9cm to 6cm Forehead Reduction

2-Month update!
It's been more tedious than I expected to stay on top of regular updates, so here's a long overdue one.
Overall: Couldn't be happier with it. I wish for everyone in the world who feels as I did about myself to undergo this procedure with Dr. Aharonov and enjoy the life-changing results.
It's like this: People coming over? No need to cover my forehead. Running out for errands? No need to cover my forehead. Taking my dog for a walk? No need to cover my forehead. Smiling for a photo? No need to cover my forehead!!!!! You get the idea. I may have been Very far down the rabbit hole of self-consciousness/vanity/painful self-awareness but now it just makes the reversal of my image ALL the more satisfying. I *love* waking up to my new face and just pulling all my hair back like "a normal person" when I don't feel like styling it any more than that. Conversely, I love experimenting with hairstyles that Don't have to be centered around making my forehead look as small as possible. It's incredible.
As for the healing, I'm still in the process but have had very positive results. Just to be clear, the incision line/scar is still visible (basically a thin red line directly in front of my new hair line) and the now inch-long hairs that grew directly out of the incision line look a bit odd if someone's really paying attention. Because what full-grown adult would otherwise have "baby hairs" sprouting out from their hairline? But those inch-long hairs can now be swept to either side and actually help to mask the incision. As for shedding, it's at a level virtually identical to pre-surgery shedding. No clumps coming out, no new hair-loss patches, no recession, nothing. As for the patch that developed on my left side, it never grew larger than it was in my last update it's still very easily hidden And starting to become fully covered as new hairs that sprouted out of it are covering it more and more And the raised-ness of the patch has gone down a ton. So looking good there.
People have asked if my hair texture has changed at all from the surgery. Not at all!! Except for the fact that it is SO much healthier wow I am so happy about this. It probably helps that I'm still taking the recommended surgery vitamins, not washing it as much (don't have to scrub out all the hairspray every day), rarely using heat on it, and am opting for hair-healthy styles that are protective of my scalp. Now that I'm growing out my bangs, I'm holding them back in wide, comfortable headbands.
In addition to the vitamins, I started dabbing 100% pure Argon Oil onto the incision (once it had fully healed) twice a day. I don't think I mentioned this last time because it was my own idea to start this and just in case it didn't work out I didn't want to lead people astray, but I think it's been a huge help. I thought to start this once I started scabbing after the incision fully closed, about two weeks after the sutures were removed, because I noticed that each scab that came off took out a few hairs with it!! Honestly, it may help to make my incision less bumpy and prone to in-grown hairs if I actually scrubbed out the scabs instead of moisturizing over the incision, but I don't know that for sure and losing hair in scabs was making me paranoid!! Consequently I've had to address a couple in-grown hairs with tweezers but I think it's worth the moisturized skin, and apparently argon oil can support hair growth anyway. I think due to a collection of factors, my hair looks healthier, has grown 2+ inches since November, and feels stronger than ever. Yay!
Just to review, here's what I've been on or am now taking:
Pre-surgery recommended vitamins, still continuing:
- Alpha lipoic Acid
- Zinc
- Calcium
- Biotin (in Hairfluence capsules)
Post-surgery vitamins/supplements:
- Daily multivitamin
- L-glutamine (in a recovery drink powder)
- 100% Argan Oil (applied via a Q-tip to the entire incision line twice a day)

Due to some unexpected travel, this update is nearly a week late! But I took the pictures the day of so I'm posting them.

Time has just flown by! Now that I'm back into normal life, it's just not that big of a deal anymore! That said, leaving the house on a moment's notice (without nearly an hour of prep on my bangs or otherwise covering my forehead) is AMAZING!!! YES!!!! Recovery was really more difficult than I anticipated but WOW is it so worth it. I now love seeing my bare face when I get out of the shower, and honestly think my posture has improved as I'm keeping my head up all the time!

At this point, 26-ish days later, my bruising and swelling have vanished. I'd say the visible bruising on my face has been gone for a few days. I'm definitely pale from staying out of the sun but look normal from the hairline down.

As for the incision itself, a thin red line is still visible if I pull the hair back from it, but almost all bumps and lumps are gone (except for a pesky crease-looking one in the middle) so it's Really not noticeable. The only thing that looks a bit odd are the sprigs of new short hair that are growing in through and on top of the incision. Not a huge deal though, someone who doesn't see me every day wouldn't really think twice about it.

