Nearly 3 Weeks Post Op for Hairline Lowering

So here is the last post for now. I will continue to update when things change, such as new hairgrowth etc...
So after the suture removal the next thing I was potentially waiting for was hair loss....this generally is seen from weeks 2-6, sometimes earlier.... This was the one thing that petrified me, the one thing that on several occasions made me cancel the op, even up to a few days prior. Us genetically blessed with a high forehead obviously want to correct the 'problem' and potentially making this worse albeit temporarily is something that we would not welcome! The anxiety of it for me was not pleasurable and I spent half the day the day before the op traipsing round london for a decent clip in fringe just incase!! (incidentally I wasn't able to find anything remotely adequate), I also spoke to the girl that does my hair extensions and she said worse case scenario she could put in a mesh style system to any area that had hair loss.
So.....day 12 arrives and it begins. I started noticing hairs coming away from around the incision area, short ones where my fringe was....straightaway panic sets in...too afraid to wash you hair or brush it just incase more comes out...not like that will stop it! Anyway, it wasn't coming out in clumps, just a few hairs at a time, maybe 5 or 6 and like I mentioned just where the incision was and at the sides where the incision starts and ends....this continued for about 2 days and then just stopped.....just like that. Chris Inglefield says it stabilises in most cases very quickly and in my case and like I say it just stopped. For me this was a massive relief, even though i know in some cases it can start a little later and continue for longer. Being 4 weeks in tomorrow I would like to think this is as bad as it is going to get. In the close up of the photos you can see where the hair loss has occurred, there are like 3-4 of them about the size of half a small fingernail, so inconsequestial in the grand scheme of things! If i were to have my hair tied off my face I can pop a little bit of brow pencil in the areas to fill in in need be. Also, where the incicions start and end, at the sides of my face, I do have little bald strips, my hair was already fine here so I already knew this would happen, they are easily disguised with a little bit of teasing, but I am hopeful the hair will grow back fully but this is yet to be seen. As mentioned previosuly both Greg and Chris pointed out my fine hair here and a potential hair transplant if I wanted to improve the results and narrow my forehead width.
After I had the suture removal it was time to restart the CE Ferulic and the Regaine again and this will continue for 3 months post op. To those who will be using it pre and post, I can't say that I enjoy the fact that my fringe area constantly feels and look dirty and greasy but its a necessity so I will persevere.
One odd thing that started around day 12 was I felt what I thought was initially a coarse hair along the incision line approx 3mm long but when I touched it I nearly went through the roof. The pain that shot through my scalp (odd seeing as though it is numb) is pretty eye watering and bizarre as it extended back about 3 inches, no where near the incision. Upon closer inspection it looked like a suture sticking out of the skin. I trimmed it down slightly so I didn't catch it and contacted the nurse at the clinic. She said this could happen and was a dissolvable suture and ordinarily they would trim it down. She said that it would settle and these sutures would dissolve at around 3 months. As of writing this it has settled, no pain, just a strange sensation. I think somehow it was a nerve pain as it seemed like that type of feeling. Not pleasant and would throb for hours after.
From day 10 I started using silicone dressings strips on the incision area to help with healing and to reduce any redness or potential raising of the scar. In my nursing job I often recommend these for scars and are worth buying as I truly believe they help. I will attach a photo of them and they can be bought from a certian online website....we all know it (not sure if I can mention it here) Begins with 'A' and has a 'Z' in it! I wear these overnight and I would say most of the evening. The are self adhesive but I have a wide fabric headbans to keep it in place overnight.
As well as the silicone dressings, I use a product called Strataderm which is also good for scars and well as something called Louis Widerm Eye Cream (which was recommended by the clinic) which is also bizarrely used for scars. I apply this 3 times a day as recommended.
I still continued with all the supplements I put myself on pre op and will continue to do so, apart from stopping the Bromelaine and Zinc around 6 weeks. The Biotin, Collagen and Vitamin C I will continue indefinitely.
Also it was such a relief to be able to lie flat again! This meant getting a better nights sleep!
With regards to exercise, at week 3 i started gentle exercise, Chris said that I could do anything that doesn't raise my blood pressure too much, so I stuck to my spin bike (but didn't go crazy) and I will start to do gentle runs again at 6 weeks...can't wait as this has been hard as I exercise pretty much daily.
A couple of things to add at this point (being nearly 4 weeks out)..... I have never realised just how clumsy I am!!! I seem to constantly bang my head!! Maybe I was't aware of it previosuly but I seem to do it all the time..which isn't particularly helpful or clever when you have had an op in that area! So a little note to make to yourself....try to be careful, this is the same for hot hair dryers....your scalp won't feel it when it is numb so be careful! As previously mentioned, the numbness now is the part I really don't like, it is very odd and I will welcome some of this back! Like wooyoungjai_ mentioned below this will start to come back at around 2 months. Like her, there is an odd itching sensation which you can't satisfy....it's like you know its there but it is difficult to know exactly where and feels odd when you do try to itch it! There is also like a little 'buzzing' sensation from time to time across the scalp which will be the nerve endings starting to regenerate and re attach.
I do have some slight puckering and indentations around the incision which is very slowly susiding, I believe this may take around 6 weeks to resolve. Also I have had one ingrown hair and may have another coming up (it may be raised scarring though)....am not sure....
Finally my fringe is now behaving in a very odd way to how it used to before. What was amusing is that immediately after the op my fringe appeared like it had grown by just over an inch (obviously due to the lowering!) amazing! lol! But it is now really difficult to style! Having 46 years of experience knowing how to handle my difficult fringe (was not only blessed with a high forehead but a cowlick too) it has been quite challenging trying to deal with it! I am not sure if this is the case with most that wear a fringe.... it seems extremely heavy all of a sudden and won't do as it is told! I will persevere and find a way to style it (strangely it doesnt help that the area is numb) as I do plan on keeping a fringe of some sort.
I am really looking forward to the new hair growth coming through the incision mark....I believe this happens in the next few months according to the hair growth cycle...it'll hopefully lower the hairline by maybe a few more mm yet! Every little helps! I will add any photos when this happens, I have had a couple of stubbly hairs come through there but they shed very quickly. I am not worried about this as have read this is normal initially and then will become more permanent. I will also update as to whether I decide to have a small hair transplant to the sides where my hair is very fine and to narrow the width of my forehead. At the moment I am undecided but will know within 6 months I reckon but I believe if you are going to do something in life do it properly.
So this experience from beginning to end has been nothing but positive despite having the op with Greg cancelled, it turned out in my favour by having Chris (as mentioned he was my first choice due to more available reviews and newspaper articles, if you are reading this Greg, I still would have had you, but circumstances dictated and I know I would have been very happy!!!!) He is a lovely surgeon and I would trust him again and again with any procedure. His nurses are lovely and the communication has been great too!
I will continue to post updates, and if anyone wants any advice or wants to ask any questions please message me and I'll be more than happy to help. Anything I have missed and that I think of I will add as a reply to my post as you can't write a new one without writing 200 characters. Real Self it would be great if you can allow post editing (if you can already I cant find a way of doing the text!)
Stay safe all of you!!

