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London to Delhi: 6,009 grafts at Eugenix 02-04 Oct. 2021


H3ri

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Having made the trip from London to Delhi, I’m pleased to report that I underwent a 6,009 HT graft procedure with Dr. Arika Bansal and Eugenix across 3 days from 02-04 October 2021.

I’m delighted with the decision to choose Eugenix for my HT and for them working with me. I'm staying in India till 14October to maximise the initial 10-day recovery period.

I look forward to sharing a personal account of my experience and providing updates along the journey.

This thread is dedicated to YOU the reader spanning HRN members, non-members/lurkers, HT hopefuls, and educating anyone + everyone.

Special shoutouts (in alphabetical order) to my better half, Anil, Dr. Arika, Rishabh, Suryakant, and the entire Eugenix team for making me feel part of the family.

*Please note that I will capture an update log in this first post and link to subsequent posts found throughout the thread to provide a singular view of my journey.

 

Background

  • I’m 32 currently living in London and have spent over 12 years suffering from hair loss with a NW6 classification.
  • In the past 2 years I went from a NW3 to a NW6, experiencing dramatic deterioration and it was time to act.
  • After using Nioxin in my early 20s, I gave up and was resigned to the fact that I was unable to stop my hair loss.
  • All the males from my maternal and paternal side of the family are bald NW 6-7.
  • Time was of the essence, the stars aligned for me, and it was time to get the plan in motion and kick it into overdrive!
  • My objective was to do this once in my lifetime, maximise the number of grafts, and recovery quickly in time for my engagement in early 2022.

 

Research

  • I rekindled the interest in my hair around 2 years ago in late 2019 and began researching HT as an option.
  • In my shortlist were several top-rated doctors with documented photo evidence from patients sharing their journey.
  • Quality, consistency, interviews, and costs made up the scoring criteria for decision making purposes.
  • Eugenix credentials for me ranked at the top of my list in the scoring criteria. The overall quality, consistency, aftercare/service, and assured timely responses.

 

Eugenix Journey (pre-arrival)

My point of contact, Rishabh, was helpful and quick to

  • provide documentation for visa application (UK is the old school visa process with India requiring physical documents + meetings and not accepting electronic visas)
  • coordinate Dr. Arika’s time for pre-op meetings and procedure planning
  • pushback HT date by a week to anticipate/accommodate the visa approval dates
  • provide detailed commentary on requests for information and pricing matters
  • schedule and confirm accommodation details
  • respond to questions when they came up and verify blood tests and results

 

Eugenix Journey (HT across 02 – 04 October 2021)

Extracted 4K from back scalp, 1.6K from beard, and 0.4K from side burns. Implanted 4K in the front/middle scalp and 2K in the crown.

HT Day 1 - 02 October

  • Landed 1205 IST on 02 October. Performed the necessary covid PCR tests, immigration, and arrived at the hotel by 0300 IST.
  • Received a call from Eugenix around 1500 to come in that evening for 1900 for planning, hairline design, and slit creation (initially planned for 03 Oct.)
  • Blood pressure and local anaesthesia allergy checks performed by Dr. Anil and got to meet Rishabh
  • Dr. Arika began with the hairline design and checking the available grafts from scalp and beard. Once this was complete a few before pictures were taken and shaving began.
  • The nurse came and gave local anaesthesia to the front of my head and ready for Dr. Arika to begin with creating the slits.
  • The night ended around 2330 with around 3K slits being made.
  • Suryakant who leads the QA took good care of me checking in on me, asking if I wanted water or juices, ordered a special chicken food request, made me feel at home, and even transported me back to the hotel along with the driver to ensure that I was cared for and comfortable.

