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

[Murat-kz]

On 10/10/2022 at 12:29 AM, general-etwan said:

Hello everyone,

First I want to thank everyone here who may have played a role in helping me find a clinic I was confident in and helped me achieve this. This will document the journey for me.

Pre-HT Situation
MPB runs very aggressively on my father's side of the family. My grandfather, two uncles, and father have all lost significant amounts of hair by their 20s-30s. In my early teens, I already had thin hair, but didn't recognize it at the time. The aggressive hair loss probably began around age 15. I wasn't into the science of hair loss back then and so I didn't really know what was happening/didn't think about it much. But by the time I was 18-20, I knew I had lost a significant amount, suffered from the mental and social effects of knowing I disliked the look so much, etc. Below is a progression of the situation at different ages.

I remember trying minoxidil very briefly in my early 20s, but quickly "gave up" after it (obviously) didn't regrow all of my hair. I also saw a dermatologist around age 22 who presented the option of finasteride to me, but I chose not to begin taking it at that time for a few reasons: 1) He (correctly) informed me that it would not regrow all of my hair, and 2) I was in a period of being irrationally scared of taking it based on claims I had read online. So I essentially continued to do nothing while still dreaming of the possibility of having a HT somewhere, somehow. At age 24 I had a transplant consultation at a world-renowned doctor in NYC, and was politely turned down for the possibility of a transplant. My hair loss was too aggressive, they said, and a transplant at the time would not yield satisfactory results. They also said they would require finasteride for 1 year first before even considering a procedure.

So, at that point I was discouraged and essentially gave up again, though mentally I never gave up on trying to figure out how to change the situation. When you're still very young and suffer from this amount of hair loss, it makes you feel like you don't belong in many ways. Even though I've always had a fantastic family, great friends, and good people in my life, went to a great school, played sports, attended a great university and had several great involvements, I never felt confident in the look of having such aggressive hair loss and so I wore hats everywhere. The only time I would not wear a hat was when I was alone. I would read about hair cloning all the time, knowing it will probably be available someday, but that day surely won't come for decades yet.

So in early 2021, at age 25, I tried something that I learned my father has done since his 20s: wear hair systems. I actually didn't even know that he wore them until I was in my early 20s; that is how authentic and natural they looked. One of my uncles was also starting to get into the process of wearing them, so they taught me all about them and I decided to try it out. I purchased systems online and took them to HairClub to apply and maintain. I did that for about 8 months in 2021 and sported a bit of a medium-length messy look on top. There are pros and cons to hair systems. The pros were that they looked pretty good and allowed me to go outside without hat wearing which was a whole new feeling of freedom that I appreciated. The cons are that they become very expensive recurring costs, the adhesives break down constantly and require regular maintenance (appointments, scheduling), the daily time commitment of styling and making sure the edges were not coming up, the careful washing in the shower, the occasional irritation. Ultimately, I decided that continuing to wear systems forever was simply not satisfactory enough for me. I am a very active person and while you absolutely can learn to make systems work with an active lifestyle, it certainly is not without irritation and annoyance, and it just wasn't what I wanted to do going forward.

In January 2022 at age 26, after reading a lot of the science behind it, I decided I was going to try finasteride, as I was no longer irrationally afraid of any side effect claims. I did not experience any noticeable negative side effects and within a few months already started to see some improvement around the edge of the pattern of hair loss. I also added minoxidil and microneedling to that strategy; simply a "final stand" attempt at a natural hair recovery.

By spring, I had found Eugenix and had read a lot of the cases posted here. I was highly impressed with what they've done for higher Norwoods, and finding a clinic that was also within my financial means for the number of grafts I would need also felt like a miracle. At first they quoted me for around 5,500 grafts; upon more communication I requested they plan to be as aggressive as possible because I care far less about the back and sides of my head than I do the top. They re-assessed a plan for 6,500 grafts using 4,500 scalp donor + 2,000 beard donor, but I did understand that was a high projection and it would likely end up being around the original estimation. 

