Progress so far...

I decided to write this post to summarize the progress so far.  So I created a collage of photographs from all months. Find below the month wise progress at one place to make it easy for comparison. 

I had my first haircut after 1 month post surgery. Visible progress started after fourth month. I never experienced any pain during and after surgery. Post surgery care is very important. Complete hair growth is expected in 12 months. The surgery doesn't restrict you from doing daily business. You can continue working but its good to stay away from pollution, dirt etc.
Choose a surgeon who is personally involved in the surgery and concerned about the progress post surgery.

(Please read the previous posts in sequence if you are serious about the transplant.)

Nine Months after Surgery

After nine months, I am able to comb, oil, have haircut, color and anything else that I could do with my hairs before loosing them couple of years back. 

Off lately, I started paying less attention to the hairs because of work pressure. But it is actually helping. Since 8 months onwards are the actual months where growth happens, it is in my favor not to pay more attention to the hairs thus reducing expectations. I let them grow naturally. 

My routine of applying Minoxydil daily and oil once in a week continues.

The small bald patch still worry me. But it is now almost hidden behind the grown hairs.  Also the small triple and double stranded hairs have grown little further. So may be in next 2 months, I should see the area covered.

Unfortunately I am yet to visit the doctor. My doctor visits the place where I got my surgery done only sometimes. So I have restrictions to meet him. Thats why I recommended (in previous post) to prefer the surgery at the main clinic so as to have regular follow ups.

If you are reading my blog for the first time, then I would advice to also read previous posts to understand different phases of hair transplant decision making and hair growth after surgery.

Thanks. Have healthy hairs!!!

FAQ - Things to note before and after Hair Transplant

During last 8 months since I started writing this blog, I received many queries regarding hair transplant. So I decided to write a FAQ post. This post is a summary of all previous posts. The answers below are based on my personal experience. So please consider them as reference only.

1. Which hair transplant procedure should I select?

There is no rule as such for selecting the type of procedure, but in general, if you need large number of hairs to cover up the bald area (more than 2000), then its better to go for FUT method (strip) and if smaller area is to be covered ex. a bald patch, then its good to go for FUE (one by one hair extraction and implantation).

Still, your doctor will suggest based on your situation. Some doctors suggest to go for FUT as there is chance of follicle loss during FUE since hairs are extracted with some punches without any view if the root is getting damaged inside. This is avoided in FUT as the roots are separated rom each other under a microscope. During my decision process, I decided to go for FUE for most of the time but ended up undergoing FUT. My fear was the scar on backside. But fortunately,  the scar doesn't show up if you keep hair length more than 3-4 mm.

2. How to select the doctor/clinic?

This is very important part. From my point of view, select a clinic where a large number of surgeries if performed daily. 

This is because experience of performing a surgery counts. Every clinic specialized in Hair Transplant tries to attract patients based on a STAR doctor. That is their USP. But the doctor himself never performs the complete surgery. His assistants (who are not necessarily doctors) are involved throughout the surgery. The STAR doctor only performs the important parts like hairline or strip stitching etc. 

So its better to select clinic with high density of surgeries daily so that you are in safe hands even if the main doctor is not involved completely during surgery.

3. What should I clarify with the doctor before surgery?

This question is related to above question. You should clarify how much time the doctor will spend with you during the surgery. Insist on more time with you.

You should also confirm the action the clinic will take in case the results are not good after 8-10 months. When they are charging huge amounts, you should ask for guarantee of the results. Discuss how follow ups will be done post surgery. 

4. What should I be aware about? (Marketing gimmicks)

Do not ever fall pray to the confidence boost gimmick. Your confidence is within you and not based on your hairs.

Some doctors provide an option of reducing the surgery cost if you allow to be filmed during surgery. They will use that for advertising. It's up-to you if you go for it. I found it not so attractive option. They use your surgery as a training for the students. So if you select this option, be very specific that the surgery should be performed without intervention from trainees. 

5. What care should I take after the surgery?

Eat well, follow healthy lifestyle, take sound sleep, do some Yoga, stay away from pollution and keep calm. I would say these practices will help maintain good health which will lead to success of your hair transplant. I am not a doctor to advise this but my experiences says these practices compliment the hair growth.

6. What to expect in 1 month after the surgery?

Do not expect transformation in 1 month. You will see transplanted hairs falling out by 1 month.

My experience was that the single stranded hairs did not fall. They were transplanted in frontal part. In fact they are still growing after 8 months. The double and triple stranded hairs fell. So you can go for hair cut after 1 month so that you have uniformity on the head.

You original hairs will grow faster than transplanted hairs. So you can have a haircut to make whole length equal. The cut on doner area heals quickly. By 1 month, the pain is gone and scar starts disappearing. It is advisable to stay away from pollution during this period. Better to stay and work from home.

7. What to expect in 2 to 9 months after the surgery?

By 9 months, you should change in appearance.