The top front-half of my head is still totally numb (not that it really matters), and my temples/scalp area around the sides of the incision are still sore. That part only comes into play when I'm shampooing my hair, I can now sleep on my side. I am shedding quite a bit, but within the last week it maybe leveled off already? Because of the traveling I missed a few days of the vitamins (same ones from pre-surgery) so I'm sure that didn't help but just to be clear no actual "clumps" are coming out, just excess shedding. And about that section on the end of my left-side incision that's looking sparse, new hairs are already starting to poke through! So I'm very optimistic.

Before surgery, I was so nervous about hair loss that I swear I was losing sleep over it. I'm very fortunate that I don't seem to be shedding from noticeable areas (knock on wood!) and new growth is very evident. But even the shedding and rough patch on my left side doesn't seem that big of a deal anymore. I'm so relieved and at peace with this procedure and the result that I'm taking these minor "side effects" very much in stride.

Other than that, it's just eating healthy and staying active. I think starting to exercise again after the 2-week mark was the Best thing for bringing the swelling and bruising down, that's when healing really sped up. I'm mindful when brushing my hair and using no heat on it but otherwise treating it normally. The texture of my hair is the same as before, but maybe the new hairs coming in will be a little different? Time will tell! Someone asked me what the cons of my procedure are, and besides the lengthy-ish recovery, I really couldn't think of anything. If I could do anything differently it would be to wait around and have Dr. Aharonov take out the stitches himself, but otherwise I don't think it could have gone better :)

I'm writing a day late due to the holidays and having to step into work for a few hours yesterday but have all good news!
Yesterday, exactly 1 week after my procedure, I had my sutures removed by a local nurse. Before I get into it, I'd maybe advise getting a note from the surgeon stating that it is in fact the right time to have them removed, as my nurse was dubious having no information about the surgery and no correspondence with the surgeon herself. But I managed to convince her so all was well.
The removal process took about 40 minutes. It was staples first (roughly 20?), and then the stitches. I had never had staples before so didn't really know what to expect but Yes they sting a bit. The first was the most painful but what actually hurt was if the staple remover got one of my hairs caught in it and the hair got ripped out as well. Not to be all dramatic though it's definitely bearable, just communicate any pain so they slow down and do their best to avoid hairs! Which is understandably difficult since the staples are basically embedded in hair.
The stitches were then totally easy, I could barely feel them coming out. According to the nurse, one side of my incision had individual stitches (my right side, which apparently started swelling really fast in surgery) and the other had some continuous stitches. Makes no difference to the removal but in case you're curious.
Immediately after, there's not much of a change in the incision. There are still those creases, some bumps and tiny blood spotting, and it's still a bit tender to the touch. However, getting to see the incision without sutures is Very cool and I just felt a great relief having passed this milestone. I showered when I got home and wasn't paranoid I'd catch a staple and yank it out!
Then I actually "styled" my hair for the first time since surgery. It was so beautiful and amazing (relatively speaking, I still look beat up) I just loved it!! It was my first real glimpse at how I'm going to look once all the swelling and bruising is gone and I'm just living normal life again. Yay!! At this point I can comfortably walk around in daylight with a loose, wide headband and ray bans to cover my eye bruising. It feels great!
The only concern I had following the suture removal was a comment the nurse made. While she said that the scar looks great, there are no signs of infection, and a bunch of little hairs are already poking through (it's true!!), she said some of the little bumps around the scar line (that basically look like pimples) look like the start of keloid scarring. What is that! She said it's exceptionally rare in Caucasian skin and she had no idea what to do about it...?!
Then I made the terrible mistake of web-md'ing keloid scarring. Do not do that!! So I sent an email to Dr. A that night updating him on my progress and asking him about it. FORTUNATELY I am very convinced that the nurse was completely off and I do not need to worry about it. Dr. A actually got back to me very early the next morning (so this morning) and broke it all down. Apparently keloid scarring is so not even possible and unheard of with this that it was a misdiagnosis and little bumps around the scar are not uncommon. Even in the surgery instructions you're warned that ingrown hairs can occur and to just let the natural healing happen. So yay!! I was also reminded to keep taking my vitamins (the zinc, vitamin c, alpha lipoic acid, biotin) and keep the scar out of the sun. I'm on it! Also if you search through other realself reviews on this surgery it seems to be pretty common.
All in all, I'm giddy with excitement about how it's already turned out and feel Very confident that each day will get better and better. I can now sleep pretty comfortably as the back of my head and neck are less sore, eat and walk around normally, and even venture outside in daylight with accessories. I'm keeping my head elevated always, trying to avoid salty foods, and drinking more tea than you can imagine! Today's project is going to be purging my hair and makeup drawer... bye-bye extra-strength hairspray!!