First, some pre-HT pictures from the last year or so (age 24-26):

  

  

 

Eugenix Pre-HT Plans
I chose the Exclusive Package at Eugenix, which is 120 INR/graft + 18% tax (so about $1.45 USD/graft right now). The Exclusive Package has the procedure led by a senior doctor; senior doctor performs 100% of slits and then all extraction and implantation is performed by senior technicians. I was informed that Dr. Priyadarshini Das would be doing my HT, and I've seen great work from her in some other cases. I also received complimentary 4 nights in a 5-star hotel, all transportation from New Delhi airport to the hotel and to the clinic, and food included in that package. They scheduled me for September 15-16 and I began my travel planning.

I only told a few people about my plans early on because I wanted to focus on all of the travel planning required without worrying people in addition. Only a few people in my family have traveled very far; certainly never to the other side of the Earth. I was never even on an airplane myself until age 24, but I'm very independently driven and I had no concerns about my ability to travel to India to do this. It was worth it for me. I just didn't want to worry too many people too early, because not everyone understands everything involved, and attempting to explain everything to people who aren't into this topic can be very exhausting.

I am from the eastern USA so I chose a flight from JFK to DEL for around $1,000 round trip. Direct flight from JFK to DEL, but then on the way home, a stop in Doha, Qatar to save money. It would have been $600 more for a direct flight home. I had miles racked up from a credit card, so I actually ended up only paying about $200 out of pocket for my flights. My procedure was scheduled for September 15-16, Thursday and Friday, so I had to leave home on Tuesday evening to arrive in New Delhi Wednesday evening. 

I had to have blood work done a few weeks prior and forward the results to Eugenix for standard inspection: red/white blood cells, Hep, HIV, prothrombin time, etc.

The communication from Eugenix leading up to my travel was excellent. I had members of the Eugenix Concierge team reach out to me consistently every few days to ensure I was prepared, understood the way things would go, etc.

Evening Before HT
After about a 15-hour flight from NYC to DEL, which honestly wasn't too bad because I slept for most of it, I arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport a little after 9 pm Wednesday night and proceeded through customs and immigration. As for travel documents needed for this journey: passport, India e-visa printout, negative covid test result (if not providing vaccine card), and Air Suvidha declaration form required for all international passengers arriving to India.

I was contacted by the concierge team in the airport and was informed of how to locate my driver who was waiting to take me to the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. Upon walking outside to the taxi area, I was immediately bombarded with multiple "taxi drivers" asking me where I was going, offering rides, etc. I was prepared for these "scams" ahead of time as I had heard about them. It was a bit chaotic and I was trying to find the gate where my Hilton driver was, but it took me about 5-10 minutes and in that time I was approached by 5-10 taxi drivers offering rides and demanding info on where I was going. You have to just politely say "I already have travel arranged, thank you" and keep walking away. Eventually I found the Hilton representative and my driver, who had his car parked in the parking lot. He went and got his car, pulled up to the curb, took my bags, and we proceeded to the hotel. 

I stayed in the DoubleTree by Hilton in Gurugram (Baani Square) which is only a couple minutes down the street from the Eugenix clinic. All of the attendants at the hotel were fantastic in getting me checked in and settled in my room. By that time it was after midnight and I had been informed of my reporting time at 9 am to Eugenix the next morning.

Day 1
I woke up around 8 am and stuck to my breakfast snacks I had brought with me because I didn't have a lot of time. At 9 am Eugenix called me and said the driver was outside; he picked me up in a very nice luxury SUV and we proceeded to the clinic. I brought my backpack with me with just a few belongings needed and a buttoned shirt which you need to wear after the procedure starts so you're not messing up your head. The roads in Gurgaon/Gurugram are very chaotic. The constant honking, aggressive maneuvers of drivers, but I found it amusing.

There, I checked in with some attendants and they showed me around. Then I was met by some doctors who informed me of how things would go, gave me some medication, etc. Then Dr. Das greeted me. Then I was met by a leading technician (who would take the primary care for me for all 3 days) and he led me into the photo area to take pre-HT photos. Below are some of those.

