Eugenix |Norwood 2|Complete Temple Point Restoration + Hairline|May 2022|2010 Grafts|Dr Priyadarshini Das

[Boomerang]

12 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Thank you. 100% hoping to make sure i keep a good set of updates. 

Day 4 

Talking of which, yesterday was Day 4 fully post-op by my count and it was just a case of trying to rest up, using saline spray when i can up to and before 2hrs in some cases. 

The recipient areas gone very dry and scabby and lots of itchiness now compared to before. I think the right side of the donor area where more hair was taken was itching a bit more but spraying it with saline spray too helped calm it a bit. 

Tonight was also my first day fully being back home and its been tough with trying to find a solid sleeping position but i am trying to stay as upright as possible and boxing myself in to avoid ending up on my sides. I am told that you can sleep more normally starting day 7 post-op but i do also feel cautious of doing this because of the fact that i feel i could still do more harm than good. 

Completely understandable. So much efforts, emotions and of course $ have been invested.

I used to roll up a towel and place it under my face between cheekbone and jaw bone growing back over my ear, so a rolled up towel placed below the eyes and sleep sideways. It worked for me. I couldn’t sleep sitting up after 3 days.

[NARMAK]

2 hours ago, Boomerang said:

Completely understandable. So much efforts, emotions and of course $ have been invested.

I used to roll up a towel and place it under my face between cheekbone and jaw bone growing back over my ear, so a rolled up towel placed below the eyes and sleep sideways. It worked for me. I couldn’t sleep sitting up after 3 days.

Good tip. 

I'm wearing a neck pillow, sitting in a bucket style chair with feet rested up on a chair and using a slightly oversized zip stretchy hoody to take my arms out of the sleeves after zipping it up and keep them locked around my torso area from accidentally scratching the head etc. during sleep. I have nodded off a few times in different positions not trying to sleep like that so hope it hasn't affected anything. 

I also just want to get the advice of you guys. I was a bit of a bleeder during my HT and i have tried to be as diligent as possible with spraying saline every 2hrs, sometimes even sooner but i suffer from a more dry scalp and usually get dandruff which before my HT i used to manage with T-Gel shampoo. 

Now, i have seen some people get what i'm about to show in the following picture but my scabs have created a little "channel" like shape where I've marked the yellow zone on both temporal points. I just wanted to make sure it's nothing of concern and can be considered "normal" in terms of healing. 

Also, it's because of that scabbing i'm more concerned for my initial head wash. 

PS - I had just sprayed saline spray and yeah, you can see some flakes around the scalp and sideburn area. 

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

3 hours ago, NARMAK said:

scabs have created a little "channel" like shape where I've marked the yellow zone on both temporal points. I just wanted to make sure it's nothing of concern and can be considered "normal" in terms of healing. 

It is normal. The scabs are shrinking and bundling up together. There is nothing to worry about.

[NARMAK]

4 minutes ago, Eugenix Hair Sciences said:

It is normal. The scabs are shrinking and bundling up together. There is nothing to worry about.

Thank you for the reply. I also just felt some "pressure" around my head and temples, maybe itchiness? Phantom pain? 

I am regularly trying to spray with saline water 2hrs or less now. Because i got worried, i took a picture and noticed some whiteness around the grafts on my left temple near the outer area. Is this normal? 

[Melvin- Admin]

I made a video a few years ago about that it may help you

 

[NARMAK]

13 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I made a video a few years ago about that it may help you

 

Thanks for the video Melvin. I know it's probably just the mental overreaction in me because i felt a slight pressure sensation and almost mentally felt like the graft was being "pushed out" but i'm 5 full days post op and apparently some say to get the grafts out after 2 days you would need a surgical tool. So hopefully it'll just be the mental aspect of freaking out in the moment than anything serious. 

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

21 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Thank you for the reply. I also just felt some "pressure" around my head and temples, maybe itchiness? Phantom pain? 

I am regularly trying to spray with saline water 2hrs or less now. Because i got worried, i took a picture and noticed some whiteness around the grafts on my left temple near the outer area. Is this normal? 

Please share some more pictures with us. And we can give you the details.

[NARMAK]

4 minutes ago, Eugenix Hair Sciences said:

Please share some more pictures with us. And we can give you the details.

Hi, thank you for your prompt reply. 

I shared some this picture with the post-op team as well via WhatsApp and they said the doctor has looked and also said it looks fine. 

The explanation for the white bits are "fat secretion" and i guess would make sense why it looks "pushed out" on the side. 

[NARMAK]

Day 7 - Post-Op Morning Update or should that be Morning Scare

My HT got split over 2 days with the final day being on the 20th May 2022. Today is the 27th May 2022 and i was intending to have my first Day 7 fully post-op headwash. 

