Regular Member MLM842 Posted December 15, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted December 15, 2021 I recently went to Dr Cinik’s clinic for a hair transplant. I am completely aware it is considered a hair mill and so will take my results with a pinch of salt, as I understand they will likely not be comparable to that of someone else who has visited the clinic. Day 1 I arrived at SAW at around 7am and headed outside to try and find my transport. It is quite chaotic out there, especially after a red eye flight where you have not managed to sleep. It took around 5-10 minutes for the car to arrive and I was then driven straight to the clinic. Once I arrived they provided me with a sandwich, some juice and a cake. After around a 20 minute wait I was taken to have my blood test and ECG. Once this had been completed I was told that I would be returning at 4pm for my consultation so I was dropped to the hotel where I caught up on sleep for a few hours. The hotel facilities were very nice and a lot more upscale than I expected, I also brought my girlfriend with me and it was easy to add her on to the room for only €10 per night. I was picked up and taken back to the clinic at 4pm. Firstly they examined my hair follicles in the donor area with some kind of high resolution/microscopic camera. I then had a brief consultation with Dr Cinik (3-5 mins) where he looked at pictures of my previous hairline and drew a new one on. Following this I had some ‘before’ pictures taken by their photographer and left to go back to my hotel. My girlfriend and I decided to head out to get some dinner from the surrounding area as there were quite a few restaurants dotted around, however just as I was leaving I received a call from the clinic stating that I had left earlier without paying for my surgery. When booking I was told that payment should be made on the day of however I was advised that as they planned to start so early the next day (7am) I should have paid the day before. Unfortunately no one made this clear to me and so a driver was sent to take me back to the clinic in order to make the payment. When I arrived at the clinic the staff seemed confused as to why I was paying the day before the surgery however I advised that as I had already come all the way back I would like to just make the payment at that point. They were more than accommodating and sorted this out and then dropped me back at my hotel. Day 2 I was being picked up at 6:45 so needed to wake up quite early in order to try and fit some breakfast in. Much to my detriment I didn’t have much of an appetite at that time. I was picked up promptly and arrived at the clinic where I had my hair cut. The techs then began giving me the pain free anaesthesia (a freebie as part of my package) and massaged this in to my head for a while. It definitely wasn’t painful, more slightly irritating (like being pinged with a rubber band). Whilst waiting for this to kick in they attempted to place a cannula in my vein for an IV. The first tech had a lot of trouble finding a vein in either of my arms and had to call in a colleague to assist. The second tech was also having no luck with finding a vein and so they had to insert it in to my hand, which they advised me would be a lot more painful. This whole ordeal made me very nervous as I felt like nobody knew what they were doing (probably somewhat exacerbated by me foolishly reading bad reviews of Cinik the night before my surgery). I think the techs could see I was pretty clammy and nervous so at this point they gave me a ‘relax’ tablet. I have no idea what this was however it looked a little like a Valium. After this it was time to begin injecting the actual anaesthetic in to my scalp. The pain of this was unbearable and I was writhing around in the chair. I honestly thought I was going to end up with some form of PTSD due to the pain of this. Luckily the tablet started to kick in a little which helped to calm my nerves, just not the pain. The tech administering the injections was very attentive and sympathetic and she stopped halfway through to give me a break and massage my head. They also gave me a cake and some water as I probably looked like I was going to pass out from the pain (if only I had managed a bigger breakfast haha). My scalp was definitely becoming more numb so the second half of the injections was a lot more tolerable. After this the extraction process began which was completely pain free (only slightly eerie when you can hear the follicle being plucked out with the tweezers). My memory of events become a little hazy after this point as I was hooked up to the drip containing god knows what painkillers (but I’m certainly not complaining). I had paid extra for Dr Cinik to open the channels himself so he came in at this stage and performed that part. I had also paid a little extra for my beard to be thickened so the channels on my face were opened too. After this it was time for lunch, which I actually rather enjoyed. I was served some juice, salad, bread, rice and beef kofta. It was a little hard to chew due to my face being so numb from the anaesthetic in my beard area but that was only a minimal issue. Now came time to place the grafts, during which I was hooked back up to the drip so slept for the majority of this. I could definitely sense a mixture of more and less experienced techs (4 in total) performing the procedure. From my impression it felt as though the more experienced tech was working on my beard and hairline which made me feel a little more confident, although I suppose the proof will be in the end result! The techs (especially the more experienced seeming lady) seemed really pleased with their work once the procedure had finished so that also helped me feel a little more comfortable. I really can’t fault how attentive they all were and whilst there was a language barrier they tried their hardest to engage in conversation and make sure I was as comfortable and relaxed as possible. Once