Newbie seeking advice

[Bigmac]

Every hair does count and we`ll all be rooting for you to respond well. I’ll read up on sleeping patterns with oral minoxidil. That’s a positive for you straight away. Who knows, with your scalp feeling/sensation the oral could be working after these few days. After all, other medications do help within hours or days of taking them.
I’ll look forward to your updates.

 

[Ronnie]

Been looking back at my photos from 1st Jan and also some taken last week, to see what 18 weeks progress looks like. It’s very hard to judge as on 1st Jan I’d just cut my hair to 3mm all over and since then it’s been allowed to grow, albeit with a few trims. At present its about 30-40mm. Nevertheless, the attached photos are about the best I have and (I think) are good enough to be able to see individual hair follicles. I’m convinced that I have significantly more active follicles in the crown than previously. I don’t recall it being as hairy as it currently is, before I cut it to 3mm, I’m sure there were full on bald spots, whereas now I seem to have light coverage everywhere. Very difficult to tell though! All I can do is progress on with the meds and see where I am in another 4 months or so. Given this is about a third of the time on meds before going through with surgery and that generally you expect to see results more after say 6 months, it is encouraging at least.

 

[Ronnie]

The annoying thing is though, is that zooming into that recent photo, I can convince myself that I have decent coverage, whereas in truth any normal photo shows a stark contrast between my healthy looking donor and my sparse crown right above it, still looks baldish.

Something that this does tantalising bring forward as a possibility, is whether I might get to the stage where I could achieve a decent result in one surgery whilst attending to all areas that are an issue. I’ve seen from my consultation with Farjo that 2,200-2,300 grafts can attend to the frontal third and an additional area running through the centre scalp to the back, I just wonder what could be achieved with say 4,000 grafts? It might not be perfect, but could it be good enough? I might be willing to accept a compromise if I could commit to just a single surgery and at the same time keep up to 3,000 grafts back for the future should I suffer further loss (which I’d hope wouldn’t happen for a long time, given I’ll be maintaining the meds).

I guess it’s a wait and see. Promising signs at least so far, given I honestly expected very little from the meds and the Microneedling.

Cheers!

 

[Doc1]

Been looking back at my photos from 1st Jan and also some taken last week, to see what 18 weeks progress looks like. It’s very hard to judge as on 1st Jan I’d just cut my hair to 3mm all over and since then it’s been allowed to grow, albeit with a few trims. At present its about 30-40mm. Nevertheless, the attached photos are about the best I have and (I think) are good enough to be able to see individual hair follicles. I’m convinced that I have significantly more active follicles in the crown than previously. I don’t recall it being as hairy as it currently is, before I cut it to 3mm, I’m sure there were full on bald spots, whereas now I seem to have light coverage everywhere. Very difficult to tell though! All I can do is progress on with the meds and see where I am in another 4 months or so. Given this is about a third of the time on meds before going through with surgery and that generally you expect to see results more after say 6 months, it is encouraging at least.

Definitely better!

 

[Bobbins]

The annoying thing is though, is that zooming into that recent photo, I can convince myself that I have decent coverage, whereas in truth any normal photo shows a stark contrast between my healthy looking donor and my sparse crown right above it, still looks baldish.

Something that this does tantalising bring forward as a possibility, is whether I might get to the stage where I could achieve a decent result in one surgery whilst attending to all areas that are an issue. I’ve seen from my consultation with Farjo that 2,200-2,300 grafts can attend to the frontal third and an additional area running through the centre scalp to the back, I just wonder what could be achieved with say 4,000 grafts? It might not be perfect, but could it be good enough? I might be willing to accept a compromise if I could commit to just a single surgery and at the same time keep up to 3,000 grafts back for the future should I suffer further loss (which I’d hope wouldn’t happen for a long time, given I’ll be maintaining the meds).

I guess it’s a wait and see. Promising signs at least so far, given I honestly expected very little from the meds and the Microneedling.

Cheers!

There’s certainly hair where there previously wasn’t on the first picture, including the hairline. Surprising given that people usually talk of the crown being the most beneficial area for Fin/Min.

For one procedure, what’s driving you toward that rather than two?

 

[Ronnie]

Definitely better!

