The Hair Dr. (Dewsbury/Leeds) - A Discussion

[SheddinStevens]

I want to make this thread a discussion for people who have undergone their procedure with The Hair Dr.

Their clinic is held together by fantastic care by Sommiya, and no one can fault Adam or any of their techs for the care they provide. Dr. Arshad and his team certainly do not come across as being careless nor reckless in their procedures whatsoever, however, out of many who have posted on this forum I have not seen anyone have a transplant with The Hair Dr. in late 2020 or 2021 being completely happy with their hair density following the procedure. This is not to say everyone or anyone had realistic expectations.

Many of us read through countless hopeful stories with pictures on this forum, with many a good result from this clinic and set our ambitions high. I'm sure a lot of us were willing to travel abroad and pay a higher price for procedures with particular doctors, but this clinic really seemed like the one based on the 2019 and 2020 results posted on this forum.

I'd like to start an honest conversation among those who have entrusted Dr. Arshad with their procedure.

Is anyone entirely happy with their result from this clinic? I would love to hear from you.

Does anyone feel that their graft survival rate has been disappointing, or they had significantly more ambitious hopes for their final density? Please share your story.

Has anyone been offered a "top-up" to fulfil a denser appearance in a particular area or overall? Did it work out well?

I, personally, don't want to bitch or moan about this clinic, their procedures or mine in particular. Many people are unhappy with their result from many clinics and I have never seen anyone say this clinic messed up their donor area, provided bad care or swindled them in any way. Individual threads on this forum point to a slight disappointment in the outcomes from Hair Dr. procedures overall and I would like to ascertain if there is a consensus on this slight disappointment.

I will share my own story and thoughts below.

 

[My2021story]

@SheddinStevens how was your procedure and result from this Dr?
I’m coming up to 12 months (I have a full detailed thread here) and my density is lacking/ not where it should be.
I have been offered a top up to correct this.

I’m currently deciding what to do in terms of next steps as my big fear is going through another procedure that doesn’t work and using valuable grafts up

 

[SheddinStevens]

I'm at the 9 month mark after receiving over 4,800 grafts - the most extensive procedure the clinic had ever done as of Feb. I completely understand that a large area was covered in one surgery and I wasn't expecting any absolute density from the procedure but after having 12,000 hairs moved from the back of my head to the top of it, I feel like I'm currently seeing 30% of these and it's worrying me. My hair was very thin before and it's a bit better now for sure, but definitely not 4,800 grafts better as of yet.

I expressed these concerns to the clinic and Dr. Arshad said that I'm "a bit behind on progress" than what he'd expect at this stage. I underwent PRP at the clinic recently for no extra cost after it had been suggested by Sommiya. She has been amazing through all of this.

The surgery itself was obviously very expensive, at over £13,000 although I feel like if many more hairs and grafts don't come through the real shame will be the waste of a more finite resource - the grafts themselves.

All I can do at this stage is take fin, apply minoxidil and hope for the best.

 

[Norwood]

What I've found interesting following some of the resuts from this clinic is that there was plenty of really good results coming out from them pre-pandemic and then alot requiring top-ups since then. It makes me wonder whether some of the techs have changed in that time.

They do their best to help their customers by the sounds of it though and I'd be very interested to hear what their patients think and how happy they are with the results.

 

[SheddinStevens]

What I've found interesting following some of the resuts from this clinic is that there was plenty of really good results coming out from them pre-pandemic and then alot requiring top-ups since then. It makes me wonder whether some of the techs have changed in that time.

They do their best to help their customers by the sounds of it though and I'd be very interested to hear what their patients think and how happy they are with the results.

Thanks for weighing in.

I share your assessment of pre pandemic vs current results. Speaking with a few of the techs during my surgery, some have been there for 1-3+ years. No one said they were brand new, but as my transplant was over 12 hours I had around 10 techs working over 2 shifts on my surgery.

Part of me feels like I should have pursued a transplant over 2+ days, so the grafts weren't out my head for as long. My main thought on this, however, was that the clinic is not a hair mill and if they're prepared to do the surgery in one day then surely it isn't to the detriment of the outcome or graft survival.

