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FUE Procedure with Dr Arshad (The Hair Dr) – 3149 Grafts – 12.11.2020

M

Matt88

member
did the clinic give you any indication as to why the front lacks density?
I’m in the same position as you currently
Hey @My2021story, hope you're well mate and thanks for this. When I asked Dr Arshad about my lower-than-expected hairline density, he said that everyone's physiology is different and he also mentioned factors like the potential burden on scalp blood supply when doing such a large session (mine was 3149). So, in that sense, some of us may well be unlucky at times.

That's why I think a top-up could be great to put the finishing touches on our respective heads of hair. It's a nice addition to an already stellar customer service offered by The Hair Dr and I'm looking forward to discussing that with Dr Arshad at 12 months.

Hope you're well and you're feeling alright with your hair,
Matt
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi @Bigmac, thank you very much for this. I do think that what I most needed was to have hair good enough to not be afraid to interact with the outside world. Prior to the procedure, I was becoming increasingly insular and I can see how this was closing a lot doors to progress and a more fulfilled life. The HT has almost certainly helped me go in the opposite direction; I now have a new job in a career that I genuinely want to develop in, am back at uni learning a new skill, and have far more resilient mental health. Nothing's perfect, obviously, and this is all a journey rather than there being any particular end point to this. I'm just grateful that I have some level of drive to live a life in which I'm kinder to myself, which I'd say obviates better things happening. That certainly wasn't much the case before.

That said, my hairline isn't quite what I thought it would be, and I accept that this has to do with potentially excessive expectations on my end. You can see in the attached photos with the front lifted up. The first is me facing a window on a bright day, where you can see right through to my scalp and I find this rather unflattering. When I turn my back to the window (second photo), it's far more forgiving, although also not great. My girlfriend pointed out diplomatically that it looks as if I'm in the early stages of hair loss. This is the reason I don't tend to style my hair directly up, as in the photo, and have developed ways to create the illusion of a denser hairline by pulling it forward and down. I'm hoping a top-up with Dr Arshad will remedy this.

All the best,
Matt

View attachment 26545View attachment 26546


Hi Matt. When you look in the mirror in a normal daylight setting, no bright sunshine or lights, how do you and your partner see the hairline? I know your partner said it looks like you’re beginning to lose hair. Do you both see it like it is in the first image?
 
M

Matt88

member
Hi Matt. When you look in the mirror in a normal daylight setting, no bright sunshine or lights, how do you and your partner see the hairline? I know your partner said it looks like you’re beginning to lose hair. Do you both see it like it is in the first image?
Hi Bigmac, sorry I didn't clarify this properly. My partner, when prompted to look closely, said that it looks like I'm losing my hair when I stand in front of a bright light and quite literally pull the front of my hair up. These are hardly real-life conditions.

When not in the those conditions and when it's styled properly, then we both agree it looks pretty full. It definitely doesn't look anything like it is in the first image. The second image is more realistic but, even then, that's not the styling I'd choose as it's merely to demonstrate how a top-up could really enhance it.

Many thanks,
Matt
 
M

Matt88

member
11 Calendar Months Post-Op

Hi everyone, here are my 11-month photos. I feel like the hairline has matured a bit more (if not necessarily produced new hairs) and that's a positive. The wet photos are particularly unforgiving and I do wonder if I'm going through a bit of a seasonal shed, meaning my hair might appear a bit thinner on top. I've read of others talking about this. Regardless, it improves in the dry photos where the only product I've applied is Regaine foam.

I've also been in contact with the clinic who've been so supportive during the whole process and it'll be good to see them again at the 12-month mark for an in-depth consultation and discussion of where to go next. I wouldn't necessarily expect any more growth at this point, but I'm hoping further maturation might help with density in the hairline. Either way, it'll be a case of planning carefully how best to utilise the remaining donor area over the course of my life, so it'll be great to get Dr Arshad's perspective on that. Deep down, I'm also really hoping the finasteride will maintain its effectiveness for years to come...

Best wishes and I hope everyone is alright,
Matt
 

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B

Baldingman23

Valued member
Looks great Matt!!! I feel my hair has improved since the 12 month mark so I’m sure you will see some more maturity come in the next couple of months
 
M

Matt88

member
Looks great Matt!!! I feel my hair has improved since the 12 month mark so I’m sure you will see some more maturity come in the next couple of months
Thank you, @Baldingman23! I'm glad your hair has been improving since 12 months and I hope the same will be true for me :).