Cheers! Trying not to get too excited as the greater length means that even with no new hairs, there is 7x as much hair in the second photo, but I’m pretty sure there is new growth. I particular, most of the new hairs seem to be white and you’ll notice at the very centre of the crown, which I’m sure was totally bald, there are quite a few white hairs.

 

[Ronnie]

There’s certainly hair where there previously wasn’t on the first picture, including the hairline. Surprising given that people usually talk of the crown being the most beneficial area for Fin/Min.

For one procedure, what’s driving you toward that rather than two?

Hi

The attraction of a single surgery is just a greater degree of certainly. ‘If’ I can end up with acceptable coverage in one sweep with 4,000 grafts, it means being able to just go through the process once, then hopefully in 6 months I have a decent outcome and a year later the final outcome. Then the added bonus of having about 3,000 grafts in reserve should they be needed later.

It’s all ifs and buts for now and I don’t really know how to define what ‘acceptable’ is. I’m not expecting a Hollywood hairline and what I’m seeing now is ‘almost’ acceptable, depending on what angle I’m seeing it from. Basically something along the lines of a decent hairline and mostly invisible head with my hair kept reasonable long.

 

[Bobbins]

Hi

The attraction of a single surgery is just a greater degree of certainly. ‘If’ I can end up with acceptable coverage in one sweep with 4,000 grafts, it means being able to just go through the process once, then hopefully in 6 months I have a decent outcome and a year later the final outcome. Then the added bonus of having about 3,000 grafts in reserve should they be needed later.

It’s all ifs and buts for now and I don’t really know how to define what ‘acceptable’ is. I’m not expecting a Hollywood hairline and what I’m seeing now is ‘almost’ acceptable, depending on what angle I’m seeing it from. Basically something along the lines of a decent hairline and mostly invisible head with my hair kept reasonable long.

I have the same dilemma, without a great answer.

On one hand, going through the process once is very appealing. On the other, would a greater chance of success be worth doing it twice? Ultimately it’s only another year.

I also wonder whether a non-shave procedure for the second round would be possible and a good compromise.

Acceptable is something only you can decide. I’ve discovered that other people are likely to care (and notice) far less about your hair than you are!

As you know, your transplantable hair is a finite and precious resource. If 2 procedures are going to maximise yield (which again is debatable) and placement, is that the best option?

 

[Ronnie]

I have the same dilemma, without a great answer.

On one hand, going through the process once is very appealing. On the other, would a greater chance of success be worth doing it twice? Ultimately it’s only another year.

I also wonder whether a non-shave procedure for the second round would be possible and a good compromise.

Acceptable is something only you can decide. I’ve discovered that other people are likely to care (and notice) far less about your hair than you are!

As you know, your transplantable hair is a finite and precious resource. If 2 procedures are going to maximise yield (which again is debatable) and placement, is that the best option?

It’s like you’re reading my mind!

A single procedure is likely wishful thinking TBH. Would be bloody amazing if the crown closed enough to not require attention but I know that’s unlikely. There’s just a big part of me that is very aware of how obsessive I am about things……this year I’ve been obsessed with my hair and it would be good to draw a line under it. I know all too well how body dismorphia can ruin your life and am keen to avoid it becoming my one obsession……which it clearly currently is! For now I at least have positives to enjoy and will be interesting to see if I achieve any further progress in the next 8 months or so.

Cheers

 

[Bigmac]

Hi Ronnie. There’s definitely quite a bit of growth happening especially when compared to your pictures at the beginning of the thread where your hair wasn’t as short in the comparison picture above.
I’ve added a quick comparison to show the difference.



Some of your hair is combed over slightly from left side of crown but that does not take away from the new hair that is clearly there. It looks as though you’re a good responder to the meds.
Surgery wise. I have seen enough 4000 plus surgeries that are very successful. A one time procedure could be an option for you, especially if these improvements continue.
Sometimes having a smaller session is a cautious approach by doctors. We know nothing is guaranteed. Do you put all or most of your eggs in one basket or do you have 2 surgeries.
I will look forward to your next update which hopefully, shows more hair.