 

[Baldingman23]

I’m very happy with my result and the support I have recieved from The Hair Dr team. I’m in for a small top up in January which is around 300-400 graphs and it’s just to improve the density in 2 small areas. This is where im glad I had the op in the UK they are only 4 hours drive up the road and they reply to my messages instantly. I think with any surgery there is always a risk and knowing you have good support and are not just thought of as a cash cow then it’s very important. I saw a friend a couple of days ago who had a HT at a hair mill abroad. It was cheap and his hair looks worse now than it did before the HT. I was a Norwood 4/5 and to think I had a big area covered for the amount of graphs I received the result is very good and will be absolutely perfect I’m sure, once this minor top up is done. Also my cousin who has been researching HT for well over 5 years and I haven’t seen for about a year commented on my hair last week. He said it looks very natural and donor area looks untouched.

 

[Norwood]

Part of me feels like I should have pursued a transplant over 2+ days, so the grafts weren't out my head for as long. My main thought on this, however, was that the clinic is not a hair mill and if they're prepared to do the surgery in one day then surely it isn't to the detriment of the outcome or graft survival.

As you say, the clinic would've known what they're confident doing and advised you on that basis.

At 9 months I personally would be expecting more than what you have seen considering the amount of grafts used. Have they said why they think things haven't progressed?

 

[My2021story]

I'm at the 9 month mark after receiving over 4,800 grafts - the most extensive procedure the clinic had ever done as of Feb. I completely understand that a large area was covered in one surgery and I wasn't expecting any absolute density from the procedure but after having 12,000 hairs moved from the back of my head to the top of it, I feel like I'm currently seeing 30% of these and it's worrying me. My hair was very thin before and it's a bit better now for sure, but definitely not 4,800 grafts better as of yet.

I expressed these concerns to the clinic and Dr. Arshad said that I'm "a bit behind on progress" than what he'd expect at this stage. I underwent PRP at the clinic recently for no extra cost after it had been suggested by Sommiya. She has been amazing through all of this.

The surgery itself was obviously very expensive, at over £13,000 although I feel like if many more hairs and grafts don't come through the real shame will be the waste of a more finite resource - the grafts themselves.

All I can do at this stage is take fin, apply minoxidil and hope for the best.

I also had 4,800 grafts last November so identical to you.

your growth for this stage looks very low indeed, hopefully things will improve but at 9 months you should be seeing more.

I do wonder if the “mega sessions” are part of the problem- trauma to the scalp and time out of the body.
I’ve not really found many other posts of single procedures as high as 4,500+ Grafts. Many of the most renowned clinics are not doing such large surgeries so does make you wonder…..

 

[Hemingway]

I had a transplant early in 2021. I have had a reasonable amount of growth but nothing near a satisfying result. know hair transplants aren't magic but this is obviously far below reasonable expectations. I did take note of several poor results on the forum and indeed other forums also and this is very obviously a trend. I was offered a top up if I am not happy at 12 months (which I will clarify with the clinic should be free of charge) along with PRP on the day.

I will reserve final judgement until my second transplant but if I could go back in time I would go somewhere else. Baldingman sings the praises of the clinic in every thread on this forum but that cannot hide the fact that a lot of results have been very poor.

 

[SheddinStevens]

@My2021story could you possibly upload before and after photos similar to mine?

Sadly Sommiya text just to call the pictures I posted on here disingenuous. I really can't do any better than same angle, place, same camera, lens and camera settings.

 

[TBH]

Hi mate, first of all i'm sorry to hear you haven't had the results that you wanted.
Unfortunately, I don't think that your 9 month results justify the 4800 grafts that have been used, and yeah whilst you can't have a full head of hair with that amount, you would expect a tangible difference.(frontal third can be done with 3k grafts at a half decent density, and the crown with 2000)

I agree, whilst the money is always a factor, the loss of grafts is far worse!

Back when I was researching at the start of January, up until the surgery at the end of July, The hair Dr looked like one of the best, most consistent clinics around- not just in the UK. The results displayed on this forum and others were fantastic.

Hard to say what's happened-
- Is it the doctor? (Do you need longer than 4-5 years in the industry to master the art of hair transplants on a consistent basis?)
- Are the hairs/ grafts being harvested correctly?
- Quality of the hair with a lot of his patients( a lot of people aren't really good candidates, but I think he operates on most people if they insist)
-Do a lot of us have unrealistic expectations when it comes to density?
-Experience of the techs? ( I think currently, the one who has worked there the longest has been there for about 14 months- they're all lovely but do you need more time in the industry to master things? idk)

There are probably loads of other factors.