the surgery was completed I met with one of the sales reps who provided me with my medications, hair was serums etc and provided instructions on how to sleep that night. I was dropped back to my hotel at around 4pm and slept for the remainder of the day. It was a struggle to get to sleep that night, due to the upright position. The sleeping pills they provided did not have much of an effect either. There was a lot of plasma leakage from the donor area during the night which was also quite unpleasant to try and sleep in. Day 3 I was picked up at 9am for a hair wash. The washing of the transplanted area was fine but wow the donor area was so tender. I thought I may pass out from the pain. Luckily it was over within a few minutes. I also had laser light therapy which was a freebie as part of my packaged and lasted about 15 mins. Returned to the hotel after around 45 mins and relaxed for the day. Day 4 I spent the morning in the hotel and was picked up early afternoon for a final hair wash. I was taken promptly to the airport and flew home in the evening. All in all it was a pretty well streamlined process. Now we just need to wait for the results! Here are a few before pictures: I was initially quoted as requiring ~2,500 grafts however in the end they (allegedly) placed ~3,500 in my head. They also implanted a further 600 in my beard. These are the post surgery photos and some of the donor area for anyone who is curious: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member WhiteyUK Posted December 15, 2021 Senior Member Share Posted December 15, 2021 Me myself also went to Cinik so reading that brings it all back, apart from the anaesthesia pain which I didn’t think was very painful but it depends who does it I suppose. 14 months on my results are great and life changing so good luck and hopefully you get great results 👍🏽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member pomloe Posted December 15, 2021 Regular Member Share Posted December 15, 2021 Although I got semi decent coverage and density from my results from Cinik, they put many hairs in the wrong angles and doubles and triples in my hairline as well as poor donor management for extraction. So I will have to spend a ton of money to correct what I got done from Cinik. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Berba11 Posted December 15, 2021 Valued Contributor Share Posted December 15, 2021 Good write up and good luck! I sincerely hope the beard transplant works out. Personally I've not really seen very many cases from anyone doing good and natural looking beard transplants so I'd be keen to see your future updates on this and I hope it's comes out well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted December 16, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2021 19 hours ago, Newyear newhair said: Me myself also went to Cinik so reading that brings it all back, apart from the anaesthesia pain which I didn’t think was very painful but it depends who does it I suppose. 14 months on my results are great and life changing so good luck and hopefully you get great results 👍🏽 Always encouraging to hear someone has had a good result from Cinik - hopefully I will be as lucky as you were with the results! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted December 16, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2021 16 hours ago, pomloe said: Although I got semi decent coverage and density from my results from Cinik, they put many hairs in the wrong angles and doubles and triples in my hairline as well as poor donor management for extraction. So I will have to spend a ton of money to correct what I got done from Cinik. Sorry to hear your experience was poor my main concern at the moment is also how my hairline will turn out re doubles/angles. I guess there is not much I can do but wait to see how it turns out and hope that I do not require further correction after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted December 16, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2021 15 hours ago, Berba11 said: Good write up and good luck! I sincerely hope the beard transplant works out. Personally I've not really seen very many cases from anyone doing good and natural looking beard transplants so I'd be keen to see your future updates on this and I hope it's comes out well! Thank you! Yes I have always been rather dubious of the appearance of the beard transplants as they often do not look very natural. I had a reasonable amount of hair already in my beard area however opted to have some grafts put in to add more density (as opposed to having a whole beard constructed) so I am hoping this will work in my favour and just enhance what was already there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted December 21, 2021 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 21, 2021 10 days post surgery and the scabbing has cleared up quite nicely. Pretty encouraging to see the first glimpses of my new hairline but not looking forward to the shock loss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted January 11, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 11, 2022 Month 1: Very happy to report that the itching in my donor area has finally stopped. I found that a daily antihistamine really helped with this for around the first 2.5 weeks and then after that I could take one around every 3 days. The recipient area still feels slightly numb however I have regained a lot of sensation. Firmly in to the ugly duckling stage now however the grafts in the hairline seem to be holding up well. Shedding definitely seems to have slowed down quite a bit now so I will be interested to see how much more falls out. The donor area does look a little thin although my hair seems fairly slow growing and the flash from the camera can be pretty harsh too. My girlfriend assured me it doesn’t look so patchy in more natural light which is a positive I guess. Hopefully I will regain a little more coverage as my