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My journey - Dr Reddy, FUE 1200-1500 grafts - scheduled for 16th Aug 2022

hair-today

hair-today

member
Hi everyone, I'm booked in for 16th Aug. I'm going to document the process.

Here is part one, and I also have a video of my 2nd consultation that I will post soon. Still need to edit it.


Obviously nothing to show results wise yet, but I will add to this thread as I go. I did the video in one take and didn;t want to cut, so there are a lot of things I wanted to say that didn't get added. Also I want to make very sure you understand that these are only my views, and everyone is different. What is right for me, might not be for someone else, so not saying all my thoughts in this video are the only way to think.

Thanks
 
S

Salazar

member
Not sure if it's the lighting, or the way that your hair is styled, but I don't see any hair loss. Of course, we're far more sensitive to our own hair loss than that of others.

You mention in the video that you used minoxidil to grow facial hair. Did it work? You seem to have a decent beard in the video. (I've been trying fruitlessly to grow a beard and was considering trying minoxidil.)

Anyway, thanks for sharing this. I look forward to your updates. All the best.
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
Hi Salazar,

Thanks for your reply. You don't see any hair loss? In some lights it's not so noticable and I've learnt to style it in a way that hides it as best I can, but there certainly is. You can see it in the pic I add at the beginning (I'll attach it here).

Yes the minoxidil defintely worked for me with my facial hair. Although it was terribly itchy, much more so than on my scalp. The good news there is that once the hairs are full adult (terminal) hairs, they are permanent. So unlike on your scalp you don't need to keep using it. If you stop before they are terminal, then many will be lost again. I used it for about 6 months and went away for a month. I decided not to take it, thinking they will stay. Big mistake, literally after the 3 week mark I had lost nearly all my progress and then had to start again from scratch.

Every time I've started to used it (face twice, scalp once) I've found that after about 4 weeks I start to see fine hairs growing in. Sadly on my scalp all this did was colour under the hair a little, I guess similar ot the effect SMP would have so you can't see through the hair quite so well. They didn't growm back to anything meaningful. I'm sure it's slowing hair loss down though.

Oh, in th eend, I used it on my face for about 3 years before I stopped. I was worried I'd lose some, but it was all good, and I haven't used it there for about a year and a half now.

I'm literally just editing the recording from my 2nd consultation, so I'm hoping to get that online tonight. It has a lot of grreat info from Dr Reddy.

Hair jhjh3.jpg
 
S

Salazar

member
Thanks for replying. I hope that you don't mind a couple of questions.

I've learnt to style it in a way that hides it as best I can
What exactly do you do, both in terms of the cut and the styling?

Also, given that you wear your hair short, do you have any concerns about the visibility of donor scarring after the surgery?

Yes the minoxidil defintely worked for me with my facial hair.
That's good to hear. I think I'll try it.
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
Thanks for replying. I hope that you don't mind a couple of questions.


What exactly do you do, both in terms of the cut and the styling?

Also, given that you wear your hair short, do you have any concerns about the visibility of donor scarring after the surgery?


That's good to hear. I think I'll try it.
Of course, please ask away :)

With the cut, for me I find gettig the right length is key. Too short and there's not enough hair in the area so y9ou can see right through it, but too long and it's too thinned out to hold itself together. I've also discovered that if I part it the opposite way to how I like to it just sits much better. It doesn't sit so well around my crown though as I have a skin condition which means I have a large dent in my head and likely the skull too. Then I have learnt how to time putting minoxidil on, followed about 5 mins later by styling putty, to get the right consistancy to brush it into a style that works. Namely as straight as possible. Too dry and it's gone all wavey, to wet and it will turn wavey.

Yes, donor area scarring and short hair is one of my bigger concerns. I usually have a grade 0 (foil razored) skin fade. So I have asked several times about this. Dr Reddy says he can't promise, as there will always be some scarring, but he thinks I should be ok to shave it that short. If it turns out that I can't, then I will take a look at SMP to cover it.....my concern there is then going grey and being left with dark dots, or wearing it a little longer, or possibly saying oh well and shaving it anyway, as long as they're not really bad. The majority of people wouldn't notice, know, or even care if they see them, and it'll be behind me. I kind of figure it's the lesser of two evils, if I can't have both what's more important, my hairline or my skinfade. As it stands I definitly don't have a decent hairline, but a HT may not stop me having a skin fade. So there's a chance of both, or if not I get the most important one of the two.