HT Day 2 - 03 October

  • 03 October the procedure start time was on for 0800. I started the day with an enjoyable breakfast at the hotel and made my way to Eugenix with the driver for 0800.
  • Changed into the overalls and began the local anaesthesia. Extraction began and by around 1430 around 2K were implanted.
  • A nice lunch was provided, and we were soon underway, closing the day with maximising the scalp with 4K grafts (estimates were around 3.3-3.5K available) and implanting 4K and around a total of 5K slits created.
  • Driven back to the hotel and had a heavy meal ready for the final day.

 HT Day 3 - 04 October

  • 04 October the procedure start time was 1400. I arrived at Eugenix and was greeted by Anil who I met for the first time, and we had a run-down of the gameplan for the day and re-echoed my objective to maximise the number of total grafts where possible.
  • I liked Anil’s detailed explanation and attention to care about the days work. Anil then checked to see if I had eaten lunch and mentioned I had not and was not hungry – Anil insisted I eat to provide fuel for the day ahead. I ate a nice lunch and we began.
  • Local anaesthesia was given to my beard and extraction began and implantation to the area prior to the crown and crown areas.
  • Dr. Arika came in to create further slits amounting to over 6K and the extraction from side burns began and implantation to the crown area and mid scalp. The day closed out with a total of 6,009 grafts implanted at around 2110 hours.

 

Post HT

  • A comprehensive aftercare regime is explained and supplied consisting of surgeon caps, saline bottle spray, tissue pads for neck pillow, gauzes, oral medication kit, donor area kit, and a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi book.
  • A 7-day post HT oral medication kit is supplied consisting of antibiotic (3x daily), probiotic (3x daily), NSAID (3x daily), and PPI antacid (1x daily).
  • There is a WhatsApp group that is created to manage aftercare questions as well as provide tips on what’s expected on each day post HT – this is sent via email and on WhatsApp.
  • I go to Eugenix daily for 7 days after the HT procedure and till the completion of the first head wash. Eugenix arrange for a pickup and drop-off from the hotel for daily dressing of the donor areas to apply betadine (iodine antiseptic wash) and fusidic cream (topical antibiotic).
  • I significantly increased my water intake during the HT and post HT to around 3.5-5 litres of water daily.

 Day 1 Post HT – 05 Oct

  • Everything seemed to be fine the 2 nights before sleeping in a 45-degree angle. A driver picked me up from the hotel and took me to Eugenix for donor area aftercare.

Day 2 Post HT – 06 Oct

  • A bit of swelling was present at the top of the forehead and applying cold ice and massages to the forehead.
  • Got to Eugenix for donor area aftercare. Spoke to Dr. Pradeep Sethi for 40 minutes about the Eugenix operating ethos and general chit chat. It was refreshing and nice of him to spend time with patients chatting in a casual and approachable manner. Recipient sites feel a bit itchy.

Day 3 Post HT – 07 Oct

  • Swelling at the top of the forehead was present. I was able to follow the PPM method (push, pull milk as Dr. Pradeep Sethi mentioned) and did about 20-25 reps of this every hour or two coinciding with the saline spray to the recipient areas. The back of my donor area felt very warm and felt a lot of heat emanating from the back of my head. Recipient sites feel a bit itchy.

Day 4 Post HT – 08 Oct

  • Swelling gone down considerably. The heat from the back of the donor area has gone down a tad and it feels itchy with a light burning sensation.

Day 5 Post HT - 09 Oct

  • Swelling pretty much zero, non - existent or minimal. Back scalp donor feels considerably less warm. More movement in forehead now.

Day 6 Post HT - 10 Oct

  • Feeling good and normal. Removed all scabs and gave all my donor areas a great wash before going to Eugenix for daily dressing application to donor areas (betadine and fusidic).

Day 7 Post HT - 11 Oct

  • Excited as it'll be the first day for the head wash. Feel fairly normal now. 

