HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

[Dimmesdale]

Hi all, I apologize for the long post, I promise this will be the one and only long post from me, ever (though I do look forward to contributing several much shorter messages in the future!). Somehow I sat down with my laptop and all of this just came out! Here goes . . .

Falling under the rubric of unsolicited advice, please allow me to put together a few words to the younger guys on this forum and others considering a hair transplant procedure.

I am 36 years old, and I underwent two, small (“tiny” by today's standards) hair transplants with the Bosley Medical Group in San Francisco in 1993, when I was just 22 years old (243 “minigrafts” total). This one decision has impacted my life very deeply, and not at all in a positive way. I hope that some useful information can be gleaned from my experience, and hence I want to offer this post, my first, though I have lurked here for some time.

I cannot tell you how much pain the decision to get 243 “minigrafts” (as they were called back then) put into the front of my head has caused me, personally and professionally. I have been beating myself up for 13+ years about this, with much guilt, in particular profound sadness for having spent most of my adult life under a baseball cap, and avoiding many social situations altogether, including many of the “happy” and “fun” ones. This is not the way to live, and while I feel I have already achieved a lot of what I want to do in life, in particular in relation to my wife and family, I would be lying if I didn't say that there has always been an underlying current of sadness over how I screwed up my head, much of my sociability, and related to this that I have to live under a hat if I want to try to hide this fact from the world.

In this post, please allow me to briefly discuss my take on three topics, topics I believe are relevant to the younger guys on this forum considering a hair transplant: (1) the sleaziness of much of this “industry”; (2) the nature of the important life lessons one learns as a young man in his 20s, and how this sometimes gets intermeshed with the impetuousness of youth in such a way that leads to less than optimal decisions; and (3) my general advice for anyone under the age of, oh, say, 30 considering a hair transplant.

There are many voices, more senior and far more knowledgeable on these topics than mine on these forums, but what I can offer, at a minimum, is personal discussion from the vantage point of a (still) relatively young man who made the unfortunate mistake of falling for slick advertising, lies, and perhaps most problematic, confusing one's “looks”, in this case hair, with one's “identity” as a person.

“Pure Sleeze, or the Dangers of Signing a (Lifetime) Contract with the Devil”

I grew up in the 1980s, playing sports, lifting weights, and reading those “Joe Weider Muscle and Fitness” magazines. I worked out nearly everyday, ate tons of good food, did not drink or smoke like some of my friends, and enjoyed the athletic body I was able to build. I also read the advertisements in Joe Weider's Muscle and Fitness, and more crucially, the “articles” (though in retrospect, they were also advertisements) on Dr. Bosley and his “practice” in those magazines, which talked about how wonderful Dr. Bosley's practice was and how he was the industry standard reproducing completely natural looking hairlines on balding men. Of course, I had a great head of hair at that stage of my life, but I still read all the articles and looked at the (now known to be fake) photographs of supposed transplanted hairlines. Please remember that the 1980s (and in some ways, early 1990s) were a completely different time in terms of available information. It wasn't that long ago, but in terms of availability of information, it was a world away.

I'm not going to go into full detail on Bosley's deceit, as this has been documented elsewhere, including using airbrushed photos of supposed hairlines he built, actual “fake” photos of heads that had never undergone hair transplants but were represented as typical Bosley Medical Group transplantation work, the downplaying of pain, suffering, and scarring, understating the financial commitment continued hair transplants represent, etc. If I did go into detail, however, it would be in the form of a hundred-page thesis of sleeze and salesmanship, and from what I read and hear from some people, some of this still exists in the industry today.

If I were to tell such a story, I would detail and document the lies – how Bosley's sales people, dressed in medical uniforms at a local (non-surgical) sales office assured me that there would be no scars on the front of my head, and if so, how they would be negligible and of no more consequence than when I “cut my face shaving in the morning”; how a linear scar in the donor region is typically difficult to find on patients “just a few months after the procedure”; how Rogaine/minoxidil is a sham; and how the grafts would not compromise the integrity of the recipient area, in that there would be no bumps or pitting. Fast forward to the surgery (which was scheduled before I even spoke to the doctor!), I would further elaborate on how when I showed up in San Francisco for the surgery, another “Senior Medical Assistant”, again, dressed something like a doctor, re-iterated his and the physician's opinion that minoxidil was in fact a sham, and how I shouldn't worry too much about future hair loss, as my father had “good hair”. I would also tell the story of the late-20s man visiting the San Francisco Bosley office the same day I did, with severe balding, who was encouraged to “get 100 minigrafts and see what you think!” I can only hope that this young man made it out with his scalp intact.

