NARMAK

I think it's good you are getting in touch with people like Dr Mwamba and as for permanent or temporary. It's hard to know which will happen but it's a possibility you need to be prepared for happening imo. I know you worrying about the hat suggestion and so on but you're in a literal catch-22 with whatever you do until potentially a repair solution could free you to do things as you might want to. Consult with Dr Mwamba and other high quality clinics and hopefully you find a way forwards. You're still a relatively young guy and got time on your side to address this.

I'm sorry Melvin but i seriously need to disagree with your assessment here of patient research and knowledge when it specifically comes to how many grafts are required for an illusion of density. This is something the clinic is supposed to take into account. Right now if i went to any reputable clinic and demanded they transplant 100 grafts per cm/2 or whatever my narive density is i would get told no. They would tell me specifically that my native density is X and i need Y grafts to get the appropriate illusion of density based on a first pass. Eugenix imo are there specifically to evaluate how many grafts are thus required for such a result not the patient and then this should be communicated. An in person assessment is obviously the best way for the clinic to see natural hair calibre and so on. You can't expect the majority of patients to be that knowledgeable generally about it. After that assessment the clinic should take steps to determine realistically how many grafts would be required. In this case to cover the proposed frontal and midscalp region which is what OP was offered as being 2500. Please review what has been presented by OP and let's try to reach a conclusion here to help him whilst not apportioning a blame which seems to be aimed towards OP presently imo a touch.

Thanks for sharing your journey and 4 month update. Fantastic work from Dr Bisanga and looks like it will be another result knocked out of the park. Good luck and thanks for all the updates.

@Melvin- Moderatori want to try and help suggest a solution here to hopefully get a positive ending and outcome for @AJ_HT with your assistance please, because i genuinely think you're the best placed as the intermediary for us as a community and the clinic. I said before there's no intention here to play a blame game by myself. I just want both parties to get a happy outcome in the end. It looks like there's an offer that's been made to do an in person evaluation for OP of the survival of grafts. You also wish to have that checked and okay, for whatever is implanted that's fair to check. However i would like to in the interest of fairness and quite possibly the confusion between the OP and the clinic reps per some of the text messages posted, clarify whether the OP donor area could only support a maximum of 2500 grafts for any procedures or just for this single procedure. With an outlook more grafts can be extracted for a 2nd procedure where necessary. It does seem like they managed to extract a further 800 grafts for the midscalp as part of a touch up. So, my personal thoughts are this as a solution: 1) In person evaluation by Eugenix to compare implanted grafts from the first procedure and graft survival 2) Evaluation of donor area on both scalp and beard to support any possible future transplant 3) If step 2 yields sufficient donor supply, a preliminary plan that could help address the density issues of the frontal hairline in a paid for procedure or if per step 1, grafts didn't survive, a combination of paid and free grafts. @AJ_HTcan only state if mentally he would be prepared to go back to Eugenix for any evaluation let alone any further procedures but i would say in the interest of openness and fairness, maybe you should do the evaluation and this should be something Melvin can be part of to show back to the community with evidence what has been done, evaluated etc. for full transparency. Right now, i do feel that perhaps there's been a misunderstanding between parties and the expectations set by OP and Eugenix. I do genuinely feel the clinic are in the driving seat when it comes to repair cases or any hair transplant and perhaps only they can present the technical reasons for lowering the hairline down rather than reinforcing the density at the hairline pre-op. Especially if it transpires that the maximum grafts OP could yield in total for any procedure was 2500. A patient can and perhaps does have expectations of full coverage even in terms of the illusion of density but if a clinic regardless of name and reputation take on this case, i'd have thought the primary goal would be to probably inform the patient if the midscalp will not get sufficient coverage in a single pass that's the only surgery possible with their depleted scalp donor. It looks like OP may have needed a second procedure to fully add density. Kind of like @Zoomster but i do not know if this was properly conveyed. Again, i am hoping for a positive outcome for all parties. As @Gatsbysaid he doesn't have a dog in this race. I guess neither do i in many ways. I guess as a patient booked in for a procedure myself it does make me slightly wonder about my own potential outcome but i'm still on the whole hopeful that a positive resolution can be reached for both parties.

