My hair transplant journey

darkgen · 16 Oct 2022 at 09:12

Yikes, I can only imagine how painful that was or would rather not! What are the practicalities here with respect to keeping it as incognito as possible during the next several months / year. Ok to wear headwear etc? Ok to shave periodically as the new hair follicles grow out in order to keep the style universal, assuming the hair will grow at different speeds due to blood vessel placements.

Participant · 16 Oct 2022 at 09:19

darkgen said:
Yikes, I can only imagine how painful that was or would rather not! What are the practicalities here with respect to keeping it as incognito as possible during the next several months / year. Ok to wear headwear etc? Ok to shave periodically as the new hair follicles grow out in order to keep the style universal, assuming the hair will grow at different speeds due to blood vessel placements.

Pain was minimal after the anesthetic injections, which weren't fun but weren't awful. By far the worst part has been the first week of recovery, which has featured scalp itching and terrible sleep.

Practicalities are that I work from home mainly so I main excuses to be at home for two weeks, by which time the scabs should have fallen off and it should just look like I've buzzed my hair...is the plan.

If anyone notices / comments I don't care anyway, as I'm intending to leave my current employer as soon as I can find another job that pays enough.

Can wear loose-fitting head wear now but not tight caps etc.

Can only scissor cut for 12 months - no clippers - was the instruction from my clinic. There are differing opinions on this and almost every clinic has slightly different advice on what you can and can't do and when. I'd imagine a razor would be OK but I'm just going to trim it with scissors when needed and let it grow.

SideWinder · 16 Dec 2022 at 13:28

Looking to start a journey...browsing shampoos and saw this article:

The Best Shampoo for Thinning Hair Helps Men Reach Their Fullest Potential

The hair loss ingredients—and formulas—that will give you the best shot at combatting thinning hair.

www.gq.com

R+Co BLEU thickening shampoo and MD hair seem to be good - any other experiences?

Browsing through the thread now but getting confused with what is prescribed and what is not...

Ah ha..just seen Nizoral.

Thekwango · 16 Dec 2022 at 15:03

SideWinder said:
Looking to start a journey...browsing shampoos and saw this article:

The Best Shampoo for Thinning Hair Helps Men Reach Their Fullest Potential

The hair loss ingredients—and formulas—that will give you the best shot at combatting thinning hair.

www.gq.com

R+Co BLEU thickening shampoo and MD hair seem to be good - any other experiences?

Browsing through the thread now but getting confused with what is prescribed and what is not...

Ah ha..just seen Nizoral.

you're avatar would seem quite apt given your failing follicles

dlockers · 16 Dec 2022 at 15:10

SideWinder said:
Looking to start a journey...browsing shampoos and saw this article:

The Best Shampoo for Thinning Hair Helps Men Reach Their Fullest Potential

The hair loss ingredients—and formulas—that will give you the best shot at combatting thinning hair.

www.gq.com

R+Co BLEU thickening shampoo and MD hair seem to be good - any other experiences?

Browsing through the thread now but getting confused with what is prescribed and what is not...

Ah ha..just seen Nizoral.

Just use this, half the price and does the same thing:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VHKW614/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Participant · 16 Dec 2022 at 16:33

@SideWinder My advice would be to ignore the fancy shampoos, they're next to useless, and take finasteride and minoxidil if you're serious about achieving anything.

There's a lot of fear mongering about finasteride, will my willy stop working etc., but read r/tressless for some normally sensible points of view.

Participant · 30 Apr 2023 at 17:56

Just about 7 months post transplant now...should be the start of the real improvements over the next few months. There are loads more hairs sprouting through now, so whilst I'm already very happy compared to before, it should keep improving for a while yet.

Before, March 2021:

Now, transplant + 7 months and 2 years of meds:

chipperhead · 1 May 2023 at 12:11

Looking great mate, should see some good thickening from now on

drakulton · 1 May 2023 at 12:49

chipperhead said:
Looking great mate, should see some good thickening from now on

Not with that large patch over his eyes he won't.

Participant · 15 Sep 2023 at 11:57

Here we are at D+11 months. Most of the improvements have probably already happened, although there are still some short hairs visible along the hairline and it can apparently keep getting better for up to 18 months.

Very happy compared with where I was:

Unfortunately my sides have greyed rapidly in the last year!

Still taking 5 alpha reductase inhibitors by the way.

Pants · 15 Sep 2023 at 13:19

I've shaved my thinning hair off and grown a beard, couldn't be happier with that choice.

It took me a while to appreciate it and adjust. I went shorter and shorter and found I preferred it each time. I went slow to not freak the wife or kids out.

Now when I look back, I probably look better now than when I had hair. I don't wet shave, just buzz it once a week. Another bonus is no need to go to the barber which I always found tedious.

If you still care about having hair though, fair play, results look good!

ivrytwr3 · 16 Sep 2023 at 09:38

Participant said:
Here we are at D+11 months. Most of the improvements have probably already happened, although there are still some short hairs visible along the hairline and it can apparently keep getting better for up to 18 months.

Get a trim you scruff.

(look very good!)

jigger · 16 Sep 2023 at 09:42

Rilot said:
As soon as I started to thin in my late 20s I just clippered the whole lot off.
Good luck with the transplant but I just don't see the point.

Like all principled men should IMO.

MatsyLR · 16 Sep 2023 at 10:05

Participant said:
Here we are at D+11 months. Most of the improvements have probably already happened, although there are still some short hairs visible along the hairline and it can apparently keep getting better for up to 18 months.

Very happy compared with where I was:

Unfortunately my sides have greyed rapidly in the last year!

Still taking 5 alpha reductase inhibitors by the way.

Looking like Mr Fantastic

drakulton · 16 Sep 2023 at 10:18

Participant said:
Very happy compared with where I was:

They do come with fitting instructions.

darkgen · 16 Sep 2023 at 10:36

Yeah; looks good. The most important aspect here is your happiness and confidence levels and less about validation from others or criticism from the baldies ;p

Ayahuasca · 16 Sep 2023 at 11:10

Not sure how much better the thin birds nest look, looks tbh. Should have roided up and bicced it

Maximum Triceratops · 16 Sep 2023 at 18:24

Great improvement but where did they take the transplant from, your ballsack?

Participant · 17 Sep 2023 at 08:25

Maximum Triceratops said:
Great improvement but where did they take the transplant from, your ballsack?

Lol yes it is a bit whispy. Hoping that calms down but if not, I tried shaving my head and whilst I liked it, I won't go into details it didn't go down well in my professional and social circles.

Ayahuasca · 17 Sep 2023 at 08:29

I honestly can’t think of any professional or social setting where people would care about someone being bald. You might get some mates taking the **** for the first few months but outside of that it just seems weird that people would care about something so common.