Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

4 Year I had always wondered what happened to these "hair bloggers" after one or two sad entries immediately following their procedure or the ones who made it through an entire year update and then just disappeared.  I can't speak for them, but in my case, following my last 1-year entry, I have moved on with life and am VERY, VERY happy with my situation.  I am the guy who doubts everything and can be pretty critical in these types of situations but I can say without a doubt that I couldn't be any more pleased with my decision.  Clearly, the top of my head and my facial appearance were transformed.  But honestly, I think if there were a way to take a picture of my brain, the changes would be just as profound.  It's almost hard to remember the daily angst of working with my hair in the morning, worrying about windy or rainy days, dreading haircuts, the dread of seeing old friends, or the general unhappiness with my appearance - which I had always felt fine about but had that feeling taken away completely.  I really did not realize how much confidence I had lost over the years.  But I had and it wasn't a great situation.The procedure and recovery were not a piece of cake.  I was extremely worried that I had made a mistake and would have (foolishly) "undone" it over those first few months if I had the chance.  What a mistake that would have been.   I have always had it pretty good and made good decisions in business and in life but having this procedure and doing it at H&W was one of the best decisions I have ever made - top 5 :).   That may sound like an overstatement but I was at the point of thinking of my life in terms of... "Well... I'm already 40 and pretty soon I'll be 50 and then it won't really matter but by the time I'm 60 which will be here before you know it, my baldness really won't matter and I'll look older and it will be more natural, etc."  Was I just looking to hurry up and get through life because of my hair?!?!?  WTF.  Sounds crazy but that was pretty close to where I was.Since my last update 3 years ago, my feelings about the procedure have only grown more positive.  I think a big hurdle for me was getting use to seeing myself with hair.  My hair "poofed" up A LITTLE during that first year but now lays as naturally as can be.  The density is fine.  It's not as thick that of an 18 yr old, but it 100% solves my problem.  The hairline is fine.  I know I said earlier that I felt like there were some doubles in the hairline that were noticeable but with some perspective now, I think that was me just getting use to having a hairline.  My barber swears that he (or any other barber) would be unable to detect any sign of a procedure at this point.  People who I was sure would notice (e.g. my brother who I see once or twice a year and would DEFINITELY say something) haven't uttered a peep.  It's natural.  The density solves the problem 100% (matter of fact, I have started using a little conditioner lately because the hair in the front tangles pretty badly coming out of the shower - lol.  "Problems").  My confidence is back and I am totally happy.  So there is your 4-year update!There is nothing that I would change about the procedure.  If I had more hair to give (which I don't think I do) and could wave a wand, I might add some to the crown (which we didn't address) or the temples.  But really, hair is not my problem anymore and it's not something I worry about. I was too skeptical of "blogs" like this to make a decision about whether to do the procedure.  What put me over the top was meeting two people who had procedures, one from H&W (looked great, I couldn't believe it) and one done out of Nashville (not as good but still not bad and showed me a transplant was a real solution).  Either way, I hope my experience helps anyone like me whose having a difficult time with their hair and this decision.  If it's really bothering you, THERE IS A SOLUTION!I will take some picture later today to mark the exact 4-year mark and put them up sometime this week.  Edit:  Pictures added a couple weeks late.   

