9
997Enjoyer
member
My hair started receding, in hindsight, around five years ago. It was in the last three that I noticed it. Since around June 2023 I have been taking an array of different medications with varying degrees of success/side effects to come with it. In the end, Dutasteride stabilised and thickened my existing hair, but didn’t really support regrowth in the temples. Oral minoxidil was bad for my heart and topical helped a bit, but was inconvenient and gave me some minor tinnitus. In the end, I knew a hair transplant was what I wanted. I’d never had any surgical procedure before, so this was a big thing for me.
I spent a lot of time doing research on forums such as this, Reddit (for better or worse), checking out reviews online and generally procrastinating and sitting on the fence about if/when I would make the leap and do it. I had around four or five in person and online consultations with clinics such as Wimpole and British Hair Clinic, before settling on Westminster Medical Group. What stood out for me was that there was no hard sell, and the consultation was thorough and not with a patient advisor – but an actual surgeon – Dr Sebastian Deme, who talked me through the process in great detail, discussing potential hairline designs and showing a genuine interest in my ‘hair loss story’ so to speak and wanting to give me the best result possible. My consultation with them was back in August and it was not until mid-late October that I made the decision to proceed and book my procedure. The process was hassle free, during which I paid a deposit to secure the slot via bank transfer and then paid the remaining balance via credit card week prior. This was a particularly exciting time for me, but I had mixed emotions due to the nervousness that came with it.
On the morning of my procedure, I arrived at 0845 with the surgery due to start at 0900. It is a nice building located on Harley Street with a large and grand reception space, also shared with a fertility clinic. I informed the receptionist as to my arrival and sat down to wait for WMG staff to meet me. Dr Deme had not arrived and walked into reception at 0905 and said he would be with me shortly, which I found slightly unnerving and I noticed another member of the medical team, who I recognised from their website, followed in shortly after. This put me on edge given I was already nervous about the procedure. Marzena came down to meet me at around 0920 and gave me a warm welcome which I found reassuring. I think the staff were running late and still setting up as I was then given forms to complete which I had already filled out and emailed to the team the week prior.
Not the greatest of starts, but shortly after this Dr Deme entered the consultation room and we met properly in person for the first time. Just as he was during our online consultation, Dr Deme was professional, courteous and diligent. We had a further discussion about hair loss medication, and then he used a laser and drew a hairline based on our discussion. I was content with his first suggestion so we went with that. For context, I am 26 and placed more importance on ensuring the 2300 graft transplant I was having allowed for a good density rather than lowering it too much and it looking sparse. We had also previously agreed that this way it would lend me well going into my 30’s and beyond and the Dr said that it would leave me with enough grafts for another two procedures should I need them (but hopefully not!). Having spent time with the surgeon I was now feeling at ease and ready for the surgery to begin.
This started at around 10 and lasted around 7hrs including lunch/toilet breaks. Lunch from Pret was provided by the team, for which I was given choices for in advance. When I first went in I met some of the medical team who were going to be involved. The first 2-3 hours were relatively boring and not the most comfortable due to laying down on my front and after lunch when I turned over this was much better. Dr Deme was present throughout the procedure and both he and the rest of the medical team were attentive in ensuring I was not in any pain or feeling particular discomfort. The only time I felt any pain during any of this was when the local anaesthetic was being applied to the donor and recipient areas. Once this was done, the procedure was pain-free. Dr Deme was reassuring during the procedure in telling me they had found lots of grafts containing three and four hairs which would be good for the density, and that they were locating singles for the hairline and temples. He was pleased with the end result. Later during the procedure some other staff came in to swap over, I wasn’t entirely sure who these people were as I hadn’t met them and nor was I told that this would be happening, but they seemed to be just as attentive. I think in future it would be good to ensure patients are aware of any changes during the procedure. That aside, I do think it is better that the technicians are swapped as opposed to having the same two/three throughout and getting fatigued. I was all done by 1730 and bandaged up and ready to go. Provided with a bag containing a neck pillow, shampoo, conditioner, sponge, gauses, saline spray, aloe vera, and protective sheeting to put on my bed should I need to in case of any bleeding overnight.
Sleeping in the neck pillow was as unpleasant as you’d expect, being a side sleeper, but I soon got used to it and was only for a week. I was invited back to the clinic two days later for a back to work hair wash with Marzena. Since then, I have been doing non-contact washes using the shampoo and conditioner provided. I have been spraying my head diligently and applying aloe vera to the recipient area daily. I can now my hair as normal and the rest of my scabbing has gone.
Turning to the results, I am super happy with how it’s looking so far. I was amazed by the density from the moment the procedure was completed. From time to time, I wonder if I should’ve gone lower, but I think the sensible and rational answer to that question is no and that I have now, finally, after all this time, got a natural looking non-receding hairline. After all, this was a hair transplant, not forehead reduction surgery!
Based on my experience, I would not hesitate to recommend Westminster Medical Group and Dr Sebastian Deme to anyone looking for a reasonably priced (for Harley Street!) and professionally completed natural looking hair transplant. This is no hair mill, I was the only patient there on the day and Dr Deme was there until the very end, supervising and advising the technicians, and not solely present for the incisions. Throughout my experience with them since August the team have been communicative and attentive, ensuring all queries were responded to promptly and comprehensively. I am excited for the results to finally start coming through and endeavour to share this with the forum from time to time going forward. For transparency, I am what would be considered a ‘promotional patient’, but as I hope you can tell from reading, I have been candid in my review of my experience.
