Hair transplant diary (ongoing)

Iwantcoffeenai · 07-12-2020 11:15pm

Monokne wrote: »

Disappointed in what sense? The hairline? The thickness?

They refused to fill in temples so still have receded hairline look. I also wouldn't have minded some grafts in the crown but they refused to do that too. I am on finasteride and Regaine so that should help keep the hair I do have.

Monokne · 07-12-2020 11:25pm

Out of curiousity, if they didn't do your temple or your crown, where did they put the hair?

Monokne · 07-12-2020 11:26pm

iebamm2580 wrote: »

5 months is way too early to have a result, wait until at least 10 before making a judgement.

Agree broadly - but he should be able to see and judge the actual hairline itself clearly enough.

iebamm2580 · 07-12-2020 11:34pm

Monokne wrote: »

Agree broadly - but he should be able to see and judge the actual hairline itself clearly enough.

after 5 months i had nothing noticeable, it was 8+ before i really thickened up, all individuals are different however, like op here had great results at 5 months.

Iwantcoffeenai · 07-12-2020 11:56pm

Monokne wrote: »

Out of curiousity, if they didn't do your temple or your crown, where did they put the hair?

They increased the size of my forelock considerably without going all the way to the temples.

Iwantcoffeenai · 07-12-2020 11:58pm

Monokne wrote: »

Agree broadly - but he should be able to see and judge the actual hairline itself clearly enough.

Yeah I feel like I can judge the hairline at this stage. It has grown very quickly. I think the Minoxidil has increased the rate it has grown in.

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-12-2020 12:01am

iebamm2580 wrote: »

5 months is way too early to have a result, wait until at least 10 before making a judgement.

I can see the way the hairline in growing in though that's the thing. I understand it will thicken up more but it will still be the same shape.

Monokne · 08-12-2020 12:55am

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

They increased the size of my forelock considerably without going all the way to the temples.

Strange. Was that agreed before you went in?

I found with my transplant, the consultation was relatively vague, but once he actually drew the hairline on, the day of the procedure, and I could see what he planned, I had my chance to weigh in. He had not brought my hairline much further forward and as I was getting a small job to begin with I pushed back. In the end he only moved it a little bit and to be fair, I feel he was right when I look at how it's growing in.

But I just find it curious as I feel like if they were doing the job they should have been aware before you were lying on the table of what you were after. Sorry to hear it's not gone as you planned.

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-12-2020 1:02am

Monokne wrote: »

Strange. Was that agreed before you went in?

I found with my transplant, the consultation was relatively vague, but once he actually drew the hairline on, the day of the procedure, and I could see what he planned, I had my chance to weigh in. He had not brought my hairline much further forward and as I was getting a small job to begin with I pushed back. In the end he only moved it a little bit and to be fair, I feel he was right when I look at how it's growing in.

But I just find it curious as I feel like if they were doing the job they should have been aware before you were lying on the table of what you were after. Sorry to hear it's not gone as you planned.

I trusted what they were doing and I did question it but they would not budge. It's hard to know what you are doing as noone really openly talks about hair transplants I guess it will be a small job just to touch up the temples but it's frustrating. I have booked a consultation next month with another clinic to get a second opinion.

Monokne · 08-12-2020 1:10am

Feel free to post a pic of the hairline so you can get others opinions - it may not be as bad as you perceive it!

08-12-2020 5:23pm

Desmond Full Conduit wrote: »

I didn't think that covered elective cosmetic procedures?

Edit:

"7.10. Hair restoration
Hair transplant treatment for androgenetic alopecia, (known as female and male
pattern baldness), is considered cosmetic in nature, (see Paragraph 7.9), and is not
regarded as the provision of "health care". Accordingly, tax relief is not due in
respect of expenditure incurred for hair transplant treatment in such cases.
However, other forms of alopecia, such as scarring alopecia, are different from
androgenetic alopecia and must be considered separately. Scarring alopecia, for
example, arises because of inflammation or infection of the hair follicles, which
results in hair loss. Where ailments such as scarring alopecia are treated with
medications to heal the scarring, tax relief can be allowed for the expenses incurred
for the medications and the services of a medical practitioner. Hair transplant
treatment for scarring alopecia, may also qualify as the provision of health care, if
it can be shown that the transplant treatment was not cosmetic and was undertaken
for the treatment of a congenital abnormality, a personal injury or a disfiguring"

Thank You!

