Eugenix (Drs. Das/Somesh/Vinita) | 11,102 grafts | NW 6/7 | 28 yrs old | 2022/2023/2024

[general-etwan]

Well, I got bored and annoyed with my hair length so I decided to have some "fun" and give myself a buzz cut. It's winter so it's the easiest season to hide it until it grows back...and it looks like I'll need to for a bit.

I buzzed the entire top down to an even 12 mm and the sides and back to 5 mm. I want to notify anyone following this that it's essentially see-through; transparent. I figured the density would show its true self when buzzed short, but it was difficult to accept at first. I will share pics if y'all want to see and promise to go lightly on the situation.

I'll need to understand exactly where I stand. I was hoping the density would be higher, but compared to my post-procedure pics, the results from HT#1 seem consistent with the graft placement. I think the yield is good. The angles of grafts all look good. I ultimately think 8,300 grafts simply isn't enough for me. When the hair is longer, the longer strands bunch together to make it look fuller, but buzzed short, the reality of the surface area to cover vs the number of grafts is seen. By now I have surely lost all the original native hair on top of my head, to the Norwood 7 pattern, so the only hair that remains is transplanted hair and I think the reality is that 8,300 grafts across the entire top and crown still just isn't enough. A big step in the right direction, but not enough to be content.

Looks like my 3rd procedure will have to be a big lift and put all grafts to increasing density. The good news is my donor still looks essentially untouched and I personally think we can take another 2,500 from just the rear donor, plus maybe another 500 from my thick sidelocks, plus up to 1,000 beard grafts. That adds up to another 3,500 to 4,000 that could go to the top.

[Berba11]

22 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

Well, I got bored and annoyed with my hair length so I decided to have some "fun" and give myself a buzz cut. It's winter so it's the easiest season to hide it until it grows back...and it looks like I'll need to for a bit.

I buzzed the entire top down to an even 12 mm and the sides and back to 5 mm. I want to notify anyone following this that it's essentially see-through; transparent. I figured the density would show its true self when buzzed short, but it was difficult to accept at first. I will share pics if y'all want to see and promise to go lightly on the situation.

I'll need to understand exactly where I stand. I was hoping the density would be higher, but compared to my post-procedure pics, the results from HT#1 seem consistent with the graft placement. I think the yield is good. The angles of grafts all look good. I ultimately think 8,300 grafts simply isn't enough for me. When the hair is longer, the longer strands bunch together to make it look fuller, but buzzed short, the reality of the surface area to cover vs the number of grafts is seen. By now I have surely lost all the original native hair on top of my head, to the Norwood 7 pattern, so the only hair that remains is transplanted hair and I think the reality is that 8,300 grafts across the entire top and crown still just isn't enough. A big step in the right direction, but not enough to be content.

Looks like my 3rd procedure will have to be a big lift and put all grafts to increasing density. The good news is my donor still looks essentially untouched and I personally think we can take another 2,500 from just the rear donor, plus maybe another 500 from my thick sidelocks, plus up to 1,000 beard grafts. That adds up to another 3,500 to 4,000 that could go to the top.

Go on mate, give us a glimpse!

[Dragonsphere]

2 hours ago, general-etwan said:

Well, I got bored and annoyed with my hair length so I decided to have some "fun" and give myself a buzz cut. It's winter so it's the easiest season to hide it until it grows back...and it looks like I'll need to for a bit.

I buzzed the entire top down to an even 12 mm and the sides and back to 5 mm. I want to notify anyone following this that it's essentially see-through; transparent. I figured the density would show its true self when buzzed short, but it was difficult to accept at first. I will share pics if y'all want to see and promise to go lightly on the situation.