Before
Day 1
Day 7
I spent a lot of time doing research on forums such as this, Reddit (for better or worse), checking out reviews online and generally procrastinating and sitting on the fence about if/when I would make the leap and do it. I had around four or five in person and online consultations with clinics such as Wimpole and British Hair Clinic, before settling on Westminster Medical Group. What stood out for me was that there was no hard sell, and the consultation was thorough and not with a patient advisor – but an actual surgeon – Dr Sebastian Deme, who talked me through the process in great detail, discussing potential hairline designs and showing a genuine interest in my ‘hair loss story’ so to speak and wanting to give me the best result possible. My consultation with them was back in August and it was not until mid-late October that I made the decision to proceed and book my procedure. The process was hassle free, during which I paid a deposit to secure the slot via bank transfer and then paid the remaining balance via credit card week prior. This was a particularly exciting time for me, but I had mixed emotions due to the nervousness that came with it.
On the morning of my procedure, I arrived at 0845 with the surgery due to start at 0900. It is a nice building located on Harley Street with a large and grand reception space, also shared with a fertility clinic. I informed the receptionist as to my arrival and sat down to wait for WMG staff to meet me. Dr Deme had not arrived and walked into reception at 0905 and said he would be with me shortly, which I found slightly unnerving and I noticed another member of the medical team, who I recognised from their website, followed in shortly after. This put me on edge given I was already nervous about the procedure. Marzena came down to meet me at around 0920 and gave me a warm welcome which I found reassuring. I think the staff were running late and still setting up as I was then given forms to complete which I had already filled out and emailed to the team the week prior.
Not the greatest of starts, but shortly after this Dr Deme entered the consultation room and we met properly in person for the first time. Just as he was during our online consultation, Dr Deme was professional, courteous and diligent. We had a further discussion about hair loss medication, and then he used a laser and drew a hairline based on our discussion. I was content with his first suggestion so we went with that. For context, I am 26 and placed more importance on ensuring the 2300 graft transplant I was having allowed for a good density rather than lowering it too much and it looking sparse. We had also previously agreed that this way it would lend me well going into my 30’s and beyond and the Dr said that it would leave me with enough grafts for another two procedures should I need them (but hopefully not!). Having spent time with the surgeon I was now feeling at ease and ready for the surgery to begin.
This started at around 10 and lasted around 7hrs including lunch/toilet breaks. Lunch from Pret was provided by the team, for which I was given choices for in advance. When I first went in I met some of the medical team who were going to be involved. The first 2-3 hours were relatively boring and not the most comfortable due to laying down on my front and after lunch when I turned over this was much better. Dr Deme was present throughout the procedure and both he and the rest of the medical team were attentive in ensuring I was not in any pain or feeling particular discomfort. The only time I felt any pain during any of this was when the local anaesthetic was being applied to the donor and recipient areas. Once this was done, the procedure was pain-free. Dr Deme was reassuring during the procedure in telling me they had found lots of grafts containing three and four hairs which would be good for the density, and that they were locating singles for the hairline and temples. He was pleased with the end result. Later during the procedure some other staff came in to swap over, I wasn’t entirely sure who these people were as I hadn’t met them and nor was I told that this would be happening, but they seemed to be just as attentive. I think in future it would be good to ensure patients are aware of any changes during the procedure. That aside, I do think it is better that the technicians are swapped as opposed to having the same two/three throughout and getting fatigued. I was all done by 1730 and bandaged up and ready to go. Provided with a bag containing a neck pillow, shampoo, conditioner, sponge, gauses, saline spray, aloe vera, and protective sheeting to put on my bed should I need to in case of any bleeding overnight.
Sleeping in the neck pillow was as unpleasant as you’d expect, being a side sleeper, but I soon got used to it and was only for a week. I was invited back to the clinic two days later for a back to work hair wash with Marzena. Since then, I have been doing non-contact washes using the shampoo and conditioner provided. I have been spraying my head diligently and applying aloe vera to the recipient area daily. I can now my hair as normal and the rest of my scabbing has gone.
Turning to the results, I am super happy with how it’s looking so far. I was amazed by the density from the moment the procedure was completed. From time to time, I wonder if I should’ve gone lower, but I think the sensible and rational answer to that question is no and that I have now, finally, after all this time, got a natural looking non-receding hairline. After all, this was a hair transplant, not forehead reduction surgery!
Based on my experience, I would not hesitate to recommend Westminster Medical Group and Dr Sebastian Deme to anyone looking for a reasonably priced (for Harley Street!) and professionally completed natural looking hair transplant. This is no hair mill, I was the only patient there on the day and Dr Deme was there until the very end, supervising and advising the technicians, and not solely present for the incisions. Throughout my experience with them since August the team have been communicative and attentive, ensuring all queries were responded to promptly and comprehensively. I am excited for the results to finally start coming through and endeavour to share this with the forum from time to time going forward. For transparency, I am what would be considered a ‘promotional patient’, but as I hope you can tell from reading, I have been candid in my review of my experience.
Before
Day 1
Day 7
