Painful decade long journey. 34 yo | 3x HT

[BDK081522]

We're all here for your support so you can always come here for guidance. I will mention that your expectations may be a bit skewed here. Like I mentioned previously, there will always be signs of surgery. Surgeons are removing tissue and the body heals itself by scarring. These scars can be apparent. There is hair that is removed and relocated so inevitably there will be less in the donor area.  Even after one surgery you shouldn't expect to be able to skin fade. It's a trade off that you need to accept. Sure some patients can get away with donors that look untouched but it all depends on how you heal, extraction pattern, and punch size. None of which you as a patient have control over. I think you're looking for perfection and an untouched donor area. That is not feasible in hair restoration, especially after what you've been through. You have to realize that things moving forward need to change such as hair styles and camoflouge techniques. If your donor bothers you that much look into SMP. It really looks good for FUE scarring when hair is worn short. 

[track_rat]

1 hour ago, BDK081522 said:

We're all here for your support so you can always come here for guidance. I will mention that your expectations may be a bit skewed here. Like I mentioned previously, there will always be signs of surgery. Surgeons are removing tissue and the body heals itself by scarring. These scars can be apparent. There is hair that is removed and relocated so inevitably there will be less in the donor area.  Even after one surgery you shouldn't expect to be able to skin fade. It's a trade off that you need to accept. Sure some patients can get away with donors that look untouched but it all depends on how you heal, extraction pattern, and punch size. None of which you as a patient have control over. I think you're looking for perfection and an untouched donor area. That is not feasible in hair restoration, especially after what you've been through. You have to realize that things moving forward need to change such as hair styles and camoflouge techniques. If your donor bothers you that much look into SMP. It really looks good for FUE scarring when hair is worn short. 

Thank you, BDK. That’s an honest response and I appreciate it. I’ll keep you all updated on progress and am praying for the best.

Cheers

[track_rat]

Hairline today. Looks to be on track? Hopefully looks good when things start growing.

There’s still some cleaning up needed of Unger implanted hairs. Should I just pluck these for the time being?

[track_rat]

On a personal note, my best friend is getting married on Thanksgiving Day. I’ve set this as a goal to be outside sans hat and in a suit. I took that into account when booking at Eugenix and thinking about how long I might need. I thought at the time it would be more than enough cushion. Really hoping that is the case.

He actually just scheduled an impromptu bachelor trip to Mexico. I’m stressed out! It’s this Friday - Sunday. I asked him over the other day and honestly just broke down in the middle of other conversation and told him everything (2014 onwards). He was so supportive and asked me to make sure none of his events cause added stress to me. What a good friend, and what a load off of my shoulders sharing this with somebody in my life. 

Long story short, he told me no obligation at all to come, but if I did go - I could easily get away with a hat the whole time. I’m 50-50, will keep you all posted! 

 

 

[Berba11]

1 hour ago, track_rat said:

On a personal note, my best friend is getting married on Thanksgiving Day. I’ve set this as a goal to be outside sans hat and in a suit. I took that into account when booking at Eugenix and thinking about how long I might need. I thought at the time it would be more than enough cushion. Really hoping that is the case.

He actually just scheduled an impromptu bachelor trip to Mexico. I’m stressed out! It’s this Friday - Sunday. I asked him over the other day and honestly just broke down in the middle of other conversation and told him everything (2014 onwards). He was so supportive and asked me to make sure none of his events cause added stress to me. What a good friend, and what a load off of my shoulders sharing this with somebody in my life. 

Long story short, he told me no obligation at all to come, but if I did go - I could easily get away with a hat the whole time. I’m 50-50, will keep you all posted! 

 

 

You don't look as though you've had work done a few weeks ago. Your normal hair is long (you didn't shave it all off like most for the op), you haven't really got any redness in the hairline or the crown (certainly nothing detectable to a lay person who isn't paying any attention to begin with!). The crown was weak already - no one would notice any different, and as already mentioned several times, not a soul on earth will notice anything at all with your sideburns or beard. You've literally nothing to hide away from, and while I sympathise greatly with your previous issues and the anxiety it caused, I'm equally a bit baffled because everything looks genuinely excellent at such an early stage post op. You're literally sailing through the ugly duckling phase better than 99% of people. Go and have some fun man!

