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

Hello everyone, This is my attempt to document my journey into the process of getting a hair transplant. I have read many peoples experiences as well as seen other peoples pictures of their procedure, both good & bad. I have done my homework & understand that hair transplants have improved in the recent years but nevertheless there are still those who unfortunately have problems with their procedure. Some of the things I read sound watered down, or don't feel genuine and its quite hard to tell the difference between a genuine story and a fictional one. I am not here to talk anyone into getting or not getting a HT nor am I vouching for any particular doctor or clinic. With that being said I want those who read this to use it as guidance and to see my progress and join the journey with me whether it be a good one or bad; This is my story…

I have always had a pretty big forehead, being that it runs in the family, and somewhat accepted it. It didn't really bother me before the age of 15 but however thanks to mother nature, (& my dad) my hairline began to slowly thin and recede over the years. Thanks to Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) combined with my already big forehead, it has made my forehead to appear massive (at least thats what i think). After years of stares, teasing, ALWAYS wearing a hat, stupid hairstyles (male bangs), isolation, and depression I am finally going to get a HT at the age of 21.

Like many people who first hear about hair transplants I was immediately opposed to the idea thinking that doctors still used the "hair plug" procedure. A little before I graduated HS, (2009-2010) I read more into FUE, FUT, Hair stem cell transplant…etc, and got more into the idea. It was always in the back of my mind but since i had long hair to mask my forehead/receding hairline it was easy to pretend like the problem wasn't even there. I was still wearing hats everyday and only took it off when i absolutely had to (fancy dinners, parties, weddings…). I can't even count how many times Ive stood home instead of going out and having a good time in order to keep people from seeing how my hair looked. Those really closest to me said that my hair looked fine but i only felt that they were just trying to make me feel better about myself.

It was only recently that I began to be more open about my hairline/forehead to my girlfriend and how deeply it negatively impacts my everyday life. She also urged that my hair looked fine and it didn't look so bad and that i should accept it…yada yada yada. I agree that I should be more accepting but I am not and i am tired of having to hide from people because of my insecurities. With the help of my girlfriend, my first step in trying to accept was shaving my head on Feb 28, 2014. I admit, at first I did feel a bit of relief but being that i have almost no facial hair besides a tiny patch on my chin, it looked terrible and what made things worse was that my mother absolutely hated it and again i felt the same way i did about myself with my semi long hair. Only in this case there was no hiding it. What made things even more worse was that I went to South America in late Jan of 2014 in the heat of the summer and got really tanned (more than what i already am haha) and I wore a hat 90% of the time i was over there. Having my hat on obviously my head in general did not get tanned, and in shaving my head, my forehead and scalp was almost pale looking compared to the rest of my skin below my eyebrows and still looks that way.

I was completely fed up with my situation and it was at this point that I felt I was at a dead end and all hope was lost. When i mentioned hair transplants to my mother a few years back she wasn't opposed to the idea but felt i was too young to undergo such a procedure. I also felt the same way and thought that no doctor would see me because I'm so young and that its a something older people do. This time around my mother mentioned it to me again and said that she and my sister will completely support it 100% if I decide to do it in the hopes of seeing me happy. Reading more about HT and its advances, a lot has changed from 2009 and i believe that successful hair transplants were becoming more of a reality. Of course in different forums i read about people unhappy with their results and how i should stay away and that its a scam and blah blah blah. Im at a point where if something goes wrong or the hairs don't grow, I'm back at square one right in the same position I'm in right now. I have a "nothing to lose" mentality, but above all a positive one.

My pictures will show you how much has changed over the years and hopefully you can see what I see when i look in the mirror and tell me I'm not crazy when I say that my forehead has gotten bigger over the years...and yes it is really me.

Im hoping i made the right choice and one that i won't regret. At this point I just want to get it over with and thursday can't come soon enough. Feel free to ask me any questions I will be more than happy to answer them. And also feel free to share your stories/progress with me! I want to communicate with as much people as possible about this and anyones input will be much appreciated! Thanks!

Before I begin let me point out that I'm mad at myself because I left in such a rush yesterday morning to beat New york city traffic that I accidently left my phone at home and could not take any pictures right before and after my procedure so sorry for that :/...

