Caucasian - 4613 Grafts - Eugenix, Dr. Arika Bansal

[rob7331]

Hi HRN,

I'm thrilled to present to you my second (and hopefully last) hair transplant patient journey. Over a year ago I decided it would be Eugenix, and despite suffering a date cancellation in November 2021 due to travel issues, I am so happy to have finally done it this past week. The surgery took 3 full days.

I'll try to keep the rambling short as there are many of these threads - feel free to skip to the pictures.

Background

29 year old Caucasian, curly blonde hair. I experienced aggressive early hair loss from age 15 and was nearly a NW6 by age 24. My hair loss stabilized dramatically on finasteride, and coupled with dermarolling / minox / better hair care and a small HT of 2200 grafts, I became a passable NW3-4 with a thinning crown and midscalp.

Why Eugenix

Driven by the fantastic results of @Fluffhead and other users on HRN, I began to identify them as a possible clinic. My main goal was illusory coverage for almost my entire head in one pass - avoiding a third procedure was critical. This is ideal for Eugenix who specialize in larger sessions at good value. I considered the reputable Canadian clinics, but after initial consultations realized they were out of my price range at anywhere from 2 or even 3x the cost for the grafts I needed.

Booking flights, medical visa, etc

I owe an extreme thanks to @kirkland, @WhatComesNext and @Berba11 for helping me throughout the process. Traveling from Canada to India during a pandemic was almost harder than the surgery itself, and their advice (and suffering my constant questions) was a pillar of support throughout the process. Thank you guys.

My only advice here is to start the process for this stuff yesterday, and read other people's threads head to toe. Although it's likely travel will become less restricted in the coming months and not all older experiences will remain relevant, so bear that in mind.

Thank you's

On my trip to India I was treated like a king from the moment I arrived at the airport to the day I left. Every driver, greeter, technician and staff member was extremely patient, kind and gentle with me. I wish I got everyone's names, but I would like to take a moment to specifically thank Amandeep, Satyam and Anil.

Amandeep was my initial coordinator and the one I booked the surgery with; patiently WhatsApp'ing with me for over a year, he was instrumental in getting my surgery arranged. Satyam was my accommodations manager and the one who always made sure I had what I needed; he encouraged me to bother him at all hours of the day with questions and was supremely helpful always. Anil acted as a facilitator of sorts at the clinic; his positive smile, encouraging words and excellent communication skills were instrumental in solving minor issues that came up, including arranging a private driver for me to get a PCR test for my return to Canada.

Thank you Amandeep, Satyam, Anil and all the Eugenix staff. You all went above and beyond for me and I'm grateful.

Package

I put down a deposit last year on what was (at the time) the Exclusive package with Dr. Bansal doing the "planning, designing and 100% slits" plus two nights accommodation for Rs 120/graft. Eugenix through Amandeep was gracious enough to carry forward my quoted amount even after the price increase.

In total for the surgery I paid about $11,000 CAD, not including flights and a few extra nights stay in the hotel which I opted for on my own. For context, my first HT at a not-reputable clinic (that was entirely tech-led I might add) for 2200 grafts cost me $10,000 CAD. The value of being willing to travel internationally can be exceptional.

Hairline design

I came prepared to my meeting with Dr. Bansal and had pictures of my old hairline on my phone. We chatted options for about 10 minutes; I told her I wanted to slightly lower my hairline a couple mm and create conservative temples, while achieving reasonable density in my mid scalp and crown. She signaled that was more than achievable and agreed on the approach. After a couple minor revisions to the design we were good to go.

Surgery

Day 1 - The almost 15 hr travel was long and arduous and I arrived exhausted to my core. Coming from a small town in eastern Canada, the chaotic Delhi environment and thick smoggy air stressed me out significantly. Despite arriving a full day early to relax and get pre-op procedures out of the way, my lack of sleep made day 1 slow due to constant oozing. Dr. Bansal did what she could however, and we got most slits done and about 500 extractions before stopping for the day.

