thanatopsis_awry

I've gone the "ultimate" route of HTs, so I feel a bit disingenuous saying this now....but while baldness is always a detriment, it also creates the opportunity/challenge to rise to the occasion. Pre-MPB, while I was never too socially awkward, I had little to no "game"; MPB killed me for a while, but it also caused me to have some newfound perspective that has allowed me to now live it up and not take things for granted and be so superficial. Whether it's accomplishment, talent, humor, physique, confidence....women are drawn to this. Are women also drawn to superficial looks? Absolutely. How much is the question I think we're all speculating on. I'd argue that the "status quo" superficiality that surrounds our media-culture has prodded many guys (and girls) to obsess over the aesthetic, quite possibly at the expense of "accomplishment, talent...confidence". But this doesn't necessarily mean that if presented with a legit dude who has these **rare** qualities but is bald he is fucked. Possibly, the rarity of this makes him an even greater bird. It's tough, though, because it's so natural to compound the negative that baldness inherently is by obsessing over it (part of the aesthetic) at the expense of all else. If I knew then what I know now, and if I could "do it all over again", I would probably buzz my head, take good care of my body so I feel solid, and see if I could make it work....augment my positive charachteristics and develop my talents, which we should all do regardless, but being afflicted by baldness gives us all the more reason, even though it's all the more difficult to initially do. EDIT -- I do agree w/ bro that hair, followed by height, are the critical points that for better or worse women focalize around when gauging someone's aesthetics.

I agree w/ much of what Vasilius wrote. But, the younger you are -- and the younger your dating demographic is -- the more vital of an importance hair takes on. The over-arching factor, however, is confidence and the ability to be yourself. For many, this is unfortunately impossible to realize after their locks get plundered; for some it is possible, and I would say that is the ideal route to go. Loss of hair puts you at a disadvantage, and it's the ensuing loss of confidence that creates a vortex of hurt on your chances w/ girls.

Broad statements get made directly because of the "many less than stellar reviews". A man can walk through a "door" that he knows he can walk through and survive. A man can walk through one of 100 doors, of which he has no certainty that he will walk through and survive; the lone certainty that many if not all have chosen and failed. Someone comes to you asking for advice and which scenario they should entertain -- which path do you vehemently caution them towards/against?

You are going to be mint; already you've had blessed early-growth!

Kobuck, exactly.....keep up the research; consider to get an online consultation with a proven, elite doc or two....it'l be free and you'll get an honest evaluation. Either way, just keep researching if you are still -- or will ever -- entertain the thought of getting a HT.

Consider this my mitzvah of the day, as I am going to be blunt: If you go to Bosley you are at best playing Russian Roulette with your physical embodiment, at worst will get a butcher-job that you will regret for the rest of your life, and most likely you will receive a 3.5/10 while paying a premium for sub-mediocrity. Moreover, there is absolutely no reason to play this game of Russian Roulette. You can either follow through on the research you are just beginning to do, or you can go to a hair-mill that is a sewage system for accountability, reliability, and ability. And 2k grafts on a NW5 virgin scalp is a joke; and your doctor more likely can't do a "dense pack" even if he wanted to. It sounds like Foundation, if he isn't an out n' out shill, enjoys prodding other people into making and living with poor decisions. You can always think super positive though and the gods that oversee Bosley Hair will swoop down and deliver you the satisfaction you want.

James...no doubt he will need at least 3 ops to achieve an acceptable result? HT areas become very noticeable? Noticeable like what? Hair? Look forward to the clear pictures of your science-defying, result-defying success with lasers....

Good to hear from you guys...puts things into much better perspective!

Pat, Bill, Feller, and all other posters who comprise this community. When I stumbled here I was a scared, angry, distressed kid; I isolated myself off in every sense of the word, hairloss smothering my natural nature as a social guy that likes people. While hair restoration can be argued to be something of a cure, it certainly is not a panacea. Life is still difficult and complexities don't simply disappear and become pleasant vapor that we inhale and forget about. I do feel, however, that for the first time in years I am able to be myself. Gradually, my life has gravitated back towards the center, to where it's belonged all along. The road has been long and the journey is not over. But to have come and gone so far is a feat that I will never forget, and it has made me infinitely stronger. Future problems and dilemmas of a follicular and non-follicular nature are inevitable -- I look forward to battling them both.....the latter, particularly! There is a cool poem that JFK was fond of, and even carried a small copy of in his pocket: "bullfight critics, ranked in rows, crowd the enormous plaza full, but there is only one who knows, and it is he who fights the bull" To accomplishment, and moreso to the fight for accomplishment.