 

[SimBa]

Been looking back at my photos from 1st Jan and also some taken last week, to see what 18 weeks progress looks like. It’s very hard to judge as on 1st Jan I’d just cut my hair to 3mm all over and since then it’s been allowed to grow, albeit with a few trims. At present its about 30-40mm. Nevertheless, the attached photos are about the best I have and (I think) are good enough to be able to see individual hair follicles. I’m convinced that I have significantly more active follicles in the crown than previously. I don’t recall it being as hairy as it currently is, before I cut it to 3mm, I’m sure there were full on bald spots, whereas now I seem to have light coverage everywhere. Very difficult to tell though! All I can do is progress on with the meds and see where I am in another 4 months or so. Given this is about a third of the time on meds before going through with surgery and that generally you expect to see results more after say 6 months, it is encouraging at least.

View attachment 32696View attachment 32697

Hi Ronnie

Just been reading your post and I can empathise a lot as I'm in a similar situation. Looking at your recent photos it does look like something is going on with your hair compared to previous photo's, which I found a little surprising but it does look like the follicles seem to be pumping out more keratin than they were previously.

It looks like the swirl pattern our hair normally follow are more etched which suggests the hair strands look more active and thickening up due to activity on top.

I reckon if you went out and bought some fibres you could get a good estimation of a head of hair based on recent photo's.

 

[Yoo]

This is fantastic progress already Ronnie, you’re such a good responder to the meds.

Regarding two or one procedures, if you do go with Farjo, which as a patient there I can definitely recommend, you could get Dr Farjo to do the first op on the hairline, which is the most crucial part of surgery. Then if all goes well and you decide to get the crown done, you could look at getting Dr Kay who’s part of the clinics team to do the second proceudre. She’s less experienced than Dr Farjo, so a fair bit cheaper p/graft but has done some great work.

 

[Bobbins]

This is fantastic progress already Ronnie, you’re such a good responder to the meds.

Regarding two or one procedures, if you do go with Farjo, which as a patient there I can definitely recommend, you could get Dr Farjo to do the first op on the hairline, which is the most crucial part of surgery. Then if all goes well and you decide to get the crown done, you could look at getting Dr Kay who’s part of the clinics team to do the second proceudre. She’s less experienced than Dr Farjo, so a fair bit cheaper p/graft but has done some great work.

Whilst the hairline is what most people see of your hair and is what gives the impression of density, isn’t the crown also difficult to get a natural result due to the complexity and variety of hair direction in that area?

 

[Ronnie]

Hi Ronnie

Just been reading your post and I can empathise a lot as I'm in a similar situation. Looking at your recent photos it does look like something is going on with your hair compared to previous photo's, which I found a little surprising but it does look like the follicles seem to be pumping out more keratin than they were previously.

It looks like the swirl pattern our hair normally follow are more etched which suggests the hair strands look more active and thickening up due to activity on top.

I reckon if you went out and bought some coloured dry shampoo, maybe fibres or similar, you could get a good estimation of a head of hair based on recent photo's.

Cheers simjb

I really am quite surprised at the progress I’ve made to date, especially given it’s only been about 20 weeks. I’m finding myself obsessively looking in the mirror at my crown as it’s now just semi transparent, whereas before it was bright and bald and shiny! Really keeping my fingers crossed that it improves some more, there’s no doubt I’ll require a transplant to restore the hairline, but if the crown improves enough to not need attention such that a single procedure could sort the hairline and mid section out, then that would be a dream.

A previous reply noted improvement in the hairline too which I’d not really paid much attention to. From the get go, a close inspection of the temples revealed hundreds of tiny micro hairs (maybe 1-2mm long) which was all that remained of my previous hairline. Given my hair is currently 3-4cm long, I’ve had a bit of a check of these areas and a bit further back, there are a number of hairs which are maybe 5-10mm in length and fairly thin. I ‘think’ these are hairs which are in the process of recovering, rather than in the process of dying, which is also quite encouraging. I’m going to be keeping a close eye on these to see if they do indeed continue to grow into full strength hairs or not. If they are indeed recovering, then hopefully these are others within the main body of hair itself that are doing the same.

I suppose the other thing that seems to be happening is that the sides which were dropping away seem to have closed in somewhat. The side without the parting was stronger at the start and continues to be, but what is very noticeable is that I barely had any hair on the centre side of the parting and even what I had was concentrated in the frontal area. Now I have a decent amount of hair along the whole parting. Hopefully it closes in more over the next 7-8 months.

Interesting idea with the hair dye and fibres, but for now I’m drawing the line at those and hair systems and just seeing where the meds can take me.

Thanks!

 

[Ronnie]

This is fantastic progress already Ronnie, you’re such a good responder to the meds.

