Thoughts on potential overharvest in upcoming 2k graft transplant? (Photos)

Thanks for sharing your concerns — they’re totally valid, and it's great that you're approaching this carefully.
To be honest, the photos you've shared don’t give us enough clarity to say definitively how advanced your hair loss is or whether 2,000 grafts would be too much or too little. The best way for us to evaluate that properly is through a standard consultation, where we can review your scalp with better photos and more context. We’d be happy to assess this further if you’d like to submit your case through our regular online process.
That said, a few points based on your questions:
a) Yes — your donor area isn’t exceptionally dense, but a well-executed 2,000 graft extraction should not cause overharvesting if done properly. Of course, it's important to understand what "overharvesting" actually means. Even a small extraction (say 1,000 grafts) can still make the donor area look slightly thinner — especially if you keep your hair very short — because those hairs don’t grow back once harvested. And some tiny scarring is inevitable, no matter how gentle the technique.
Unfortunately, many people throw around the word “overharvest” without fully understanding it. A responsible extraction that causes some visible thinning when shaved down is not necessarily overharvesting — it’s just how donor management works.
b) As for Finasteride — if your hair loss is truly due to androgenetic alopecia, it’s normal not to see dramatic results after just 4 months. That doesn’t mean it’s not working. Hair cycles take time, and results can be delayed. However, if your shedding is driven by something else (like thyroid issues, seborrheic dermatitis, or another hormonal imbalance), then neither Finasteride nor Minoxidil will work well unless the root cause is addressed.
So if you’re unsure about the diagnosis, it might be a good idea to explore it with blood work or a dermatologist first.
Lastly, your note about oily skin — while excess sebum doesn’t directly stop a transplant from succeeding, it can indicate an underlying scalp condition (like seborrheic dermatitis), which should ideally be treated before the procedure for best results.
You’re asking the right questions. If you’d like, we can take a more thorough look — just submit a case through our proper consultation form, and we’ll go from there.