So, i went to bed maybe around 1.30am, and it's been extremely tough to try and rest when back at home in a similar upright position that i wanted to help me avoid turning on my side. Now, i don't know what happened or how but from sleeping to waking up, i seemed to have been in my normal "area" if you will, but after sleepily trying to move my neck around with the memory foam pillow i went to sleep with, i noticed it feeling much differently. I then realised my neck pillow had turned 90 degrees(picture attached) and that i was actually much more sideways than the position i went to sleep in.  So naturally being half asleep, it's time to freak out. Eyes barely open and i basically start taking a video. 

Now, i also once my eyes opened started looking around for any grafts etc. i think may have been pulled out in any unconscious shenanigans. There's no signs of blood which i thought was a positive indication BUT i think i've noticed an area where it was scabbed and those little areas seem to have come away. Hopefully with it having been so long post-op the grafts couldn't have been lost at all unless they never took in the first place.

Anywhoo, this is the Morning Scare, er... Update i mean and yeah, i'll be posting hopefully more pictures of the donor area and how the head looks Before and After the first headwash. The Eugenix post-op care team said its fine to split the wash up over multiple days and not to keep pushing if some flakes don't come off and i think that's what i will be doing. 

Edited May 27, 2022 by NARMAK

[NARMAK]

Day 7 - First Headwash (Afternoon Update) 

Hey all! 

So finally went through to do the first headwash. Not going to lie, i was pretty anxious about it and not doing it wrong was on my mind the whole time. I started off by taking warm water in a cup and wetting all over the top of my head before then applying Dove shampoo really liberally over the areas where the HT was and just waited 20+ mins. I then wet it under a shower head from the top of the head away from the HT area and then gently tried to massage around the scalps in a more circular motion. Once i had started to wash the scabs, they just kept coming off with a bit of a gentle circular motion and i just kept going for as long as i could keep feeling scabs coming off. By the end, i think 95% of the scabs have probably come off. 

I've included some pictures of my donor area too. The pictures are pre-wash and post-wash. 

It definitely is a big difference because the scabs add to the look of the density at such a short length. I know the ugly duckling phase will come sooner rather than later, but hopefully the hair will thicken and there's some hair shafts that fell out it looks like too during the wash and once those regrow and thicken up, that should add to the density. I think overall its just a waiting game but i am happy with how things are at this stage. There's a few raised ridgey bumps on my temple points which i hope are going to improve with time. Overall, it's definitely a stark example imo for how you definitely need patience as part of this whole journey. 

[John1991]

I'd say things look good.  I think patience is pretty easy in the first few weeks when you're still kind of pumped from having just gotten the procedure.  It gets more annoying 6+ weeks in when you've had this weird look to you for that long and will continue to have it for quite some time.

It's easy to respond best to posts where people heal quickly/have very low skin/hair contrast.  I think the most important thing to gauge from the early stages is whether the density will be sufficient.  I'd say that in addition to being fortunate in that first category, you also have density that will be good.

Edited May 27, 2022 by John1991

[NARMAK]

7 minutes ago, John1991 said:

I'd say things look good.  I think patience is pretty easy in the first few weeks when you're still kind of pumped from having just gotten the procedure.  It gets more annoying 6+ weeks in when you've had this weird look to you for that long and will continue to have it for quite some time.

It's easy to respond best to posts where people heal quickly/have very low skin/hair contrast.  I think the most important thing to gauge from the early stages is whether the density will be sufficient.  I'd say that in addition to being fortunate in that first category, you also have density that will be good.

Yeah, i 100% know what you mean and so far, i think things have been going in a positive direction but definitely need to be prepared for that ugly duckling phase. 

It's kinda funny, you have a week with temples and a lower hairline and then when you hit the ugly duckling phase, you have to deal with that and even though i may have "only" started around a Norwood 2, i feel it wil mentally still be tough. 

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

15 hours ago, NARMAK said:

Day 7 - First Headwash (Afternoon Update) 

Hey all! 

So finally went through to do the first headwash. Not going to lie, i was pretty anxious about it and not doing it wrong was on my mind the whole time. I started off by taking warm water in a cup and wetting all over the top of my head before then applying Dove shampoo really liberally over the areas where the HT was and just waited 20+ mins. I then wet it under a shower head from the top of the head away from the HT area and then gently tried to massage around the scalps in a more circular motion. Once i had started to wash the scabs, they just kept coming off with a bit of a gentle circular motion and i just kept going for as long as i could keep feeling scabs coming off. By the end, i think 95% of the scabs have probably come off. 

I've included some pictures of my donor area too. The pictures are pre-wash and post-wash. 