Pat, Bill, Feller, and all other posters who comprise this community. When I stumbled here I was a scared, angry, distressed kid; I isolated myself off in every sense of the word, hairloss smothering my natural nature as a social guy that likes people. While hair restoration can be argued to be something of a cure, it certainly is not a panacea. Life is still difficult and complexities don't simply disappear and become pleasant vapor that we inhale and forget about. I do feel, however, that for the first time in years I am able to be myself. Gradually, my life has gravitated back towards the center, to where it's belonged all along. The road has been long and the journey is not over. But to have come and gone so far is a feat that I will never forget, and it has made me infinitely stronger. Future problems and dilemmas of a follicular and non-follicular nature are inevitable -- I look forward to battling them both.....the latter, particularly! There is a cool poem that JFK was fond of, and even carried a small copy of in his pocket: "bullfight critics, ranked in rows, crowd the enormous plaza full, but there is only one who knows, and it is he who fights the bull" To accomplishment, and moreso to the fight for accomplishment.

The immediate post-ops lack the necessary clarity to make any sort of conclusive judgment. But nothing looks glaringly bad, and the # of grafts looks good to the area being treated -- if they grow and your doc knows what he's doing this should set you up very well. Keep us posted and thx for taking the time to share!

"Did you take pics to compare" -- no, vgood idea....it very well could be my mind playing tricks on me....and you're right, I basically had no native terminal hairs left....my hairline does seem *considerably* softer....it was quite "wild" up until recently, which for sure would go hand in hand with me being ~10months out. The softening of the hairline, using a new styling product, my perception of increased thinning behind the HT zone....I can't help but think the aforementioned is somehow tied to my hairline seeming thinner.....could just be my mind, though....for the wedding I'll be using my old styling product so that should clear up one of the three potentialities.

Thx for the replies -- all very sound words that I'll take into consideration! The most alarming thing to me is that my hairline seems thinner...I noticed this about a week ago....three things: *it seems "softer"...much less wild....could this "maturation" have come at the expense of illusion of density? Or could this be tied to some shed I'm going through, which could have ties to the "maturation" process.... *if I def have thinned behind the hairline could this also lead to less perceived density in the hairline region itself? *i'm going to go back to the old styling product starting tomorrow, where I have a big wedding to attend...maybe this in and of itself could be the solution (...?) I guess I could have also just suddenly lost what little native hair I did have remaining in the HT-zone....don't think that's likely, but it'd suck.

Thx....ya, this section def needs a renaissance!

Hmmm...based off of everything you've said -- and what I can see -- I would feel reasonably content, then. You ever try dermmatch and/or nanogen? Even mild dosage could work some magic. My initial reaction was that it looks a bit LondonLadish....the crown pattern, lateral humps, etc....a hazard impression, though, based off of incomplete info, but take it for w/e it's worth.

Is your hair wet in the pic? Kinda seems that way; you might just very well have very thin hair, which under direct sunlight like this makes an area appear much weaker than it actually is. On the other hand, if this is an "accurate" representation of your losses, it def seems like that is the pattern, as crown thinness *seems* pretty evident in this one pic. Also, depending on how long you've been on fin/minox -- and how you have reacted to it to date -- combined with how you will *continue* to react to it would be a determining factor, IMO.

Recently, I spearheaded a blog -- not directly related to hairloss, though I can't help but bring up a little MPB from time to time! There are multiple authors on the blog, primarily comprised of Soren H. Costanza and AmbroseBurnside. It's a really wacky blog, but, IMO, the writing is very good, very wry, comedic, and occasionally quite thought-provoking. It's very new, will be getting an aesthetic overhaul soon, but it's def on the up-n'-up and should just get better! I think the pieces so far, taken in their totality, are def working together and make up a cool "product"....the posts keep getting stronger. www.TheProverbialTundra.com Soren kinda tackles broad existential, life-issues relating them to typical, humorous day-to-day living subject matter; Ambrose is kinda the opinionated *(!hole It's def not for everyone, but who knows! Give it a peak, pass along the word if you love it (or hate it!)..... EDIT -- once I get a bit more entrenched in my new social life I will definitely be muchmuch more overt with MPB-like matters...I'm just holding back for now!

D, You can take "new and improved" pics now, but then yer just going to have to keep updating them month to month for the foreseeable future!