That answers it anyway!

HBC08 · 08-12-2020 10:34pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

They refused to fill in temples so still have receded hairline look. I also wouldn't have minded some grafts in the crown but they refused to do that too. I am on finasteride and Regaine so that should help keep the hair I do have.

If you have a pic throw it up on here or pm,youll get honest opinions.
Did you not discuss temples and crown before sitting in the chair?

Dellboy2007 · 08-12-2020 10:48pm

I must be missing something when it comes to HOI. I hear other people say their results are great and I’m in shock. Not sure what the criteria is for judging a hair transplant these days but I would take the view that a natural looking hairline, one that you cannot tell has been reconstructed, is the most sought after.

With that being said, I wouldn’t be going to Turkey. For €2.50 a graft you can get world renowned surgeons such as Dr Bruno in Portugal. If I was going to Turkey, maybe I’d do HCL but he is same price as Bruno. Just my two cents.

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-12-2020 11:19pm

HBC08 wrote: »

If you have a pic throw it up on here or pm,youll get honest opinions.
Did you not discuss temples and crown before sitting in the chair?

Here you go.

Monokne · 08-12-2020 11:31pm

To be fair it is not particularly high. Just a few cm away from where you'd want it. I can understand that irritating you.

I am so baffled they wouldn't do it. What does your age have to do with it? Really strange.

HBC08 · 08-12-2020 11:47pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

Here you go.

Looks good to me,very similar to my own!
Very important to get an age appropriate hair line (I dont know what age you are btw)
You can always have it lowered but i wouldn't mess with it,looks like tidy work also.Who did it? Apologies if this has been asked before

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-12-2020 11:51pm

Monokne wrote: »

To be fair it is not particularly high. Just a few cm away from where you'd want it. I can understand that irritating you.

I am so baffled they wouldn't do it. What does your age have to do with it? Really strange.

Their reasoning is that my temples may recede further in the future. I started finasteride 6 months ago so this should help to stop me losing anymore hair.

Monokne · 08-12-2020 11:52pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

Their reasoning is that my temples may recede further in the future.

But that is possible whether you are 32 or 42

It looks grand though.

HBC08 · 08-12-2020 11:54pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

Their reasoning is that my temples may recede further in the future. I started finasteride 6 months ago so this should help to stop me losing anymore hair.

That's not a valid reason on their part.
Who did you go with?

Monokne · 08-12-2020 11:55pm

I believe he said MHR?

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-12-2020 11:55pm

HBC08 wrote: »

Looks good to me,very similar to my own!
Very important to get an age appropriate hair line (I dont know what age you are btw)
You can always have it lowered but i wouldn't mess with it,looks like tidy work also.Who did it? Apologies if this has been asked before

I'm 31. To be fair it does seem a tidy job but the only thing that annoys me is the gap at the temples. It's hard to find the right way to "hide" them when styling. I don't think it would be a big job filling them in. Don't get why they didn't even fill them in a little bit.

Dellboy2007 · 08-12-2020 11:56pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

Their reasoning is that my temples may recede further in the future. I started finasteride 6 months ago so this should help to stop me losing anymore hair.

What is your donor area like? You need to consider the impact of a second HT on your remaining donor area, especially if you are young.

Iwantcoffeenai · 08-12-2020 11:59pm

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

What is your donor area like? You need to consider the impact of a second HT on your remaining donor area, especially if you are young.

They took 1600 grafts from it. I'm told average person has about 5000 to use. I'm on finasteride and Regaine.

Monokne · 09-12-2020 12:01am

If you do go abroad for your top up, Cinik is your man.

Iwantcoffeenai · 09-12-2020 12:05am

Monokne wrote: »

If you do go abroad for your top up, Cinik is your man.

How many grafts do you think it would take? Do you think I'm maybe am just being too much of a perfectionist?

I don't want to name clinic by the way i got my procedure done sorry.

Monokne · 09-12-2020 12:11am

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

How many grafts do you think it would take? Do you think I'm maybe am just being too much of a perfectionist?

I don't want to name clinic by the way i got my procedure done sorry.

My job was solely to improve my temples and I'm not much older (36) so while you might be a perfectionist, I can't really judge you on that!