hair grows out more over the next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted February 13, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 13, 2022 Month 2 update: Coverage in the donor area seems to have improved quite a bit now compared to a month ago. Definitely a little more growing here still to do and I’m hopeful there may be an aspect of shock loss as opposed to over-harvesting however I guess only time will tell. I don’t tend to have my hair too much shorter than this so if this were to be the end result for the donor I think I could live with it quite easily. In terms of the recipient area the redness has reduced quite a lot compared to last month. As I’m sure you’ll see I have a lovely large spot (pretty hard to miss!) - these have been popping up around once every 2 weeks so not too many. Very sore though but I guess that is just the pressure from how large they are. It is looking a lot, lot, lot, lot, LOT uglier than I imagined it would but I guess I just have to trust the process. Patience is key and I know it won’t be too much longer before the growth starts to kick in. Slightly surprised by how slowly my non-transplanted hair seems to be growing. I had really hoped it would be a bit longer by now so I could cover some of the recipient area. This whole process has really highlighted how thin my crown was so I imagine it won’t be long until I have to get some work done there. Hopefully I can minimise any further loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted February 13, 2022 Valued Contributor Share Posted February 13, 2022 I take it that the temple points are your own native hair not transplanted hair? Thanks for sharing! 1 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted February 13, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 13, 2022 3 hours ago, Gatsby said: I take it that the temple points are your own native hair not transplanted hair? Thanks for sharing! Yeah that’s correct ☺️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Paros Posted March 10, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted March 10, 2022 On 2/13/2022 at 2:53 AM, MLM842 said: Slightly surprised by how slowly my non-transplanted hair seems to be growing. Have you used Minoxidil to accelerate growth? I've read on some doctors' sites that for the month prior to surgery, the patient should massage their scalp for 10-30 minutes, in order to improve bloodflow. This might also accelerate growth. Surprisingly, Matt Dominance's guide says nothing about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted March 10, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 10, 2022 12 hours ago, Paros said: Have you used Minoxidil to accelerate growth? I've read on some doctors' sites that for the month prior to surgery, the patient should massage their scalp for 10-30 minutes, in order to improve bloodflow. This might also accelerate growth. Surprisingly, Matt Dominance's guide says nothing about this. Hi, I started using minoxidil around 1 month after surgery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted March 11, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 11, 2022 Month 3 update: Not a great deal to say - the growth has definitely started to kick off which is exciting! The recipient area seems to have regained a lot more feeling now which is good - definitely feels less numb when I have an itch. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted April 11, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 11, 2022 Month 4 update: Feels as though there has been quite a bit of growth between last month and now. I’m now feeling like it looks normal enough for me to leave the house without a hat on. My hair is still a little damp in the below pics so it looks a bit ?? Clumped together if that makes sense. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member WhiteyUK Posted April 12, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted April 12, 2022 Yeah massive improvement, month 4 onwards is exciting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Britanium Posted April 12, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted April 12, 2022 Growth already kicking off here, and donor area has really recovered well. 👍🏽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted May 21, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 21, 2022 Month 5 (and a bit) update: Finally had a proper haircut so seemed like a good time to post a new update. Just a week and a half over the 5 month mark. The flash is on in these so just worth noting the donor area looks a little less patchy in more natural light. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BaldDude Posted May 21, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted May 21, 2022 Looking good, congrats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MLM842 Posted June 22, 2022 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 22, 2022 Month 6 (and a bit): Obviously they tell you full results will be seen after a year although not really sure how much more will change by then. Growth seems pretty done to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BaldDude Posted June 22, 2022 Senior Member Share Posted June 22, 2022 Good result, congrats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TrustTheProcess Posted June 23, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 23, 2022 I'd consider this a success! 1 NW6 | FUE HLC Ankara | 5165 Grafts | May 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukh123 Posted June 23, 2022 Share Posted June 23, 2022 (edited) good result tbh and decent density Edited June 23, 2022 by sukh123 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member slimjerky Posted June 25, 2022 Regular Member Share Posted June 25, 2022 Looks great! How many grafts for the beard and did they use single for the beard line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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