Looking forward to seeing the progress of your top-up! Good luck with it, mate.

Cheers,
Matt
 
Tomuk85

Tomuk85

member
Fairly sure I've seen your on the hairDR instergram page so it's not like they are hiding things. Being at 10 months myself it's good to see there is aftercare.
 
M

Matt88

member
Fairly sure I've seen your on the hairDR instergram page so it's not like they are hiding things. Being at 10 months myself it's good to see there is aftercare.
Hey @Tomuk85, thanks a lot for this, mate. That's right, I was on their Instagram page with my 9-month comparison photos.

Out of curiosity, I was just wondering what you meant by it not being likely that the clinic is hiding things.

Absolutely, I've felt really good about the aftercare that Dr Arshad and Sommiya offer - really can't fault it.

Hope you're doing alright at 10 months,
Matt
 
Tomuk85

Tomuk85

member
Hey @Tomuk85, thanks a lot for this, mate. That's right, I was on their Instagram page with my 9-month comparison photos.

Out of curiosity, I was just wondering what you meant by it not being likely that the clinic is hiding things.

Absolutely, I've felt really good about the aftercare that Dr Arshad and Sommiya offer - really can't fault it.

Hope you're doing alright at 10 months,
Matt
Only that there seems to have been a few negative comments recently , but from what I've seen they have been engaged with clients.

Like yours I'm fairly happy with my result but will post on the forum and see them in person to see if my expectations are realistic.

Best of luck
 
H

HTL33

member
Looks great Matt!

Thank you for the wet and dry pics, you really wouldn’t know you have any loss on those dry pics that’s for sure.

Hope you’re doing well mate!
 
M

Matt88

member
Only that there seems to have been a few negative comments recently , but from what I've seen they have been engaged with clients.

Like yours I'm fairly happy with my result but will post on the forum and see them in person to see if my expectations are realistic.

Best of luck
Definitely mate - what really puts me at ease is how responsive and motivated they are to help. Whenever I check in with the clinic by text, Sommiya will respond a lot of the time within minutes, which is so reassuring. Dr Arshad also checks in with me from time to time and it's these sorts of details that have made the whole post-op process so much more comfortable. Given that I'm generally an anxious person, I can say The Hair Dr's aftercare has really kept my neuroses to a minimum =/.

I'm glad to hear that your result has been fine so far and I'm looking forward to seeing your forum post whenever you're ready to make it =).

Thanks and good luck to you too,
Matt
 
M

Matt88

member
Looks great Matt!

Thank you for the wet and dry pics, you really wouldn’t know you have any loss on those dry pics that’s for sure.

Hope you’re doing well mate!
Really appreciate this, @HTL33 =). It's definitely been quite the turnaround for me this year and I suppose we'll see how things go from here with the 12-month follow-up.

Hope you're well too and I'm looking forward to tracking your progress as well!

All the best mate,
Matt
 
H

Hoping_for_hair

member
I think it's looking great mate, especially in the dry pics. Not often you stand directly under a bright light and pull your hair back!!
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
11 Calendar Months Post-Op

Hi everyone, here are my 11-month photos. I feel like the hairline has matured a bit more (if not necessarily produced new hairs) and that's a positive. The wet photos are particularly unforgiving and I do wonder if I'm going through a bit of a seasonal shed, meaning my hair might appear a bit thinner on top. I've read of others talking about this. Regardless, it improves in the dry photos where the only product I've applied is Regaine foam.

I've also been in contact with the clinic who've been so supportive during the whole process and it'll be good to see them again at the 12-month mark for an in-depth consultation and discussion of where to go next. I wouldn't necessarily expect any more growth at this point, but I'm hoping further maturation might help with density in the hairline. Either way, it'll be a case of planning carefully how best to utilise the remaining donor area over the course of my life, so it'll be great to get Dr Arshad's perspective on that. Deep down, I'm also really hoping the finasteride will maintain its effectiveness for years to come...

Best wishes and I hope everyone is alright,
Matt

Hi Matt. Wet hair and harsh lighting are unforgiving as you say. My hairline post shows this. The hairline looks to have improved and you and your partner agreeing it looks good is what matters.
The foam is probably helping to mature the hairs and may even help with some late sprouters. Finasteride should be helping your whole scalp, the density certainly looks a lot better than your pre op.
Thanks for the update.
All the best
Bm.
 