So day 10 is suture removal day.
Ordinarily I would have had the nurse do this but due to covid 19 I had the pleasure of the Mr. Inglefield removing the sutures. My appointment was originally planned for Wimpole Street but this was changed to Hatfield One Hospital (which to be honest was better as it saved us from driving through London)

On arrival was met by the ever smiling Mr. Inglefield who pretty much took me straight through.

On examination he was very pleased with how the results were looking and the healing of the incision.
The suture removal itself wasn't particularly painful, maybe a little uncomfortable, but boy was it nice to have them out! You have to marvel at the intricacy of the zig zag incision, when asked Mr. Inglefield said that the suturing takes about half an hour to do. The removal took about 15 minutes so was relatively quick. I had some very slight bleeding when he removed them which was normal and he just covered it with an antibiotic cream and I was on my merry way!

One thing I have forgotten to mention is that I have quite fine hair on my temples which, when I saw Mr Bran and Mr Inglefield, they pointed out won't change with the procedure and may require a hair transplant to this area. So if I wanted to narrow my forehead width down this was an option, when I saw Chris on suture removal day and upon inspection, he said that he did't feel that I should need it but to see how i feel once the hairs have grown either side of the incision. I would be open to this if I felt it would enhance the result and narrow the forehead width but we will see....

Later I will finish my review with more photos and the progress from day 11 to now (the dreaded window of potential hair loss!)

Back to my review...

One thing I failed to mention in my last post. Both Mr. Inglefield and Mr. Bran use a zig zag apporoach when doing their incision. When I asked him why he uses this method he said when it heals it looks more natural than a straight incision. He has tried all the other types and this is the one he finds most effective.

Okay so the next few days were pretty non-eventful. I was still having problems sleeping due to the position but the pain was managed by pain killers, I took these for 7 dyas regularly to avoid any break through pain.

The worst part for me, and still is, is the total numbness to the front of my scalp, I find it quite unpleasant and alien. When you touch it it is like you are touching somone elses head. I know the feeling will return but I really don't like it!

I was advised by Chris not to put the hair under any tension, I have always had a fringe, so when drying it over the next few days I tended to just blast it with warm air rather than use a brush.

So during this time I had zero hair loss, I was aware that it can manifest itself quite early on but was pleased that at this point I hadn't had any, it is usually arounf the 2 week mark that you can start to see it.

Was still taking all my oral supplememnts and prescribed meds. The CE Ferulic Acid and Regaine would start again once the sutures were removed on day 10.

I cleaned the wound 3 times a day with Natrasan spray and cotton buds which worked a treat as the incision was healing very well at that point.

My next post will be about the suture removal.