7 Years on, still going strong

A few people on various forums have asked about long term results and since it's my 7 year anniversary I thought I'd put in my .02 worth.

On March 18th 2002 I had my first procedure with Dr. Wong where he restored me back to a "normal" appearance. This after living for nine years with a bad grafting job where my hairline consisted of thick, ten and twelve hair mini-grafts. I had two subsequent procedures to add to the mix up to November of 2003 so I'm five and half years out from my last procedure.

Sx #1 2406 Grafts
Sx #2 2425 Grafts
Sx #3 2488 Grafts

Below is a collage of photos showing how my hair has held up. My hair in the final result, taken two days ago is with no product and no real effort at styling (obvious, I know). I wanted to show what it looks like with zero effort. It is not how I normally wear it at work.

My results have held up rather well. At first I was taking Proscar per Dr. Wong's instructions but then three years ago I switched to Avodart to see if I could get the increase in growth that others were getting. That didn't work so well for me. I had no increase in hair growth but I did have a decrease in my wallet so a few months back I switched back to Proscar. I experienced no side effects from either medication.

The only real scare I had was late last summer. I had a MASSIVE amount of dandruff rear it's ugly head and it made my hair thinner. Honestly I was pretty worried. No rhyme or reason as to why but it was impossible to get rid of. I tried about ten different shampoos with no luck then I found one shampoo that did the trick.

Those that know me know I do not endorse products, especially shampoos, because I believe(d) they were all the same. Polytar AF is my magic bullet. Not only did it get rid of my dandruff, it has made my hair, in Dr. Wong's words, "as good as it's ever been". If any of you have dandruff issues, this stuff is the bomb!

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3623/...24404be4_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/...f2c937ac_b.jpg

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Hey Joe,

I think people in the hair loss world sometimes forget everything that you've been through. These are some powerful images of hope for anyone who is living with the physical and emotional scars of an unnatural looking hair transplant. I’m so glad that you found Dr. Wong, and I want thank you for spending time in our community sharing your story.

Awesome Joe!:cool:

Looks great Joe I have been using polytar and TGel for over 25 years and I believe it really helped to hold on to most of my hair in the crown area.
I had a HT 10 Months ago and still get itching and numbness, polytar does help, but it is very agressive

Looking great Joe!

You're hair looks fantastic Joe, I read all about your hair history and it is
a sign of your great determination that you ploughed on until you got the result
you truly wanted and deserved !

I am getting a HT with Dr Hasson this month and the nerves are jangling a bit,
but looking at your kinda results I know it is a first class choice to go with H and W !

SweetC,

Thank you for the nice comments. It certainly was a wild ride for sure! Have you had your procedure with us yet?

I have also read about your story from your website.

I am only in my early 20s with NW2, so I cannot claim to have been scarred in a degree thats even close to what you've been through, but I'd like to thank you anyway as examples like yours have helped me to really educate myself about hairloss/HT, and also have a sense of comfort in knowing that while I may be losing hair, there is always a way to do something about it and that I'm not completely hopeless.

Thank you!

-FCK (Follically Challenged Kid)