I'll need to understand exactly where I stand. I was hoping the density would be higher, but compared to my post-procedure pics, the results from HT#1 seem consistent with the graft placement. I think the yield is good. The angles of grafts all look good. I ultimately think 8,300 grafts simply isn't enough for me. When the hair is longer, the longer strands bunch together to make it look fuller, but buzzed short, the reality of the surface area to cover vs the number of grafts is seen. By now I have surely lost all the original native hair on top of my head, to the Norwood 7 pattern, so the only hair that remains is transplanted hair and I think the reality is that 8,300 grafts across the entire top and crown still just isn't enough. A big step in the right direction, but not enough to be content.

Looks like my 3rd procedure will have to be a big lift and put all grafts to increasing density. The good news is my donor still looks essentially untouched and I personally think we can take another 2,500 from just the rear donor, plus maybe another 500 from my thick sidelocks, plus up to 1,000 beard grafts. That adds up to another 3,500 to 4,000 that could go to the top.

Have you thought about having an SMP to add further to illusion to the density?

Because you have hair in the area, it will help to give more of 3D look. 

You should also look at adding Dutasteride and oral minoxidil. 

This will help safeguard you against not only MPB but also senile alopecia as you age.

The latter is something many people don't take into account.  

You could also look a chest hair and possibly leg/arm hair hair as filler. 

Out of curiosity, how many more grafts assuming you had an unlimited supply, would you guess would be required to restore you hair to a point where the hair loss would be ascetically undetectable?

 

 

[asterix0]

To get an idea how much approximately 8000 grafts "should" look like, although you have finer hair caliber, do a search through here for high quality high Norwood cases and try to best approximate the yield. However, the hair length will be different, combovers and all that will make the illusion stronger, but that is what we have to do as high Norwoods to make the illusion of density as best as possible. I do it myself. 

Buzz cut + light SMP is also a good option in case things don't go as planned. 

[GeneralNorwood]

On 1/23/2024 at 3:09 AM, general-etwan said:

.

1. I think it may be worth flattening the corners of the hairline just a tiny bit at the front corners. When you see me from the front, the visible upper temple corner recession is very deep, especially with the hair combed back, which means the lateral hump regions are not as strong as they could be. A big reason for the lateral hump areas still looking a little weak is because of the deep upper temple corner recession. The original hairline was a proper start for HT #1, but now spending a few hundred grafts to bring each corner slightly lower may be worth the visual improvement. For example, in Tom Brady, who is rumored to have had hair work over the years (and even if he hasn't, he still serves as a good example of this), the corners of his hairline are flatter, which promotes a slightly more youthful look as opposed to deep temporal recession. I think @Bandit90 also had his hairline slightly "flatter" than mine towards the corners and I'm a big fan of his. I understand this is a risky area to get right but I have confidence we can get it right. It will be a very minor, careful lowering.

 

 

I think it is a bad idea. You have to plan for the next 10-20 years. And besides, your hairline looks fine, i don't see this recession that you are talking about. On this pictures when you drew possible changes, your face is leaned forward, it makes hairline more recessed then in reality. Furthermore, even with face leaned forward, it doesn't look like the hairline needs surgery. 

 

Let me remind you how they drew the hairline, it was pretty flat : 

 

If you made it going downwards like this triangle that your drew, fronto temporal angle would be maybe even lower then mid frontal point and  that is a big no-no

 

Well you can always make photo from the front, so we can see what is exact relation between MFP and FTA. But it has to be made from at least 2m and with straight face to see it exactly how it looks in reality. 

 

Edited February 14 by GeneralNorwood

[general-etwan]

Ok, here are some pics with it all buzzed evenly because I got bored. When I went to my barber, he cut it varying lengths from back to front to make it look thicker, but I wanted to see what buzzing it all to equal length showed. Might as well do it once.

First pics are under harsh light

 

 

Wet hair:

 

In the car; in more natural lighting obviously it looks denser:

 

 

As for the possibility of my yield being poor; I think the current view vs. the grafts 1 week after my first HT match up pretty well pattern wise. I don't know. I think it's more just so much surface area to cover and most people never buzz their hair like this after a HT. My growth came fast and strong and I remember essentially all grafts were growing by month 5 or 6. My "final results" were front-loaded. They came fast and everything's been essentially the same since then.