In my case, since the single stranded hairs never fell, they grew to full length. The double and single stranded hairs have also started growing but still very small. I suppose by 12 months, they should be up.

You can have haircut at usual intervals as you have now. But special attention should be paid to the haircut as hairs grow with different lengths in different areas on head now.

If you have to attend a function or a ceremony or party, you might have to use Hair Fibers to look fine. Else you might become talk of town there. But its case by case and not applicable to everyone.   

8. What is hair style dilemma after the transplant.

Well I explained this already in last question. Since the hairs are growing at different lengths on head, you have to be careful while having haircut so that you look uniform in the hairs. I used to call it as hairstyle dilemma.

9. Should you inform friends and family about your decision?

I would suggest to do your homework well and decide based on your conclusions. Do not ask everyone weather its good for you or not etc questions. Its good to be away from regular place while the hairs are growing. But its not possible for everyone. Try to keep IN so that you don't have to explain to everyone meeting you. Remember that you decide to go for HT for yourself and not for others. So don't be responsible for explanations.

Take the Hair Transplant as a 1 year challenge and take every effort to make it successful. I told above that doctor should give guarantee about success. But its equal responsibility of you to take every possible care post surgery.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I will try to answer based on experience.

Eight Months after Surgery

I am here at eight months milestone. I would say the appearance is presentable but would rate it 6 out of 10 from expectation point of view.

Till last month, I was not in India. I was in Canada. but now I am back in India. All my friends and family members were surprised to see me. Not many of them knew that I had a transplant before traveling. So they tried to pull and confirm if my hairs are genuine. It was in my best interest not to be in India during these growth months. Otherwise I would have had tough time explaining to friends had I decided to keep hair length long.

Though the confidence boosts with head full of hairs, real confidence is in your attitude. So even if you have bald head and do not have enough budget for transplant, behave confidently and don't feel embarrassed. The good appearance after transplant is visible only to you. Others see it as normal because for others, it is something which is anyways supposed to be there - Hairs. So don't fall pray to the advertisements from hair transplant clinics. Do it only when you have enough budget with extra money. I am just writing this from my experience.

See below my current progress. I am worried about the bald patches highlighted below.Need to show this to the doctor. The  patch visibility is reducing month after month but still the patch is there. Its on both sides on temple areas.

As I told in my last posts, very small hairs can be felt on fingers in the bald patches. I suppose these are the double and triple stranded transplanted hairs.If so, then it is evident that they fall right after transplant and start growing after 7-8 months. See a better view for them below, If they grow completely in next 3-4 months, then my patches will be gone and head will look full. Even if they look not so dense, I feel many of them when I move my finger around.  Please note that the below photo is taken very closely.

I did not talk about donner area and strip stitches for long. Here is the current situation there. The stitches are barely visible. I don't feel any pain. Even if I will keep hair length small, I think it should be fine.

Smaller dots can be seen if carefully observed. I suppose if I go bald, then probably it is possible to identify the strip. But now I am not worried about it. After 8 months its almost gone. So it should be completely invisible in 2 years more.

So this is my progress so far. Thanks for reading my blog. Please let me know if I should write about any other detail. Till then, happy growth!!!

Seven Months after Surgery

(Please don't worry about the date when this post is published. I am publishing 6-7-8 months progress altogether. But I had taken photos at respective time)

7 Months. That’s it. This is little more growth than 6 months but still with same issues – lower density and bald patches.

It shows steady growth.             

I am visiting India next month. And I have a plan to meet the doctor and I am counting on it. Basically I need to confirm if the current growth is appropriate, I will be relaxed and will keep waiting for few more months in case I get assurance from the doctor.

When I move my fingers through my scalp in transplanted area, I feel small hairs growing in the bald patches, but they do not count when it comes to appearance yet. I hope they grow sooner J J

After the transplant, each hair seems so valuable that even a single hair fall hurtsJ. So I try to take utmost care of them - not exposing to sun/air/ dust, applying oil once a week without fail, applying minoxydil daily, eating healthy food etc.

But in reality, I am getting inpatient now as I wanted to start combing my hairs after 6 months. But still it’s not useful completely. So one day, I used a hair fiber on the hairs just to see how it looks. To my surprise, it works. I won’t leave hopes till 1 year, but in worst case, I need to use hair fibers for some time. See below a picture with hair fibers. I used very little fibers to see how it looks.

(This picture with little hair fibers)

I never want to suggest to use any artificial substitute for hairs but since the bald patches are distinctively visible, it might be necessary to use until they are hidden by hair growth. Another way to avoid this embarrassment will be to cut the hairs to smaller length (6-7 mm).  Then you do not see your final appearance until you let them grow.

The bald patches might not be an issue for everyone who undergoes the transplant. But I would suggest to discuss this with the doctor before signing the transplant. In fact you can make a deal with him to perform another FUE in case there are bald patches visible after 6-8 months.

