Justin, are you using finasteride and Minox after the procedure?

I would if I were you - because it looks like you might lose more hair. I'm sure you're aware of that already though.

Would others agree?

I'm 24 now. I can see myself going down the route you've gone down. Sadly for me though, my hair is much thinner. Diffused. Check my pictures to see. That's why for me I'll have to get a HT, then carry on using minox and finasteride after. Shouldn't be much of a pain if you can use the minox to "style" your hair - in a way.

How much did you pay for your HT?

Btw, your mates - lol. Don't dare tell them about getting it done. I'm sure you won't anyway. How must they feel. It must be a great feeling for you, them not being able to put their finger on why your hair "all of a sudden" looks better.

I'm in the same situation knowledge wise. My mates/the people around me have no idea how a HT can fix things if done correctly. They, also probably still see it as the pluggy look.

The day I walk out with normal hair once again, with the obvious puzzlement to the situation from the people around me, really would be a day to behold.

I have been using finasteride for about 11 months (3 months prior to my procedure). I used Minoxidil for the first 2 months post op and then quit. I read that Minoxidil only is beneficial for a few months, but I'm not sure about that. I will probably try to start using it again as an experiment to see if my hair thickens. I even tried Avodart (dutasteride) for a few months prior to finasteride, but the side effects were too dramatic. You can read about that in my other posts in the "new topics" section.

Justin -

I'm scheduled to have an HT with Dr. Rose on 11/18/04 at SMG. I was just wondering if you had any shock loss in the receipent area?

Don

I never had a single issue with shock loss. They say sessions in which more grafts are being placed in a tighter area (megasessions) may have shock loss, but I never had any issues. You should be fine, Dr. Rose put the grafts throughout all of my existing hair and I never noticed any shock loss. I read that if the surgeon uses smaller tools and places the grafts far enough apart, it wont shock the existing folicles; either way, if you do experience shock loss, the shocked hair will return. I don't think you have anything to worry about...

i think your HT looks good, dude. i think you should keep it at the length you used to have to really look great.

happy growing.

Great stuff. I love seeing results like that. Get/stay on the propecia and you may be done for a while or for good. (Does propeica have instances of flat-out stopping hairloss in the long-term?) Wish I had what you had to start off with, I got a couple more procedures in the future.

Justin,

Congrats. The results look great. You had the guts to go for it and it really paid off.

Truth

Justin, I'm thinking of using Rose...met with him 2years ago, decided to hold off, but Propecia and then Avordart lost their punch with me...I'm a NW II/III, about where you were....are youstill happy? How's the close up of the hairline? That's where I'll need the most help- front and temples

Justin - is it possible to email/call you with some questions about your experience with smg?

thanks

- howard

Howard,

Please feel free to call me. My number is [edited by forum moderator]. I am more than willing to help anyone with questions regarding a procedure and my decision to go with Dr. Rose @ SMG.

Justin...

(just a reminder, guys: this is a very public forum that the public does have access to. I removed your number for just that reason, Justin. Why not use the "private messaging" feature to shoot your number to Howard? Noone else can read your private messages - Robert)

Great results man, pretty amazing, specially considering the low number of grafts used.

When did your hairline started recceding m8?

I would say that I noticed it receding when I was 20 years old. I got on Propecia and minoxidil it halted significantly.

Dr. Rose placed grafts throughout my entire hairline including the tuft where I already had hair. I never had any issues with shock loss. Dr. Rose told me that shock loss usually occurs when the surgeon uses larger blades or during meggasessions of 3,000 fu or more because the existng hair is affected more when either of these situations occur.

justin can you email me with more picures . My hair is just like yours and i am going to dr rose in one month. thanks. jwhartter@aol.com

Those are all of the pictures I have and unfortunately I don't have my digital camera since it quit working. Maybe contact Matt Zupan @ Shapiro Medical. He took quite a few pictures of me and may have more for you close up and in high resolution. He has been given my authorization to release the photos for other people's reference.

Justin,

Wow! I definitely agree your pics make you look younger. It is a very nice result for 1609 grafts. You can really slow future loss in the vertex and crown areas with finasteride as you probably already know so glad to see you are on it.

Although your color contrast is wide, you appear to have ideal hair characteristics and your hair does look good short in the after pics. We will all look forward to your one year pics!

Great results justin. Did they do any work on your temple areas? I love what they did to the top. For me the temple areas are a concern. Can anything be done about them?

I had what you call the receding forelock, where the center was receding back. Fortunately, my temples were not losing that much hair, but I have seen many HT where surgeons have placed hair in the temple regions. It's no different than placing it on the top of you head. Do a search for AJ's photos. He had some temple work @ Shapiro Medical that looked pretty good.

Hey Justin-I have a request. I'd love to see a pic with your hair combed back-a close up of your hairline would be great. Happy Holidays.

Justin,

I hit the wall...after 6 years of propecia, now losing its effect, and after 2 years of investigating this, I've decided to to get an HT...many of on this board wil like to have my amount of hair, but it's driving me crazy...I need work in the temples and forelock area, so I need someone with great skill...I met with rose a year or so ago and liked him, but I held off hoping Avodart would reverse the slide...it didn't...

Would love to see your pics...better still, would like to speak with you in peron at some point...