My 2000 FUE with Dr Ball, Maitland Clinic. April 2021

[SussexHair]

Hi, i'm James. I've been studying my hair loss and reading the forums for many years.

Next week i am having my FUE with Dr Ball and i wanted to document and share my experience with others as I've found other peoples blogs so helpful in making my own decision.

10 years of hair loss
I am 34 years old. I started to notice my hair falling out when i was 24.
I remember sitting at my desk at work and noticing large numbers of hairs on my desk, i didn't think anything of it at these early stages as it was not noticeable to look at.

At 25 it was becoming noticeable to me in the frontal area, starting to recede.
I researched this and started Regain foam twice a day. I have been sticking to that routine since, with only a short gap of a few months when my son was born 3 years ago and i lost interest in my hair for a while.

Over the past 10 years i have stuck with the Regain foam and 8 years ago introduced Nizoral (2% Ketoconazole) as my main shampoo.

My hair loss has been slow but i have not been happy with my hair for some years now. Always conscious of it and finding it very hard to cut and style to anything i am happy with.

I decided taking medication was not for me so that was a part of the discussions i would have with Dr's on what a safe and appropriate hair transplant would be for me long term.

I have been aware of hair transplants for many years, Elon Musk is claimed to have had surgery and i follow his work a lot and he acts as a reminder to me of what is possible.

My hair transplant journey begins
18 months ago i spoke to Dr Lupanzula (Belgium) when he offered a free consultation in London. The discussion and conclusion was promising and i decided a hair transplant was a) Suitable for me and my condition, b) Something i could afford and could not live without.

Fast forward and meeting with David Anderson and Dr Ball on the 25th January 2021, i immediately put my deposit down and 3 months later i am just a week away from my FUE.

The Maitland Clinic
I had my video consultation with David, he has a great personality, genuine, honest, not at all trying to sell you the procedure and he's been through it all himself. He's also worked in this industry a very long time and is well known. We agreed on a proposal to discuss face-to-face with Dr Ball.

The clinic is in a very nice building in Portsmouth. The clinic staff were welcoming and i felt very relaxed meeting here. It's also just 90 minutes from my home which is a bonus.
I first spoke with David and then Dr Ball joined us. I immediately liked Dr Ball, confident and honest and again no sales pitch. What i liked most was his long term approach to the surgery, not drawing a hairline that i would not age well into or require further surgery to look natural. I actually want a receded hairline, i just don't want to be bald on top! And without saying this, Dr Ball drew his proposed hairline and i immediately liked it. It was that moment i knew he was the surgeon for me.

We agreed approx 2000 grafts for the frontal/mid area i want to address. Leaving plenty for any future work should i want/need it.

The crown i am not worried about, day to day i never think about it, in fact its only when i see myself in photos, which always make hair loss look much worse in my experience!, that i really worry about it.

My Diary
I am going to keep a video diary of my progress as i think it will give a better representation over just photos. Pre-op link to follow shortly.

I look forward to updating everyone as my journey progresses!

Here are my starting photos! (Does anyone know how to rotate the photos please?)