Anyway, The procedure went extremely well. Everyone was really helpful and made sure that I was comfortable and at ease before starting. At the start of the procedure the doctor was applying local anesthesia which kind of hurt but nothing crazy just like a few strong pinches. After waiting a while for it numb up enough, he began to apply anesthesia to the "donor" area and again we waited till it was numb enough to begin the surgery. Since i was given valium I was not all there in the head and began dozing off in and out but i did feel the doctor basically removing my skin. It was not painful what so ever and before i knew it he was stitching it back together. Once that was done he began puncturing my scalp and forming my new hairline. It was basically painless but there was some places where the anesthesia didn't completely numbed and i DID feel it clearly. It wasn't a very strong pain but it did cause a bit of discomfort…I kinda think of when you are getting a tattoo (for those of you who have them know what i mean) but he applied more anesthesia and it helped a little. However there were some spots that still hurt and the doctor performed something called a "Nerve Block" in which he gave me with stronger anesthesia and injected a big needle right above my eyebrow (you can where he injected it in my pictures) and I'm not going to lie that hurt quite a lot but it did the job and COMPLETELY numbed my entire forehead.

At this point afterwards I was mostly asleep. They started the procedure at around 9:30, 9:45 or 10am (not really sure since i didn't have my phone lol). The technicians woke me up to ask me something and before i knew it it was already 1pm. Time flies when you're on the chair! After dozing off again the doctor wakes me up and tells me they are done and that it was 3:30 pm. Waking up, the only thing that i felt was a lot of pressure in the back of my head. Im not going to sugar coat it and saying it didn't hurt but the truth is it did. When i was younger I slammed the back of my head so hard on the concrete from falling off a hammack and the pain i was feeling was similar to that. Im not trying to scare anyone but it did hurt, not the worse pain in the world but since this is something I've wanted for so long and knowing this would change my life completely the pain seemed to cease after I weighed the pros and cons.

Sleep was probably the most inconvenience of this whole thing so far. You have to moisturized your scalp every 2 hours so that really interfierd with my sleep cycle as well as taking the prescribed pills every few hours depending on what they give you. Another thing is is that every Doctors recommend you sleep at an angle and have your head raised as to prevent more swelling. Resting my head on a raised pillow was another task in itself being that I still felt pressure.

Overall I woke up fine and the swelling seems to be going down and i don't feel sooo much pressure behind my head like i did yesterday. My transplants are still red but look stable and in good shape so I'm happy about that and confident about a successful outcome. I will keep everyone updated as the days go on and again please don't hesitate to ask me any question what so ever! Till next time...

What's up everyone. Well I hit the 3 day mark today and Im feeling good aside from the sore throat and minor cold i think I'm about to have. One thing that has really caught my attention yesterday (2nd day post op) was that I'm starting to swell a bit on my face. I know that swelling is to be expected but It seemed to subside after a few hours and for some reason just started to swell again but much more. My father woke me up today to ask what I wanted for breakfast and told me that my face is really swollen especially under my right eye. He was concerned (my father never really shows his emotions so this made me feel uneasy) and told me to eat and put ice on my face. Only question i have is, does swelling usually get worse following the first few days after a HT? doesn't swelling happen a few months after?...I'm not sure, i figured the swelling was only on the first day but then again it is still very early to jump to conclusions. I will read more into it and I'll call my doctor first thing in the morning on Monday just to be safe. Another thing that starting to become annoying is sleeping. I'm still sleeping at an angle as suggested by the doctor but when i wake up, the back of my head where the statures are hurts from obviously sleeping on it. Im not really sure how else to sleep to avoid that pain and I can't sleep on my stomach nor on my side for fear that my hair grafts will be damaged. Speaking of the hair grafts, they are starting to itch. It sucks knowing that you can't even touch them but the itchiness can be quite unbearable at a point but i guess its normal. but overall my hair follicle are intact and the redness is slowly going away. Only time will tell and hopefully my doctor can provide me some answers and clarification. You will see in my new pictures how my face looked on the yesterday (2nd day post op) and how it looks today (3rd day post op taken about an hour ago). Hope everyone has a good Sunday!