 

Vitamins + Supplements + Medicines

  • Began Finasteride 10 days prior to the procedure and will continue to take it on a daily basis. No side effects yet
  • Began daily Biotin 10 days prior to HT
  • Daily Vitamin B complex for years prior to HT
  • Daily Opti-Men multivitamins for years prior to HT
  • Daily Vitamin D3 for years prior to HT
  • I will start to take MSM once I get back to the UK. Credit to @Zoomster
  • I will begin Hair Fact recommended by Eugenix after the 7th day

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58 (1).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58 (2).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58 (4).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.25 (2).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.26.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.26 (1).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.27.jpeg

Edited by H3ri
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Following!

I made the trip to London to hand in my documents at the Indian consular services last week, so am just waiting on my passport to come back - hopefully with the medical visa stamped inside! I'm also 32 and have also been communicating with Rishabh, who has been great. Good luck mate!

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34 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

Following!

I made the trip to London to hand in my documents at the Indian consular services last week, so am just waiting on my passport to come back - hopefully with the medical visa stamped inside! I'm also 32 and have also been communicating with Rishabh, who has been great. Good luck mate!

Fantastic, Berba! When are you scheduled for your procedure? 

Please don't hesitate to pepper me with questions! 

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Superb write up @H3ri! You chose the best and wishing you the best outcome!

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Did Dr. Arika say whether or not you have any scalp and/or beard donor left should you want a future procedure?

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@H3ri that is such an excellent detailed write up. You've done your homework well with plenty of patience and I look forward to following your journey. I'm hoping to be there in February/March of 2022 for my own long awaited resurrection. Thanks for sharing!

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On 10/8/2021 at 7:54 PM, H3ri said:

Having made the trip from London to Delhi, I’m pleased to report that I underwent a 6,009 HT graft procedure with Dr. Arika Bansal and Eugenix across 3 days from 02-04 October 2021.

I’m delighted with the decision to choose Eugenix for my HT and for them working with me. I'm staying in India till 14October to maximise the initial 10-day recovery period.

I look forward to sharing a personal account of my experience and providing updates along the journey.

This thread is dedicated to YOU the reader spanning HRN members, non-members/lurkers, HT hopefuls, and educating anyone + everyone.

Special shoutouts (in alphabetical order) to my better half, Anil, Dr. Arika, Rishabh, Suryakant, and the entire Eugenix team for making me feel part of the family.

*Please note that I will capture an update log in this first post and link to subsequent posts found throughout the thread to provide a singular view of my journey.

 

Background

  • I’m 32 currently living in London and have spent over 12 years suffering from hair loss with a NW6 classification.
  • In the past 2 years I went from a NW3 to a NW6, experiencing dramatic deterioration and it was time to act.
  • After using Nioxin in my early 20s, I gave up and was resigned to the fact that I was unable to stop my hair loss.
  • All the males from my maternal and paternal side of the family are bald NW 6-7.
  • Time was of the essence, the stars aligned for me, and it was time to get the plan in motion and kick it into overdrive!
  • My objective was to do this once in my lifetime, maximise the number of grafts, and recovery quickly in time for my engagement in early 2022.

 

Research

  • I rekindled the interest in my hair around 2 years ago in late 2019 and began researching HT as an option.
  • In my shortlist were several top-rated doctors with documented photo evidence from patients sharing their journey.
  • Quality, consistency, interviews, and costs made up the scoring criteria for decision making purposes.
  • Eugenix credentials for me ranked at the top of my list in the scoring criteria. The overall quality, consistency, aftercare/service, and assured timely responses.

 

Eugenix Journey (pre-arrival)

My point of contact, Rishabh, was helpful and quick to

  • provide documentation for visa application (UK is the old school visa process with India requiring physical documents + meetings and not accepting electronic visas)
  • coordinate Dr. Arika’s time for pre-op meetings and procedure planning
  • pushback HT date by a week to anticipate/accommodate the visa approval dates
  • provide detailed commentary on requests for information and pricing matters
  • schedule and confirm accommodation details
  • respond to questions when they came up and verify blood tests and results

 

Eugenix Journey (HT across 02 – 04 October 2021)

Extracted 4K from back scalp, 1.6K from beard, and 0.4K from side burns. Implanted 4K in the front/middle scalp and 2K in the crown.