On meeting the doctor, I would fully detail how it was only then revealed that the best strategy was not to place the hairs along the hairline I wished to beef back up to where it was when I was 18 (how was I not set straight right then and there in terms of expectations?), but rather that the best strategy would be to pluck areas of hair behind the existing hairline and stick the grafts in there, and that this is the standard procedure that Bosley has successfully followed for many years. After all, this “new hair” once in place, would be undetectable and “better” than the old hair anyway, as it would be permanent, and as the existing hair would probably fall out soon anyway. In relation to the physician, I would also discuss how I was told by the Senior Medical Assistant that all Bosley doctors are trained for a minimum of one year by working under Dr. Bosley himself in a kind of mentorship, though it has since been discovered that at least one Bosley doctor, from the Beverly Hills office, started cutting away on unsuspecting heads after merely viewing half a dozen procedures. Finally, I would tell of the excuses for the linear scar being visible months after the procedure (recall I was told it is “difficult to find” the linear scar(s) merely “a few months” after the procedure), as the excuse was classic – I was told that I was “too white”, and that if my skin were darker, as it is for many patients, that the scar would not be so visible.

Now, I don't want to go into the details of my life shortly after undergoing the second small hair transplant, but suffice to say that I was not in a position to fight Bosley, as at that point I was personally going through a very difficult time, on top of the botched Bosley outcome.

Today, nearly a decade and a half later, I have, of course, lost a lot more hair, and the plugs – some with several, thick hairs in them right along the front of my head – are out there for everybody to see. Many of these plugs are raised; rather than the smooth scalp I was promised, and was told was Bosley's trademark, the skin up front looks, and I imagine feels, something like the surface of the moon. The linear scars, of course, are also just as prominent.

Retrospectively examining my reaction over the years to the bad outcome, I suppose I could have just shrugged it all off, damned Bosley, not apologized to anybody, and walked around confidently displaying to the public the ongoing science experiment that was my scalp for the remainder of my 20s and into my 30s. But, I didn't, and I haven't. Perhaps other men would have, and more power to them. Thus, in practice, I went straight from being a naïve teenager to an immediate post-teenager at an insecure and transitional time in my life, to being a scarred young man, literally and figuratively, in my 20s and 30s. I have missed out on full participation at countless social activities, parties with old friends, and family gatherings, most regrettably, with people now passed on, due to an insecurity not over hairloss, but rather over the scarlet letter I attempt to hide on my head, in the form of ugly, raised, off-color, pluggy tufts of odd-looking hair, or as Bosley called them, “minigrafts”, as well as the linear scars that also comprise the damaged surface of my head.

Equally as painful, however, is finding that my “baseball cap” trick wore off years ago, as it increasingly comes out just how many people, from my personal and professional life, know exactly why I am married to that damn hat. Some people are understanding and supportive, others are not. Some people have found kind ways to tell me “it's ok”, and I have appreciated that. Others, I have discovered, have running jokes about it, and have particularly painful nicknames for me. I am not looking for sympathy here; my purpose in posting is in the hope that it might offer food for thought for any young man, or men, thinking of embarking on a potentially life-long contract with hair transplantation.

“The Impetuousness of Youth, and the Importance of one's 20s in Becoming a Man”

Legally in the US, one becomes an adult at age 18. One can vote in Presidential and other elections, helping to chart the course of political leadership of the country. You can't (legally) drink at 18, and renting a car can sometimes pose problems until you reach 24. Beyond these important milestones, however (and who would doubt the rush one gets renting a car for the first time, ha), it is in one's 20s, and well into the 20s, I would add, that I feel that one begins the process of fully exploring and truly getting to know oneself, who you are quickly becoming, and who you would like to be. These life lessons that only come through getting one's hands (at least) metaphorically dirty with the experiences of life, can sometimes conflict with the impetuousness of youth, and a kind of dualism sometimes develops that pits the emerging man against the fading youth, and I mean “fading youth” not at all in terms of appearance.

