Considering second surgery

I'm thinking about having a second round to fill in my crown and the back third of my head. I've been quite happy with the growth at the front but the back is still pretty thin and I've probably lost hair there since the procedure

Having contacted New Age Clinic, they've suggested another round where they could gain a further 3500 grafts using the same technique. Will keep this blog updated!  

16 months post-op

It's now edging closer to the 18 month mark (which will be in July) so I thought I'd update this. Overall, not much change in the crown area although I think I am still losing more hair from the back of my head. I'm not so bothered about it because the front is looking pretty good - especially when I put a bit of concealer in it. Although I'm a bit disappointed about the back half of my head, I remember Dr Ilker saying there is still donor hair available which could be used for that.

Looking a bit ropey today! The hairline doesn't look quite as thick in real life, it's probably the lighting.

Back view - still losing hair I think. But on the upside you really can't see any scarring

Crown. Definitely more hair there than pre-op, but not quite as dense as I'd like. 

Crown View update @ 13 months

Quick update on the crown. There's a zone at the back which is definitely imroving. If it grows long and thick enough, it should help a lot disguising the crown hairloss. I think it's already showing progress.

this is the area where I'm looking for growth

Top view, 6, 9. 12 months

Not a huge amount of change in the last three months, but apparently it should keep thickening up for at least another six months. 

Some embarrassing "Before" photos

It's a bit cringey to look back to 2012 / 2013 when these photos were taken. I was developing the "island of hair" you see quite often. I used to keep it short because it looked better that way - imagine what I looked like when I needed a hair cut! We are our own worst critics, I'm definitely no exception. But looking at these photos makes me feel a lot happier about how my hair looks now. Even taking the step to tackling it is a big one, and I know I've still got a long way to go before I get to a point where I don't feel self-conscious about it. But it's great looking in the mirror and not being horrified!

The 'island' of hair

I also had a big gap at the front

It looked better short.

Taken on my phone, 12 months after

12 Month Post (almost!)

It's been a long year (technically five days before the one year mark), but a good one. I've probably said so before but we all think we're gonna be that guy whose hair grows in quickly and looks utterly transformed after six months. For me, because the number of grafts was pretty high I was expecting a good result. Of course I'm happy with it so far! But I still hope there is a bit more thickening to come - especially towards the back.

Anyway I'll let the photos speak for themselves. For a laugh, I'll dig out some old photos and upload them in another post. Quite funny looking back now and thinking what my hair looked like a year ago.

There's still quite a large thin patch covering the crown area, but there are longer hairs growing. I definitely think it's thickening - but gradually!

Happy with the front

All in all, a huge improvement on before! Looking forward to another few months of hair thickening. 

10 month - Follow-up visit to New Age Clinic

I'm just back from a few days in Istanbul and thought it was only right to visit the clinic for a follow-up appointment. Although Dr Ilker said he cannot really evaluate me properly until 12 months is up, he did have a look at my hair and could see the progress so far. Particularly when you look at the 'before' photos they took you can see the difference.

Mixed feelings about my visit; the surgeon told me I'm still losing hair from the middle third of my head which is a bit disappointing. He said to keep taking the propecia to slow it down, and encouraged me to give minoxidil another try (it has given me headaches and 'brain fog' before). I was also concerned that my scar is uneven but he said that it's pretty even all the way along and isn't abnormal (though not the least visible). Concerning the slower progress of the hair towards the back of my head, he explained that there is less blood-flow here which means hair takes longer to grow. Finally, if I want to go back in again I can do this any time after 1 year from the original procedure to concentrate on the vertex or clear up any other areas I'm unhappy with.

This photo doesn't really show the progress of the hairline, but does give a good indication of the result.