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

1 Year <p>Miracle!  Survived and moving forward.  Thought I would give a recap of my entire experience, with 1 year's perspective.</p> <p>Pre hair transplant - I was at the point of being embarrassed to see people that I handn't been around in a while and at times avoidant of some types of interactions.  I really had begun to view myself differently from who I believed I really was and who I should be.</p> <p>The Actual HT Experience - Call me whatever you want but certain aspects of the this were more difficult than I anticipated.  Leading up to it, I thought I was ready emotionally but I wasn't and I don't think I ever could have been.  I had never had any type of operation and when the Dr. says - "OK, hop up on the table [so we can begin slicing your head ear to ear]", it's a little unsettling.  Also, the pain from the shots was not anything to sneeze at.  That S$%$ hurt!  However, the physical pain factor from that point wasn't too bad and sitting in a chair all day having the procedure wasn't so bad.  From that point, the greatest duress was emotional - seeing yourself physically transformed (and not in a good way at first) and then stressing if this suddenly crazy idea was going to workout OK was tough on me.  I had heard of "a little redness" and "you might have to wear a hat for a couple weeks" (from other HT patients) but this stuff was more serious than that - for me.  Luckily, I am in a position where I was able to get away with wearing a hat for a few months or I would have been in trouble!  [Special note to physical pain, taking the staples out at the 14 day mark was quite painful also, although my wife and I finally wised up and applied some topical anesthetic (for bee stings?), which made the process bearable]</p> <p>What I have learned - First, if I were getting a first-time HT, I would avoid doing it in "stages".  The large session at H&W might have been more difficult (I really don't know how it would compare to a smaller session), but better to take your medicine all at once than to spread it out and have to go through the healing process 2 or 3 times.  Next, in doing a large session, I can't imagine going to a place where the Dr. took the strip, poked the holes AND inserted the follicles.  I think the way H&W has it set up is right - Dr. does the strip and pokes the holes - TEAM of EXPERIENCED techs ROTATE throughout the day placing the hairs.  No way, IMO, could this be consistently done well any way short of this.  Third, I would avoid any combining of multiple follicles into a single insertion if possible - except naturally occuring doulbes, etc. off of the hairline.  Fourth, I would DO MY HOMEWORK and take nothing into consideration when making a decision except for one thing: where will I get the best result.  Cost, distance, travel, inconvenience, etc. don't mean a damn thing when you're being slice open and your look is being transformed.  All that matters is getting the very best result possible.</p> <p>My results - I am happy.  My quality of life and my self confidence has improved.  I no longer feel the need to avoid pictures or certain social situations.  I feel like I can see my old self coming through.  I am generally OK with my density.  I know the "top" pictures don't look great but I don't feel like those shots, from those angles, with outdoor lighting are a realistic factor for me.  I think it's OK.  My hairline is fine.  I kind of battled the Dr. to make it a little more conservative than he was originally going to make it.  We kind of compromised and I think it turned out fine - can't say I would bring it out or push it back if I had the choice.  My biggest disappointment would be two things:  One, the angles of some of the hairs (especially on the left side) cause them to stick straight out (seems like) and make the hair a little tricky to manage.  Two, there are some doubles in the hairline with can give away that there has been a procedure, IMO.  In the grand scheme of things, however, those issues are outweighed by the positive and, again, I am happy I did what I did.</p> <p></p>

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

11 Months Actually, this is 11 months and about a week.  Again, not much to report at this point.  I would say my hair is getting somewhat more manageable as time passes and I am getting more comfortable with how it looks.  I was recently home for the holidays and was surprised by the overall lack of notice.... or at least lack of comments... People who I expected to notice and comment (at least to my wife), did not - as if family and friends have more to think about than MY hair - preposterous!  Haha.  I will say that the one person who really reacted (after not having seen me in about 4 years), blathered on about looking great, looked like I was "20 years old".  She never zeroed in on the hair and I don't think that she realized that was the difference, but it was an interesting reaction (Looking "younger" was never my issue - just not looking bald, but I guess I'll take all the positive I can get).  We even had to take a family photo and for once (in a long while), I was not boarderline bitter about standing in front of a camera.  It's funny how differently pictures look from how I view myself in the mirror.  In the mirror, the new hair still appears to cover too much ground... too aggressive on coverage.  But the pictures look fine in that regard.  I guess I'm still adjusting to the new look.  I will say that the pictures look right to me and I wouldn't change the coverage - just interesting that my 1st person eye is still adjusting.  I've got to say that the problem of balding is a hugely smaller factor in my life and my psyche and for that I am thrilled.  It's easy to forget how psychologically debilitating my hair loss was becoming and although my hair is not perfect now, it certainly goes a long way toward solving this problem.  The "Top" picture below still doesn't look great, but that is not the way I feel my hair looks - "Front", "Left" and "Right" are more representative - in my mind.  Really, you can make pictures tell very differenty tales based on lighting, angles, etc. Numbness improving but still there - although not much of a factor.  Still no issues with the scar.  Got one more update at 12 months and then maybe a follow-up after another year or so.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

