HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

I wanted to give a 4 month update on my thoughts and progress. I am 4 months post op 1900 graft FIT.

First of all, absolutely zero negative consequences. My donor area looks EXACTLY the same as pre-op. In addition, it is impossible to tell from looking at my recipient area that I had surgery. No one would ever guess even with rubbing their hands through my hair that I had a transplant. Most of my grafts went into my frontal third which had very little pre-existing hair. My results are so natural looking and so subtle no one has noticed not even family members. Thank you Dr. Cole.

I am now to the point that I can notice a slight difference. I am hoping it is just the beginning of the results. I am 32 years old and now look like I did when I was 30. It is nice to look younger when you look in the mirror instead of always looking older when you look in the mirror. I am excited about the continued results and hope the hairs keep on coming and that I am just at the beginning of seeing my results.

For those of you who are thinking about a transplant and are worried about negative results I tell you to make an appointment today. I waited over 5 years because I was scared of the horror stories. I was amazed of how easy the process was. I compare it to going to the dentist. Dr. Cole is amazing. And if my results keep on coming he will be one of my favorite people in the world. The biggest regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

However, my second point I owe a great deal of thanks to Dr. Cole. I was going to do a Strip. Dr. Cole was fine with that and I was LITERALLY in the operating chair the morning of surgery. Dr. Cole went over the pros and cons of FIT and Strip one last time and strongly recommended FIT. I followed his advice even though I had decided I was going to do Strip. I am so grateful. I have no idea why anyone would do strip.
My advice to you is for your first surgery do a FIT. You can always scar your head later and do a strip.

I will post pictures later when the results are more noticeable. Like I said, my results at 4 months are minimal. I think my results at 6 months will be much more substantial and worth documenting.

I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

i think it is too early to judge results at this point.
the fact that your donor area is clean and is looking the same as before is very encouraging....
do you use meds? what norwood are you?
you said that you can slightly see results...on what area?

Thank you for sharing with us, at 4 months it is too early but you can start to see some early growth...in your case you got only 1900 grafts so the changes are yet to be dramatic in this stage, you will see more growth from the 6 months mark.
Keep update and good luck.

I would guess I am/was about a NW 3.5. I am on Propecia and Minox.

I was not trying to judge the end result but rather give update as to where I am at 4 months. My donor area was undetectable at about 6 weeks post op. It has been completely healed and appears just as full since about the 6 week mark.

I was referring to the recipient area when I said I can see a slight improvement at the 4 month mark. I think it will just continue to get better and better.

I will update again at 5 months.

Thanks

Hey Chief,

It sounds like you are well on your way. Congrats!
Regards,

FIT Club

I was referring to the recipient area when I said I can see a slight improvement at the 4 month mark. I think it will just continue to get better and better.

my question is do you see the improvement all over the recipient area or on a particular area like left or right side of you hairline etc...

I would say my improvement is even throughout my frontal third. But again it is very slight. I will post my update again at 5 months. I am sure I will see continued improvement.

Yeah, full results are not seen for a year plus. The hair shaft itself will start to thicken in addition to achieving full growth.

Regards,

FIT Club

My results continue to improve. My results are now noticeable.

A couple of small stories to pass along. Prior to surgery I was a NW4. Basically, I was bald in my frontal third and probably 50% loss in the back 2/3s. By 50% thinning I mean slightly noticeable thinning. I was sitting down the other day and a friend was standing behind me. He says did you know the you are starting to bald on your crown. He said not really anywhere else but on your crown. I guess he forgot that 6 months ago I was bald on my frontal third. My results are that natural.

I kept the entire process a secret but to my girlfriend and brother. The other day I went to get my haircut by a lady who has been cutting hair for 30 years. When she finished I said did you notice anything funny about hy hair. She thought for about 2 minutes and guessed 3 or 4 things. When I told her that my entire frontal third was a transplant she was in complete disbelief. Absolutely could not beleive it.

It is impossible for anyone to think I had a transplant. Completely natural results and absolutely no scar.

I want to stress to people again. Do not get a strip. Do a FIT for your first surgery and you will never do a strip for any future surgeries.

I am fairly certain I am going to do a 2000 FIT in my frontal 2/3's in October.

I am more than happy to answer anyone's questions if anybody has any.

How wonderful! Congratulations!

Chief,

I only have one question for you...WHERE ARE THE PICTURES?!?!?!?

Let's see 'em man...I'm dying over here! )

Congratulations man,

Spinner

How long have you been on Rogaine and Propecia, and has the Propecia stopped the hair loss?