Regarding two or one procedures, if you do go with Farjo, which as a patient there I can definitely recommend, you could get Dr Farjo to do the first op on the hairline, which is the most crucial part of surgery. Then if all goes well and you decide to get the crown done, you could look at getting Dr Kay who’s part of the clinics team to do the second proceudre. She’s less experienced than Dr Farjo, so a fair bit cheaper p/graft but has done some great work.

Thanks Yoo, that really useful to know. Both yourself and Doc1 have given really positive feedback after going through procedures with Farjo which backs up the positive experience I had with my consultation there.

Cheers

 

[Ronnie]

Whilst the hairline is what most people see of your hair and is what gives the impression of density, isn’t the crown also difficult to get a natural result due to the complexity and variety of hair direction in that area?

Hi

I believe you are correct and it requires real artistry to tackle successfully. There's also the issue that if you fill the crown and then you suffer further recession, you get left with an island of hair. All these are reasons why I’d be chuffed if I got to a point with the meds where the crown was ‘good enough’ to not require surgery.

Cheers

 

[SimBa]

Cheers simjb

I really am quite surprised at the progress I’ve made to date, especially given it’s only been about 20 weeks. I’m finding myself obsessively looking in the mirror at my crown as it’s now just semi transparent, whereas before it was bright and bald and shiny! Really keeping my fingers crossed that it improves some more, there’s no doubt I’ll require a transplant to restore the hairline, but if the crown improves enough to not need attention such that a single procedure could sort the hairline and mid section out, then that would be a dream.

A previous reply noted improvement in the hairline too which I’d not really paid much attention to. From the get go, a close inspection of the temples revealed hundreds of tiny micro hairs (maybe 1-2mm long) which was all that remained of my previous hairline. Given my hair is currently 3-4cm long, I’ve had a bit of a check of these areas and a bit further back, there are a number of hairs which are maybe 5-10mm in length and fairly thin. I ‘think’ these are hairs which are in the process of recovering, rather than in the process of dying, which is also quite encouraging. I’m going to be keeping a close eye on these to see if they do indeed continue to grow into full strength hairs or not. If they are indeed recovering, then hopefully these are others within the main body of hair itself that are doing the same.

I suppose the other thing that seems to be happening is that the sides which were dropping away seem to have closed in somewhat. The side without the parting was stronger at the start and continues to be, but what is very noticeable is that I barely had any hair on the centre side of the parting and even what I had was concentrated in the frontal area. Now I have a decent amount of hair along the whole parting. Hopefully it closes in more over the next 7-8 months.

Interesting idea with the hair dye and fibres, but for now I’m drawing the line at those and hair systems and just seeing where the meds can take me.

Thanks!

Hi mate

Yes, you've had what seems to be a level of response that it got me reconsidering Minoxidil which I stopped using a long time ago due to my hair being longer at the time and it just making a mess and couldn't see myself using it long term. I may give the foam one last shot as I planned on buzzing to a 2 or 3 grade which will be a lot more manageable with foam at that length. The thing that crazes me and no doubt many others, is that is so hard to determine what level of change has happened with our hair due to the very gradual passage of time vs hair growth and lighting conditions which affect our perception when we're reviewing 'growth' or not etc. I can well see why some people think be done with all the hair loss crazies and buzz it off. There are a lot of pluses to buzzing re maintenence ease etc.

I must admit I was thinking that even with taking less expensive options like Finasteride and Minoxidil both of these seem to be delaying options with limited expectation for regrowth and I was thinking I may bite the bullet with an HT and think of the money saved from not using Min & Fin as a reduction on the HT procedure. Minoxidl and Finasteride come in at about £200 + a year to use x 10 over a decade being £2k, so a sizeable contribution towards a HT procedure, with HT offering a much greater likelihood of the affect of hair replacement than Min & Fin. HT's are the only thing I've seen which come close to replacing our hair.

All the best for our continued 'alopecia' progress

 

[Ronnie]

Hi mate

Yes, you've had what seems to be a level of response that it got me reconsidering Minoxidil which I stopped using a long time ago due to my hair being longer at the time and it just making a mess and couldn't see myself using it long term. I may give the foam one last shot as I planned on buzzing to a 2 or 3 grade which will be a lot more manageable with foam at that length. The thing that crazes me and no doubt many others, is that is so hard to determine what level of change has happened with our hair due to the very gradual passage of time vs hair growth and lighting conditions which affect our perception when we're reviewing 'growth' or not etc. I can well see why some people think be done with all the hair loss crazies and buzz it off. There are a lot of pluses to buzzing re maintenence ease etc.