Hey bro...you are looking real solid, no doubt! Obv you are stuck with the pre-op baldness, but you really don't look bad, and considering your juncture in the journey, you look quite good, IMO. Your recovery itself seems to be going well, and your "style" (hair and otherwise) seems to have good synergy.... The wait is (and will be) difficult, but it will be well worth it. Yer outlook seems positive, and I think the process -- as well as the result -- will go along swimmingly!

Slightly premature, but it's been weighing on my mind. My first HT, while not yet complete, has been an outstanding (astounding?) success. However, I was a NW4 at the age of 21, so the war rages on. Feller said two things that struck me when I saw him @ month 8 -- that I would essentially never have to be bald, and that while my crown had actually improved a bit, the area behind the frontal 1/3rd had begun to thin further. The former fills me with hope, the latter worries me as it is def thinning out. I'm not at the pt. of using concealer, but I have to be more strategic in styling, my hair has to be at a more optimal length...etc...etc.... Also, and this could be my imagination, a shed, or the new styling product I'm using, but my hairline seems a bit thinner -- any correlation, perhaps, to the recent thinning hampering the HT's illusion of density? Anyways, when do I go in for Round 2? When I have to start using concealer? When 1.5k would fix it? When 3k? Do I bunker down, wait it out with concealer till' I need like 4k+ and go in a fell swoop, or do I attack incrementally (but at what rate..) and relegate myself to undergoing extra-procedures.... Ideally, I would almost like to have my ultimate pattern come full swing ASAP -- smack me in the head w/ a NW5.5, and I'll carpetbomb. My fear is this long, painful, slow process of increased thinning...more losses....less density....greater difficulty to disguise....and I can't conceptually figure out when it is best to go in for the proverbial Round 2.....

Slightly premature, but it's been weighing on my mind. My first HT, while not yet complete, has been an outstanding (astounding?) success. However, I was a NW4 at the age of 21, so the war rages on. Feller said two things that struck me when I saw him @ month 8 -- that I would essentially never have to be bald, and that while my crown had actually improved a bit, the area behind the frontal 1/3rd had begun to thin further. The former fills me with hope, the latter worries me as it is def thinning out. I'm not at the pt. of using concealer, but I have to be more strategic in styling, my hair has to be at a more optimal length...etc...etc.... Also, and this could be my imagination, a shed, or the new styling product I'm using, but my hairline seems a bit thinner -- any correlation, perhaps, to the recent thinning hampering the HT's illusion of density? Anyways, when do I go in for Round 2? When I have to start using concealer? When 1.5k would fix it? When 3k? Do I bunker down, wait it out with concealer till' I need like 4k+ and go in a fell swoop, or do I attack incrementally (but at what rate..) and relegate myself to undergoing extra-procedures.... Ideally, I would almost like to have my ultimate pattern come full swing ASAP -- smack me in the head w/ a NW5.5, and I'll carpetbomb. My fear is this long, painful, slow process of increased thinning...more losses....less density....greater difficulty to disguise....and I can't conceptually figure out when it is best to go in for the proverbial Round 2.....

23...quasi-baldie....started thinning, actually, when I was 17 -- didn't become truly noticeable till' I was ~20...by 21 I was @(@!$*%&(#(@*$(#! Guess I was/am a NW4ish....diffuse thinner....headed towards something of a NW5....had 3k rammed into my frontal 1/3rd that was totally barren about 10months ago and have had a great recovery. Sadly, area behind HT is def starting to thin; thankfully, crown/vertex is quite strong from fin. I'm down for another strip or two, followed by a couple FUE to max myself out. If I can pull 10-15k, which I think I can do, I should basically never have to be bald -- Feller himself told me as much. My main dilemma is how I'll handle going through the HT process again -- I didn't have much of a social life prior. Considering how harsh my hairloss was at such a young age it's stabilized to a remarkable degree and my "ultimate" pattern is actually not too terrible.

Quite possibly. 6months is very early; and you may very well simply be a slow, or moderate grower to boot. Give it time; post some clear pics and you are likely to get some more precise info relayed. But, generally speaking, you are very early, I don't see any glaring signs of horror, and if you went to a top doc/clinic you should be s8.

I think PGP is basing his stance primarily off Siporin's involvementin the LLLC 'debate' thread...could be wrong, tho.

1500-2000 grafts, imo. The number is irrelevant, tho, if you go to a chopshop like MHR. If lucky, you'll get a mediocre result and prolly pay a premium for it too. I'd recco holding off for a bit, research, and do some consults with bona fide elite docs.