It definitely is a big difference because the scabs add to the look of the density at such a short length. I know the ugly duckling phase will come sooner rather than later, but hopefully the hair will thicken and there's some hair shafts that fell out it looks like too during the wash and once those regrow and thicken up, that should add to the density. I think overall its just a waiting game but i am happy with how things are at this stage. There's a few raised ridgey bumps on my temple points which i hope are going to improve with time. Overall, it's definitely a stark example imo for how you definitely need patience as part of this whole journey. 

Looks absolutely fine.

[Vann]

These are great updates thanks for sharing! I hope your knee is feeling better? Your pictures look really well taken, and really concise with some of the environments that they are taken in.

 

So far, how are you feeling with everything now? Was it worth the journey you have taken thusfar?

[NARMAK]

2 hours ago, Vann said:

These are great updates thanks for sharing! I hope your knee is feeling better? Your pictures look really well taken, and really concise with some of the environments that they are taken in.

 

So far, how are you feeling with everything now? Was it worth the journey you have taken thusfar?

Thanks and yes, the knee is significantly better than when i set off to India. Its not 100% but its to the point where i can walk without an obvious limp. I am still looking to get it checked by a doctor and hopefully get it looked into though. 

So far, after the first headwash i am still trying to be careful with sleeping but significantly happy the scabs came off so well in the first wash considering how crusty they had gotten. I love the framing of the face that the temple points have given. 

Overall, i think it was 100% worth the journey so far, but it's also such early days. The results need to be seen at the end of 12 months and i'm both excited and nervous for that. 

I think it's been an emotional roller coaster for sure and probably will continue to be for a while. Especially as i hit the Ugly Duckling phase and because of me having shorter hair that's still growing, it's hard atm at least to see if there's any shock loss and where. That's going to be also tough but i have my baseball caps at the ready. Went to the cinema with a friend yesterday and passed that test with flying colours. Next is a wedding to attend. Fingers crossed on that and i might update on that experience. 

[Gatsby]

Your donor looks impeccable. Happy growing! 👌

[NARMAK]

34 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Your donor looks impeccable. Happy growing! 👌

Thanks Adrian. I definitely think the skin to hair colour contrast is helping a lot in that regards too. 

The right side of my donor was harvested a bit more than the left so i am hoping this will not create an imbalance and that Dr Das was present at that point seeing the extractions done, makes me hopeful it was all properly planned out. 

[BDK081522]

This might be some of the most aggressive temple points documented on this forum! With such minimal hairline loss, if the temple points turn out well, it should be a great result. Happy growing and just put your head down and plow through the ugly duckling phase!

[NARMAK]

3 minutes ago, BDK081522 said:

This might be some of the most aggressive temple points documented on this forum! With such minimal hairline loss, if the temple points turn out well, it should be a great result. Happy growing and just put your head down and plow through the ugly duckling phase!

Thanks for the encouragement and yes, i wanted to be as aggressive as i could with the temple points without it becoming too narrow and also give a nicer framing by closing the temporal corners down to where the hairline used to be where a few of my sentinel hair sat. 

I am taking Dutasteride everyday and hoping to be able to maintain this as my regimen and hopefully if there's any need, i can fill in down the line but also, add density where needed. 

My next proper updates will be monthly for pictures but i am not looking forwards to that ugly duckling phase lol. If my shock loss is minimal and the hair regrows to where the previous hairline was, it's certainly going to be interesting to have an in person contrast again. 

[Monero]

You said that you used saline also on donor area? Or I read that wrong.

[NARMAK]

34 minutes ago, Monero said:

You said that you used saline also on donor area? Or I read that wrong.

I used saline spray with a few spritz when it felt itchy and it helped alleviate it somewhat. So i think it's a worthwhile tip to try if if might work for others. 

[RTC]

Narmak, random, but how tall are you? You look huge bro

[NARMAK]

40 minutes ago, Aslitarcan sucks said:

Narmak, random, but how tall are you? You look huge bro

Lol, i didn't think images would make it seem that way. 

I am 6'2. So getting into cars and whatnot had to take a little bit of extra care. Luckily i think it was just that one time post-op that i consciously know i hit my head, bled and lost a graft. I think the others were dislodged. 

[MazAB]

Donor, hairline, temples. It'll all come together beautifully based on what I'm seeing this early on. It'll take some time but it'll all be worth it!

[NARMAK]

1 hour ago, MazAB said:

Donor, hairline, temples. It'll all come together beautifully based on what I'm seeing this early on. It'll take some time but it'll all be worth it!

Thanks Armen and i think all positive signs so far. Still grinning ear to ear everytime i look in the mirror at the new framing the temple points gave me.