[track_rat]

Man, Berba, thank you very much for that. It’s obviously some ocd thing in my head that’s quite possibly induced by previous trauma that I’m needlessly reliving. I need to get out of the mirror and live life.

thanks guys. So much.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, track_rat said:

On a personal note, my best friend is getting married on Thanksgiving Day. I’ve set this as a goal to be outside sans hat and in a suit. I took that into account when booking at Eugenix and thinking about how long I might need. I thought at the time it would be more than enough cushion. Really hoping that is the case.

He actually just scheduled an impromptu bachelor trip to Mexico. I’m stressed out! It’s this Friday - Sunday. I asked him over the other day and honestly just broke down in the middle of other conversation and told him everything (2014 onwards). He was so supportive and asked me to make sure none of his events cause added stress to me. What a good friend, and what a load off of my shoulders sharing this with somebody in my life. 

Long story short, he told me no obligation at all to come, but if I did go - I could easily get away with a hat the whole time. I’m 50-50, will keep you all posted! 

 

 

Have you tried using toppik?

[track_rat]

Not yet this go around. I did try it back in 2012 when I was having shock loss.  But I don’t have enough in the crown right now for it to be of any help. I will certainly start using it as things grow a bit more and will share. Thanks Melvin

[Berba11]

4 minutes ago, track_rat said:

Man, Berba, thank you very much for that. It’s obviously some ocd thing in my head that’s quite possibly induced by previous trauma that I’m needlessly reliving. I need to get out of the mirror and live life.

thanks guys. So much.

You do - go and have a blast in Mexico. I'm very jealous! I won't be able to go and hang out with a bunch of people in a cool setting 6/7 weeks after my op because of the nature of my requirements. So take advantage of it! You'll only regret missing out at the end of the day.

Also, you clearly have supportive mates who will turn out to be a great help rather than hinderance and I can guarantee they care greatly more about simply having you around to join in the fun and spend time with them than they ever will care about some follicles on your head. They aren't your mates because they like you hair - they don't about that - they like you because you're you!

[track_rat]

I am realizing that now. I felt such a weight lifted off of my shoulders once I shared my situation with my buddy. I don’t feel comfortable telling everyone in the group, but I think I can swing 2 days in Mexico in a boat/beach/house with a hat and not have to share my situation. I’m not courageous enough to and I don’t want that kind of attention if I can avoid it.

Ill send pics from Mexico if I make it!

[track_rat]

Hey gents - I’m off to Tulum this weekend and excited to let loose with some friends and take my mind off of this.

I wanted to post real quick to admit that I overreacted on the sideburns extraction. My barber came over tonight to clean me up a little and he said the healing in the last 2 weeks is remarkable. They were quite needly / red / punchy a couple weeks back, and those issues have resolved themselves considerably.

Just wanted to share here in case anybody is on the fence for sideburn extraction and super short haircuts where there are punches. I’d imagine the healing gets even better in the weeks to come. 

Thanks for everything. I’m also working on the beard growth as you all have suggested.

 

My barber said the donor now looks as it did before I left for India (except for a little area above the left ear which he says is more sparse). 
 

[Berba11]

Genuinely can't believe you had surgery just a few weeks ago. You've basically got no post-op indicators and everything looks excellent. The new trim looks cool. You're going to sail through this ugly duckling phase absolutely seamlessly, you lucky b*****d!!   

[track_rat]

4 hours ago, Berba11 said:

Genuinely can't believe you had surgery just a few weeks ago. You've basically got no post-op indicators and everything looks excellent. The new trim looks cool. You're going to sail through this ugly duckling phase absolutely seamlessly, you lucky b*****d!!   

Thank you, Berba! Praying for some good results and growth now that some of the initial anxiety and stress of extractions is subsiding. I’m still quite down about the beard, but I’m working on growing it out as we speak.

Thanks for the encouragement and support.

[track_rat]

Went outside of my comfort zone this weekend. I managed to keep a hat on for most of the trip and bunked with a close friend in the house that we were staying at. I didn’t tell him about the transplant, but I’m sure he noticed in the morning, and didn’t say anything about it.

Mexico is awesome. Such a good escape from my problems. Hoping to keep this positivity going forward and really praying for good results.

The beard is growing, I’m going to see how it looks a little longer too.