  

 

Dr. Das was initially stressed at the examination of the situation; I could tell. Her goal was to get 4,000 grafts from scalp donor area but she told me honestly that she was not sure if she could get 4,000. I did seem to experience some thinning in the 2 months leading up to the procedure, which I'm not sure why occurred...I do not know whether finasteride's effects hit a plateau and reversed, or if it was temporary caused by stress or something, or just an illusion. Anyway, Dr. Das then consulted with me for 15-30 minutes on the design of the HT on big screens with these pictures. We agreed on no temple work because it would require too many grafts, and when I grow my hair out, my temples are still acceptable to me anyway. She suggested a pretty conservative hairline, which of course I understood because of the advanced hair loss. She also explained that the plan would be to cover to the upper part of the crown, but not all the way down to the lower donor area, for 2 reasons: 1) Not enough grafts available and 2) that lower crown region is area that can improve with finasteride + minoxidil and be addressed in other ways. So, the plan was to cover approximately the below area (though I drew the hairline inaccurately), utilizing 1,000-2,000 beard grafts as well since I have good facial hair:

Once we agreed to the plan, an assistant sat down with me and went over the pricing and payment, and we took care of that. Then the lead caregiving technician got me ready with a change of clothes and settled me into the room, made sure I was comfortable, and began the preparation.

First I was given the local anesthesia all over the top of the scalp and the donor area. Dr. Das made all of the slits across the entire scalp, which I could feel the sensation of but of course not feel the pain from. That took a while. Then the leading techs began the extractions and implantations; the first day consisted of using scalp donor hair from the sides of the head on the hairline and the middle half of the scalp. I believe 2,400 grafts were implanted the first day according to the whiteboard the next day. Lunch was around 2-3 pm and they order anything you want; I'm a big pizza and fast food guy (bad I know) so they ordered some pepperoni pizzas for me which were very good. They also ask you what kind of music you like and they'll put on a playlist on a big TV in the room. They played some rap/hip-hop, pop, and some relaxing meditation music which was all uniquely enjoyable. After all the slits were made, Dr. Das left but would check in every 30 minutes or so during the extraction and implantation. We finished up around 6-7 pm. I was given full instructions on how to care for my head overnight along with a kit of items; mainly a bottle of saline spray that I was told to spray on the recipient area every hour. Also an absorption cloth to put on the pillow at night to absorb the donor area.

  

 

 

Day 2
The second day again began at 9 am. I was able to wake up earlier and order room service breakfast at the hotel. Chocolate chip pancakes, one of my favorites.

The plan for the second day was to cover the mid-scalp all the way back to the crown. The hair in the middle of the scalp donor area was used for this. I believe around 1,600 were implanted, bringing the 2-day total to 4,000 grafts.

   

  

Note that in the donor area on the back, I have a scar where no hair grows...that is just a scar from a cut in childhood; leaving it alone was absolutely fine with me.

Day 3
The entire area had been covered in the first two days but rather than rush to extract and implant beard grafts for more density Friday night, after an already long day, Dr. Das wanted to take Saturday to finish everything up. 1,300 beard grafts were used I believe in the mid-scalp to crown region. This part of the local anesthesia was the most painful as the jaw area can be very sensitive, but I just had to push through and get it done. A lot of this work was done in a position that allowed me to sit upright leaning over the reclined chair and I was able to use my phone a bit.

  

My head was very sore after these 3 days and I also started experiencing a lot pain in the implantation phase; the anesthesia kept wearing off so the technician had to keep giving me more, which blew my head up like a balloon (not seen here; the worst of it happened later that night and the next day). It was exhausting to say the least, but I felt extremely cared for by the team and they did whatever they had to do to make me as comfortable as possible. 

So the total was 5,300 grafts (4,000 scalp + 1,300 beard). When we finished up, Dr. Das inspected everything and expressed that she was super happy with the density achieved given the situation, and also that she was able to get 4,000 grafts from scalp donor. I was able to go sit in the "chill" room for a while, eat lunch, and relax. Then we took post-HT pictures.

  

  

I had seen Dr. Sethi while walking through the clinic, so after a few minutes I asked an assistant about him and they said "Oh yeah, of course, he's going to be so happy to see you" or something like that. Then I met Dr. Sethi; he has an absolutely elated personality. He examined the work done and then grabbed my hand and said "Come on, let's go!" It was a busy Saturday at the clinic and there were multiple people there for consultations/planning. Dr. Sethi took my hand and led me all around the building, showing my results to people and having me say hello to other technicians and team members I had not met yet. He asked me where I was from, about my family and schooling, etc. It was a SUPER fun time and his care made me feel fantastic after an exhausting procedure. Dr. Arika Bansal also arrived sometime after and I briefly got to say hello to her on the stairs, and she smiled a bunch at me and told me to send her pictures of the results as time went on. I wish I had taken some selfies with them but everything was chaotic and I was just focused on enjoying the moments. 