1 week after 1st HT (Sept. 2022)                         vs.                           now (Feb. 2024)

 

 

Edited February 15 by general-etwan

[general-etwan]

4 hours ago, Dragonsphere said:

Have you thought about having an SMP to add further to illusion to the density? Because you have hair in the area, it will help to give more of 3D look. 

You should also look at adding Dutasteride and oral minoxidil. This will help safeguard you against not only MPB but also senile alopecia as you age. The latter is something many people don't take into account.  

You could also look a chest hair and possibly leg/arm hair hair as filler. 

Out of curiosity, how many more grafts assuming you had an unlimited supply, would you guess would be required to restore you hair to a point where the hair loss would be ascetically undetectable?

Yes, absolutely considering SMP as an added tool in addition to a 3rd HT. Question is, should I have SMP done before or after the 3rd HT. That's something I need to research and figure out.

I've always considered adding dutasteride but honestly not convinced that it would be anything miraculous for me since my hair loss was far too aggressive and intense for finasteride to do anything about. I don't want to castrate myself if it's only going to make a tiny difference over the years. Oral minoxidil - my dislike about it is the increase in overall body hair growth and potential of heart side effects. If I can be convinced on those two points maybe I'll try it, but it's not going to grow new hair where there is none, just very minorly strengthen the existing hair.

I would guess that to have completely aesthetically undetectable hair loss, I'd need another 8,000 grafts on top, but that's in a world of unlimited donor. I think another 3,000-4,000 on top would be enough to deliver a satisfying result of density and allow for almost normal styling of the hair. You look at some of these NW7 cases and they've had 12,000-15,000 total grafts. So even though 8,300 is a lot in the world of HTs, for us NW7s it's really no surprise that even more are needed to generate better appearance of density.

[general-etwan]

3 hours ago, asterix0 said:

To get an idea how much approximately 8000 grafts "should" look like, although you have finer hair caliber, do a search through here for high quality high Norwood cases and try to best approximate the yield. However, the hair length will be different, combovers and all that will make the illusion stronger, but that is what we have to do as high Norwoods to make the illusion of density as best as possible. I do it myself. 

Buzz cut + light SMP is also a good option in case things don't go as planned. 

Yeah, it's really difficult to find cases where people buzzed their hair short like I just did after entire-head hair transplants. When hair is medium to longer length the longer strands bundle together and can look thicker from afar. I can compare myself to others all day but everyone's situation is unique and I think all I can do is examine the fact that my original native hair is essentially completely gone, compare my first HT graft placement after scabs came off to my current state, and see whether it makes sense. Looking from the side profile view, it looks exactly how I would expect it to look. Looking straight down on the top, the density looks low, but that seems to just be the reality of a NW7 with only 5,300 original grafts on that area. 

I absolutely plan to use SMP as another tool in combination with a 3rd HT. Just trying to decide whether SMP session should be done before or after that 3rd HT.

3 hours ago, GeneralNorwood said:

I think it is a bad idea. You have to plan for the next 10-20 years. And besides, your hairline looks fine, i don't see this recession that you are talking about. On this pictures when you drew possible changes, your face is leaned forward, it makes hairline more recessed then in reality. Furthermore, even with face leaned forward, it doesn't look like the hairline needs surgery. 

 

Let me remind you how they drew the hairline, it was pretty flat : 

If you made it going downwards like this triangle that your drew, fronto temporal angle would be maybe even lower then mid frontal point and  that is a big no-no

Well you can always make photo from the front, so we can see what is exact relation between MFP and FTA. But it has to be made from at least 2m and with straight face to see it exactly how it looks in reality. 

Yeah, well that hairline idea I had was before I realized how much I need to increase density. Now that I figure that I want another 3,000-4,000 all across the top to increase density, obviously hairline adjustment isn't at the top of the list.