Thus, what I am arguing is that there are an incredible number of challenges and changes that one naturally undergoes in their 20s (and 30s perhaps, too); education comes not only through “school” of whatever form if applicable, but more crucially, through life experiences more generally. And, most crucially, these emerging changes can quickly alter perceptions and priorities, and as such it is quite possible to find oneself having made perhaps too quick of a decision to embark on something like hair transplantation. On the financial side, family emergencies and obligations, student loans, broken pipes and leaks in the roof of the house you struggled to buy, and, eventually, kids' braces, broken arms from skateboarding accidents, and the desire to start college savings and retirement funds can all alter one's financial priorities, away from maintaining a (perhaps unsustainable) youthful hairline and toward other things that you now have – and want – to do.

Even if you have or make a ton of money quickly in your career, say you are a multi-millionaire by the time you are 25, I would still submit that it is worthwhile to consider holding off on hair transplantation until at least a bit later, first, for aesthetic reasons, as you do not truly know how much more hair you are going to lose in the, say, 60 more years you are going to be alive. Second, and equally as important and alluded to above, I think it is worthwhile “getting to know yourself” as you experience your 20s, going through those changes and seeing where they lead you, before even thinking about a procedure as permanent and life-altering as a hair transplant.

In closing on this point, I want to re-iterate that I know and understand how hard it can be to experience early hair loss – believe me, if anything, I would argue it was much harder in my day, as I grew up as a teenager in the 1980s, when very few bald guys would be considered “cool”. Today is baldy heaven compared to those days. But please, remember my point, and don't make the same mistake I did, in misunderstanding and allowing a conflation of one's appearance, in this case, hair, or lack of it, and one's sense of self. This might sound trivial, but in practice I think it can be more difficult than we would always care to admit.

“Unsolicited Advice, or What I would tell my (hypothetical) son if he wanted a Hair Transplant?”

Ok, gloves off. I don't want to get preachy, but assuming that some of the words I have offered above have made at least a degree of sense, let me offer some unsolicited advice.

First, my advice to my (hypothetical) son would be to get out there in life a bit before even considering a hair transplant – progress through some jobs, perhaps further one's education, travel to other countries and get to know communities and people in your own area with whom you have never interacted. Do some volunteer work, develop your hobbies, make new friends. Find what really inspires you to do your very best. In other words, I would try to explain to my son that priorities can change rapidly in one's 20s, and yet embarking on a relationship with hair transplantation can “lock one in”, literally, for life. You might find yourself having to service a vanity, an understandable one to be sure, that simply might not be as high a priority as one gets even just a few years older. Buy a house, get a tattoo, get married – you know, all of those things that are potentially LESS permanent than a hair transplant, before thinking about getting a transplant yourself (ha). I am, of course, being facetious here to some degree, but I hope the point is clear – the decision to get a hair transplant can be with you for the rest of your life. Perhaps there are no absolutes, but my suggestion to my son, assuming my genes carried good donor characteristics and a family history of strong heads of hair late in life (not the case), I would suggest that he wait at least until he's 30 years old.

Second, if a hair transplant was even remotely being considered, I would secondly strongly recommend that my son immediately look into the scientifically proven, non-surgical treatments for hair loss – namely, oral finasteride, topical minoxidil, and ketoconozole shampoo. These are all now available in generic form and are quite affordable. I would furthermore suggest that he stay on all or some combination of these (plus perhaps other proven treatments) for two full years before undergoing a hair transplant, if that option remains a desired one. Getting on the scientifically-proven medication serves three purposes: (a) it significantly slows down hair loss and might even regrow some hair for several years; (b) it buys time in terms of a “cool down” period to really RESEARCH hair transplant physicians and options (to separate the scumbags from the honest-to-goodness superstars/top doctors out there, and yes, there are in fact “true scumbags” and “true superstars” operating at this very moment; and (c) perhaps most importantly, it also offers a “cool down” period in terms of the wider context of pondering whether one really wants to embark on hair transplantation at all, given the rapidly changing environment and structure of priorities of a young man's life.