Thank you for replying. Being with a good beard means that grafts selectively could be taken from there and placed hopefully if necessary. In terms of being taken in by social media and cheap prices, you're unfortunately not the first person to have been taken in by this tactic and unfortunately will not be the last. All we can hope for is people like yourself sharing your stories helps save other people who come across this from the same fate. If you happen to use Reddit, sharing your story on places like R/Tressless and similar will hopefully also help people. Make an alt account if you want anonymity i guess. Eugenix is in India and not too far if you want to at least give them a message for consultations but there's also a bunch on the recommended list maybe you can reach out to. I would say that the pictures you posted don't show SMP when it was being used but i completely understand your concern around applying sun block all the time and fading of SMP. The truth is, SMP does fade and your environment just might be making that happen sooner but you may have to manage your situation as best as you can until you're able to repair. Growing the hair longer in the donor area, how does it look? Do you have any pictures and with SMP when used as well as hair fibres? Right now a combination of wearing hair longer to cover the donor area or completely shaving it down to a low fade and using SMP to fill the donor scars in could work. You probably will want to use a hat of some sorts, maybe find one that looks stylish and helps block the sun. Sun damage is bad for you generally so it's a good idea to try and protect yourself. Maybe a wide brim hat will help. Fibres for the corners and a brand that can withstand heat and sweating might be useful for the time being and staying away from too many swim based activities unless you are able to maybe wear a tight swim cap around the head. There's a high possibility you will have to probably use beard grafts in the donor area and a combination of any salvaged scalp hair in an extremely depleted donor area combined with body hair. Now, this is where my warning to you comes. You are a repair case. The damage that's been done to your hair makes it significantly harder, probably even more than i'm able to emphasis to get the result you may be hoping for. As long as you understand there's a huge possibility that things could even possibly look worse because of potential further shock loss and trauma, and are willing to take that risk, you genuinely may not want to go for a repair even. Getting it right the first time usually helps but there are people who even going to the best possible place the first time have had poor results and that's why some people warn don't get a hair transplant. Especially if you are not prepared for that bitter disappointing possibility. I genuinely hope you do find a solution OP, you're just a bit older than me and the same age when you got your hair transplant. I would probably ask that you think about posting some before pictures and probably start medication like Finasteride because it could help save the hair you have around the crown where it doesn't look like you had a transplant. Especially because if you lose any more hair, i genuinely don't think you'll have enough to cover it with whatever is left in your scalp donor.

@Adam87 your results are probably the envy of the forum lol. I can only dream i get anything close to yours and seems like you had a very favourable donor area and they managed to take just over 2k grafts and make them 2.6k which is impressive in itself. My question for you specifically if that's okay is that i was wanting to know if you know what the length of the hairline was set at from the glabella and also if you know what density per CM/2 got implanted in the areas where you didn't already have existing hairs. I probably wouldn't be able to use Dr Freitas with the 2 year wait times and am booked elsewhere for May but i'm hoping to have around 2200 grafts but need my temple points restored completely too. I am potentially thinking i may need to upgrade the number of grafts a bit higher but wanted to get your input to see what density might be a realistic aim because your result looks amazing for a single pass.

I definitely think it's good that you take care of yourself man. More willpower than i have lol, and probably a lot of others. I genuinely do wish you and everybody i come across the best in getting the results you want. This forum is about education and information. I do definitely try my best to be as balanced as i can and stick to the science where its clear as possible, long term and generally peer reviewed. That's why from my own experience of not having been on medication like Finasteride for probably a decade earlier due to opinions of people that weren't science backed, i avoided it and then when properly researching again decided to take Dutasteride which is probably the most nuclear DHT blocking medication. That said, not everyone is like myself or the others willing to or can tolerate Finasteride etc. and in your case specifically i respect if you don't wish to try it. I think your original hairline design was also extremely sensible and conservative for your hair loss now and potentially in the future. So i do hope to follow your journey should you finally get to that stage of a hair transplant and be rooting for you to get a great result! All the best.

It's definitely not unfair to point out repairs are harder. There certainly are big limitations that can come with a repair case and there's probably a lot of respected members on here to attest to that. I just think its unfortunate all around here but i'm hopeful OP can hopefully get a positive resolution and i do hope we all as a community can learn from cases like these. I think @Melvin- Moderatoris fair in highlighting the limitations of hair transplants whether on a virgin scalp or even a repair case moreso, but i'm sure we can respectfully differ in our assessments of the case for OP and perhaps how the situation may have unfolded between the two parties without an attribution of blame. Because at the end of the day, i don't think this is about blaming anybody. I think it's an educational moment for us as a community. Hopefully OP receives an outcome they can be happy with and Eugenix will be able to assist in that with whatever ways they are fairly able to offer as the clinic within their power. I think that is a balanced view to take here for all viewing this thread and hopefully happens.

