FUE 2,200 + PRP - Dr Bisanga - Aug 2013

[JohnnyDrama]

One month mark today guys, and all going to plan by the looks of it. Eventful weekend again......my first visit to the barber!!

My barber is the only other person who knows about my procedure, along with my parents and gf. Her first comment was that she always knew a short hairstyle would suit me......and then she inspected. She asked if hair was taken from the back of my head, and when I confirmed her response was "Wow". She said my head looks untouched, which is obviously good to hear from someone who looks at hundreds of scalps per week.

I got a 3-2-1, blade from top to sides.....just to tidy things up as was beginning to look a little scruffy. Think I'll be doing this every 2-3 weeks until December at least.

Went out for more beers on Saturday and met 4-5 other mates who had yet to see me, and again it was just p1ss taking from the point of view of my shaved head.

I have shed a LOT over the past week, which is to be expected. I'd say I have shed close to all, at least I hope so as I have some coverage right now, even though it is quite sparse. Buzzing my head was definitely the best option considering all my work was forelock/midscalp. People just getting hairline work could get away with it but with midscalp everything is better off going.

I'm definitely in the ugly duckling stage now though, but I'm glad that I'm nowhere near as traumatised as I thought I would be. Had planned all along on staying away from beer for Oct and Nov so as to financially recover from the recent hit too......so I dusted off the PS3 at the weekend and have GTA5 to keep me company (awesome btw)!

Have pics taken so will post later this evening.

[JohnnyDrama]

1 Month

[JohnnyDrama]

Just to compare, here are the immediate post-op clinics pics after my second day in the chair. 1,279 were placed on day 1 and just over 900 were placed behind on day 2.

[JohnnyDrama]

Again, these pics illustrate my diffuse/Ludwig pattern, and should be of interest to other diffusers!

I had absolutely no hairline work done whatsoever, or crown work. The work started just behind the hairline then addressed my forelock and midscalp area behind. I'm currently happy with my hairline. It is 'softer' on the left side compared to a slightly thicker right, but I'm happy with the position of the hairline itself. This to me is my optimal line, relatively mature but not too receded, and not too low to look silly for a 30 year old.

Regarding my loss pattern for the future, well it's pretty tough to predict, as most Ludwigs/diffusers are. If I ever get hairline work over the next few years, it will be to mimic/bulk up my current line if it is to get progressively worse.

The natural coverage of how my native hair fell pre-op, just goes to show how well it concealed my thinned mid area.......shown in these pre and post pics!

[JohnnyDrama]

Just to mention some changes in my own regimen recently:

I have changed to 0.5mg Fin daily. I was 1.25mg on MWF but wanted to reduce the dose but also have it daily for a more stable hit on my hormones. I noticed sides last year when also on Roaccutane and 1.25mg Fin daily but things have improved.

Also now using Rogaine 5% Foam every night.

Just bought Jasons Biotin Shampoo. It's organic and apparently less harsh on hair as it does not have particular sulphates that can damage hair (SLS). I will also restart on Nizoral once/twice weekly.

MSM 3000mg and Biotin 1mg supplements daily.

[Spex]

Great work documenting so well Jonny! Your transformation is going to be a great one to watch. You choose a stella Doc!

Grow well!

Regards
Spex

[drybone]

Johnny !!!!

I can't believe how detailed your diary is. Right down to the hair groupings!!!

I am starting my second transplant diary in about 5 minutes from now but stopped off at yours.

You look great dude.

Just in case I missed it, how old are you again?

It was how many grafts? 2200?

[JohnnyDrama]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Yes drybone, 2200 grafts. I'm 30 too. Best of luck with your 2nd ht journey!! I'll check out your write-up soon!

[Smokemeakipper]

Hi johnnydrama. We'll done on the HT, looks great.

So after 3 weeks you were able to go out without it been noticed? Apart from the buzz cut. That's the time frame I'd hope to achieve. The recovery time is whats stopping me at the moment. I'd want it to go unnoticed just can't decide how long off work to take.

I see you are using rogaine, do you actually use it on the forelock? Did you use it before the HT with any success? I've similar thinning to what you had but haven't tried rogaine yet because of the stories you hear about it making your hair line and forelock worse. Any feedback but be great.

Again, we'll done looks great

[JohnnyDrama]

Hi johnnydrama. We'll done on the HT, looks great.

So after 3 weeks you were able to go out without it been noticed? Apart from the buzz cut. That's the time frame I'd hope to achieve. The recovery time is whats stopping me at the moment. I'd want it to go unnoticed just can't decide how long off work to take.

I see you are using rogaine, do you actually use it on the forelock? Did you use it before the HT with any success? I've similar thinning to what you had but haven't tried rogaine yet because of the stories you hear about it making your hair line and forelock worse. Any feedback but be great.

Again, we'll done looks great

Thanks Smoke.....

Yes, I think the 3 week mark was the sweet spot for it to be undetectable to the untrained eye, in that recipient redness wasn't too obvious, and my donor just looked like I had a tight buzz cut.

Re Rogaine, I used it very intermittently pre ht but never with any true consistency, so I can't comment on how it affected me. I just hated applying the stuff! As of now, yes I apply to forelock. I apply to my entire recipient area, and to be honest I just apply it to my hairline now too (even though I technically didn't get any hairline work done).