I had 2300 grafts. I wouldn't say you'd need more than 1200 - 1500 for such a small job. I was a bit further back than that.

Iwantcoffeenai · 09-12-2020 12:25am

Monokne wrote: »

My job was solely to improve my temples and I'm not much older (36) so while you might be a perfectionist, I can't really judge you on that!

I had 2300 grafts. I wouldn't say you'd need more than 1200 - 1500 for such a small job. I was a bit further back than that.

I argued with them to fill in the temples but they wouldn't budge. There's no doubt there is going to be a massive improvement in my hair and thats only 5 months of growth. Are you on finasteride? I'm on it 6 months and I think it has improved my crown slightly.

Monokne · 09-12-2020 12:31am

Your hair looks good man. But I know when you pictured it looking like X and it looks like Y that must be a frustration!

I am on finasteride yeah. Just a preventative measure really. Hope it's doing something

Dellboy2007 · 09-12-2020 12:45am

Be careful when estimating grafts. Someone with low caliber hair (or what most people call thin hair) and those with straight hair require a lot more than someone with thick hair caliber and curly/waved hair.

The biggest mistake people make on the hair transplant road is seeing someone else who got X amount of grafts and assuming they will get same result with same amount of grafts. Every situation is unique and I wouldn’t be relying on someone’s estimate online who has seen one photo with your hair pulled back.

Dellboy2007 · 09-12-2020 12:53am

From Dr. Nel’s webpage:

From this example it is clear that a small change in hair follicle radius, creates a large change in caliber. We have calculated in hair restoration that if the caliber of the hair shaft changes with more than 10 microns, there is a 36% volume effect. The average persons’ hair shaft caliber is around 68-70 microns. If for example the caliber goes down to 58 microns, then literally 36% of the persons’ hair is not visible, although all the hair shafts are still there. This happens because the total hair shaft volume has gone down. So this person has lost hair volume.

A relatively straight hair shaft or straight and short hair shaft does not provide much scalp surface cover. You will need many of those types of hair shafts to create any density at all and it will essentially be ineffective in the end.

https://www.hair-skin-wellness.com/androgenetic-alopecia-causes/

2nd Row Donkey · 09-12-2020 6:48am

Iwantcoffeenai wrote:

Here you go.

Hair looks good but they really messed up your eyebrows mate.

AmirPelavin01 · 09-12-2020 7:55am

did they say how long will the entire process take? I hope it will be effective for you. wishing dgoodluck for you on that brother. I know there are lots of successful transplants before, I hope you are a success as well.

Iwantcoffeenai · 09-12-2020 8:25am

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

Hair looks good but they really messed up your eyebrows mate.

I thought the eyebrows looked natural

Iwantcoffeenai · 09-12-2020 8:28am

AmirPelavin01 wrote: »

did they say how long will the entire process take? I hope it will be effective for you. wishing dgoodluck for you on that brother. I know there are lots of successful transplants before, I hope you are a success as well.

Will take a full year for everything to grow.

at9qu5vp0wcix7 · 10-12-2020 2:13pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

Here you go.

This looks way better than a super low straight-edge hairline discussed earlier in the thread. It looks like you have good density and will be able to maintain that hairline. A conservative approach is better than overharvesting and it wouldn't take much to bring in the temples and contour them in to your new hairline.

Iwantcoffeenai · 10-12-2020 2:28pm

Desmond Full Conduit wrote: »

This looks way better than a super low straight-edge hairline discussed earlier in the thread. It looks like you have good density and will be able to maintain that hairline. A conservative approach is better than overharvesting and it wouldn't take much to bring in the temples and contour them in to your new hairline.

Yeah it's made a massive improvement already. So tempted to just fill int he temples though.

Dellboy2007 · 10-12-2020 2:59pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

Yeah it's made a massive improvement already. So tempted to just fill int he temples though.

Your case sounds quite bizarre. I’ve never seen or heard of someone having a hair transplant and only getting the middle of their hairline done. When they outlined the hairline to you did you not feel you could speak up then to say something? May I ask have your temples receded much more than when you were a teenager? Would you say that you’re only looking to restore them to as near to what they were? I see a lot of people nowadays bringing hairline lower than it ever was and it looks ridiculous.