OP, how does your beard look when grown out? In cases like yours, it might be necessary to use it but the beard is not a perfect match and ideal. However it's become typical in patients to sometimes help repair. You want to come here for advice and honesty so please don't be discouraged by any of the responses. They're trying to be helpful but honest so that other people maybe viewing this can avoid a similar fate. The honest truth is, your donor looks really bad. Anybody ethical may actually not take you on unless you explicitly know how bad the situation is and realise the huge limitations you may face. My honest advice to yourself might be to grow the hair longer to see how it might look and hide the donor area and i genuinely think you will have to use hair concealers to try and make it all blend. What ethnicity are you and what was it that lead you to Aslic Tarcan? Also, age and any medication you are currently taking might be helpful in users offering you advice. I'm really sorry you went through this, and sincerely wishing you can with some help manage the situation where you can overcome things even just a bit.

Your temporal areas receding happens with age and to mitigate it you need to be on Finasteride to slow/halt the progression further. Even if you got a hair transplant, because you're only 27, there's a high likelihood it will progress in the next decade without medication and you will end up needing a 2nd procedure.

Jesus dude lol. No, ethnicity has no bearing on ability imo. It's an outdated and dangerous stereotype. Excellent hair transplant surgeons come in all shapes, sizes and ethnicities. Don't worry though, there's probably a tall, dark handsome surgeon out there for you with Asian heritage

You should consider medication like Finasteride to help preserve what you have even with your current hair loss looking stable. Maybe 1mg 3x a week. Long term if the hair receded further without medication you will likely need to use more grafts but medication could mitigate that.

Ethnicity has no bearing imo on surgical excellence in hair transplants. What does however influence that excellence is their ability to work on a range of different ethnicities and hair types using all the different devices on the market to deliver a stellar result. Typically Spanish doctors who excel deal with similar ethnic groups often who have a similar donor in terms of hair calibre and that experience accumulates the more you work on those type of patients. Likewise Eugenix for example with South Asian patients. That's why a Dr like Dr Bisanga imo stands out because he has shown a range of cases that will probably span ethnic groups but geographical experiences on specific ethnic groups is probably why a certain clinic might be chosen over another.

Not gonna lie, i want as strong a hairline as i can manage. I think facial aesthetics are important to consider though and hopefully they will age as well as i hope. I'm pretty side on the design with the darker angle i drew but i am considering make them extend out a little more to make the forehead touch more narrow.

Thank you for your reply and i don't believe that anybody should expect a free touch up everytime and of course with fine hair, reasonable expectations should be set. However again i would refer to the lines draw on the before picture which imo for an admitted compromised donor maybe should have been a bit less. Perhaps the OP mentioning no contact from Eugenix and your information from the clinic advising there had been will yield a response from OP himself. I cannot speak for OP as you can imagine but i do think it's reasonable to maybe accommodate what Eugenix have offered that if a graft didn't yield when counted they will offer a touch up. I'm just hoping we can get a happy ending for all involved. I don't think there's any malicious intent on any side and i just like to see a story like this end well i guess.

You've got a very difficult before and after picture to judge on because it looks well shopped lol. If i had to guess you're looking to close in the temporal angles but it's difficult to say whether the 2nd picture also has a lowered hairline. Use the link above posted and get them to consult you with your hairline goals in mind. That said, are you currently on any medication and what's your general family history of hair loss?