I have a few threads open detailing my experience:

First Surgery:

2000-grafts-to-the-front-dr-arshad-10-month-progress-update-density-lacking

Latest Thread:
dr-arshad-hair-dr-1800-graft-second-pass-surgery-and-slight-lowering-of-hairline.

Also what are the rules on sharing posts from another forum? I have a few threads that will help illustrate the illusion of density question. It probably isn't fair to judge one surgeon's work, in this case the hair dr, from patient pics in harsh light and unstyled, compared to clinics pictures that are in flattering light and styled in the best way.

We could do with seeing the after photos from your procedure?

 

[TBH]

@My2021story could you possibly upload before and after photos similar to mine?

Sadly Sommiya text just to call the pictures I posted on here disingenuous. I really can't do any better than same angle, place, same camera, lens and camera settings.

Is the hair style in the 9 months photo the one you would rock in public? No hair parted to the side?

 

[SheddinStevens]

Is the hair style in the 9 months photo the one you would rock in public? No hair parted to the side?

Thanks for your input man! I don't have a lot of time to reply just now but I'll dig out my post op pictures this week for you. I looked back on them earlier and thought they'd really not filled in the mid-scalp or temples any more than the crown on the frontal part of my hairline, which were both denser before the surgery.

Every couple of days I wash my hair, throw salt spray in it and dry it in and forwards, which are all to make it look denser. You can barely tell its thin when it sits like this and thankfully a good friend is an awesome stylist who cuts it in a way that makes this style work. A little toppik helps as well!

 

[Dave_2022]

@My2021story could you possibly upload before and after photos similar to mine?

Sadly Sommiya text just to call the pictures I posted on here disingenuous. I really can't do any better than same angle, place, same camera, lens and camera settings.

The clinic messaged you to say that??
They are clear before and after pictures in the same setting so as fair as they could be.

We have seen multiple failed results from the hair dr over the last 12 months, something is definitely not as it was. I definitely think techs have something to do with this- they play an important role in achieving a good result and if they are all inexperienced then this will impact things.

there are an absurd amount of "top up's" being needed.

 

[Helpwiththehair]

Hello guys.

Quick point of interest to add.

I have been reading through the various patient journeys, and many who have had ops with the Hair Dr all seem to say the same thing to begin with, which is they are always told an extra 500 grafts would be better on the day.

Do you think this is pure coincidence, and do you know of anyone who has not been told this?

Just something I've picked up on reading through others stories.

 

[My2021story]

@My2021story could you possibly upload before and after photos similar to mine?

Sadly Sommiya text just to call the pictures I posted on here disingenuous. I really can't do any better than same angle, place, same camera, lens and camera settings.

I’ve documented my process in a detailed thread but will add further updates next week as will be at 12 months

 

[Dave_2022]

Hello guys.

Quick point of interest to add.

I have been reading through the various patient journeys, and many who have had ops with the Hair Dr all seem to say the same thing to begin with, which is they are always told an extra 500 grafts would be better on the day.

Do you think this is pure coincidence, and do you know of anyone who has not been told this?

Just something I've picked up on reading through others stories.

I also picked up on this. If done free of charge then no issue but if they are charging extra on the day then this wouldn't be right

 

[Baldingman23]

They have a 10% +/- each way so if you paid for 4000 graphs and had 4200 it would be free

 

[Helpwiththehair]

I also picked up on this. If done free of charge then no issue but if they are charging extra on the day then this wouldn't be right

It seems to be every patient. This cannot be a coincidence? Does everyone really need the extra 500?

 

[Dave_2022]

It is strange that many patients appear to be told they will need more grafts on the day compared to The quotation given at point of consultation.

Clearly this could put patients in a tricky situation – either pay the extra money to get the result you had hoped based on your original consultation, or if you are unable to afford extra grafts then you are potentially being told that you won't get the desired result , based on the grafts you had originally been quoted on being insufficient. (An extra 500 grafts is paid for would be an additional £1500, which is a lot of money)