Then I spent at least a half hour with one of the leading doctors who gave me a kit full of items and explained the post-care to me. This included: saline spray for the recipient area every hour for 7 days, betadine solution and healing ointment for the donor area daily for 7 days, recovery medication to take for 7 days, months supply of hair growth vitamins, a year's worth of finasteride tablets at no cost, more absorption cloths for pillow, many surgical caps to wear gently over the head if desired while out/traveling, a neck pillow to help with sleeping for the first few nights, a letter to TSA instructing permission for me to travel with oversized items if stopped at the airport (I was not), a book by a Yogi, and an absolutely beautiful letter thanking me for entrusting this clinic and promising a lifetime of friendship.

  

Weekend & Travel Home
I extended my hotel reservation by one night, so I stayed 5 nights stay total. Saturday evening and Sunday I simply relaxed and caught up some movies I wanted to watch in my hotel room. My head was blown up from all the fluid in it; I had to keep pressing it to the sides of my forehead and downward to help the body get rid of it more quickly. Sleeping was not too bad at all. I left Monday morning; my driver took me to the airport and I was on my way back home. Well, first to Doha, which was a fun few hours in Hamad Airport, and then the long flight back home to JFK.

I chose to wear my surgical cap and a loose high-crown hat over top of it, just 2 days after the procedure was finished. If you are careful, this is absolutely safe to do, as the top of the hat lays above the head and does not put pressure on the recipient area.

 

I especially want to thank the leading caregiver technician who worked with me for all three days. He led me around, told me what was next, took all of my pictures, took care of my Gatorade and water drinks, phone, made sure my positions in the chair were comfortable, etc. I did not get to learn his name and wish I had, but he treated me like royalty, as did everyone on the team, and I would never expect or ask for so much love. It made my anxiety in a completely unknown place go away and he made me feel great about every step of the procedure.

I will be posting some updates here since it has already been a few weeks, though I don't plan to spend as much time on this forum as maybe some users going forward. But I know there is a lot of interest in Eugenix and cases like mine, so I will be sure to check in. If you desire, you can also follow me on Instagram @ethanlculver (http://instagram.com/ethanlculver) as I enjoy responding to DMs on there, and I may upload some pictures in the future of the results, if you should be interested. Thank you to all here who contributed to me embarking on this journey. See you around!

Hello general-etwan!

You said: I chose to wear my surgical cap and a loose high-crown hat over top of it, just 2 days after the procedure was finished. If you are careful, this is absolutely safe to do, as the top of the hat lays above the head and does not put pressure on the recipient area.

How about days after back home? Did you go to work immediately or you stayed home for some days?

 

 

[general-etwan]

2 hours ago, Murat-kz said:

Hello general-etwan!

You said: I chose to wear my surgical cap and a loose high-crown hat over top of it, just 2 days after the procedure was finished. If you are careful, this is absolutely safe to do, as the top of the hat lays above the head and does not put pressure on the recipient area.

How about days after back home? Did you go to work immediately or you stayed home for some days?

 

 

I did take off from work for the rest of the week after I got home. I got back home on a Tuesday and didn’t go to work until the following Monday. Anywhere I did go, however, I wore a hat. 

[Murat-kz]

15 hours ago, general-etwan said:

did take off from work for the rest of the week after I got home. I got back home on a Tuesday and didn’t go to work until the following Monday. Anywhere I did go, however, I wore a hat. 

And wearing a hat you were sure that it did not damage transplanted haires? It was an oversized baseball cap? Ot something like that?

[general-etwan]

1 hour ago, Murat-kz said:

And wearing a hat you were sure that it did not damage transplanted haires? It was an oversized baseball cap? Ot something like that?