My third bit of advice, and I fear I might be quite dogmatic on this one despite a desire to allow my son to lead his own life, would be to avoid any and all hair mills like the plague. Let's say, hypothetically, that in the future one of the hair mills improves to the level of offering results as good, and as consistently as good, as the top doctors in the field (which I doubt will ever happen, as this is simply not their business model, it would be like asking for a gourmet meal to be routinely provided by McDonalds) – I feel it would still be advisable to avoid such a hair mill, as these are the very people who knowingly misled, lied to, and scarred and disfigured the heads and lives of thousands of unsuspecting individuals over years and even decades, all to make a buck. Remember, RESEARCH! Take advantage of all the informational resources that were not so readily available back in my day. Do your homework, and if you decide to get a transplant, by all means be willing to travel wherever you need to go to sit in the chair of one of the best, and in your well-researched opinion, the VERY BEST doctor on the planet for your particular procedure. Interestingly enough, it can be noted that the top doctors out there are really not that much more expensive than the butchers of the hair mills.

Finally, if my hypothetical 30+ year old son, well-researched, with good hair genes and strong donor characteristics, and having been on finasteride, minoxidil, and ketoconozole shampoo (in addition to perhaps other non-surgical treatments) for at least two years still indicated to me that he wanted a hair transplant, I would advise that he do so, particularly initially, in a conservative fashion, and that he look into an FUE/FIT type procedure rather than a strip. While as of yet I would consider myself to be under-educated on FUE/FIT, I would nevertheless recommend that my son (or any younger man) look into the least invasive type of transplant, which at least for me, turns the scales toward a skilled FUE/FIT physician. People can disagree on this point, as again, this is just my opinion.

Final Thoughts

When I look in the mirror each morning, I not only see the person I am at 36, someone who for the most part enjoys his work and his family and does his best to live in a respectful way toward all people, but I also see elements of that insecure 22-year old, rushing into the local Bosley sales office looking to hold onto some semblance of a teenage hairline. More accurately, when I catch a closer glimpse of my face, my eyes, and in some sense, of the person who resides “behind those eyes”, I realize that for the most part, that insecure 22-year old “simply doesn't live here anymore”. But at the same time, because of my physical scarring and rag doll head, I also realize that that same insecure 22-year old is still, at a minimum, having some of his junk mail delivered to this address. And my greatest fear, and on some days, uncomfortable realization, is that in very tangible ways that the 22-year old, though gone, has significantly scarred the 36-year old, and because of this and the assorted neuroses that have accompanied it, that the 36-year old is perhaps performing well below his potential in several areas of his life. And there's nothing that can do more damage to one's life than shattered confidence.

Of course, I am happy to report, these are things I am now taking active steps to overcome, better late than never!

Again, I apologize for this post running so long, that was not my intention. But hopefully something I have said will resonate with somebody, and be of use in their decision-making processes in dealing with their hair loss. Besides the factual material expressed above, the rest is opinion, and remember, reasonable people can reasonably disagree. At the same time, however, I think a strong case can be made for the key points I express above.

Thank you for your interest!

[perfect circle]

Excellent post!

[drcole]

It would be nice to think that the hair transplant industry has changed in the past 25 years from the hard selling, money hungry business that has given it such a black eye and ruined the life of more than one person. Unfortunately, it hasn't. The clinics you see on TV are hard selling organizations that have huge advertising bills and very low profit margins. They need your money and they will have you mortgage your mobil home if they can get a few more dollars out of you. When they see the young twenty something person with hair loss that is just beginning, their mouths begin to water because they know this is easy prey. You really have to be careful when you are in your twenties. Hair loss can be an emotional disaster at that age. One easy operation seems so easy to restore your youth. What you are generally not told is that hair loss is a life time process. It is not going to stop just because you had a hair transplant. It will continue and you simply cannot mortgage your future on the hope that pills such as propecia will stop your hair loss in its tracks or that hair cloning will ever become a reality.