Hey Melvin, Whilst i appreciate you taking the time to go to the clinic and find all the information. My only concern is that the patients frontal hairline density which is even what you say was focused on doesn't seem to have yielded an acceptable result. The OP even stated he never mentioned the frontal hairline because he was 8 months post-op and still awaiting final results for the frontal hairline to mature which is a fair comment and reasonable for a patient. Even you would have to agree a patient can grow and mature over 4 months from 8-12 which would be unreasonable to sometimes complain within for a late grower. Even your own YouTube video mentioned people going from 9 months to 12 months results which looked worlds apart. A patient not signing a paper that makes them agree legally that they should expect a sub par result as a possibility shouldn't even be used as a point. No clinic in the world should make a patient sign such a thing imo and a clinic should be taking every care to ensure a positive outcome. I understand the patient was a repair case and of course there's risk with that, but Eugenix have been knocking it out the park. All your post imo has done so far is reinforce via clinic pictures that the before and after still show a lack of density in the frontal hairline. Eugenix are building a reputation on repair cases and in the interest of fairness to OP, i do not feel he is saying anything derogatory about clinic negligence or anything like that. Merely that the result of the procedures and the touch up did not match with what the expectations were perhaps set by the clinic as a desired outcome for him. If the clinic felt 2500 grafts was the maximum grafts possible to extract, i do now wonder whether the conversations had with OP adequately explained the outcome. Even the before picture you posted shows a band around the front almost 1cm in front of the area. I'm unsure why Eugenix didn't look to reinforce the existing hairline, refining it and then midscalp as we've seen them do so many times before. I think there's factors at play on both sides but right now, i feel OP is here for support and a resolution and we should try help him here as that's what this community was founded on the principles of. I appreciate Eugenix is favoured on here and many members have had great results. Heck, i'm planned to have a procedure with them for that very reason, because i believe they are on balance generally great. However, right now OP needs a little bit of help and i think we can maybe try bridge things a bit and see what we can do with you connecting to Eugenix and maybe as a community getting to the heart of the matter. They say truth is like a coin. You have two sides.

Oh boy. I'm not going to prattle off on the vaccine comment, but honestly hand on heart ask yourself how much of what you said about not ingesting foreign chemicals into your body is actually true. Almost every single thing produced today has a chemical element and isn't "natural" in some way, shape or form. I respect your decision not to use Finasteride but suddenly if the DHT was switched to cancer and the pill gave you a 51% resistance increase and ability to add to your bodies natural resistance, i do wonder how many more people would start taking it. My point is, you already probably use medication that has a ton of side affect risks at times. You are also able to completely stop the use of Finasteride and 99.9% of people probably return to normal within months.

In the interests of fairness, i would say its best to just 6+ month results for temple points when the majority of the hair and density is starting to come in since they're usually very thin, slow growing and less pigmented hairs near the edge to give a natural feathered effected. Personally i am not a fan of that design aesthetically. It's rather conservative imo and the way i would personally want. I was looking into this, and a 90 degree angle is basically extremely, extremely rare and maybe looks weird. So when i looked at possible angles. A higher degree angle looked much closer to what i would go for but the lower angle tilts higher in that picture than i would get if you compare to the design i have in the OP. I think it's a shame that more people don't do temple points. They are so subtle yet so impactful on the final results. If i had to guess, it's because they're even harder to get right and separate the very best clinics from the more run of the mill who just know more basics of single grafts and micro irregularities for frontal hairlines.

Ah, i see. When i looked at your picture, i wasn't 100% certain but had a hint you may have had it done previously. I am very eager to go somewhere that can properly do temple points which is why i've chosen Eugenix but right now the Visa part just has me concerned about being granted. That's why i was trying to see if there was any other backup options.

When you approached Dr Bicer, did you specifically mention the temple points to her and what input was given around them to you in terms of density and so on. 2400 grafts sounds like on the higher end tbh, 2100 though seems to be the bottom end of the range maybe somewhere like that is right. Keep is updated. Would love to follow your journey

@Melvin- Moderatori got a question for you bud. So usually they shave the donor area but if i wanted to keep the hair on top because i'm only getting a frontal hairline and temple points transplant done, do you think that would be reasonable? The more i've been thinking about it the more i think it would help me mask the frontal hairline area transplanted and i usually have short back and sides so i expected the donor area healing and growing back might blend back a lot better. Plus there's maybe an easier area of comparison for before and after photos. That or do you think it would probably be advised to go completely shaved down.

That could be it too. Guess we'll see where it ends up and what kind of result it looks like over probably the next few months by him posting on social media too.

I wasn't disagreeing with you lol, i am convinced he got one. I'm just saying the density looks sparse for a hair transplant. I wasn't critiquing you 😛

I personally am on Dutasteride 0.5mg everyday and feel like that situation seems fine from a normal function to reach form PoV lol. You can slowly introduce it into your regimen and if there's any issues reduce or get rid of it. Until you actually try, you will not know unless Finasteride already gave you side affects.