Absolutely. A high crown trucker hat. The crown sits up in the air and leaves space between your scalp and the material. Perfect way to protect the head from any potential impact while not irritating the transplanted area. In fact I did bump my head once a few days after getting home and was glad I had a hat on because if the head is exposed, you have direct trauma. This way the hat absorbed the blow and protected the head. 

[general-etwan]

Sneak peak coming up on 3 months, in da car.

[ray35]

Yes! Awesome man looking good!

[general-etwan]

2 hours ago, devilfishlane said:

@general-etwan You could use SMP definitely. I had my 1st SMP 3 yrs ago and touched up 2 months ago. Its blends great with my weak transplants all over. But I have to keep my hair buzzed .2 questions) How long did it take to get an appt with Eugenix? and could you of used more of your beard grafts? Our beard growth is similar and I hope to get 3000 -4000, from jawline on down. I need about 5000 grafts in total I think. That pic of my front is all SMP with Norwood 5 or 5 1/2 and about 1000 transplants. Maybe less .You will look much better of course

Thanks. I will keep SMP as an option to consider in the future, but want to just evaluate my 8-10 month growth before making any decisions there. Glad to see it can work well when combined with hair growth as in your case.

1) I started talking to Eugenix in very early 2022, and I think around May we agreed on a tentative date for September. I didn't give my full commitment and planning until July though. So technically, 2 months out was when they booked my entire procedure.

2) I'm absolutely sure that even more beard grafts could have been used/could be used in the future. Based on my beard evaluation, they had mentioned 2,000 as a number that implied the max that they would take just by default, before in-person evaluation. They ended up only taking 1,300 based on the requirements for the HT design, but it left absolutely zero scarring and absolutely no decrease in appearance of facial hair at all. I'm still mesmerized by that today, that even I cannot tell anything was taken from my face. So I'd guess that for me, at least 2,000 could have been taken before any decrease in facial hair would be noticeable...and probably even more if I don't care about decreasing facial hair density.

I don't know about 3,000-4,000 beard grafts. That is a lot, I think, but it's certainly possible if you don't care about the decrease becoming noticeable.

[Zoomster]

10 hours ago, devilfishlane said:

@general-etwan You could use SMP definitely. I had my 1st SMP 3 yrs ago and touched up 2 months ago. Its blends great with my weak transplants all over. But I have to keep my hair buzzed .2 questions) How long did it take to get an appt with Eugenix? and could you of used more of your beard grafts? Our beard growth is similar and I hope to get 3000 -4000, from jawline on down. I need about 5000 grafts in total I think. That pic of my front is all SMP with Norwood 5 or 5 1/2 and about 1000 transplants. Maybe less .You will look much better of course

 

10 hours ago, devilfishlane said:

@general-etwan You could use SMP definitely. I had my 1st SMP 3 yrs ago and touched up 2 months ago. Its blends great with my weak transplants all over. But I have to keep my hair buzzed .2 questions) How long did it take to get an appt with Eugenix? and could you of used more of your beard grafts? Our beard growth is similar and I hope to get 3000 -4000, from jawline on down. I need about 5000 grafts in total I think. That pic of my front is all SMP with Norwood 5 or 5 1/2 and about 1000 transplants. Maybe less .You will look much better of course

@devilfishlane..SMP looks well ..can you please educate us a little ..why is it that SMP doesn’t look well in amongst grown out recipient ..like you said you have to keep it buzzed ? I’m picking up that in order for SMP to work it must be kept buzzed even when you have Native / previously implanted hair in recipient..same goes for Donor ..

Im getting mixed signals about its effectiveness ..

Thanks 

[Xanadu]

8 minutes ago, devilfishlane said:

By the way, most people think I have a full head of hair and that I always shave it . If one rubs it, they feel the 5' oclock shadow so to speak ,because of the stubble of the 2 or 3 day  shaved grafts.  People that are bald and have zero grafts  or native hair , probably get busted, if one rubs a slick head. Hopefully one of the Doctors (especially Eugenix) will accept me as a patient and use my beard and sides for a new look!

If you smp and hair mix works so well, why do you then want another HT?