My analysis is that my hairline is still a bit high though and the temple corners are definitely recessed from the front view. But, that may just have to be a reality of being a NW7 MPB guy. We can't make everything perfect. But knowing how much Dr. Sethi likes to maximize the front view, and the fact that Bandit90's hairline is lower and flatter (and spoiler alert...won't reveal too much but Bandit90 just had his 3rd procedure and Dr. Sethi did hairline and temple work again, bringing everything even tighter at the front)...I couldn't rule out that Dr. Sethi might want to do hairline work with me too, even though it seems unrealistic right now.

Here, you can see what I mean about temple recession. I have a big and wide foreheard:

 

There could be multiple different strategies to changing this:

1. Is to add grafts to temples, bringing them further forward. 2. Is to lower hairline, making forehead not as tall.

 

3. Is to do a little bit of both.

But I suspect the number of grafts needed to do this kind of additional hairline/temple work could be anywhere from 500-1,000 and I just don't know if that would be a wise use of grafts at this point. I want to make sure I get a lot more density up top first.

[general-etwan]

Oh, and here is my current donor region. Still looks solid, looks thick and feels thick. I really do think we'll be able to take another 2,500 from it. I've seen some cases where people have slightly thinned out rear donor areas from HTs and it's not devastating at all if it's spread out well. One of these cases I believe to be Tiger W o o d s, who I'm convinced had a HT sometime after 2015 (not that it turned out that great on top) and the back of his head looks a little bare, but no one has ever said a thing about it because the truth is most people don't care what's going on back there.

Reminder that I've had about 6,300 taken from my rear donor so far. I think we can get another 2,500 from rear donor + 250 from each side lock (500 total) + 500 beard (maybe up to 1,000 if I am willing to do it). That's 3,500-4,000 more we can add to the top to increase density putting grand total at 11,700-12,300 grafts if we do all that.

 

 

Tiger W o o d s' scalp donor depletion. I would be more than willing to accept something like this for higher density on top:

 

Edited February 15 by general-etwan

[Rose17]

Hey man your progress is awesome to see. Thanks for sharing.

 

just curious, did you ever chat with Pittella?

im sure Sethi would do a great job for you, but curious what Pittella said on your zoom (if you ended up doing it).

[general-etwan]

2 minutes ago, Rose17 said:

Hey man your progress is awesome to see. Thanks for sharing.

 

just curious, did you ever chat with Pittella?

im sure Sethi would do a great job for you, but curious what Pittella said on your zoom (if you ended up doing it).

I did not. They never responded back to me with an opening for a video consultation. Pittella is booked way too far out for my liking too and his cost is out of my range. I think he’s doing great work. Just not going to be an option for me. 

Edited February 15 by general-etwan

[Rose17]

4 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

I did not. They never responded back to me with an opening for a video consultation. Pittella is booked way too far out for my liking too and his cost is out of my range. I think he’s doing great work. Just not going to be an option for me. 

Gotcha. Eugenix pricing is very fair IMO.

I was fortunate enough to somehow get a zoom this month, and potentially a surgery spot in late 2024. I looked hard at Zarev, still looking at Sethi, Nader, couple other guys as well. But your case was great info, especially on the hair styling aspect for younger high norwoods. 

[general-etwan]

I can see Dr. Sethi wanting to do something like this to my hairline/temples. But of course *only* if we take care of priority density on top first. This is only an idea for very best case scenario but if it doesn’t happen it’s okay.

Edited February 15 by general-etwan

[hairman22]

Looks not bad buzzed

3rd procedure i think pittella would do a great job

[Berba11]

5 hours ago, general-etwan said:

I can see Dr. Sethi wanting to do something like this to my hairline/temples. But of course *only* if we take care of priority density on top first. This is only an idea for very best case scenario but if it doesn’t happen it’s okay.

Personally I think this would be madness. Better to use available donor resources to improve density behind the hairline (so the weaker parts of the frontal third and going into the midscalp). Your current hairline and temple points look great and will continue to look great in later life. 
 