Edited October 13, 2021 by track_rat

[Melvin- Admin]

On 10/6/2021 at 9:32 PM, track_rat said:

Hey gents - I’m off to Tulum this weekend and excited to let loose with some friends and take my mind off of this.

I wanted to post real quick to admit that I overreacted on the sideburns extraction. My barber came over tonight to clean me up a little and he said the healing in the last 2 weeks is remarkable. They were quite needly / red / punchy a couple weeks back, and those issues have resolved themselves considerably.

Just wanted to share here in case anybody is on the fence for sideburn extraction and super short haircuts where there are punches. I’d imagine the healing gets even better in the weeks to come. 

Thanks for everything. I’m also working on the beard growth as you all have suggested.

 

My barber said the donor now looks as it did before I left for India (except for a little area above the left ear which he says is more sparse). 
 

Seeing what Eugenix did with your compromised donor is nothing short of spectacular. Your donor looks immaculate. I’m so eager to see your results flourish. I see your beard is growing in now too.

[Melvin- Admin]

39 minutes ago, track_rat said:

Went outside of my comfort zone this weekend. I managed to keep a hat on for most of the trip and bunked with a close friend in the house that we were staying at. I didn’t tell him about the transplant, but I’m sure he noticed in the morning, and didn’t say anything about it.

Mexico is awesome. Such a good escape from my problems. Hoping to keep this positivity going forward and really praying for good results.

The beard is growing, I’m going to see how it looks a little longer too.

Your beard looks perfect here, I genuinely don’t see any loss of density. You don’t skip leg day bro 💪🏼

[Britanium]

Looks beautiful 🤩 the scenery and the beard 😉

[track_rat]

18 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Seeing what Eugenix did with your compromised donor is nothing short of spectacular. Your donor looks immaculate. I’m so eager to see your results flourish. I see your beard is growing in now too.

Thanks man. I hope some of the sparse areas in the donor fill up after the beard hairs that were implanted in the scars grow through. I’m sure that will take time.

 

Dr. Bansal said she could have extracted 3k grafts if needed, but we played conservative at ~950 or so to save some for a touch up.

[track_rat]

17 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Your beard looks perfect here, I genuinely don’t see any loss of density. You don’t skip leg day bro 💪🏼

Lol thanks my man! I’ve been going ham in the gym lately with all this stress. As Berba and you all have been drilling home, it’s needless stress. Can’t wait for you all to tell me you told me so.

[track_rat]

13 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Looks beautiful 🤩 the scenery and the beard 😉

Tulum is willld. Such a good time! Thanks brother.

[Khali]

This looks like an interesting topic. I myself have scared up really badly at after my second strip surgery. I am glad Eugenix specializes with body hair which gives many of us hope. Back in my day when FUT was still popular Dr Umar was the only good option for body hair. However his rates where just too high.

[RandoBrando517]

My dude is living the life hair transplant by one of the best then vacation what more could you ask for lol

[follically challenged]

On 9/30/2021 at 6:43 PM, track_rat said:

The Drs are telling me this will still fill in some, but if it’s more empty than I’d like, they will restore

How much will they charge to restore? Or is it 'on the house'?

Man, I gotta be honest with you, reading this thread I can totally see that I am on a similar level to you in terms of self-criticism / OCD / anxiety etc, but in all honesty, the pictures look really good, man. Not just saying that to boost you up, but it seems to be right on track and barely noticeable you had anything done. 

If and when i finally pull the trigger, and if they prove they can also do great work on blonde-fine haired patients, i will almost certainly be going with them. Their work seems to be great and i really like the hairline designs

[Melvin- Admin]

21 hours ago, track_rat said:

Thanks man. I hope some of the sparse areas in the donor fill up after the beard hairs that were implanted in the scars grow through. I’m sure that will take time.

 

Dr. Bansal said she could have extracted 3k grafts if needed, but we played conservative at ~950 or so to save some for a touch up.

This thread has solidified my choice, if they handle my donor the same as yours I’ll be a happy camper.

[Britanium]

1 hour ago, Khali said:

This looks like an interesting topic. I myself have scared up really badly at after my second strip surgery. I am glad Eugenix specializes with body hair which gives many of us hope. Back in my day when FUT was still popular Dr Umar was the only good option for body hair. However his rates where just too high.

Eugenix do amazing work with beard grafts, they don’t use any other body hair though. 👍🏽