After 4 Years of Skepticism and Reluctance, I Am Finally Going to Get a Hair Transplant

Hello everyone! Wow where do I begin? First off i want to apologize for not keeping through with my promise of constantly updating my posts. Its been just under 2 whole years since my last update on realself and i want to get back on track and speak about my endeavors and hopefully communicate with others who are thinking of getting a hair transplant.

So, since my last update i have had a rollercoaster of emotions regarding my transplant. Cut to the chase, i loved it at first. My confidence was through the roof and i felt really good about what i did. No one really noticed (to my knowledge?) and i was able to mask it from everyone.

About 3 months after post op i noticed the hairs growing in and you can imagine how happy i felt. My scar seemed to be healing well but deep down i felt it to be a bit thick. Anyway, The hairs grew slowly but surely but one thing i noticed was that they appeared to be thin. I thought this was normal and didn't think nothing of it being that they JUST started growing. Months afterwards the hairs grew but were still a bit thin? I was still optimistic that it would take time to thicken and was patiently waiting for my year post op follow up from the doctor. A year passed and no call or email? Not once has the doctor called to follow up and not that i was particularly worried, but i was just confused as to why? Afterwards I pretty much put it to the side and began wearing hats again because i felt like it wasn't growing the way i wanted it to.

Now I'm not here to scrutinize my doctor but i find it weird how he hasn't even called or checked up, Sure i could have called myself but it felt like i was just a customer and been forgotten of. Im sure he's a great doctor and he has the credentials to prove it but i can't shake the feeling that i could have perhaps found a better doctor, or not have done the procedure at all.

I don't want to say i regret what i did but I'm certainly not 100% happy with it either. One thing you have to understand is that the hair does indeed grow. Its embedded in your scalp and you can cut, wash, gel it however you want. My dilemma is that its not as thick and full as i thought it would be. Maybe its just me or my hair? maybe its the way the doctor did the procedure? maybe it thinned out over time? Im not really sure why it is the way it is...As you will see in my pictures, the last of which was taken today, there is a gap where hair seemed to not grow. It annoys me because certain times its clearly visible and it makes me feel very uncomfortable when i feel the wind hit it. I just don't know what else to do with my hair anymore. I can't even shave it before i have that scar clear as day in the back of my head.

I have however found an alternative solution which i want your opinion on. I have recently stumbled across scalp micro pigmentation. Some of the results i have seen look great and i was seriously considering getting the treatment done to fill in the blanks of my hair and to cover up the scar. I just feel I'm at the end of the road so this is the last hope. What do you guys think? Let me know and thanks.

Hello everyone! I wanted to post on exactly 2 weeks after my procedure but was unable to do so. Today marks 15 days post op and I still can't believe how fast time flies. So where do I start? Well last post I was complaining about the dry blood and scabbing that was bothering me. I was reading article after article and other peoples input and suggestions about crust and scabbing and every post seem to say that this is normal and I should not be alarmed. As many posts and articles suggested, it was just safest to let the scabs fall out on there own or be massaged off when showering with shampoo. Over the course of the week things were normal, no pain or complains (except my stitches) and as the days passed, my scalp was gradually turning a bit pinkish and not so dark looking. After every shower I took the scabs would fall out when i shampooed over the grafts. You will notice in my pictures how it lightened up since my last post, and how it looks today. Although I read that the grafts should be almost all fallen out, I still had a bunch of little hairs visible and that have yet to fall. Hopefully I'm one of the fortunate ones who start to have growth from this stage :) haha I wish. Finally I hit the 2 week stage which in other words meant my statures would be removed! My main complain about this whole process is sleeping on the statures. As I mentioned many times in my previous posts, sleeping is a hassle and can be a bit painful when sleeping on your statures, so having them removed meant no more pain when sleeping, at least thats what I hoped for. The appointment was early and as soon as I walked in one of the techs who I remembered from the procedure was the one who would be removing my statures. I was nervous and expected to be sedated or something because I figured it would hurt. She reassured it would be painless but it did in fact hurt quite a bit. It kind of felt like she was using a plier to rip pieces of my hair out. She told me it was the dry blood that hardened on the statures which was making it hurt a bit (It was actually my fault for not adequately cleaning the blood and scabs when showering). Once they were off, the back of my head was stinging like crazy but no real unbearable pain that required a painkiller or anything. After that the doctor walked in and greeting me he then proceeded to examine my hair and statures and assured me that I have no infections and that everything seems to be going good. One thing he pointed out however was that he was a bit surprised that I still had quite a bit of transplanted hair follicles that did not fall out yet. He said that its normal and theres no risks of anything going wrong but that the longer it takes to fall out the longer it'll take to grow...But other than that he said everything looked fine so far and the only thing in my way now was time. I'm just glad that I'm at a point that i can finally go out and wear a hat with no problem and be at work with no problem. I have even grown a little confident enough to not wear a hat. The other day I drove without a hat and had the windows open and let the air just hit my head (although it may sound silly, I am not used to that at all being that I always wore a hat). I happened see my friend on the drive home and he didn't even notice what I had done. Only a few select have seen me without my hat and an even fewer amount have EVER seen me with my hair cut really short in the recent years. So it felt good knowing that he didn't suspect a thing FROM FAR. Obviously one would notice up close but as the pinkness slowly fades, my grafts just look like my hair cut shorter than my "native" hair. This has boosted my confidence in way that would not be possible before the procedure. Like I said before it is still early to be jumping to conclusions but Its better to have a strong and open mind than a skeptical one. Till next time....be safe everyone.

Hello again everyone...I'm feeling better and better as the days pass and I am in no real pain. Scalp is still a little itchy but less than before. The hair follicles are still intact but while I was washing my face I saw little hairs on the sink...? Im not sure if they were from my implant or from my regular hair but i was a bit on edge but didn't really make a big deal out of it. One major thing however that is really bothering me is the dry blood on my scalp. I know I'm not supposed to pick at it but i was gently touching it and i don't feel any hair?... maybe its under the dry blood? I'm not sure and while touching it I think I accidentally pulled out a hair follicle. There was a but of sliminess at the end of the follicle and i was not sure if it was the bulb. This made me extremely nervous and I was scared that I had pulled out the hair with the bulb all together. I know it was probably just 1 but now it has made me extremely paranoid about losing more...Can anyone relate to this or am I getting ahead of myself? The dry blood is also starting to get to me and I'm not really sure how to go about it...Should I wait to remove them? or have the doctor do it? Do they eventually fall out? I'm not sure but where the dry blood is, its starting to sting just a little. Not sure if thats what I'm feeling or maybe I'm just a little scared something might be wrong... I might just need to relax haha. You will see in the pictures what I mean. I need a doctors perspective on this one or anyone who's had this similar concern. Now that we are on the topic of concern, you will notice in one of my picture that my right eye is still swollen and has not gone down...is this normal for swelling around the eyes for 3 days straight? It has even started swelling around a little bit on my left eye but not as bad. Im looking forward for peoples input. Hope you guys have a good week...I know I will because baseball is back on :)