NewGuy77

Hair transplantation is not a viable solution for someone as bald as he is. Until someone provides some major breakthroughs in gene therapy, it's currently impossible to create a full head of hair from practically nothing. If you don't still have at least 60% of a full head of healthy, thick hair that is not likely to fall out, there is no way you can hope to effectively cover your bald/thinning areas. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply looking to take your money. If you've already lost half your hair, you're much better off just shaving your head and going with the bald look.

I know nothing about docs in NYC, but one of the best places for info about quality hair transplant surgeons is in forums (similar to this one, but where the whole site is dedicated to hair loss topics). Google "hair transplant forums" and you'll find several. Avoid the ones that are sponsored or operated by a particular clinic or doctor. Look for the ones that are independently run, and have areas dedicated to testimonials (many even have before/after pics). Baldtruthtalk.com is the only one I remember off-hand.

Hey John. I did look at your photo, but without a very similar 'before' photo I don't really have enough info to provide an opinion on your transplanted growth. However what I can say is that because your thinning is spread out over such a large area, you would likely need more like 6000-8000 grafts to achieve fullness in all of your thinning areas. I'm obviously not a doctor, but I'm basing that opinion on firsthand experience and the results I've gotten with ~4000 grafts. 2000 grafts is very noticeable in a confined area, such as the crown. But when you spread the same number of grafts out over a large area like yours, the effect is going to be far less noticeable.

All of that said however, at the 8 month mark you should at least be seeing half of your grafts growing in. If looking at your hair, and perhaps comparing before/after photos, you do not feel like you are seeing 1000+ new hairs growing in, then you have every right to complain to Bosley. I'm not sure how far it will get you, but I'm sure the other viewers here would like to know what happens.

When you say 'basically the same', do you mean some noticeable new growth, but not nearly as much as you hoped? How many grafts did you pay for? What are/were you on the Norwood scale? I'm assuming if it was Bosley than it was a strip procedure and not FUE?

With a successful procedure, you should expect to see around half of your growth by 8 months. With both of my FUE procedures, I saw noticeable growth at 3-4 months, half growth by 6-8 months, and full growth after about a year.

As for laser hair therapy (aka LLLT), I believe that it does work, but as an effective supplement to hair transplantation, NOT as a viable replacement. I have been doing LLLT therapy for 3 years now, since before my first FUE procedure. I am convinced that by using LLLT for the last few years I have been able to: shorten my healing time after each procedure, speed up and increase my overall results, and strengthen the quality of all of my non-transplanted hair as well. However I know for a fact that if I'd just used LLLT without the transplant procedure, I'd not be too much better off than I was 3 years ago. I think effective LLLT therapy can definitely help you keep the hair you have, and can make it thicker/darker/healthier. It may even be able to grow a limited amount of recently lost hair back. But as for growing back noticeable amounts of hair you lost long ago...there is a lot of debate about that one. You will read endless conflicting opinions and arguments over this, but not nearly enough research has been done, so there are no hard clinical facts.

As for the laser comb...sorry but it's a total scam. I borrowed one from a friend who said it never worked for him. I opened it up and examined it, then promptly gave it back. That useless thing contains ONE laser diode, and because of this is never going to provide enough power to get results. It probably doesn't even pump out as much light energy as the latest generation of LED flashlights. It's really pathetic. Any LLLT machine that has a hope of providing ANY benefits has to contain dozens of laser diodes, if not hundreds. The 'clinically proven' LLLT machines at doctors' offices all have a LOT of diodes, and therefore a LOT more power. The good news is you can actually make your own high-powered LLLT machine for a fraction of what it would cost to buy one or to buy a series of treatment session at a Dr's office. My DIY laser device has 300 laser diodes in it (exactly the same type of diodes that the clinical machines use), and it cost me about $1000 to make. There is a website (and an entire forum/community) dedicated to building and using these DIY LLLT devices (and the info is all 100% free). Here are some links: worldhairloss.org and overmachogrande.com

Sorry to hear about your situation. Bosley should really be put out of business. Post again after you have talked to your doctor and let us know what he says.

Thanks for clarifying Tom. I was actually referring to your Q&A section (or similar forums on other websites) that are set up specifically for doctors' replies, rather than posting in the comments section of a review like this one. I've yet to see any doctors chime in under the comments section of the reviews to which I've posted replies. I have however seen many doctors reply in the Q&A section.