I wish I’d been more conservative with my own hairline and if I do one day decide to take it back up, it’s costly and multiple surgeries. I honestly think you’d nail this by keeping your hairline exactly as it is and focusing on density. Lower hairlines do not automatically look better just because they’re lower. 

[general-etwan]

2 hours ago, Berba11 said:

Personally I think this would be madness. Better to use available donor resources to improve density behind the hairline (so the weaker parts of the frontal third and going into the midscalp). Your current hairline and temple points look great and will continue to look great in later life. 
 

I wish I’d been more conservative with my own hairline and if I do one day decide to take it back up, it’s costly and multiple surgeries. I honestly think you’d nail this by keeping your hairline exactly as it is and focusing on density. Lower hairlines do not automatically look better just because they’re lower. 

Very true. If all eventually goes well with density and I can grow my hair out into a medium length messy fringe type, the precise hairline area can be covered too and it doesn’t need to be super low to look good. 

[Dragonsphere]

12 hours ago, general-etwan said:

Yes, absolutely considering SMP as an added tool in addition to a 3rd HT. Question is, should I have SMP done before or after the 3rd HT. That's something I need to research and figure out.

I've always considered adding dutasteride but honestly not convinced that it would be anything miraculous for me since my hair loss was far too aggressive and intense for finasteride to do anything about. I don't want to castrate myself if it's only going to make a tiny difference over the years. Oral minoxidil - my dislike about it is the increase in overall body hair growth and potential of heart side effects. If I can be convinced on those two points maybe I'll try it, but it's not going to grow new hair where there is none, just very minorly strengthen the existing hair.

I would guess that to have completely aesthetically undetectable hair loss, I'd need another 8,000 grafts on top, but that's in a world of unlimited donor. I think another 3,000-4,000 on top would be enough to deliver a satisfying result of density and allow for almost normal styling of the hair. You look at some of these NW7 cases and they've had 12,000-15,000 total grafts. So even though 8,300 is a lot in the world of HTs, for us NW7s it's really no surprise that even more are needed to generate better appearance of density.

All comparative studies show a greater increase in hair density for Dutasteride than Finasteride. You also need to considered that the donor area although more resistant to DHT is not immune. Many Noorwood 7s thin in the donor area and some do not. Dutasteride would likely prevent this. You can look at your family history to see what is likely going to be the end result for you.  The side effect rate is essentially the same for both drugs. 

Castration reduces all androgens not just DHT. Finasteride will take you levels of DHT to near that of a castrate, Dutasteride far below. However, you will also have a mild but statistically significant increase in Testosterone whereas  castration results in a dramatic drop. 

I think the concerns with oral minoxidil are understandable but if you are a responder, topical should work just as well. 

I agree with everyone else that your hairline is fine, it wouldn't even class it as mature. I would focus more on reducing the horse shoe pattern at the back.

Consider the angle most people will view you from, the front (you have got that taken care of, the sides (your sides have not dropped for now) and the back. Not many people will be viewing you from the angle you have to taken the pics from. 

Hopefully with Verteporfin, you could wound into the donor scars and regenerate hair. Even if the regeneration rate is as low as 30%, with your remaining donor hair that should be enough to hit the magic 8k number of grafts. 

[Anon94]

You really shouldn't move the hairline/temples/temple points at all. None of those are an issue, and your donor has already been thinned out a lot.

Density is all you should be thinking of. Your available hair just isn't enough for anything more aggressive. 

[GeneralNorwood]

4 hours ago, Berba11 said:

Personally I think this would be madness. Better to use available donor resources to improve density behind the hairline (so the weaker parts of the frontal third and going into the midscalp). Your current hairline and temple points look great and will continue to look great in later life. 
 

I wish I’d been more conservative with my own hairline and if I do one day decide to take it back up, it’s costly and multiple surgeries. I honestly think you’d nail this by keeping your hairline exactly as it is and focusing on density. Lower hairlines do not automatically look better just because they’re lower. 

