Hairpalace 5,500 Fue Hairs - Budapest

I was constantly toying with the thought of a hair transplant for a few years now and decided to take the plunge with Hairpalace after speaking to some colleagues at work, who were treated in Budapest. I would probably say I am a Norwood 6-7 and was hoping they could do some magic and give me some hair from front to back even if it did not have the density (better to have some than none at all). At the initial consultation, I outlined my needs and wants and then received 2 treatment plans (quotes) via e-mail - one for 4,000 hairs and one for 5,000 hairs both on zone 1 (very front of head). I queried the quote about hair being restored on zone 3 (vertex) and was told possibly another 3,000 hairs could be done to increase the density in zone 2 but nothing about zone 3. As a result, I trusted these guys to know what they were doing as after all they were the hair transplant experts. I am now writing this review 10 days after the fue surgery with total humiliation and disappointment at the outcome.
Whilst I have no issues with the procedure itself, I am a very disappointed with how this looks aesthetically with no hair behind zone 1, as it looks rather stupid and stands out from the rest of my head, which is what I didn't want it to do.
What may have been better advice from them during my consultation was to also do some hair in zone 2 in order to blend the hair together for a more natural look as currently, it looks very noticeable and odd from the rest of my hair (looks like the footballer Ronaldo's 1998 World Cup final haircut - tuft of hair at front only)
Had I had the opportunity again to use my donor area effectively and efficiently, I would have had 3,500 on zone 1, followed by 2,000 hairs on zone 2 with the remaining donor hairs distributed in zone 3.
I will now have to have a second transplant to rectify zone 2 and wanted it all done in the one session, which looking at now could have been achieved by clinics in Turkey and I think I have made a major error by going with hair palace.
In Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation, the goal should be to achieve the best possible cosmetic result in the context of the patient’s total donor reserves, rather than trying to place as many grafts as possible in one hair transplant session.
My advice would be to do your research and ensure you are very clear on what you want and DEMAND your needs are listened to and met with a clear plan (drawings etc) of zones and areas, as I got nothing like this and as they did not listen to what I wanted.

2 weeks in from 5,500 hairs (2,500 grafts) and whilst hair growth is fine, it just looks odd aesthetically from the rest of my head. Dreading going to work Monday as you can tell I've had a procedure. My advice - AVOID Hairpalace Budapest as they have totally messed up my hair job - nightmare!

3 weeks gone now and whilst the donor area (back off the head) is fairly unnoticeable and back to normal, the recipient area (front) is still fairly red and still numb and I updated the pics. Had to go back to work last week and tried covering up with Nanogen hair cover to hide the redness but did get asked have you done something to your hair, where I responded with I've got a bit of eczema. The frustrating element of this process for me is that I will have to do this all over again next year just to correct the 2nd zone in the middle, which could have been avoided if I had been a bit more diligent and selected the correct FUE specialist, so please learn from my mistake and ???? research and homework before selecting. I am going to explore unshaven fue transplant in the UK by Harley street doctor Raghu Reddy where he operates out a clinic near Derby (Selston cosmetic clinic) which I am hoping might be cheaper but got a feeling it will cost an arm and leg and will have to end up going abroad again!