Six Months after Surgery

Sorry for the long long delay in putting this post. I holding it to put up more updates at the same time. So here you go - 6th, 7th  and 8th months progress at the same time.

6 months is the first milestone where considerable growth is expected. Some doctors claim that results are shown after 6 months, but in my case, it’s not true as you can see on the images below. I have good growth for the hairs which have grown, but missing on some parts. A successful hair transplant is the one where hairs grow with good density and no bald patches left in-between. If one of them does not happen, then the appearance is worse.

I think that growth of the hairs (in general) is dependent on the healthy food and healthy lifestyle and also to hereditary factors. Same applies to the transplanted hairs also. So merely getting the transplant does not mean that we solved the problem. We need to take care of hairs forever.

See the current growth. I am disappointed by the lower density of the hairs in frontal part. Also bald patches on temporal areas are concerns.

I discussed this with the representative from clinic. They advised me to visit the clinic once I am back in India and also told me that they will do something about the lower density. I am not sure what action would that be, but I suppose they should perform another small FUE to correct the current situation or may be some medications. However, it all depends on the results after 1 year as that’s the complete growth cycle as per my clinic.

I am hoping that when the hairs grow more, the bald patches will be hidden in the bushes. But if it doesn’t happen, then I will have to use hair fibers till I do something about the patches.

I would advise to talk to the doctor in advance and confirm what action they will take in case of such issues. The clinic and doctor should be accountable for the complete cycle of Transplant and growth. Because they charge very high amount so they should remain responsible till the end and guarantee the growth.

Once more observation, I was thinking that Minoxydil from all companies are same. It’s the base medicine that matters. But it’s not true. My previous brand was very much suitable for me. When the stock finished, I had to purchase a new one from local medicine shop. But suddenly my hair fall increased. So I just stopped it and bought a new one from Canada. It’s the best so far. No hair fall, and no dandruff.

Five Months after Surgery

Hello, its almost 5 months now post my HT. The implanted hairs are stubborn i.e. they do not  grow at faster rate. So I am also stubborn. I am not having haircut even though it looks uneven on the head :)

There is not much difference between forth month and fifth month results. When I look at the hairs closely, I get disappointed as they do not look very dense. But that is what I was told to expect after 4-5 months.

In below photo, take a closer look at the hairs. You can magnify and see. Its a collage for left, right and top view. As you can see below, there are smaller gaps in hairs. They have not grown equally at all places. In fact you can see some small bald patches. Upon checking very carefully, you can see tiny hairs growing in the bald patches. But they seem to be not enough to cover up the area fully. This is  a thing to worry for me. I haven't discussed it with my doctor yet. But I am keeping fingers crossed that probably the hairs from front and back side would cover up these patches in 2-3 months. And also the smaller growing hairs would complement that when they grow fully. But if you are planning for transplant, do confirm this with the doctor. Basically if you see my photos from older posts, you can observe that these patch areas are not filled with very high density during HT. So probably its done on purpose by the doctor. Anyway, since my HT is done already, I can only wait for the results. But you should confirm it with the doctor.

At this stage, I think if I get a hair trimming of 5 mm all over, it would look good as transplanted part has hairs of that length. But I wont have it. I would wait for further growth. 

Here is the side view:

I apply the minoxidil daily twice. They have suggested it for 6 months. One side effect of that is the itching on head. But now I am used to it :) I also apply hair oil once a week to avoid drying of skin.

Though I am religiously following all the precautions suggested post surgery, I would expect some follow up calls from the doctor. But unfortunately it never happened. If you are planning for surgery, do ask about it to the doctor because when you pay such a huge amount, you should get good response till the 1 year incubation period is over for results.

Anyway, all the best if you are planning surgery soon. Happy hair-care and hair growth!!!

Four Months after Surgery

I was operated in August 2015 end.  Now it's been 4 months post surgery. Though not very considerable, but I can see some change now.

                                                  

I decided not to have haircut. Just trimming the overgrown hairs on the side near ears. This is to understand how long the transplanted hairs will grow. One thing is clear - either you keep trimming all hairs to smaller length so that the difference is not visible as the transplanted hairs grow slower than hairs on other part of the head. Or else you can leave them as they are if you can manage the answers to questions your friends will ask about the difference :). I chose the second option from this month. With second option, the scar is not visible. But you can decide as per your case.

Before surgery, I read somewhere that the transplant pains in very cold weather. But that's not correct. I am in Canada now with extreme weather upto -30 degrees but I can hardly feel it on my transplant.

One more observation is that I still have transplanted hairs. Not all of them had fallen. So they have grown to good length now. I also see many new hairs coming up slowly. They are thicker but still very small. So if I check from top view, I see some patches of baldness. It looks like the first layer of single stranded hairs have not fallen so grown long but the double and triple stranded hairs had fallen so growing slow.

I still have 8 more months to go before I can be happy or I can complain as it takes 1 year to see the full growth.