I must admit I was thinking that even with taking less expensive options like Finasteride and Minoxidil both of these seem to be delaying options with limited expectation for regrowth and I was thinking I may bite the bullet with an HT and think of the money saved from not using Min & Fin as a reduction on the HT procedure. Minoxidl and Finasteride come in at about £200 + a year to use x 10 over a decade being £2k, so a sizeable contribution towards a HT procedure, with HT offering a much greater likelihood of the affect of hair replacement than Min & Fin. HT's are the only thing I've seen which come close to replacing our hair.

All the best for our continued 'alopecia' progress

Cheers.

Are you using Finasteride currently? I’m using the Hims combined Finsateride / Minoxidil solution and it seems good and is easy to apply, takes 2 mins twice a day.

My expectation is that I‘ll keep using the meds after I’ve had a transplant, otherwise I risk losing any gains and also the native hairs that haven’t gone yet.

Totally hear you on the difficulty of comparing different photos, totally impossible to recreate the same conditions without going to massive effort!

 

[SimBa]

Cheers.

Are you using Finasteride currently? I’m using the Hims combined Finsateride / Minoxidil solution and it seems good and is easy to apply, takes 2 mins twice a day.

My expectation is that I‘ll keep using the meds after I’ve had a transplant, otherwise I risk losing any gains and also the native hairs that haven’t gone yet.

Totally hear you on the difficulty of comparing different photos, totally impossible to recreate the same conditions without going to massive effort!

Yes, finasteride 3 x a week. I took it before daily and got bad side effects which really whacked me out sexually so I pretty much stopped it down to 1 - 2 a week max and recently to 3 x. I'm going to buzz it in a months time to see how I am with it as I haven't clippered it in over 25 years, so quite a while.

I feel like the whole hair loss shite is getting a bit on top of me and needs facing down, so I'm going to see how I look, feel, think about the whole chrome top bald look and decide how likely I am to go the HT route, or pure acceptance and rock my noggin'.

I wonder if were better accepting our hair situation as we will never get it back to our youth density and by doing a HT we'll be opting to continue the 'holding on' situation in our lives when it's likely easier to 'let it go'. If I do go for an HT then I plan on doing the one to last me, although possibly two. I do wonder if a percentage of HT surgeons hold back a bit in some scalp area's when implanting so that after a first procedure clients will be back for another in quick succession.

 

[Ronnie]

Yes, finasteride 3 x a week. I took it before daily and got bad side effects which really whacked me out sexually so I pretty much stopped it down to 1 - 2 a week max and recently to 3 x. I'm going to buzz it in a months time to see how I am with it as I haven't clippered it in over 25 years, so quite a while.

I feel like the whole hair loss shite is getting a bit on top of me and needs facing down, so I'm going to see how I look, feel, think about the whole chrome top bald look and decide how likely I am to go the HT route, or pure acceptance and rock my noggin'.

I wonder if were better accepting our hair situation as we will never get it back to our youth density and by doing a HT we'll be opting to continue the 'holding on' situation in our lives when it's likely easier to 'let it go'. If I do go for an HT then I plan on doing the one to last me, although possibly two. I do wonder if a percentage of HT surgeons hold back a bit in some scalp area's when implanting so that after a first procedure clients will be back for another in quick succession.

Hi

I myself worried about side effects from Fin, hence the switch to topical, which seems to have produced results with no sides.

The whole ‘accept being bald’ argument has no real answer. I‘m currently optimistic that I’m getting results with no sides
and the cost of meds is affordable, so continuing and maybe a transplant is the way forward. I feel life with hair is better, but not a deal breaker. It feels doable, affordable and achievable, then that’s where I’m heading. Things might change in time though. If it gives me 10-15 years with decent hair I’ll be happy. At the end of the day, once I’m well into my 60’s everything is getting worse, at some point I’ll have to let go and accept I’m on my way out! Until then though, might as well keep trying to be the best I can be.

Basically I see this as putting myself back in the pack, with people my age that haven’t gone bald, rather than some sort of eternal youth.

Cheers