23 Years Young, No Kids, College Grad and Finally Ready to Not Be Self-conscious About my Forehead! - Columbus, OH

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since updating. I was between starting a new job and letting everything heal. I am officially 5 months post-op, and I have to say it was totally worth it! Once all the dried blood came off, the seeping stopped, and I had a scar, I finally called my surgeon to ask for a recommendation for a scar cream. Not only was my scar very pink with some darker pigmentation, but the texture of it was very noticeable. It was like a bump on my skin across my hairline, and I was starting to wonder if that's what it was going to be like forever as my hair grew up to the scar. My surgeon recommended Mederma scar gel which I am so thankful I purchased. It was about $24 OTC. It said it could take up to 8 weeks to make a difference. I started using it every night before bed, and after about a week I could already tell a difference. I'm coming up on two months and not only does my scar look more like a tan line, but the texture of it has changed too! I ask my boyfriend if I need to put cover up on it when I wear my hair back, and he told me just a little bit in one area but it's not very noticeable. He can tell the difference too! He said he forgets about it! Lol I've mentioned before that there's one section of my hairline that was higher than the rest, even before surgery and I know my doc was trying to make it more natural and not just a straight line across. My hair has grown up to the scar now except for that one section on the left side of my head but I'm okay with it. I still see tiny baby hairs working there way in. I see my doctor in June for a 6 month check up since my last time in December, and I can't wait for him to see how far I've come. I'll be honest, it wasn't exactly what I expected but I'm very happy! Everyone's forehead shape is different- there's a lot of people with a flat forehead or a long forehead or short, and mine just has more of a round shape, and I've come to terms with it, and embrace it. I'm just so happy I can walk around confidently (almost, once this scar blends in just a little bit more) without headbands and worrying how big my forehead will look in pictures. I feel like it looks more natural now. I hope this helps everyone who's recently had surgery and staring in the mirror at their forehead every day waiting for it to be healed, as well as those who are about to have/considering having this surgery! Good luck and happy healing! :)

Hello! I have finally had the chance to update my review. Even though it's been a little bit over a month and I'm happy with the results, the healing process has seemed like it's taken forever! I'm trying to be patient because it really has not been that long, and any head surgery is a major surgery/healing process but I can't wait until it's completely healed! After I was able to take off the bandages, it has been continuously sore. There was a bunch of dried blood scabs that healed over the incision and the stitches. After a week or so of having the bandages off, my head began oozing a clear fluid in a couple of spots. After a while, a couple of stitches came out too soon with a big scab, and so I had a larger open area (which almost made me pass out just looking at it haha). Because that wound was open, it became slightly infected so I had to take an antibiotic 4 times per day for a week to get rid of it. I was told to keep direct water off of it for a while and only wipe it with a wet wash cloth to remove the dried blood a little bit at a time. I had my stitches out after 2 weeks but many were missed at first because of the dried blood. The dissolvable stitches were set to last for 40 days, which I am a little bit past that point now. It has been rough because I was between two jobs and I had to buy a ton of dark head bands because the incision constantly oozed a little bit of fluid at a time that you could see through light colored head bands, and as my headband would sit over the incision during my 8 hour works days, it would dry and stick to the head band and at the end of the day it would pull off the scab that had formed. It was very frustrating because it was like I was pulling off any healing the incision had done each day, but I also couldn't walk around with a large, dried blood, oozing incision on my head out in the open. It's been very sore/itchy on and off. Finally I am at the point where its becoming pink shiny scabs, and most of the dried blood is gone thank goodness! I am now going a month before I see my surgeon again because he says I am making such great progress. I called him the other day to ask if I could use any type of ointment such as Neosphorin at this point of the healing process, and he said yes so I was so excited about that. I purchased the Neosphorin with pain relief which has been great so far! I try not to overdo it with the ointment - just like once a day or so. The hair is also growing up to the incision very well! But here are the pictures from one-month post-op!

Alright, now that I'm feeling a little better, I am able to post a few pictures with my stitches and staples! So far, the first three days have been the hardest for me as far as pain and nausea. The top of my head is still really numb/tingly. I was really scared to take off the bandages, but I also had to remember I did not want a perfect (almost fake looking hairline). If you look at my pre-op pictures, you can see straight-on that one side of my hairline was slightly higher than the other. Dr. Bernacki remade my hairline the same way to make it look more natural. So far, I am a little bit iffy about the right side (the higher side) than the left side. However, I am able to see little, fine baby hairs that are not visible on the camera so I am not going to judge too soon. I love that I have no longer have wrinkles in my forehead, although my face feels really tight. Of course my dad happens to be one of the funniest people I know, so it's hard not to laugh or smile too hard! The stitches/staples come out next Wednesday 10/21, so I will be updating then as well!