Found a few VERY unflattering pictures from this past August (1 month Pre-HT)..but this was my starting point. I attached a few i took recently which is my 4 month mark.

Glock,

Looking good for only 4 months bro. I'm failing to remember your statistics, doc, grafts, hairs, etc. If you could post it here, that would be great...otherwise, I'll go find your original thread .

quote:

any easier way of taking a picture of the back of your head?

Yeah, have someone else take the pic

Falc

Looks very good for only 4 months! Will improve even more with time. Just curious, are you going to go for another down the road and is your donor up to it??

quote:

Originally posted by falceros:

Yeah, have someone else take the pic

Falc

Boy do I feel stupid..but then again..suturing a hairsystem to my head most likely out-trumps the picture comment.

Sorry guys..I should have started the photo album from the begging but just figured it out. When I cropped the pictures..they became miniaturized. I do have a weblog that shows the progression.

In short. Dr. True 1-2129 2-2168 a small number of 3-4's used as 1's and 2's -don't have an exact number. I wanted as much coverage on 1 pass as possible.

Nobuzz:
I am not expecting full coverage from this as I had (have) extensive baldness. I was under a rug for 18 years and had the HT 2 months after removing it.(wanted to get it done as soon as possible)...so I will never really know what would have grown back on it's own..although I suspect not much.

I do have donor supply left and my native hair is pretty dense. I know I have to wait approx: 1 year before accessing the situation of the HT/Propecia...but judging from most of the posts..I'll probably want another pass.

Thanks for the comments.
Glock08

Glock,

From one former "system wearer" to another, congratulations on slipping out from under the rug. You're doing excellent at only 4 months. Be sure to add a photo of you burning your hair system to your blog and this album :-)

Best wishes for continued great growth. Pat

quote:

Originally posted by Pat - Publisher of this Community:
Be sure to add a photo of you burning your hair system to your blog and this album :-)

Thanks Pat:

Instead of burning it…I was going to box it up and give it to my old partner (he’s totally bald) as a gift at his retirement party…but my wife wouldn’t let me. Yes…it’s nice to be liberated. More importantly, thank you for this valuable forum—and its many contributors. I was weeks away from having a HT without doing my due diligence. Chalk up another “save” for the Hair Restoration Forum!!!

Happy growing to you as well.
Glock08

AAAAhhh, girls don't get our subtle humor ....

Glock,
This is very nice for just 4 months. I like it.

Looking good, Glock. Glad to see things are coming in. Still much more growth and thicking to come so hang in there!

Your hair is looking very natural G8 nice face framing by your Doc. Good growth & thickening in next exciting months.

Thanks guys..I truly appreciate your time and value your opinions--especially during this waiting game.

Best growing to you all.
Glock08

Glock08,

It's been four months already?! How time flies. It's wonderful to see your progress. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes for a full head of hair. It won't take long now.

Question/concerns for the pros:

Can hair growth slow between the 5th and 6th month? MY HT appears to have slowed down over the last month while the hairs that did grow, grew longer. When I brush it straight back, or to the side, it looks ok—but thin. When I comb it forward, and take a birds-eye view, it’s rather depressing.

I have attached 6th month pics(posted in gallery)..sorry if some of the pics are blurry.

So basically, my questions are…
Is this normal and too early to worry?
How can I tell if all of the grafts have grown?

As always, I more than appreciate the advise and comments:
Glock08

Hi Glock,
You had a relatively small number of grafts covering a large area. You will have a bit of a thin look with that. Especially if I understand you correctly, your doctor split your 3's and 4's to create more coverage with 1's and 2's.

It is typical to have a rapid explosion of growth early (for some people) and then it appears to slow down after that. You are still early, and should expect more growth. It probably won't happen as fast now. You'll slowly thicken over the next 6 to 12 months.

What Gorpy said . . . .

In fact, everything he said.

If anything, I was balder than you were, Glock, and with my first HT--especially since I had the grafts distributed all over instead of just on top and in front--my hair looked just as thin six months into it. That was 2,600 grafts. After my second HT--2,500 grafts, all put into the hairline and top--it looked a great deal better but still painfully thin. Fortunately, a slight application of Dermatch works wonders.

Two weeks ago, Doctor Cooley did a touch-up of my hairline. He meant to only harvest and transplant 30-100 grafts, but ended up doing 500+. That will get me pretty close to what I was hoping for on top when I started this.

I have to live with that big, honkin' balding spot in back, though. The hairs I transplanted back there don't do a whole lot cosmetically, but they do keep the spot from being shiny and they help the hair on top blend in when I comb it back.

The point is, for Norwood VI guys like us, unless we are just fabulously lucky in terms of amount and quality of donor hair, we're never going to get past that thin-hair look. Supply just doesn't meet demand. Fortunately, this is one of the few areas where age is an asset. I'm in my fifties, so the thinness of my hair, especially with the hairline Dr. Cooley gave me, looks appropriate. Not optimal, but appropriate. At least, I can no longer be described as "that bald guy over there."

The other good thing is that your new hair is going to look a lot more impressive to others than it does to you. I've gotten nothing but positive comments after both my first and second HT's.

From what I can see in your photos, you are coming along just fine. I think you'll be positively thrilled after the next three or four months. And yes, the hair does grow at different rates and stages, so don't concern yourself with that, yet. In fact, even though one year is the general benchmark for evaluating the final results of an HT, there is usually some improvement after that. Up to several months after my first HT, I saw improvement, not in new growth, but in the individual hairs getting thicker and more manageable. It's been fourteen months since my second HT, and it's the same story this time.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your results in the next six months or so. Best of luck!

Thanks Gorpy and Hair App:

Gorpy-with my 4k + grafts, I only had 6k+ hairs moved. I was well below norm w/ 3's and 4's. I wish I had your three counts.


Hair App:
It's sure is reassuring to hear advise from another VI. I guess I should be happy to have some hair and have more realistic expectations considering my NW scale and age. (guess I was developing hair greed)

Thanks again and best wishes for successful growth.
Glock08

Glock,

You can definitely expect more growth...but yes, hair growth can and will slow down eventually. I just looked at your blog and don't see any 6 month pictures, so I can't compare your 5 and 6 months shots, but it's obvious from your 5 month pictures, that you have many new hairs that are thinner that have to mature...not to mention that you will and should still experience new growth.

Hope this helps

Falc

Ah...saw you posted your 6 month pictures on this thread but not in the blog. You are right...doesn't appear to be much difference between 5 and 6 months...but I stand by what I said above...hair will continue to thicken and you should see some new growth. However, as some others have said, 4300 grafts in such a large area (especially since the number of hairs are below average), you most likely will not achieve the density you want and may consider going for a second session in the future. But you will continue to improve from where you are now.

Falc

quote:

Originally posted by falceros:
... you want and may consider going for a second session in the future. But you will continue to improve from where you are now.

Falc

Thanks Falc:
When I was seeking advise prior to my HT, you called it at two-three procedures and 25-30K. You are the guru.... Thanks for the honest assessment.

Grow well.
Glock08

Glock -

Not much to add other than to encourage you to hang in there. At this point, you've likely experienced the "explosion" of growth, however, you will still have SOME more growth and the hairs will thicken. As has been said, with that number of grafts over the whole area, coverage will be thin, but you will have improvement from where you're at now. I was a little skeptical of the "thickening" and further growth after 7-8 months out from HT #2, but then was pleasantly surprised at how much better my coverage was between months 9 & 12.

Thanks for the update, bro..........hang in there!