Re minoxidil on your face, it will likely itch, but soooooo worth it. I wish I'd used it sooner! Good luck with it.
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
Here's part 2 - the 2nd consultation.

It's quite long, but I figured Dr Reddy is talking through a lot of stuff that will be useful to others looking at deciding if a HT is right for them, and help with choosing where to go.

 
S

Salazar

member
Thanks again for replying.

A few other points:

I find gettig the right length is key
What length is it? No 2 or 3? I'm sorry to chase you up on this, but I'm impressed by how well your hair style masks any loss.

Dr Reddy says he can't promise, as there will always be some scarring, but he thinks I should be ok to shave it that short
I've been thinking about having a hair transplant for some time, but this always proves to be the sticking point, as ultimately I want to wear my hair short again (and indeed I may have to if my hair loss continues to progress.)

I wish I'd used it sooner! Good luck with it.
Thanks. I've had beard envy for some time. (I think I am the only male in my family who lacks whiskers.)

Anyway, good luck with your procedure, and all the best.
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
Thanks again for replying.

A few other points:


What length is it? No 2 or 3? I'm sorry to chase you up on this, but I'm impressed by how well your hair style masks any loss.


I've been thinking about having a hair transplant for some time, but this always proves to be the sticking point, as ultimately I want to wear my hair short again (and indeed I may have to if my hair loss continues to progress.)


Thanks. I've had beard envy for some time. (I think I am the only male in my family who lacks whiskers.)

Anyway, good luck with your procedure, and all the best.
I think the angle and lighting of the video play a big part too, if you see me in person you'd most likely be able to see better. Oh and one thing I forgot is that I have had to keep getting it cut regularly, because the back sides grow much quicker than the thinning top they over power the balance. But if I keep the skin fade then the ultimately the sides have less hair that what's on top and that plays a big role in the illusion of there being more hair than there is on top. I hate that the corners tend to grow out. When I say corners I mean the bit between the sides and the top. I think it gives a look like a clown. So I always make sure my barber cuts there quite short, otherwise within a week I have the 'clown' look.

With regard to length on top, it's not shaved there, so I can't state a grade. I'd say it's currenty about 3 inches on top. But there's very little there so doesn't look that long, and it's combed flat with hair product.

Yes, I get you with the wanting to wear short hair. I imagine some of the healing is down to genetics, but a bigger part is going to be down to teh surgeon. I've seen some terrible scarring, but I am confident that Dr Reddy would never leave scarring as bad as those. It's a chance I'm willing to take, and as I said i would consider SMP if needed to cover it. One other thing though is that I only need 1200-1500 grafts, so again that plays a role too. Dr Reddy has said because of that he'd doubt I'd need SMP to cover scarring. And even if I needed a further transplant in the future he predicts (obviously no one can say for sure) 3000 in total would cover me in my lifetime to at least look better than I do now. If you manage to get through the very lengthy part 2 video, you'll hear him talk about people who had bad experences at other clinics having made a bad situation a hellish one, where they don't have enough hair but have bad scarring, and could end up needing a hairpeice or wig. I have complete confidence he would never leave someone in that position. He's not the cheapest, but you (usually) get what you pay for. Just research and look at the different surgeons results. And not just the results they post themselves, as they will only be the very best of their results and may not be a reflection of what you'll get from them.

Here's an example of Dr Reddy's work and a skin fade post transplant.

I know the beard envy thing too. Mine is ok, it's pretty even now, but again it takes some styling and thought. I tried letting it grow out a bit and it just looks silly. Goes curly and sticks out. But I've learnt that grade 4 looks good for the beard....long enough to see, but short enough to disguse there's not quite enough to grow it properly. It's evened out a fair bit now, but I did used to cut it quite a bit shorter at the bottom on either side of my chin, while leaving the center part quite a bit longer. I don't know the grade, but at least an 8 in the center. Enough to make that section look darker as if there's more hair there. Then just off to the sides would be a tight grade 4, possibly even a 3 at two points.