HT Day 1 - 02 October

  • Landed 1205 IST on 02 October. Performed the necessary covid PCR tests, immigration, and arrived at the hotel by 0300 IST.
  • Received a call from Eugenix around 1500 to come in that evening for 1900 for planning, hairline design, and slit creation (initially planned for 03 Oct.)
  • Blood pressure and local anaesthesia allergy checks performed by Dr. Anil and got to meet Rishabh
  • Dr. Arika began with the hairline design and checking the available grafts from scalp and beard. Once this was complete a few before pictures were taken and shaving began.
  • The nurse came and gave local anaesthesia to the front of my head and ready for Dr. Arika to begin with creating the slits.
  • The night ended around 2330 with around 3K slits being made.
  • Suryakant who leads the QA took good care of me checking in on me, asking if I wanted water or juices, ordered a special chicken food request, made me feel at home, and even transported me back to the hotel along with the driver to ensure that I was cared for and comfortable.

HT Day 2 - 03 October

  • 03 October the procedure start time was on for 0800. I started the day with an enjoyable breakfast at the hotel and made my way to Eugenix with the driver for 0800.
  • Changed into the overalls and began the local anaesthesia. Extraction began and by around 1430 around 2K were implanted.
  • A nice lunch was provided, and we were soon underway, closing the day with maximising the scalp with 4K grafts (estimates were around 3.3-3.5K available) and implanting 4K and around a total of 5K slits created.
  • Driven back to the hotel and had a heavy meal ready for the final day.

 HT Day 3 - 04 October

  • 04 October the procedure start time was 1400. I arrived at Eugenix and was greeted by Anil who I met for the first time, and we had a run-down of the gameplan for the day and re-echoed my objective to maximise the number of total grafts where possible.
  • I liked Anil’s detailed explanation and attention to care about the days work. Anil then checked to see if I had eaten lunch and mentioned I had not and was not hungry – Anil insisted I eat to provide fuel for the day ahead. I ate a nice lunch and we began.
  • Local anaesthesia was given to my beard and extraction began and implantation to the area prior to the crown and crown areas.
  • Dr. Arika came in to create further slits amounting to over 6K and the extraction from side burns began and implantation to the crown area and mid scalp. The day closed out with a total of 6,009 grafts implanted at around 2110 hours.

 

Post HT

  • A comprehensive aftercare regime is explained and supplied consisting of surgeon caps, saline bottle spray, tissue pads for neck pillow, gauzes, oral medication kit, donor area kit, and a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi book.
  • A 7-day post HT oral medication kit is supplied consisting of antibiotic (3x daily), probiotic (3x daily), NSAID (3x daily), and PPI antacid (1x daily).
  • There is a WhatsApp group that is created to manage aftercare questions as well as provide tips on what’s expected on each day post HT – this is sent via email and on WhatsApp.
  • I go to Eugenix daily for 7 days after the HT procedure and till the completion of the first head wash. Eugenix arrange for a pickup and drop-off from the hotel for daily dressing of the donor areas to apply betadine (iodine antiseptic wash) and fusidic cream (topical antibiotic).
  • I significantly increased my water intake during the HT and post HT to around 3.5-5 litres of water daily.

 Day 1 Post HT – 05 Oct

  • Everything seemed to be fine the 2 nights before sleeping in a 45-degree angle. A driver picked me up from the hotel and took me to Eugenix for donor area aftercare.

Day 2 Post HT – 06 Oct

  • A bit of swelling was present at the top of the forehead and applying cold ice and massages to the forehead.
  • Got to Eugenix for donor area aftercare. Spoke to Dr. Pradeep Sethi for 40 minutes about the Eugenix operating ethos and general chit chat. It was refreshing and nice of him to spend time with patients chatting in a casual and approachable manner. Recipient sites feel a bit itchy.