The good news is that during the 1990s several clinics started a revolution of smaller grafts that appeared much more natural. I can still recall Major TV Chain physician standing on the floor at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery meeting in 1996 stating that Plugs still had their place in hair transplant surgery and that sometimes patients have to look worse before they look better. Well, he and all the other large chain, heavy advertising clinics were well behind the times in terms of accepting smaller grafts as a solution, but they have all finally come around and plugs are finally a thing of the past. What they have not done is to eliminate the hard selling of the young patient and strip scars. Many times the only time you hear about hair transplant surgery potentially requiring more than one procedure is when you sign your consent form on the day of surgery where it tells you that it can be a five or more procedure process. By then you have already paid the fee and you are too stoked about the procedure to read the fine print and ask questions.

You also will not see the larger chains offering you FUE or FIT. They will often not tell you about it or if they do tell you about it, they tell you it does not work just like they used to tell patients that follicular unit transplanting was not as good as plugs.

Today the hair transplant industry recognizes that it has a black eye. In order to resolve this, they started something called operation restore. This is how the hair transplant industry, which has maimed and butchered people for years now has an opportunity to cleanse its soul by backing a non-profit organization that helps trauma victims such as burned patients get to a hair transplant doctor, who will do a procedure for free. What does operation restore pay for? It pays your airfare. It is up to the physician do the work for free. The idea of this organization is to garner positive PR for the hair transplant industry. They would do far more for their reputation simply by doing away with hard unethical selling and policing itself. Rather than discouraging these hard selling physicians, the hair transplant industry has a history of embracing them and elevating them into positions of power. Rather than doing the right thing, the hair transplant industry simply pats itself on the back. After all, where was the harm in ruining so many guys' lives. The hair transplant industry has given something back and exonerated all its sins with Operation Restore. You are probably asking yourself right now, how is Operation Restore going to give you your life back. The answer is very simple. it will not. The industry is tainted from the top down and it is up to the consumer to do his homework very well so that he can avoid being the next victim of the hair transplant industry.

It all begins by recognizing that today you do not need a strip scar if you are going to get a hair transplant. I recall well a young patient who came to me for 5 years begging me for a hair transplant. I told him that he was probably going to loose more hair than i could restore and that he was too young with an unknown future. I pushed him out the door for 5 years. Finally, at age 25 i did a small FIT procedure on him. He finally recognized what i had been telling him all along. He simply did not have enough hair in his donor area to keep up with the loss. He was very grateful that he did not have a strip scar and that his transplant was completely undetectable. he simply shaved his head and moved on with his life. i have no doubt that had this young man gone to a commercialized chain, they would have put an ear to ear strip scar on his head and unnecessarily given him an obvious hair transplant look. he would have lost the option to shave his head for the rest of his life and his life would have been painted into a corner of concealment, embarrassment, and shame.

Since the hair transplant industry will not police itself, it really is up to the consumer. I would contact your elected officials and request that they eliminate advertising for hair transplant surgery. This way, young kids would at least have an opportunity to find physicians based on reputation. People tend to have the misconception that those who advertise the heaviest are the ones who perform the highest quality work. they also associate advertising, especially on TV, with ethical. A little bit of homework will pinpoint those who are ethical and those who perform the highest quality work.

It is a sad fact that there is 50 years of bad hair transplant work that needs corrective work. It is also a sad fact that even today most physicians are branding the back of the head with the strip scar that is no longer necessary. I spend far too much time repairing the affects of hair transplant surgery by the hair transplant industry. This is terribly discouraging.

[forhair]

Thank you for sharing your experience and good luck in the future...
Your post is very useful for the young patients, it is very important to choose the right doctor based on a good research. We have a lot of sympathy for your story, unfortunately you are not the only one and many patients with bad work comes to Dr. Cole for corrective work.
Thank god that Doctors like Dr. Cole don't stop researching and came up with better techniques.

[Dimmesdale]

Thanks for the encouragement, forhair. As you can see, based on whose site I am posting my story, I've done my homework this time.

Indeed, I'm always amazed how many very young men write into the hairloss forums at various sites, and yes, I shutter to think how many of them soon find their way into offices happy to give them strip scars so early in their lives, and unnecessarily so, as the technology to avoid them is now there.

Ironically, while I was typing the above paragraph, a Bosley ad popped up in my internet browser! I second the call for a ban on hair transplant advertising. Let the model be one of quality through reputation rather than con through media blitz.