LegacyUser · 10-12-2020 3:14pm

Been following this thread for quite some time, I had an FUT procedure carried out about 6 years ago with c.2500 grafts implanted mainly on the front, at the time I knew I would most likely need a second round as I my crown was thinning and I didn't get anything done in that area at the time, flash forward to tomorrow and I'm off to Turkey to hopefully get it sorted once and for all.

Mainly looking for the crown area to be filled and increasing the density in the mid and frontal areas as I can really see the difference with the density of my natural hair which has continued to recede and the remaining transplanted hair from the previous surgery.

Feeling extremely nervous about this trip but reading about others experiences here with the same clinic i've booked gives me some reassurance. I will keep you posted on how it goes for anyone interested.

Wish me luck!

Iwantcoffeenai · 10-12-2020 4:39pm

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

Your case sounds quite bizarre. I’ve never seen or heard of someone having a hair transplant and only getting the middle of their hairline done. When they outlined the hairline to you did you not feel you could speak up then to say something? May I ask have your temples receded much more than when you were a teenager? Would you say that you’re only looking to restore them to as near to what they were? I see a lot of people nowadays bringing hairline lower than it ever was and it looks ridiculous.

I did challenge them but they refused saying it would not look natural and I could recede further. My temples receded rapidly when I was 16 and have only moved back very slightly ever since. It's the forlock that got smaller and smaller over the years. I trusted them but now I'm not so sure. Feel like they could have improved the temples even a little bit.

Dellboy2007 · 10-12-2020 5:09pm

Iwantcoffeenai wrote: »

I did challenge them but they refused saying it would not look natural and I could recede further. My temples receded rapidly when I was 16 and have only moved back very slightly ever since. It's the forlock that got smaller and smaller over the years. I trusted them but now I'm not so sure. Feel like they could have improved the temples even a little bit.

I would complain. Tell them it’s not what you asked for. You’ve been very polite having not named them so far. If they had done that to a lot of other people they might not be so lucky. They might even offer to do the temples at a reduced price / for free (doubtful but worth a try). If you were happy with the grafts they did place then this might be a runner.

at9qu5vp0wcix7 · 12-12-2020 1:43pm

anonafue wrote: »

Been following this thread for quite some time, I had an FUT procedure carried out about 6 years ago with c.2500 grafts implanted mainly on the front, at the time I knew I would most likely need a second round as I my crown was thinning and I didn't get anything done in that area at the time, flash forward to tomorrow and I'm off to Turkey to hopefully get it sorted once and for all.

Mainly looking for the crown area to be filled and increasing the density in the mid and frontal areas as I can really see the difference with the density of my natural hair which has continued to recede and the remaining transplanted hair from the previous surgery.

Feeling extremely nervous about this trip but reading about others experiences here with the same clinic i've booked gives me some reassurance. I will keep you posted on how it goes for anyone interested.

Wish me luck!

Were you using finasteride after that first transplant?

TheQuietBeatle · 12-12-2020 3:31pm

Do I definitely need a visa for entering Turkey? It seems we're excempt in Ireland entering as tourist but have seen different reports online.

Monokne · 12-12-2020 4:48pm

I didn't have a visa.

LegacyUser · 14-12-2020 1:42pm

Desmond Full Conduit wrote: »

Were you using finasteride after that first transplant?

Yeah I had been taking it for a couple of years before and a solid 1-2 after then I got inconsistent and took the HT results for granted and of course saw further miniaturisation of the hair I had originally held onto, was not hugely noticeable but I could tell the difference.

Anyways quick update I’ve just returned from
Istanbul today in total they ended up doing 4132 grafts with a very high number having multiple follicles they also took some donor hair from my beard to not over harvest the donor area. To be fair to the guys who’ve previously posted about the day of the surgery it’s pretty spot on, it was like a conveyor belt these lads have it to a science. In terms of the op itself I went for the DHI method and the surgery took about 9 hours to say I was wrecked and in a lot of discomfort would be an understatement I literally went straight to bed when they got me back to the hotel I managed to get a bit of sleep the first night but night 2 (last night was pretty bad) awake now about 28 hours but the thoughts of an early flights from Turkey didn’t help things. Home now and just did my first self wash, the clinic did it yesterday.