Day 2 - I apparently slept better as the oozing was significantly less on day 2. We set to the work and by day's end had all slits done and over 2500 grafts implanted.

Day 3 - Pushing on, we finished up with 4613 grafts, with 173 from the beard. This is a good time to mention that I found the anesthesia exceptionally painful, and specifically was white-knuckling through the beard anesthesia while Dr. Bansal soothed me like a bedside nurse. I don't know how others say it didn't bother them because I found the pain almost overwhelming at times.

I stayed an additional 3 days to relax and let the grafts sit, going in for a donor clean each day at the clinic. Finally I bid my farewells and made the (again) arduous journey to Canada where I thoroughly and utterly collapsed upon arrival home.

Conclusion and feedback

Overall I am exceptionally pleased with my trip to Eugenix Hair Sciences in India. The staff work incredibly hard and the accommodations folks really do everything to try and make your journey as smooth as possible. I cannot wait to see my final result in 12 months.

My only constructive feedback is when I first arrived in the clinic I was sat on a couch in the waiting area. I was exhausted from the trip and anxious about what was to come, and the environment I was in was fairly loud with lots of staff moving in and out, people talking, playing media on their phones etc. While I wouldn't have minded under other circumstances, it became anxiety-inducing after 10 minutes and I asked to be moved to a quieter room. They accommodated this instantly and for the rest of the clinic time everything was much quieter, which I appreciated.

One last point is I was initially taken aback by how young many of the technicians looked. Some seemed to be in their early 20s or younger. However I realized later this was pure ageism on my part as they all performed their roles with remarkable skill and efficiency. But it's worth mentioning for anyone else in case you were like me and thought they'd be older. You have no reason to be surprised or worried.

Tomorrow I will post my day 7 scab removal. In the meantime please enjoy my pre and post-op. I've also attached 2 photos of me in the hotel before surgery so you can see how my hair looked normally on a given day.

Edited February 14, 2022 by rob7331

[Viney]

Light coloured curly hair , a rarity here it seems, keen to follow this one. Thanks for the detailed post and all the best!

Also, respect to Eugenix for going with your initial quote, kind of seems like robbery at that price 😅.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Viney

[Gatsby]

The color match will be perfect. I finished my surgery with Eugenix three weeks ago and I can tell you the post op experience is a breeze and to just follow their excellent post op instructions. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to your results.

[MazAB]

@rob7331 I'm so happy you finally made this a reality! Your exact case with diffused thinning Eugenix thrives at, so I would expect nothing less than a stellar result thru and thru for you! Textbook work rendered on you my friend! 😁💪

No doubt I'll be following closely!

[Britanium]

Such a detailed & comprehensive write up 👍🏽 This looks like super refined work, and yet another Eugenix result to follow 🤩 

[Ryan Daniel]

Im definitely keeping an eye on your journey, because it is exactly the procedure i need for myself! 

Happy growth sir!!  

[Berba11]

Looks awesome Rob!

[rob7331]

Day 7 update - oh my god that shower felt amazing

Scabs removed. Amazed at how the beard recovered - it looks untouched. Donor area still a little itchy, considering applying polysporin or if anyone has recommendations.

I remember how much I loved this stage on my first HT and the feeling is just as euphoric this time around.

[Britanium]

Super fast healing 👌

[hairlossPA]

following

[kirkland]

Looking good @rob7331

[Melvin- Admin]

Looking awesome @rob7331 👏🏼

[rob7331]

1 month! Not much to say; donor feels fine (zero itch now) and recipient still has numbness. A little shock loss in some places but nothing unexpected at this stage.

 I can feel the shed coming - I'm ready for it 💪

[Gatsby]

On 2/15/2022 at 1:26 AM, rob7331 said:

Day 7 update - oh my god that shower felt amazing

😂 I can so relate to this comment!!! This will be a great result. Looking forward to following your progress. Thanks for sharing!

