Let me know how Finasteride works for you. I’m a little hesitant to take it (although I know it works) due to the side effects. This is the first time I’ve had a full head of hair in years, and it would be a shame to waste it if other certain “things” don’t work lol. 

I was hesitant too but since I’m still very young I have no choice but to take it now my dad is a Norwood 5 and I’m probably a Norwood 2 rn I was on topical finasteride but recently started noticing thinning in the crown so I hoped on finasteride barely yesterday if I get side effects I’ll just take half a pill instead of one but we shall see but I’m definitely going to hmr next year, is the area safe where the clinic is at? Do they pick you up? Thanks 

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1 minute ago, Dillpickle123 said:

I was hesitant too but since I’m still very young I have no choice but to take it now my dad is a Norwood 5 and I’m probably a Norwood 2 rn I was on topical finasteride but recently started noticing thinning in the crown so I hoped on finasteride barely yesterday if I get side effects I’ll just take half a pill instead of one but we shall see but I’m definitely going to hmr next year, is the area safe where the clinic is at? Do they pick you up? Thanks 

The area that the clinic is located is arguably one of the nicer areas in Tijuana. There’s restaurants, cafes, and bars within walking distance. It’s definitely more of a hip/fun area than others.
 

Yes, you can get picked up if you want. You just need to pre-arrange it with the office manager ahead of time. They pick you up once you cross the border, but they won’t pick you up on the American side. 
 

I arrived the night before my surgery and took my own Uber from the border to my hotel. It was only like a $6 Uber ride so I was fine with that. I went alone but if you have a friend who’s able to join you, preferably one who speaks Spanish, that would help while you navigate around the city.    

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Congrats for all the details! So great to see your results.

I am in SoCAL and was also looking at TJ as an option. Could you please share any pointers on the various providers you looked at and why you zeroed on this particular one....would appreciate any suggestions. Also maybe I missed it but what was the costs one should be looking at in TJ.

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I have to say I have been very impressed by the Cortez brothers. I have seen some incredible work. It's a shame they have the clinic in Tj. Just the name TJ has a negative connotation when it comes to cosmetic procedures. They should open up a clinic in Ensenada or something with a little less stigma.


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On 7/13/2021 at 12:43 PM, givemehair2019 said:

Congrats for all the details! So great to see your results.

I am in SoCAL and was also looking at TJ as an option. Could you please share any pointers on the various providers you looked at and why you zeroed on this particular one....would appreciate any suggestions. Also maybe I missed it but what was the costs one should be looking at in TJ.

The main deciding factor that led to me choosing this particular clinic was the YouTube videos posted by past clients. Just search “HMR Tijuana” or “Hair Medical Restoration Tijuana” on YouTube and you’ll find a bunch of guys who documented their results. The guys that stood out to me were Moises, Rowan, Zae, and Juan Carlos. All of their videos were super informative. 
 

The cost per graft was $1.30USD which is extremely low compared to US pricing. 
 

Additionally, there were other clinics who had some pretty awful reviews so that was an automatic no from me. 

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On 7/14/2021 at 5:24 PM, Justincalisd said:

The main deciding factor that led to me choosing this particular clinic was the YouTube videos posted by past clients. Just search “HMR Tijuana” or “Hair Medical Restoration Tijuana” on YouTube and you’ll find a bunch of guys who documented their results. The guys that stood out to me were Moises, Rowan, Zae, and Juan Carlos. All of their videos were super informative. 
 

The cost per graft was $1.30USD which is extremely low compared to US pricing. 
 

Additionally, there were other clinics who had some pretty awful reviews so that was an automatic no from me. 

Hey,looks great bro.My only question is are you sure about the price being $1.30 per graft?Because the pricing on their website is way more expensive than that.Id definitely go there if I could get the price of $1.30 for graft.

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