 

If i could turn back time, i would make my hairline 1 -1.5 cm higher and save at least 1000 grafts, because i need so much grafts on the top for my Norwood 6 pattern. .

About taking it back up. It is not only costly and require multiple surgeries, but when you relocate the grafts the survival rate is only 40-60 %. (see Melvin's podcast with Dr. Bruno Pinto)

 

1 hour ago, general-etwan said:

Very true. If all eventually goes well with density and I can grow my hair out into a medium length messy fringe type, the precise hairline area can be covered too and it doesn’t need to be super low to look good. 

Yes, that is the goal. Because if you go more aggressive with the hairline you will be stuck with one hairstyle - slickback. 

12 hours ago, general-etwan said:

I have a big and wide foreheard:

 

 

Your forehead is not so wide like on this pictures. It is a selfie, it makes forehead wider then in reality. 

13 hours ago, general-etwan said:

Yes, absolutely considering SMP as an added tool in addition to a 3rd HT. Question is, should I have SMP done before or after the 3rd HT. That's something I need to research and figure out.

You can consider SMP after all HTs. I had this discussion with my dermatologist. Maybe you won't need SMP. And SMP has some downsides, so it's better to refrain from it, if you want to do next HT. 

[general-etwan]

Thanks for the responses so far everyone! Makes perfect sense to focus fully on increasing density front to back.

I will be inquiring about going on dutasteride to help preserve donor hair strength long term. My dermatologist would not prescribe it for me for hair loss the last time I inquired about it so I’ll have to get it from somewhere else. If anyone knows of ways to buy a whole bunch of it in bulk please let me know. I still have several months of finasteride left that I got for free so I’ll try to use that up. 

And SMP I won’t consider until after 3rd HT as will not want to interfere with actual hair graft placement planning. Better to assume no SMP and go from there. 

Edited February 15 by general-etwan

[GoliGoliGoli]

13 hours ago, general-etwan said:

Oh, and here is my current donor region. Still looks solid, looks thick and feels thick. I really do think we'll be able to take another 2,500 from it. I've seen some cases where people have slightly thinned out rear donor areas from HTs and it's not devastating at all if it's spread out well. One of these cases I believe to be Tiger W o o d s, who I'm convinced had a HT sometime after 2015 (not that it turned out that great on top) and the back of his head looks a little bare, but no one has ever said a thing about it because the truth is most people don't care what's going on back there.

Reminder that I've had about 6,300 taken from my rear donor so far. I think we can get another 2,500 from rear donor + 250 from each side lock (500 total) + 500 beard (maybe up to 1,000 if I am willing to do it). That's 3,500-4,000 more we can add to the top to increase density putting grand total at 11,700-12,300 grafts if we do all that.

 

I would be very hesitant to use any of the hairs from those circled areas. I think they are bound to disappear over time (Especially if not on Fin) so I think so any growth you would get from them would be fleeting. Some NW7 guys you see out in the wild have literally no safe donor areas whatsoever by the time they get into their 30s/40s, so I would only harvest from areas that are suspected to be 100% safe. 

I would also be very careful about overly thinning out the donor if it's not being done by Zarev or someone of his caliber. Frankly you can end up with a very unnatural look if you have splotchy thinning in the donor that almost has a diseased look (I know that's a harsh word but I think it's true).  I see what you mean about Tiger Wds but I can almost guarantee that is natural retrograde alopecia and not thinness due to over harvesting. 

[Berba11]

1 hour ago, GeneralNorwood said:

About taking it back up. It is not only costly and require multiple surgeries, but when you relocate the grafts the survival rate is only 40-60 %. (see Melvin's podcast with Dr. Bruno Pinto)

I saw that but frankly I'm a bit skeptical. One of the challenges with extracting previously transplanted grafts is that the angles & directions of the grafts will not be as uniform as they are from a donor area. In cases where the grafts are appallingly angled, I can imagine the survival rate is low due to a high transection rate resultant from the difficultly of extracting one graft to another (where hardly any grafts are even going in the same direction). But in cases where the grafts are otherwise well angled and approximately equal depth, a surgeon shouldn't have too much of a hard time extracting the grafts. If they're intact there's no real reason they'd not survive.