[MazAB]

You will have a nice even result when all is said and done. I think the illusion of density will work in your favor as well with your lighter colored scalp and hair.

The foundation and framework is set. You just have some time ahead of you until the awesome final product takes over!😉

[johnto]

Who did your original surgery (the small 2200 graft one?)

[rob7331]

Thanks everyone

@johnto Dr. Torgerson, an average small clinic in Toronto. I linked the journey in my first post.

Edited March 8, 2022 by rob7331

[Britanium]

This is looking great for 1 month, like you say the shed is probably about to hit 👍🏽

[Melvin- Admin]

23 hours ago, rob7331 said:

1 month! Not much to say; donor feels fine (zero itch now) and recipient still has numbness. A little shock loss in some places but nothing unexpected at this stage.

 I can feel the shed coming - I'm ready for it 💪

Your donor looks immaculate. Healing well man, very excited to see a blonde case from Eugenix. I get so many messages from blonde guy’s asking for reviews, good to have one now. 

[rob7331]

2 months today. Please find my updated picture below.

[rob7331]

Jokes! Most of the hairs have shed and I'm essentially back to where I was post first transplant. Last time it took a while for the density to appear, so I'm going to be extra patient and hold my thoughts until at least 6 months have passed. I can see lots of little hair-dots though, which is very exciting

Edited April 7, 2022 by rob7331

[rob7331]

Hi all, 4 months.

I'd estimate about 90% of the hair you see is still native + first transplant so don't be mislead by the longer length. That said I'm starting to see more hairs sprouting so I'm hopeful for a strong density jump as we enter the growth phase. I promised myself I'd be extra patient with this HT though, so I'm going to continue holding my thoughts for now.

Of note is some continued patchiness on both sides of my head just above my ears, although I was always a little thin in that spot, but it's something to watch going forward. The donor on the back of my head however feels good and dense. I bet I could do a third HT if I wanted to.

I like doing these updates every two months as the results are more significant, so I may wait until month 6 for the next update.

[Gatsby]

Thanks for sharing @rob7331 I'm also at four months and I think from here on in going forward will be the start of things to come. It's a bit like life. The days are long but the years go quick! Wishing you all the best and I look forward to following your updates. You're already looking good!

[Boomerang]

10 minutes ago, rob7331 said:

Hi all, 4 months.

I'd estimate about 90% of the hair you see is still native + first transplant so don't be mislead by the longer length. That said I'm starting to see more hairs sprouting so I'm hopeful for a strong density jump as we enter the growth phase. I promised myself I'd be extra patient with this HT though, so I'm going to continue holding my thoughts for now.

Of note is some continued patchiness on both sides of my head just above my ears, although I was always a little thin in that spot, but it's something to watch going forward. The donor on the back of my head however feels good and dense. I bet I could do a third HT if I wanted to.

I like doing these updates every two months as the results are more significant, so I may wait until month 6 for the next update.

Thanks for the update rob. 
You are a month ahead of me.

Yours and my both side donor situation is same.. 

why are you considering 3rd HT? Looks like whole area was covered.

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

5 hours ago, rob7331 said:

Hi all, 4 months.

I'd estimate about 90% of the hair you see is still native + first transplant so don't be mislead by the longer length. That said I'm starting to see more hairs sprouting so I'm hopeful for a strong density jump as we enter the growth phase. I promised myself I'd be extra patient with this HT though, so I'm going to continue holding my thoughts for now.

Of note is some continued patchiness on both sides of my head just above my ears, although I was always a little thin in that spot, but it's something to watch going forward. The donor on the back of my head however feels good and dense. I bet I could do a third HT if I wanted to.

I like doing these updates every two months as the results are more significant, so I may wait until month 6 for the next update.

The hair only start to grow by the 4th to 6th month. Please don't worry. The full density will be seen only by the 12th to 14th month. Please do let us know if you require anything at all. We are here for you.