M

Matt88

member
I think it's looking great mate, especially in the dry pics. Not often you stand directly under a bright light and pull your hair back!!
Hey @Hoping_for_hair, thank you very much for this and I hope you're doing alright, mate. Looking forward to your next update =).

Haha, you're absolutely right and I doubt we'd ever walk around in public with our hair pulled back and a bright torch simultaneously shining on our scalp :LOL:. I guess I just want to demonstrate what my hair actually looks like when II'm not hiding the thinning.

Hope you have a lovely weekend,
Matt
 
M

Matt88

member
Hi Matt. Wet hair and harsh lighting are unforgiving as you say. My hairline post shows this. The hairline looks to have improved and you and your partner agreeing it looks good is what matters.
The foam is probably helping to mature the hairs and may even help with some late sprouters. Finasteride should be helping your whole scalp, the density certainly looks a lot better than your pre op.
Thanks for the update.
All the best
Bm.
Hi @Bigmac, I appreciate you checking in and hope your week is going alright. Your hairline post really did demonstrate that perfectly - I thought you were showing us different stages of the post-op process, so I was pleasantly surprised that they were all your hairline and on the same day!

Thank you for noticing the hairline and scalp progress. I think I'm only really realising this in the last day or two, but I've found myself being a bit more "risky" with my styling i.e. I'm not trying to pull the front down as much. This might be because I'm seeing the hairline a bit denser than what it was, but also maybe because I'm becoming more comfortable (dare I say it) in what my hair actually looks like now and I'm less afraid of what I think people might see. I'll monitor it either way, but I think it shows that sometimes the quite subtle progress can go unnoticed especially if, in my case, I get caught up in the bigger picture of wanting to see lots of progress from month to month. As @ChrisN advised me, it's better to compare monthly photos with my pre-op state.

I do wonder if the minoxidil has helped much and I can only hope that it has. That is the situation when you only start taking hair loss medications at the point of actually having the transplant done. Were I to have my time again and go back nine years, I'd certainly have tried the meds long before the procedure. And I can't stress enough how much more comfortable I feel about potential further loss by knowing that I'm taking all the known medications I can to slow down the process as much as possible.

Hope you're doing well,
Matt
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Good to hear you dint think about your hair too much and what others think. Hopefully, the minoxidil is working for you. In hindsight, many of us wish we had been on the meds years ago.
All the best.
 
M

Matt88

member
12 Calendar Months Post-Op

Hi everyone, I've made it to 12 months and I'd say that this has been a really positive life experience for me overall. The Hair Dr have been fantastic with their aftercare and I'd say I'm not far from having the kind of ideal result I had in my mind before the op. Together with the finasteride (and arguably minoxidil), I'm hoping my hair will be alright for a while yet. We'll see.

I'm also strongly considering a top-up as it would help add density to the hairline which I still find myself covering by pulling the hair forward. You might say this runs counter to the aims of the HT, but this isn't such a huge problem as long as I leave my hair long enough on top, as in the attached photos. Said photos were taken on the day I had my hair cut, so it's interesting that the donor area at grade 2 under harsh light looks thin in parts.

I'm due to go back to Sommiya and Dr Arshad on December 3rd for a check-up, so I'll post more photos after that.

Best wishes and take care,
Matt
 

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T

TBH

member
Looks fantastic in those pics Matt, do you have product in or is that just how it is normally?

Can you upload a photo of your hair wet and one dry/pulled back at some point to assess the growth properly?
 
M

Matt88

member
Looks fantastic in those pics Matt, do you have product in or is that just how it is normally?

Can you upload a photo of your hair wet and one dry/pulled back at some point to assess the growth properly?
Hi @TBH, thank you very much for this! I'd say I'm pretty much fine about my hair now, bar the hair greed that I've got regarding the hairline.

I have both Regaine foam and Dry Muk (a matte paste) in my hair in these pics. Naturally, my hair sits very flat, so I rely on products to give the front that lift.

You're right to ask about wet-hair photos and I chose not to take any on this occasion as my hair was already styled. As far as I'm aware, there'll be one of those comb-through videos after my check-up at The Hair Dr. If not, I think I'll post another round of photos around the 15-month mark including wet hair and pulled back.

Hope you're well and cheers again,
Matt
 
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