Right now I have quite a bit of swelling which I’m hoping will die down over the next days but expect it to be a little worse when I take off my head band tomorrow and the blood / remaining liquid they pumped into me has somewhere to flow. The implant area has scabbed over and these should also clear up over the next week or so.. overall I’m feeling quite good. I’m looking a bit Frankenstein ish at the minute but fingers crossed it’s all up hill from here. Being honest I think this surgery was far tougher than my FUT a couple of years back but the copious amount of alcohol over the years may have blocked the real memories out 😂

Will keep ye posted of any developments with the healing process and share some pics too

HairySalmon · 30-12-2020 5:23pm

Doing some research as I want to get HT done around October next year. Found a blog for the top 5 clinics in Istanbul.

I’m looking for quality over the cheapest option, so I don’t mind paying in the upper bracket. Has anyone here got any experience with the below clinics?

https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2020/03/24/top-five-hair-transplant-clinics-in-turkey/

at9qu5vp0wcix7 · 30-12-2020 10:06pm

HairySalmon wrote: »

Doing some research as I want to get HT done around October next year. Found a blog for the top 5 clinics in Istanbul.

I’m looking for quality over the cheapest option, so I don’t mind paying in the upper bracket. Has anyone here got any experience with the below clinics?

https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2020/03/24/top-five-hair-transplant-clinics-in-turkey/

I would take that article with a pinch of salt - very little in the way of objectivity. E.g. no mention of it the surgeon performs the procedure

DaveClarke17 · 02-01-2021 1:21pm

HairySalmon wrote: »

Doing some research as I want to get HT done around October next year. Found a blog for the top 5 clinics in Istanbul.

I’m looking for quality over the cheapest option, so I don’t mind paying in the upper bracket. Has anyone here got any experience with the below clinics?

https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2020/03/24/top-five-hair-transplant-clinics-in-turkey/

Hey mate,

I have done a bunch of research on clinics in Turkey, using hairloss conquerers Facebook group (you should join) and i have never heard of any of them so as mentioned be careful with articles, very easy to pay someone to give you good publicity. I have booked in with FueCap in March as I believe they are a good bang for your buck. I am paying 4k for 4k grafts. There are cheaper clinics but I really like the results they have put out. HLC are regarded as one of the best in Istanbul but I think they are like 2.5 euro a graft

Mongfinder General · 02-01-2021 1:38pm

DaveClarke17 wrote: »

Hey mate,

I have done a bunch of research on clinics in Turkey, using hairloss conquerers Facebook group (you should join) and i have never heard of any of them so as mentioned be careful with articles, very easy to pay someone to give you good publicity. I have booked in with FueCap in March as I believe they are a good bang for your buck. I am paying 4k for 4k grafts. There are cheaper clinics but I really like the results they have put out. HLC are regarded as one of the best in Istanbul but I think they are like 2.5 euro a graft

Hair loss conquerors is a great Research tool. What I notice about the group is that the vast majority of posts appear to be positive and many of the posters have had surgery done in Istanbul.
The posters usually post before and after photos as well as progress updates for the first year. What you don’t see enough of is what the patients head looks like after year 4,5,6.
This is what we need to consider long term. Long term maintenance is key.

Dellboy2007 · 02-01-2021 8:46pm

DaveClarke17 wrote: »

Hey mate,

I have done a bunch of research on clinics in Turkey, using hairloss conquerers Facebook group (you should join) and i have never heard of any of them so as mentioned be careful with articles, very easy to pay someone to give you good publicity. I have booked in with FueCap in March as I believe they are a good bang for your buck. I am paying 4k for 4k grafts. There are cheaper clinics but I really like the results they have put out. HLC are regarded as one of the best in Istanbul but I think they are like 2.5 euro a graft

Seen some quality hair transplants from HLC on that FB group you mentioned. Just to note they are actually in Ankara rather than Istanbul. Just saying this in case anyone was considering it and looking at flights. At €2.50 I would also consider Dr Bruno Ferreira in Portugal. I guess at this price range you’re not saving that much (depending on number of grafts) when you have Dr. Nel at €4 in Ireland and not having to pay for flights/hotel etc.

DaveClarke17 · 03-01-2021 12:31am

Anybody ever use webdoctor to get a prescription for finasteride?

This is the link
https://www.webdoctor.ie/pages/hair-loss-finasteride

Hair transplant diary (ongoing)

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