Day 3 Post HT – 07 Oct

  • Swelling at the top of the forehead was present. I was able to follow the PPM method (push, pull milk as Dr. Pradeep Sethi mentioned) and did about 20-25 reps of this every hour or two coinciding with the saline spray to the recipient areas. The back of my donor area felt very warm and felt a lot of heat emanating from the back of my head. Recipient sites feel a bit itchy.

Day 4 Post HT – 08 Sep

  • Swelling gone down considerably. The heat from the back of the donor area has gone down a tad and it feels itchy with a light burning sensation.

 

Vitamins + Supplements + Medicines

  • Began Finasteride 10 days prior to the procedure and will continue to take it on a daily basis. No side effects yet
  • Began daily Biotin 10 days prior to HT
  • Daily Vitamin B complex for years prior to HT
  • Daily Opti-Men multivitamins for years prior to HT
  • Daily Vitamin D3 for years prior to HT
  • I will start to take MSM once I get back to the UK. Credit to @Zoomster
  • I will begin Hair Fact recommended by Eugenix after the 7th day

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58 (1).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58 (2).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-11 at 00.17.58 (4).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.25 (2).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.26.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.26 (1).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2021-10-06 at 14.12.27.jpeg

Your post has an absolute attention to detail. It's amazing.

Rest assured, let's now await the glorious transformation that will unfold with the 12th to 18th month from now on. We are very happy for you. We wish you the best.

Please do let us know if you need anything at any given hour. ❤ 

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Official representative of Eugenix Hair Sciences

Dr. Arika Bansal & Dr. Pradeep Sethi

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5crlGyTac2hlU1gHneADzQ

 

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On 10/8/2021 at 4:24 PM, H3ri said:

Eugenix Journey (HT across 02 – 04 October 2021)

 

Extracted 4K from back scalp, 1.6K from beard, and 0.4K from side burns. Implanted 4K in the front/middle scalp and 2K in the crown.

HT Day 1 - 02 October

  • The night ended around 2330 with around 3K slits being made.

HT Day 2 - 03 October

  • 03 October the procedure start time was on for 0800.
  • Changed into the overalls and began the local anaesthesia. Extraction began and by around 1430 around 2K were implanted.
  • ...closing the day with maximising the scalp with 4K grafts (estimates were around 3.3-3.5K available) and implanting 4K and around a total of 5K slits created.

HT Day 3 - 04 October

  • 04 October the procedure start time was 1400.
  • Dr. Arika came in to create further slits amounting to over 6K and the extraction from side burns began and implantation to the crown area and mid scalp. The day closed out with a total of 6,009 grafts implanted at around 2110 hours.

 

a very detailed report. great, h3ri!

 

as for your procedure does this mean that

- the first 3k recipient slits were made on ht day 1 and between 8 and 13 hours before the first 2k grafts got extracted and implanted on ht day 2?

- another 2k recipient slits were made on ht day 2 (in the morning or afternoon?) of which 1k got implanted with grafts that had been extracted the same day?

- there was another time gap of the remaining 1k slits of maybe up to 24 hours before they got filled with freshly extracted grafts from ht day 3?

 

 

 

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On 10/8/2021 at 4:24 PM, H3ri said:

Day 3 Post HT – 07 Oct

 

  • Swelling at the top of the forehead was present. I was able to follow the PPM method (push, pull milk as Dr. Pradeep Sethi mentioned) and did about 20-25 reps of this every hour or two coinciding with the saline spray to the recipient areas. The back of my donor area felt very warm and felt a lot of heat emanating from the back of my head. Recipient sites feel a bit itchy.

does your swelling come from the type of anesthetics that you received? i.e. did eugenix inject anesthetics together with saline (aka tumescent anesthesia) into your forehead?