I am 32. I have been on Propecia and Rogaine off and on for about 6 years. I think both of those products do a pretty good job of keeping the hair on your crown which is very important because of the number of grafts it takes to fill the crown.

However, my best friend went from severe thinning in the frontal third to a full head of hair because of Propecia. Literally amazing results. They should use him in their commerical.

I will post pics at 6 months. My results are fairly subtle now.

That's great to hear, I'm really happy for you and your friend. I have been on Propecia and Rogaine for 2 1/2 years, and I have been worried about losing its effectiveness.

I switched to the foam recently, and I experienced some shedding in the crown in the first month, but I hope that just means it is working early.

Has the propecia at least maintained the hair the same amount of hair on your crown you had 6 years ago?

No definatley not. I have lost hair on my crown over the past 6 years.

I would suggest taking VERY good pictures of your hair. I think that is the only way to really tell how much hair you are losing. You cannot not tell by just looking at it. Take a picture exactly perpendicular to your head from fairly close in. From the top of you forhead to your crown. No more no less. Take the same picture every 4-6 months. This well give you a very good idea of your hair loss. It is really the only way to tell how much you are losing

Out of curiosity, when did you begin to notice that the propecia and rogaine was beginning to lose its effectiveness on the crown?

I don't know if the meds have lost their effectiveness. But for me, and everyone is different, the meds only slowed my hairloss. They did not stop my hairloss. I still think they are slowing my hairloss. The meds never stopped my hairloss.

What is your situation? Age? Norwood scale? What norwood are your father and brothers? Have you had any surgeries?

I am 23, about to turn 24. Right now, I guess I am about a Norwood 3, but people right now cant immediately tell I am thinning unless they look for it. I have been on Rogaine and Propecia since I was 21. From what I read, most people at least maintain the hair they have on their crown for 5 years, or even have more hair. I wish the Propecia would just completely stop the hair loss and the rogaine would grow more hair.

I have receding hair lines, and my crown is thin in certain areas. I think the Propecia and Rogaine have helped the crown quite a bit. I have not had any surgeries, and as of right now, I don't know when to get one, but I know that I am not ready to get one right now. My hair is still moderately thick, but thinning on the temples. I may have to have surgery eventually within 2 years since I wouldn't really look that good with my head shaved.

As far as family balding, on my mom's side: My uncle is about a Norwood 6 or 7, another one of my uncles and my grandfather has a full head of hair (they are very lucky).

My dad is about a norwood 3.5-4, and he is 60. He started to lose hair around age 26.


I probably have the baldness genes of my mom's side of the family, since most of them start losing their hair around their early 20's like me.

If I was you...

I would stay on the meds.

I would take clinical type pictures of yourself every four months. Particularly a picture exactly perpendicular to your head covering your entire head.

I also would be VERY conservative with your hairline. By this I mean don't give yourself a hairline of an 20 year old. Maybe give yourself a hairline of a Norwood 3. If I would have had it done before 32 I would have been too agressive with the hairline.

I think you are very wise to wait. I waited until I was a Norwood 4 and became a Norwood 3. If I would done it sooner I would have filled in my temples too much and not have the donor hair to fill in the entire area.

Also, you are on the right website. Dr. Cole is amazing. If you read my previous posts, if you met me you would never know I had a hair transplant no matter how well you knew me or how much you look at my hair.

you told me your friend had a great experience with Propecia. How long has he been on it? Yeah, right now, when I tell doctors that I am taking propecia, their first response is, "what the hell for?" or they seem shocked. But it my hair is wavy and dark, so those hair characteristics help with the coverage.

I actually went to the bosley clinic for a free consultation, and he was surprised i was even there. Thank God i read a lot of bad things about them before doing anything stupid. From what I have seen, it seems like Dr. Cole has had a lot of great reviews and the hairlines look very natural. Also, I really like the FIT procedure as opposed to strip since i like to have my hair short on the back, and it is a better value. I look forward to having a hair transplant with Dr. Cole whenever I decide to.

If I were to get a hair transplant anytime within the next few years, I dont intend to get anything dramatic. I just want something to recreate my hairline, a hairline thats appropriate for someone around 30. I have an idea of what kind of hair would be good for me and not be too dramatic at all. I look at this as a long-term solution, but right now, I guess I should just enjoy the hair I have right now since I am not bald yet. I am hoping the rogaine foam will produce good results since I am shedding right now. I just hope the hair does grow back though. I think I had decent results with the liquid even though i had a lot of scalp irritation.

From the results I have seen on the website, it seems like people who are bald still have great and realistic results. From what I have experienced by looking at other hair transplant doctors, if the results appear to be too good, they are probably too good to be true.