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!