Thanks for the good luck. This time next week I'll be done, and probably in a little discomfort. Eeeeek. Scary but exciting!
 
S

Salazar

member
One other thing though is that I only need 1200-1500 grafts, so again that plays a role too.
I would probably need more than that. However, to minimise scarring, I was considering seeing whether or not a more conservative hairline restoration would be both possible and worth pursuing.

I tried letting it grow out a bit and it just looks silly
Yeah, mine tends to grow at the chin, but the cheeks remain stubbornly bare.

This time next week I'll be done
Good luck. I appreciate you posting these videos. As you said in the first one, there's too much stigma associated with hair transplants. All the best.
 
S

Salazar

member
Re minoxidil on your face, it will likely itch, but soooooo worth it.
I'm sorry. I don't mean to hijack your thread, but where do you get your minoxidil? I'm still looking for a reasonably priced UK source.
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
Ha no it's fine. I usually get it from ebay. Kirkland is usually the cheapest.
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
A little update. All went really well yeserday and was much easier than expected. The team were great.

I had a little trouble sleeping....instructions said sleep idealy on your back with your head tilted bawards a little to help any swelling drain backwards rather than towards your eyes. But it was too stingly on the donor area to rest on it. So I took a travel pillow and dozed almost upright on the sofa. Slowly I worked my way down until my head was just a little eleveated on the arm of the sofa. Woke in the night for about an hour between 4.30 and 5.30am, then fell asleep again and didn;t wake until 9am. So pretty please with that.

There was some blood spotting on the pad they gave me and today the donor area is a tiny bit stingy if I spray it with the saline solution. So I think sleeping on it irritated it a little. Recipiant area isn't stingy today and had scabbed over nicely. Apparantly I can shampoo the donor area with the baby shampoo today, staying away from the recipiant area but I I'm too nervous yet. So will just spray it to help keep it infection free.

The donor area is looking great aleady.

I'll do a longer write about the whole day soon. I just don't want to be head down typing as I do have a tiny bit of swelling just below the hairline area.

Some pics attached from yesterday

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hair-today

hair-today

member
Day one - Recipiant & donor area (excuse the huge dent this angle shows it off badly - I have en coupe de sabre)

IMG_7776.jpg
IMG_7765.PNG
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
I've uploaded 3 new videos -

Or to keep up to date will ALL I'll keep adding all new videos to this playlist -

Any comments or questions, fire away :)
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Everything seems to have gone well with your surgery. The placement looks good and your donor looks great one day after surgery, you’re healing really quick.
Little bits of pain and discomfort are common after surgery. A pain pill usually sorts it out. Nice that you slept well.
Nice videos too.
I`ll look forward to reading your full write up once you’re rested up.
 
loui

loui

Valued member
Is it true Dr Reddy charges per hair and not the gold standard which is per graft? What is his pricing if you dont mind me asking?

The work looks clean!
 
hair-today

hair-today

member
Is it true Dr Reddy charges per hair and not the gold standard which is per graft? What is his pricing if you dont mind me asking?

The work looks clean!
He quoted me for the number of grafts, at least that's what I think the quote said grafts not hairs.
 
loui

loui

Valued member
He quoted me for the number of grafts, at least that's what I think the quote said grafts not hairs.
It says on his website that he quote per hair, 2,5 GBP per hair or 2,5-12,5 GBP per graft, makes it equivelant of around 7 GBP per graft.

Did you pay 7 GBP per graft?

 
hair-today

hair-today

member
It says on his website that he quote per hair, 2,5 GBP per hair or 2,5-12,5 GBP per graft, makes it equivelant of around 7 GBP per graft.

Did you pay 7 GBP per graft?.

He’s not at the Private Clinic anymore.


And for anyone reading this who would like to see him, if you call the Private Clinic and ask for him they won’t tell you that. They just said to me, oh we have many dr’s here that are just as good, he’s just really popular because of the vlogs Mike Thurston did.
 
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