[Zoomster]

1 hour ago, devilfishlane said:

I cant speak about how SMP looks with ones hair grown out because Ive always buzzed it every 2 o 3 days. That photo I posted shows about 10 days growth because Doctors want to see atleast 2 weeks growth before I send out photos for my next transplant evaluation. In any case, with the right SMP tech, it would look great with any transplant.  Im basically a Norwood 6 with 15 % transplant and the rest , the SMP allusion (photo).I have no native hair on top

Thanks a lot ….

[Zoomster]

25 minutes ago, devilfishlane said:

@ZoomsterGot any "pull" on getting a surgery appt asap with Eugenix?  I contacted them almost 2 weeks ago. They told me to grow out my hair for 12- 14 days then send the photos again

I’d get onto @MazAB..he’s the “ fixer “ 😉

[general-etwan]

@Zoomster Based on my understanding, it just seems logical that for the visual effect of SMP to be recognized appropriately, it works best keeping the hair buzzed short. I’m sure there’s nothing detrimental about SMP with hair grown out longer, and no requirement that one must keep hair buzzed, but longer hair will cover the scalp more and so the SMP won’t be seen and appreciated as much. That’s probably the extent of it. 

I’m going to stay open to SMP for my future situation but I have no rush; want to see how good my growth can get first. Also looking at some other products that keep getting better in technology and that can increase hair aesthetics. 

[Zoomster]

3 hours ago, general-etwan said:

@Zoomster Based on my understanding, it just seems logical that for the visual effect of SMP to be recognized appropriately, it works best keeping the hair buzzed short. I’m sure there’s nothing detrimental about SMP with hair grown out longer, and no requirement that one must keep hair buzzed, but longer hair will cover the scalp more and so the SMP won’t be seen and appreciated as much. That’s probably the extent of it. 

I’m going to stay open to SMP for my future situation but I have no rush; want to see how good my growth can get first. Also looking at some other products that keep getting better in technology and that can increase hair aesthetics. 

Cheers @general-etwan..I’m very much in the same boat as you ..it’s just I seem to be picking up on a reluctance by clinics worldwide to conduct SMP into grown out recipient/ donor ..

Ive reached out twice in the past to Dotmicro in Belfast Ireland by WhatsApp enquiring about SMP into donor and transplanted recipient ….no reply 

Sometimes you just have to take a hint 

[general-etwan]

3 months, harsh lighting lol, very happy with the way it's feeling though:

 

[Tybwl5]

43 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

3 months, harsh lighting lol, very happy with the way it's feeling though:

 

How much was it for the cost? And where did you contact them at? Through WhatsApp?

[general-etwan]

14 hours ago, Tybwl5 said:

How much was it for the cost? And where did you contact them at? Through WhatsApp?

120 INR ($1.45) / graft; WhatsApp is the main channel of communication yes. 

[civic]

Looks great for 3 months, not much shedding!

[TakeAction]

It's coming along. Excellent coverage.

[bigmistake]

It's looking good. I'm jealous. Based on your experience with Dr Das, would you recommend her for a repair 

[general-etwan]

On 12/18/2022 at 1:01 PM, bigmistake said:

It's looking good. I'm jealous. Based on your experience with Dr Das, would you recommend her for a repair 

I admit I am pretty ignorant on repair HTs. I have no idea about her skill with repair work. I can only attest that she did a great job with my procedure, but even then it’s important to remember she only made slits and their fantastic technicians handled all my extractions and implantations. 

[general-etwan]

3 months. There is no way I can easily explain the renewed joy I feel simply as a result of having better framing of the face and improved face and head aesthetics. The imperfections in the overall density across the entire head including the retrograde alopecia are relatively insignificant to me and can be addressed in time. And we’ve still got a lot of growth coming hopefully. 

Edited December 23, 2022 by general-etwan

[Gatsby]

Looking good @general-etwan 💯👌

[MazAB]

@general-etwan you most certainly have a lot to be thankful for with how beautifully it is all coming together. You also have a great perspective and frame of mind on following the process and not getting caught up in over-analyzing paranoia. 

When you come out 100x better than you were going in, it makes no sense to sweat the small stuff. Really excited for you brother!

 

[Bandit90]

Amazing Ethan! I found month 3 to 4 is when the real magic happens. Going to be one ‘happy’ new year for you mate! 

[mnvbrtn]

@general-etwan Any medications you are on currently other than fin and vitamins they gave you?

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by mnvbrtn