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On 10/9/2021 at 12:27 AM, SLA said:

Superb write up @H3ri! You chose the best and wishing you the best outcome!

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Did Dr. Arika say whether or not you have any scalp and/or beard donor left should you want a future procedure?

@SLA I have around 2K in the scalp and 1.5K in the beard should I require any future procedure.

Talking to the doctors at Eugenix it's not uncommon for them to do another extraction of the donor area 4 months down the line - dependent on patient and their HT plans. 

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On 10/9/2021 at 1:48 AM, CRich said:

@H3ri thank you for writing this up. It is really useful. what package did you choose at Eugenix? Can you give a round figure estimate as to how much the overall cost of the trip will be (incl. flights and the transplant cost )?

@CRichI chose the premium package as I wanted to have Dr. Arika's involvement in the planning, design, slit creation, and main extraction process. 

In terms of costs I'm using a blend of SkyMiles points for airfare and hotel discounts for my extended stay. It'd be more appropriate for you to start with a budget in mind and/or begin getting estimates for the HT, flights, accommodation, and food (these factors can be more or less expensive depending on the country/region you're looking to get the HT procedure done).

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On 10/9/2021 at 3:39 PM, Gatsby said:

@H3ri that is such an excellent detailed write up. You've done your homework well with plenty of patience and I look forward to following your journey. I'm hoping to be there in February/March of 2022 for my own long awaited resurrection. Thanks for sharing!

@Gatsby Fantastic mate! You will not be disappointed with the decision. Believe and trust - it will all go well. Look forward to checking your progress!

Please reach out to me with any questions - more than happy to help where I can assist :)

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8 hours ago, BoldnotBald said:

a very detailed report. great, h3ri!

 

as for your procedure does this mean that

- the first 3k recipient slits were made on ht day 1 and between 8 and 13 hours before the first 2k grafts got extracted and implanted on ht day 2?

- another 2k recipient slits were made on ht day 2 (in the morning or afternoon?) of which 1k got implanted with grafts that had been extracted the same day?

- there was another time gap of the remaining 1k slits of maybe up to 24 hours before they got filled with freshly extracted grafts from ht day 3?

 

 

 

@BoldnotBald

1. Yes this is accurate.

2. On HT day 2 the additional 2K recipient slits were made in the evening or towards end of the day (my memory is not the best here) and correct were extracted/implanted same day in a very short window - the team extracts while loading and implanting. This is almost simultaneous from extraction to implanting - the Eugenix DHT method. 

3. Correct, slightly less than 24 hours of the open slits till they were filled in. 

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14 hours ago, BoldnotBald said:

does your swelling come from the type of anesthetics that you received? i.e. did eugenix inject anesthetics together with saline (aka tumescent anesthesia) into your forehead?

@BoldnotBaldI didn't suffer much swelling below middle of my forehead and it only lasts a few days until it subsides. I'm sure it was down to my increased water intake, head massage using PPM method (hourly), ice above eyebrows (hourly), and always maintaining my head looking up including sitting/sleeping as much as possible throughout the day. I'm not a doctor so each person is vastly different.

Here is a 9MB video sent to me by the aftercare team, Yugbir and Viswanath, on how to perform this exercise. WeTransfer MP4 file 9MB

No saline is not injected only local anaesthesia into the scalp. Nothing is put into the forehead only the scalp. 

Again in my humble opinion (I'm no doctor) the swelling occurs from the anaesthesia and from the natural fluids the body is creating following the HT (slits, recipient sites).

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8 hours ago, BoldnotBald said:

would you be able to further explain this method?

I will try to do it justice by verbal explanation. I kept doing this from day 2-4 each hour or so (when awake) completing about 20 cycles/reps each time.

Push hard with both thumbs or index finger in the middle of eyebrows at varying heights across forehead

Pull to the sides and keeping going

Milk the fluid down to the cheek areas

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