But suppose for some reason the survival rate was only 60%, and you have 1000 grafts removed and reused... That's 600 grafts doing a much better job for the patient than the 1000 that are positioned too low.

[Z--]

8 hours ago, Berba11 said:

Personally I think this would be madness. Better to use available donor resources to improve density behind the hairline (so the weaker parts of the frontal third and going into the midscalp). Your current hairline and temple points look great and will continue to look great in later life. 
 

I wish I’d been more conservative with my own hairline and if I do one day decide to take it back up, it’s costly and multiple surgeries. I honestly think you’d nail this by keeping your hairline exactly as it is and focusing on density. Lower hairlines do not automatically look better just because they’re lower. 

100% agreed. Donor does get worse with years - dropping down in the hopes of having a youthful hairline is really not prudent, imo.

You need every hair you have on top if you want to achieve a non-see through scalp. Growth seems solid from the first two surgeries, but you need to plan well. There's a reason why mega-session experts like Pitella and Zarev don't opt for low hairlines (they aren't natural and waste too many precious grafts that are better used elsewhere).

[general-etwan]

On 2/15/2024 at 11:37 AM, GoliGoliGoli said:

I would be very hesitant to use any of the hairs from those circled areas. I think they are bound to disappear over time (Especially if not on Fin) so I think so any growth you would get from them would be fleeting. Some NW7 guys you see out in the wild have literally no safe donor areas whatsoever by the time they get into their 30s/40s, so I would only harvest from areas that are suspected to be 100% safe. 

I would also be very careful about overly thinning out the donor if it's not being done by Zarev or someone of his caliber. Frankly you can end up with a very unnatural look if you have splotchy thinning in the donor that almost has a diseased look (I know that's a harsh word but I think it's true).  I see what you mean about Tiger Wds but I can almost guarantee that is natural retrograde alopecia and not thinness due to over harvesting. 

The only use I would consider for the “nape” hairs that are circled are for slight temple strengthening. My left temple is a bit weaker than my right and both could possibly use some strengthening (not moving farther forward; just adding grafts to the area) to make them appear darker and not as light and fading. Those light nape hairs could be used there. Also, those nape hairs I have make the back of my neck look messy and so it would be more about getting rid of them than heavily relying on them for middle-of-scalp strength (they wouldn’t go there; only to light areas like temples). The less I would have to constantly shave them, the better and cleaner my neck looks. 

[general-etwan]

Just wanted to share a comparison between early December 2023 (6 months after my 2nd HT) vs. today (March 18 2024, 9 months after my 2nd HT). I was a bit depressed back in December with the state of the sides of my head...not the transplanted area, but the native hair area. I'm not sure why it looked so patchy and uneven. It could have been stress; I really don't know. But it seems to have recovered and grown in better now. I still have the retrograde alopecia above the ear, but it's not as noticeable and ultimately not a huge concern of mine. I could always get subtle SMP there to help decrease the appearance of it. Also, the behind-the-temple areas have grown in decently well (I originally thought I'd need some grafts there in a 3rd HT but now I don't really think it's necessary).

 

The picture on the right shows my hair buzzed to an equal length all over, so that you can see the density variation at uniform length.

Having HT #3 soon. Focus will be on increasing density all across the top. I expect and hope for 3,000-4,000 grafts to be used between scalp donor and beard hair. I think we'll be able to get 2,500-3,000 from scalp donor so then it will be up to me how much beard I want to use. I suspect that most of the adding of density should go to the hairline-to-midscalp region (maybe 60% of what we do) and then a bit less to the crown area (maybe 40% of what we do). Or maybe 50/50 since my crown is trailing behind everything else at this point. I guess whatever they decide will look the best based on where I'm at right now.