My thinking was, I didn't want certain areas of my scalp being Minoxidil dependent in say 12 months time, and other areas not having touched the stuff. So I pretty much apply it to the front half of my scalp now. Currently doing it just at night, but will do x2 daily shortly. Applying it when hair is buzzed is so much easier and far less hassle, so I can easily see myself sticking to it. If something adds ammunition for the transplanted hairs to grow, then why not use it. It may also have a positive impact on other native/non-transplanted hairs in 4/5/6 months, so time will tell!

[Smokemeakipper]

Thanks Smoke.....

Yes, I think the 3 week mark was the sweet spot for it to be undetectable to the untrained eye, in that recipient redness wasn't too obvious, and my donor just looked like I had a tight buzz cut.

Re Rogaine, I used it very intermittently pre ht but never with any true consistency, so I can't comment on how it affected me. I just hated applying the stuff! As of now, yes I apply to forelock. I apply to my entire recipient area, and to be honest I just apply it to my hairline now too (even though I technically didn't get any hairline work done).

My thinking was, I didn't want certain areas of my scalp being Minoxidil dependent in say 12 months time, and other areas not having touched the stuff. So I pretty much apply it to the front half of my scalp now. Currently doing it just at night, but will do x2 daily shortly. Applying it when hair is buzzed is so much easier and far less hassle, so I can easily see myself sticking to it. If something adds ammunition for the transplanted hairs to grow, then why not use it. It may also have a positive impact on other native/non-transplanted hairs in 4/5/6 months, so time will tell!

Cheers, I might give it a go then. Got some bought but just haven't used it yet. I know what you mean about the rogaine though, I think it's just going to clog my hair up and make it too gappy. Prob just use it at night time.

So even though you've had your HT do you still have to use meds? Is this what the Drs recommend? You see I like the idea of having the HT so that's it, job done. Then only use meds if further fair goes in later life? Or is it generally excepted that even after the HT you need to use meds?

Cheers

[JohnnyDrama]

Cheers, I might give it a go then. Got some bought but just haven't used it yet. I know what you mean about the rogaine though, I think it's just going to clog my hair up and make it too gappy. Prob just use it at night time.

So even though you've had your HT do you still have to use meds? Is this what the Drs recommend? You see I like the idea of having the HT so that's it, job done. Then only use meds if further fair goes in later life? Or is it generally excepted that even after the HT you need to use meds?

Cheers

From what I gather, clinics just prefer their patients to be on meds because, from a cosmetic/hair retention point of view, they stand a better chance of looking good in the future instead of not using meds and becoming more susceptible to further loss.

Meds, from research, don't appear to be as important for transplanted hair. They are more important for the health of your remaining native hair. Minoxidil can promote quicker growth of transplanted hair, due to the fact that it encourages the blood to circulate better/quicker in the transplanted area than it would have if you were not on meds at all post ht.

I think the main aim of meds is to be proactive in the hair loss fight (take them when you think you are likely to suffer in future), as opposed to what you say in that you would like to use them in a reactive sense (only use once you notice more loss).

In an ideal world yes, like you, I would rather go with using no meds and spend the money on other stuff, but the reality is hairloss is progressive so since I've spent a lot on the ht, why not give my whole scalp the best chance of looking good for as long as possible.

[drybone]

If I had gone on meds earlier I might not have needed a hair transplant at all.

[JohnnyDrama]

6 Weeks

Well and truly in ugly duckling territory, but soldiering through.I have yet to wear a cap since coming home from hols which is also surprising! I'm also 3 weeks into using Rogaine 5% foam again, as well as recently adding Nizoral 2% back to the regimen......so on top of the winter period approaching, my scalp is probably going through several shedding attacks at once!

As you can see, my midscalp / recipient is very bare compared to the native around. Haven't yet got a chance to get to the barber again to get a 2" all over (contemplating a 1"). The sooner the better for me!

Donor feels in really good shape. Redness in recipient is pretty much gone at this point I feel, and hasn't really been as issue for me for 2-3 weeks now and even then it was mild. The PRP may have played a helping hand in this too.

If I get to the barbers over the next few days I'll get more pics. I intend on taking them in this location of my garden from now on so a more accurate comparison can be made periodically.

[JohnnyDrama]

2 Months

No real change as such so I'm hoping gradual improvements from here on in with my future monthly updates.

My gfs mum during the week told me I look so much better with short hair compared how long I had it and said "It takes years off ya". I laughed, and it's good to hear. Hopefully once the midscalp regrows, there'll be another few years to come off!

Another thing I'm glad to report on is that I haven't touched any concealer post op at this point. BHR suggest to try to go at least 3 months without it.....and to be honest, at this point I don't see me using the stuff for quite some time yet. Again, this is where I think getting the hair buzzed for surgery plays a massive advantage. Had I left some native hair (which originally I was hoping to), I think I would have been more tempted to use concealer to match things up. So on that front I'm very glad I buzzed initially and would highly recommend everyone to do the same for FUE (even if it's the last thing in the world you want to do - such as it was with me).