10 Months Pictures tell the tale.  Everything going pretty well.  There hasn't been a lot of change for a few months that I can tell, although I assume and hope that some new hairs have continued to sprout.  I'm still feeling my way through haircuts and how to approach the length and blending the new hair.  I have realized that it is important that I not let the hair grow too long.  I usaually feel really good after a haircut because shorter is better, and the hair just seems to manage better after a cut.  I have a fair amount of temple recession so I don't think my hair overall looks quite as good or natural if the top gets too long - just have to balance that with looking thinner because longer hair gives better coverage.  People also seem to notice a change more when the hair is longest, just before a cut (I have been getting cuts once a month). The scar from the donor area is a non-issue asthetically.  There is still a fair amount of numbness but it is definitely getting better - slowly but surely.  Also, I still have some issue with getting the hair to lay properly (tends to "poof" up a bit due to the angles of some implants, I think), but this month, especially after the most recent cut, it seems to be laying better. Overall, I feel pretty good.  The best time is when I'm meeting people for the first time and I know they have never seen me without hair.  I feel that it completely changes my look and I look much better - like I should have all along.  It's just amazing what a big impact hair makes to your look.  I still get a little iffy around people that haven't seen me in some time, but know me without hair - that's something that I'm sure will fade with time.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

9 Months Doesn't feel like things have changed much with the 9 month mark.  My biggest issue at this point is just getting the hair to lay down properly.  It seems like it wants to poke straight up, especially on my left side.  I have a little routine when getting out of the shower where I will mat my hair down flat while it is still very wet (it tends to poke up even when it is left to its own devices even when wet) and allow it to dry naturally.  Then, before it gets too dry, I style it a bit, put a some spray on and, for the most part, that keeps things looking OK.  I definietly feel like the angles the hairs protrude from the scalp make it somewhat difficult to manage at this point, but I am hoping that that will adjust over time (my barber said it looked like they were sticking almost straight out, especially on the left side). That said, I know I have come a long way and one of life's major problems has been put on the backburner.  That is a huge relief.  I still think things look a little better in the pictures, except the "top" shot below which makes my scalp look very thin and patchy and I feel like that looks worse than reality. Still plenty of numbness in my scap but I believe the recovery time for that was up to 18 months.  Not a huge deal, but will be nice when that phase ends. Overall, happy with my progress to this point.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

8 Months 8 Months in the books.  I feel like my hair has pretty much fully grown in.  Maybe there will be some additional thickening, but I'm not counting on it.  Overall, I'm feeling good about my hair.  I especially feel better when I am meeting people for the first time.  I still have a bit of hesitation about seeing people who know me but haven't yet seen me with hair, but that's not a big deal.  The overall desnsity looks better in the pictures for the most part and I definitely need to be careful about how I wear my hair - for instance, if my hair were to blow back so that it's not brushed down, then you can still see through the transplanted area.  That's not really an issue though.  I just put a dab of spray on it in the morning and it stays pretty manageable.  The transplanted hair also "fluffs up" a bit and I have to go through my little routine in the morning to keep it down but, again, this is manageable.  Really, these issues are about a 3 on the problem scale, compared to a 9 before the procedure so it's hard to complain. I had a haricut at the beginning of August and another one at the beginning of September and after each one I have felt better about my hair.  Not sure why that is but I'm looking forward to my next haircut! Numbness above the donor scar and in the recipient area is still a bit annoying at times but it's getting better.  Overall, doing well.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

7 Months Month 7 in the books and feeling good.  If I wore a hat in the last month, it was just to keep the sun off my head, but not due to any insecurity over my hair.  The really surprising thing has been how few comments I have gotten, which is a great relief.  There are a few people in this world who I dreaded facing because I knew I was in for a "funny" comment, but it hasn't happened.  I had the one "Rogaine" comment a month or two ago, but nothing notable since.  I guess people just don't notice and don't care.  Another striking thing, to me, is how different I feel like I look in the mirror compared to pictures.  I'm still a little self conscious in the mirror, but I feel like the pictures look good - so I still take a lot of pictures with my phone just to remind my weak little mind that everything is OK - haha.  I can't tell that anything new is coming in.  Maybe I was lucky and everything came it fairly early in the process... or maybe I'll be really lucky and will continue to improve.  Either way, I feel like I have hit the threshold where my problem is mostly solved.  I still wouldn't want the wind to blow my hair back as I feel my hair might not look quite right and I still have some trouble getting my hair to lay down the way I would like as it normally would (I brush it down wet to let it dry a little flatter and then use a little spray one it dries).  However, the balding thing was a MAJOR issue and now it is not.  I feel like the governor has just commuted my life sentence.  Wow, what a miracle!  Confidence is slowly reemerging.    Still some numbness that especially feels odd when laying my head on a hard surface but I think it is improving.  Overall, I am happy and glad I had the procedure. 

