Hi everyone,
I have a question about the dreaded ugly duckling phase and the efficacy of topical finasteride.
My story is this: I just turned 39. I was losing hair badly. I was a Norwood 5. From the side and from the front, you could tell I was thinning, but from the top, it just looked horrible. I finally took the plunge and booked an appointment for a hair transplant with Hasson & Wong. Surgery went just fine. It's been a month.
I'm now watching all of those precious grafts, many of which continued to grow after being transplanted, rapidly shedding over the last couple of days. It's just heart-breaking to watch my scalp return to the way it was before. Actually, it looks worse now, because I have less hair on my head than I did before my surgery.
I'm sure you've heard that H&W offer a topical finasteride, which you can only obtain with a prescription if you are one of their patients. (They are working on a new formula, which is apparently just as effective as the oral version and the current topical, but which, after being applied, appears 16 times less in the bloodstream than the oral version. But that will not be available for another month.)
I was not on finasteride in any form prior to the surgery. After my surgery, I was given a prescription for the topical, but was told not to apply it for the first two months.
I'm now wondering about a few things. I would appreciate feedback from the veteran members of the forum.
1) Should I have gone on the oral prior to my surgery? Would it have made a difference to the ugly duckling phase?
2) If I begin applying the topical after the second month, how long will it take before I start seeing the effects?
3) I have read that the ugly ducking phase lasts 3 months. But what does this involve? Will the shock loss be noticeable during the first 3 months? Can it be covered by native hair before the first 3 months are over? My shock loss is looking pretty bad and it has me really worried. At what point will I return to my pre-op hair? 2 months 3 months?
4) I'm a teacher, so I have the summer off. I had my procedure done in early July. I've been wearing H&W's black baseball cap whenever I go out in public. I'm dreading the beginning of September, because school will be starting and I will still be in the ugly duckling phase. What can I do when school starts? How effective, really, are Toppik and Nanogen when you have no hair on your head or shock loss areas? How bad will it be at the 2 month mark compared to the one month mark?
5) Is it normal to be developing pimples in the crown 1 months post-surgery? My crown is by far the worst part. I have less hair on the crown than I did pre-surgery. It's just demoralizing when I look in the mirror.
Sorry for all the questions, brothers. I'm just feeling the worst of it now. I could really use your support.
Thank you.
I have a question about the dreaded ugly duckling phase and the efficacy of topical finasteride.
My story is this: I just turned 39. I was losing hair badly. I was a Norwood 5. From the side and from the front, you could tell I was thinning, but from the top, it just looked horrible. I finally took the plunge and booked an appointment for a hair transplant with Hasson & Wong. Surgery went just fine. It's been a month.
I'm now watching all of those precious grafts, many of which continued to grow after being transplanted, rapidly shedding over the last couple of days. It's just heart-breaking to watch my scalp return to the way it was before. Actually, it looks worse now, because I have less hair on my head than I did before my surgery.
I'm sure you've heard that H&W offer a topical finasteride, which you can only obtain with a prescription if you are one of their patients. (They are working on a new formula, which is apparently just as effective as the oral version and the current topical, but which, after being applied, appears 16 times less in the bloodstream than the oral version. But that will not be available for another month.)
I was not on finasteride in any form prior to the surgery. After my surgery, I was given a prescription for the topical, but was told not to apply it for the first two months.
I'm now wondering about a few things. I would appreciate feedback from the veteran members of the forum.
1) Should I have gone on the oral prior to my surgery? Would it have made a difference to the ugly duckling phase?
2) If I begin applying the topical after the second month, how long will it take before I start seeing the effects?
3) I have read that the ugly ducking phase lasts 3 months. But what does this involve? Will the shock loss be noticeable during the first 3 months? Can it be covered by native hair before the first 3 months are over? My shock loss is looking pretty bad and it has me really worried. At what point will I return to my pre-op hair? 2 months 3 months?
4) I'm a teacher, so I have the summer off. I had my procedure done in early July. I've been wearing H&W's black baseball cap whenever I go out in public. I'm dreading the beginning of September, because school will be starting and I will still be in the ugly duckling phase. What can I do when school starts? How effective, really, are Toppik and Nanogen when you have no hair on your head or shock loss areas? How bad will it be at the 2 month mark compared to the one month mark?
5) Is it normal to be developing pimples in the crown 1 months post-surgery? My crown is by far the worst part. I have less hair on the crown than I did pre-surgery. It's just demoralizing when I look in the mirror.
Sorry for all the questions, brothers. I'm just feeling the worst of it now. I could really use your support.
Thank you.
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