[Don Reverso]

Dimmesdale,

I found your post to be truly touching. I too rushed off to have work done at Bosley in my twenties, when I had no perspective on my hairloss and much loss in front of me. The way they took advantage of my fears makes me sick to my stomach. Luckily, this was in 2003 and my grafts are not too pluggy. - But they are not natural either. And I have a nice strip scar that I was mislead to think would be undetectable. Your post really hit home with me. I was/am the same person you were. I live the regret of the hasty rash decision of a younger naive man every day. Have you taken any steps to improve your situation? I'm sure you know that it is truly hard to trust another Doc after being mislead by others. I have put my trust in Dr Cole and can only hope to correct my situation as needed. Good luck to you my friend. You are not alone. Please update on your situation, as I wish you the best.

[TheFittest]

dimmesdale,

Your hair transplant may have been botched, but your heart, mind and soul are in truly extraordinary shape. That's the single finest and most thoughtful post I've ever read on any of these sites.

God bless you!

TheFittest

[Dimmesdale]

Thanks, everyone. The kind words mean more than you know.

One thing I have indeed more fully reflected upon since posting my somewhat verbose contribution above is that I am by no means alone in this situation, particularly in terms of guys who were/are unnecessarily scarred at the back and were/have been made pluggy in front. I hope at some stage in the not-too-distant future that "my generation" of HT people will have got themselves sorted out one way or another in a manner that suits them, as I simultaneously hope that more doctors will pick up the FUE/FIT route and thus save people's heads from a lifetime of scarring at the back. I'm sure that today's linear scars are better, by and large, than mine, but still, if one can avoid such a scar or scars altogether, then this seems like a no-brainer.

Something else I've realized since posting is what an amazing group of people "scarred/pluggy dudes" as well as "scarred/pluggy dude sympathizers” are. I have felt so isolated for 13+ years on this, and now I've received such amazing comments and support from people I've never even met. I know that some of the people with whom I have had contact post and/or lurk here, so let me publicly thank you, even if not named, for your help and advice. It would be fun if at some stage we collaborated and wrote a kind of “scarred HT man's manifesto” to the hair mill industry, even if for no other reason than to hopefully scare at least some people out of the chairs of some butchers.

By way of updates on my own situation – well, two-fold. Most critically, first, I have decided based on your feedback and concurrent discussions more generally, on this site and elsewhere, that I need to stop with the “feeling sorry for myself” bit and just get on with it. I made a mistake, and that's life. I screwed up 13-14 years ago, big deal, I was a kid! More important is that I can now actively choose to continue to beat myself up over that mistake, or I get on with it. A corollary to this is that I should look for the “bright sides” of my error, most immediately, to remember the life lesson of looking a bit more carefully before leaping, as well as at the “opportunity” I now have to talk to others about my unfortunate HT experience. I mean, what if instead of keeping this bottled up for over a decade I would have been talking a bit about it? Might one or two other young(er) men's heads now be without Raggedy-Ann hairlines and train tracks at the back? So, on this “educational” role, I figure, “better late than never.” Secondly, also by way of update, yes, at some stage my own head will undergo needed work. It's just a matter of working it out in terms of timing with work obligations, etc.

Well that's about it for now, take care and thank you again for the kind words.

[drcole]

No, you definately are not alone. there are at least 50 years worth of plug repairs and the strip scars just keep on coming. people simply do not get the idea that strip scars can cause a life time of misery especially if you have a strip procedure done in your early 20s and go on to have significant hair loss.

[TSTO]

To Dimmesdale, thanks for sharing your story.
I'm glad that you are trying to "... look for the “bright sides” ..."
You also mention that you could be "... talking a bit about it? Might one or two other young(er) men's heads now be without Raggedy-Ann hairlines... "

I must admit that probably nothing would have changed my mind about getting a HT. In many ways, HTs improved my life in my 20's because I looked fantastic with a full head of hair. Unfortunately, it wasn't explained to me, or perhaps not explained thoroughly enough, that hair can continue to thin in the temporal or crown region. As a result, today I have a frontal hairline that is noticeably thicker than my currently wispy temporal hairline. I've run out of options to camouflage it.