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

6 Months Another big month.  My big goal at the beginning of this month was to ditch the hat and feel comfortable going almost anywhere without it.  This has pretty much been the case.  I have been quite pleasantly surprised that almost nobody seems to notice.  I have a lot of friends and aquaintances and I was certain that they would zero in on it immediately but for the most part I don't even notice their eyes going to my hair.  What a relief!  One of the first times I took the hat of I went into a bigbox store and felt like I was walking on air because, of course, nobody noticed or cared about my hair.  I have noticed a few friend's eyes darting up to my hairline and have received one comment about "Rogaine" but for the most part.... nothing.  The better my hair looks, the less I care if anyone notices anyway. One minor obsession that started in month 5 and has continued thru month 6 is taking pictures of my head at different angles with my camera phone.  I would imagine that I have taken several hundred pictures or short videos in the last 45 days.  I am still not 100% comfortable with the way my hair looks in the mirror but somehow the different picture angles are reassuring. I'm not sure if new hairs are still coming in or not.  I do not notice anything and am preparing myself that what is growing in is all I will have.  Before the procedure I thought pictures made my hair look worse and now I think pictures make it look a little better.  It's like a forest that has had the undergrowth cleared out but the canopy still gives good coverage.  Still, I am happy with my progress and feel like it has been a success to this point.  (One interesting bit of math is that average human hair grows 1/2 inch per month which is 0.4mm per day.  If I received 8,000 new hairs, that's the equavalent of one 10 foot long strand of hair scattered about my head adding coveage each day - sorry but I couldn't help myself.) Still plenty of numbness in recipeint area and above donor scar, although getting better.  I still need one more haircut to even things up a little.  My hope for month 6 is that the my hair will begin to lay down a little easier and help with styling and that density will continue to improve.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

5 Months Month 5 was another good one with lots of progress.  I still have my list of concerns and worries but I am definitely moving in the right direction and my sense of hope has strengthened.... and actually, as I am posting this update, I looked at my 4 month update pictures (last month) and realize how far I have come - I was feeling pretty good last month and have made a ton of progress since then.  Just keep it coming! Couple of good things happened this month.  First, about the middle of the month I finally cut off the reminants of my ridiculous comb over hairs (there really wasn't much to them and it didn't provide coverage anyway - bald man's security blanket, I suppose).  Anyway, that was liberating.  The next thing that happened was that I finally got my second haircut since the procedure.  This was about 10 days ago and I was able to have the lengh of the sides and back cut to a length that matched the top/front (recipient area).  This was big but still did not motivate me to immediately ditch the hat, which I have been wearing since the procedure.  Neverthelss, it has allowed me to gradually experiment with going "hatless" which has gone well.  A couple buddies who knew of the procedure both independently said that it looked good - just like I was thinning on top.  A female who I work with and who does not know of the procedure seemed surprised to see me without a hat and later commented that I needed to ditch the hat.  Overall, I think the updated pictures look a little better than reality.  Again, lighting and angles really determine how good things look, IMO, and in the wrong lighting at the wrong angle, things can still look pretty sparce.  However, I am only at month 5 and hopefully I have 7 more months of progress.  One more month of progress like the last might leave me in pretty good shape. My barber said that he could still see the one fingertip size spot on the right and one on the left from the donor scar which did not have hair growing in.  He said it was improved but still there.  I still haven't made an effort the find the patches and don't really care - I can't imagine they will ever be an issue, even if they never fill in.  The numbness above the donor scar and in the recipient area continue to improve and are still slightly annoying at times and oddly uncomfortable at others, but this is a very minor issue. As I said, heading into month 6, I still have some concerns but hope the progress continues.  My hope is that by the end of the month, I will be comfortable without the hat in almost any situation and that the density and naturalness of the hairline continues to progress.  Overall, my spirits are way up.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

