Hi All
I'm 3 days off 12 Months, some of you might have followed my thread.
http://hair-restoration-info.c...861/m/7591070404/p/6

As a Clint Eastwood fan I've divided my 12m blog into 3 sections:

The good
http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=4058&WebID=920

The bad
http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=4059&WebID=920

And the Ugly
http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=4060&WebID=920

All these pics were taken this week

Considering "The good"
Certain pictures you can take- and I stress it is about certain pictures, can make it look really good indeed. No argument there.

"The bad"
Look a little closer and your getting into the world of cover ups again, your noticing a hell of a lot of hairs on your basin

"The Ugly"
Stip away all nice lighting, brush it back in force and see where you really are.
I've lost a lot of grafts, I don't know why, but it seems to coincide with extreme itching

I'd be interested in knowing why or what I may have been doing wrong. If you look at the last pic. The left does not have the graft density, that was originally planted.

I won't be going to Dr Rahal to complain, cos two months ago I had the result I wanted, I don't know why it's slipping now, but I won't blame my surgeon. He can put them in, but he can't control if they stay or not.

I can also live with my result very happily, assuming it does not get worse.
What I'd like to know is how did I get here as I was at the point of a perfect result-That I will be asking him.

Looks like the second HT is something I have to assume is unavoidable.

Keep the faith
Pred

i'd like also to reiterate here that Dr Rahal is a top doc and there is no way to get a total result if you have 5000 hairs planted into and area where you lost 20000. I came pretty close though, and I only wondering why it is getting worse and not better.

well u know better since u can see it in the mirror but what i see from the pics is a result that i like. and i whould be happy with. maybe u need 500 in the right temple and thats it.

I think it looks great. I'd be stoked. Even the bad and the ugly pics look solid to me.

>I came pretty close though, and I only >wondering why it is getting worse and not >better.

Are you going through a seasonal shed, perhaps?

I'd kill to have your "ugly"...

Did you stopped Rogaine?

I don't know what we are supposed to be seeing on the "ugly" pics. I think the *slightly* see through hairline makes it look very natural. I'd be careful because I've seen a few pics where it's a dense rigid hairline and it looks artificial and odd.

Of the three sets of pics, I would prefer your "ugly" pics over the other two for a natural look IMO. It looks damned near perfect to me.

Pred,

All honesty, I would be jumping on a trampoline with your result. I think your hair looks more than good and I like the "James Dean impression" also.

My opinion..

Sorry you arent going to get alot of sympathy here! You have a shit load of hair. Unless the camera lies it appears to be a perfect result and like Severn said any more in the hairline and it'll look fake.

Yeah you're nuts, you crushed it, about as good a result as is possible.

A HTN classic: "Predator" shows us his James Dean hair and we tell him how crazy he is to not be utterly elated with his result.

But ya, I'm not sure why your hair would he suddenly thinning....at least not the HT hairs....could be a shed, or could simply be MPB further revealing itself. You have a reallyreally good head of hair by virtually anyone's standards, though, outside of a 16yr old Disney star, perhaps!

I think you did everything right. You used almost 3k grafts just to rebuild and lower your hairline. From what I remember you had a very strong (somewhat receded) forelock, so just the recession in front and in the corners was filled in.

I don't really know what else you could have done other than go to a doctor that would have planted 4000 grafts in that area. Other than one doctor out there, I don't think anyone would have used that many grafts for your hairline.

Based on the thousands of photos I've looked at (as we all have, I'm sure), it looks like just about all the grafts came in and the result is exactly what you should have based on the grafts. Maybe a slight shed has occured for some reason and it will thicken up again in the coming months.

If I were you, I'd be more concerned about keeping all that thick hair you have behind the HT. Finasteride and minoxidil would be my friends for life.

Congratulations on a good result. I know from your posts it was a hell of a journey. I'm glad it finally turned out like it did.

Predator,

Losing transplanted hair is highly unlikely. You already had a good bit of natural hair in the front. Perhaps the natural progression of hair loss is continuing?

Truthfully, your hair still looks great. But since hair restoration is a long term process especially since hair loss is progressive, it's possible in time that you may need subsequent sessions.

If you're not on Propecia and or Rogaine, I encourage you to consider looking into it.

Best wishes,

Bill (Falc)

Dude, I'm sure no one wants to dismiss your feelings. It's never fun when any aspect of your appearance bothers you. We all know that. But, I have to agree with what everyone else has said, your hair looks great! I hope that the thinning you are experiencing does not continue but, at this point, I would be a happy camper with your results.

Cheers

Thanks for your inputs guys
One thing I'm not looking for is sympathy, I know a lot of guys would take hostages or hold up banks for my result- Though I never wanted to be compared to a Norwood 6 result
Here is a pic taken one month before the procedure
http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=4064&WebID=920
It shows it was going fast and I've come a long way since then
What I wanted to show in this thread is an honest assessment of where I am. Despite the rollorcoaster ride I never criticised my surgeon, even by implication; because he did the best job possible with relative poor laxity and an average donor. (He got 2886 out planned was 3000) I've not been calling him up or sending mails, because the problem, if there is one lies with my shedding. I've taken proscar 1.25mg a day since March 2008, i don't touch anything else- minox I can't use as I get heart palpatations-Not so good for 41 year old.

Cause I realise that HL is progressive and I certainly aint gonna get back to where I was at 20, or even 30
http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=4065&WebID=920

If I have my reservations, that's not a reflection on anything other than the chemical make up of my body and I can fully understand that anyone apparently complaining about a result like mine, would be a "red rag to a bull" for guys who have severe loss, or botched transplants behind them. But it's all relative and each person has different expectations- I know a beautiful woman, who is a real head turner- I'd give her 9 out of 10, but she never smiles because her teeth look like a row of bent over gravestones. I asked her why she was not prepared to accept that if everything else is perfect, a slight imperfection is a benefit.
All she see is the imperfection- nothing else BMS. I guess when you latch on to an issue you lose sight of the entire picture- That is also the danger

Predator,

Thank you for the presentation of your results. It really shows what a person can realistically expect. The "good" pictures are amazing. The "ugly" pictures do look a lot more sparse, but it is still a major improvement from where you came from. Your hairline frames your face nicely. Keep us posted on the shedding. I hope that situation improves for you.

MP96, good to see you back on here. How are you liking your results at this point? Do you have any photos to show us ? :-)

You got to be kidding me.

Predator,
I think your pictures look good. I also personally know how deceiving some pictures can be though so I can understand your mixed emotions. 3 people (family/friends I saw on a family trip) that had been excited by my own pictures were let down when they saw my actual results in person recently.