Reflecting back, I must admit that when I was 25, that the thought of being 40 years old was an eternity in years (in literal fact I was not going to be turning 40 until the next 'millenium'). Thankfully the surgeon didn't transplant my hairline too thickly on my right-hand-side; however the left-hand-side of my front hairline practically stands erect, not much unlike the corn-row pictures that make people recoil. I've used more gel to try and tame this pluggy hairline than I care to think about .

In closing, I'm thinking that you have a wife and a family to be grateful for. In my case, even though I had model looks with my HT in my 20's, it did not translate into a permanent relationship. Psychology, it was either myself in some cases, or my dates in other cases, who were never quite prepared to deal with HT and other cosmetic issues. One lives, one learns!

In closing, I firmly believe in that which does not kill one, makes one stronger. And it sounds like you've discovered this as well. Thanks again for sharing your story.

[drcole]

It was my impression in my 20s, as well, that I was invinsible and had my entire life ahead of me. I used to think that guys my age were old men. Well, now i am that "old man" and i can honestly tell you that if i could go back in time, i would have made far fewer mistakes.

It is extremly hard to turn the young patient away from a hair transplant for the very reasons you just mentioned. They seem to think it cannot happen to me, but it can. Hair loss can be progressive. It is true that new medications today may help you keep your hair indefinately. Even newer ones are yet to come. Still you really need to exercise a great deal of caution in your younger years and stay away from those strip surgeons.

[RCB]

I can empathize with you. I am 3 yrs older than you and made my trip to bosely 5yrs prior to you. I have am fortunate that my career choice has led me to work outdoors most of the time and , as you, I wear a hat 365 days a yr. If I were in an occupation where it werent appropriate to wear my hat. The HT would have had a much more profound effect on my professional life. I also am going to take steps to get something done. I cant look in the mirror with at seening and thinking of he misake of my youth. Good luck .

[Dimmesdale]

Hi guys (and girls), just wanted to post a short update that I will be visiting Dr. Cole and his team in January for a repair procedure. I will post some pics etc. in the repair forum thereafter (for anyone who is interested), and I will also endeavor to get some decent "before" pics in the coming weeks as well.

What can I say, looking forward to a bright and sunny 2007!

[forhair]

I haven't seen a girl for a while here maybe they are just watching....
Dimmesdale, you made a great choice choosing the best doctor and the best team of techs in the world. I personally would like to see your before photos and your story so please feel free to share it with us...
Good luck!

[Dimmesdale]

Hi everyone, I apologize for cross-posting, I meant to post this here at forhair.com, but somehow (maybe the sleeping meds are starting to sink in) I posted it at hairlosshelp.com instead. Anyway, the message below was meant for this site (I was going to do a different version for the other site), so here it is:

Hey guys, just a quick update, as I just got back to the hotel after half-a-day's work with Dr. Cole and his amazing team. Like all repair cases, I know I have a long way to go in terms of healing, etc., but I am also happy to report that for the first time in nearly a decade and a half, I can now look in the mirror and not have raised, ugly plugs staring back at me! They're gone! My god I've wanted to be able to say just that for a very long time.

Over the past couple of weeks, I took quite a few “before” photos (and a couple short before “videos” as well) and I can post these in time if they would be of interest to anyone.

The strategy employed was to thin out the plugs and to put some of the FUs back into my two linear scars, and the remainder back into the front. I am not too concerned with a full head of hair at the moment (though I did purchase a Georgia lottery ticket this morning, so this could change), so we didn't bring any other hair to the front. Hopefully, in time, I will look more or less like any other dude with thinning hair, and indeed, this is my goal.

As some readers will know, I am, for better for worse, quite capable of overly verbose posting, but let me hold off on that one for now. I'll post again fairly soon with more detailed comments on my experience, as well as to offer other miscellaneous tips. More specifically, as I am going to be in Atlanta for a bit before returning home, I figured the least I could do is to engage in some empirical research into which restaurants I should recommend to future IHTI patients, etc. Ha.

Take care and thanks for reading.

Dims

[TheFittest]

Dimmesdale,

Bet there were times when you couldn't even imagine that the scalet letter of bad HT could be ERASED.

I am so happy for you, man. There is NOTHING in the HT world that makes me as happy as reading about a guy with *f'ing plugs* who has them fitted out by Cole and Co.

He looks in the mirror and, amazingly, the garbage is gone. Sweet!

Best,
TheFittest