4 Months Month 4 was big.  From about the 3 month 10 day mark to the 3 month 20 day mark, it seemed like everytime I looked in the mirror, my head looked different.  Just as the grafts all fell out about the same time, a lot of them seemed to grow back.  Coverage is still thin and see through but my hope is that I still have 8 months of progress ahead of me - existing hairs will grow longer and improve coverage and hopefully new grafts will continue to sprout. Angles are the important thing at this point.  From the front (and somewhat from the left side), coverage appears thin because you are looking into to flow of the new hairs.  From the right side, coverage appears better because you are looking along the flow of the new hairs.  Every now and then I will catch a glance at just the right angle and coverage looks pretty good.  I have still had only one haircut since the procedure - back in early April.  Thus, the new hair in the front is shorter than the hair on the side, top and back so things still don't look great.  I am still wearing a hat  whenever I go out of the house but as soon as the new hair get a little length to them (2 or 3 weeks?), I will revisit the barber and see if he can blend things together.  Maybe at that point I will be ready to take the hat off. The redness is less of an issue as the new hair comes in due to some coverage of the recipient area, along with natural healing and reduced redness over time.  Also, having a bit of length in the front to break up the hair line helps.  Donor area is not really a problem.  During my April visit, my barber said there was one finger tip sized spot on each side of my head that had no hair.  It's not really an issue to me at this point but I will be curious to see if those spots have begun to fill in.  No real pain in donor area, plenty of numbness although that is improving.  Least of my concerns in the donor area. At this point, I just want the hair to grow in and look right.  I am definitley feeling cautiosly optimistic.  Fingers crossed.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

3 Months Overall, to this point the process has been more difficult than I thought.  I still haven't been out without a hat and that is not even debatable (in my mind) at this point. Donor Area - Finally, got a haircut about two weeks ago and the good news is that I have very little concern regarding the donor scar.  My barber said he noticed two spots, one on the left side and one on the right side, where it looked like there was a bit of a gap of hair, but he cut it about as short as I will ever want it and I can't really tell anything (although I haven't looked too carefully, wife says it's fine and that is good enough for me at this point).  Still a little itching (which I avoid scratching) and tenderness along parts of the donor scar - usually noticable when I lay my head down. Numbness - I haven't heard a lot of comments on this but the numbness to the recipient area and the area above the donor scar is a pretty significant experience, especially right after surgery, but can still be bothersome at times.  I feel like it's getting better (feel some tingling and itching) as the feeling of numbness is less intense but this is something that I am looking forward to getting past.  Not a huge issue overall, but worth mentioning. New Hair Growth - Noticed at the 2.5 month mark when washing my hair that the recipient area felt different to the touch, kind of smooth and satiny.  Light hairs growing in!  I have just a few prickly hairs (like whiskers) and the vast majority are like "baby hairs".  This is good, although my major concern is just how the final product is going to look.  Up close, as in the pictures, the redness does not appear to be that big of deal, but when you step back and look from any distance, the red line is very distinct across the my forehead.  Feel some hope that I am thru the worst of it but still concern about how things will end up.

Apples

Bald class: 5

Procedure 1

2 Months Surviving the 2 month mark...  Still haven't had a haircut (wouldn't you know it, my trusted barber is out with hip surgery) although I still haven't been out without a cap on so I guess it doesn't really matter.  Still don't feel like there is any way to go out without something on my head.  The redness is way too distinct and things just look odd at this point.  I was expecting, based on what I have read from others, to bottom out around the 3 month mark, so I'm not surprised by my current state but that doesn't change the reality of the situation.  The scar feels better to the touch - I can't really tell any difference in the scar area with my fingers.  I haven't spent much time looking at the scar in the mirror because my hair is so long that it's really a non-issue and it's just one less thing to think about.  Wife has looked closely at the scar and she is confident that it looks good and should be fine.  Still a little bit of tenderness (in spots) when I lay my head down but other than that it is not a problem. Overall, my greatest concern is that the final result will look odd or unnatural when it grows in.  There is just no way, in my mind, to know how this thing is going to turn out.  The best thing for me is to look at other H&W patient blogs and just keep my fingers crossed that those results will be my reality when this is all said and done.  Fingers crossed.