thanatopsis_awry

Hey man, Helluva journey you have had, and you really are looking great; thx for posting such honest, clear pictures, they are appreciated!

Hahaha....I've always felt a bit of umbrage towards the phrase hair transplant, let alone the dreaded plugs; gotta say, "hair augmentation" has a much more mellifluous feel to it. "equality in it's rawest and most natural of states"....hahaha.....

I've not heard the best things about the "choi implanter", though it is intruiging. If you want to find somebody in the UK to check you out, I'd recommend going to see the Farjos.

Looooooookin' good! From what I'm guesstimating to be your pre-op loss, I think your results are going to be fantastic. Grow well, and keep us posted.

Individually, propecia is much more effective than the minox; when taken together, however, there may very well be a synergistic effect, and the addition of the minox has been known to help even the hairline region. Stick with the propecia for a year or so before you draw a conclusion on how it is working for you.

Overall, I believe a strategic combination of dermmatch and nanogen is best -- especially if you have a legit concern of detectability with a woman. Use the nano on the crown, and the dermmatch for the frontal region; dermmatch is less detectable, so you won't have to worry about a lady's errant fingers making their way through your hairline. As well, nano works best in the crown/vertex -- though it works very well in the fronta region, too.

1.) More. Less. I would recommend nanogen over toppik, though. 2.) Traces will invariably rub off, though they should be rather invisible -- especially to the human touch and naked eye. Using a "lock in" spray helps with this, as well. 3.) Yes. It depends upon your specific loss, but I believe that applying nanogen/toppik, letting it disperse and sit for a minute, applying 1/2 dosage of the locking spray, then styling it with a hair product, and then using additional nano/toppik for a touch up is optimal. 4.) Not sure about number four. I would recommend you look into dermmatch; a dermmatch + nanogen combo is, IMO, the most effective.

Ok...it's bad enough when I have to endure women's self-serving statements about their beauty, but having to hear it from another dude? it just doesn't sit well...I'm sure your a real "stunning-beauty" of a man, but *please* allow the ladies to tell you. Compliments from one's own mouth never exemplifies attractive qualities. Or, if you like, you can "model" some photo's for us & we can take a vote on how beautiful ( ) you are! Anyways, Jon, you may want to look into some nanogen (or dermmatch) -- as it's been known to transform Beasts into Beauties. Also, changing your hairstyle and using some thickening products (waxes, etc.) can work wonders.

I agree with NG2GB that there is one gigantic difference -- which is that we are "merely" trying to restore what we were born with and identified with during our development. And, as we all know, even then, most are not going to be achieving a "perfect" result, or even what we once had. To me, it makes getting a HT less vain than a boob-job; this isn't to say there is anything wrong with a woman's vanity and her wanting to get larger breasts, as it's quite understandable, especially in today's climate. Consider this, which holds true for many: when we see a guy with relatively good hair, they are pretty much told to take a hike, if they ever even consider a HT to begin with. Conversely, a large majority of women getting boob-jobs have very much normal breasts, but are seeking a state of abnormal excellency. Personally, I often find boob-jobs to be a detriment to a woman's look, though I have nothing against a woman's desire in wanting one. It is, however, a bit disturbing to see waves of incredibly young girls lining up to get breast augmentation at such emotionally tumultuous stages.

Great pics Richie -- very candid, and clear! You are also def making nice progress, and your crown is going to look minto another few months.

The Khan's are a disgrace to their profession, but it looks like you were the recipient of some of their "better" work, which is quasi-fortunate. Also, as mentioned, they didn't squander a lot of your donor. So, given that, and how exceptional some docs are at "repairs" and just HTs in general, I see no reason why your end results can't be very, very satisfying for you!

I have very sensitive skin, as well; and for the longest time, I struggled with post-shave irritation. American Crew makes a shaving cream that you apply pre-shave, and it has truly been a panacea. As for after shaves, the best I've found have been Nivea for Men Sensitive Extra Soothing Balm, which I used during adolescence; and, recently, I've been using Aveda's Men After-Shave Balm, which has been a perfect find for me. I've heard great stuff about Dewayne's ArtOfShaving, too -- and they have some badass items on their website....damn, that engraved chrome gillette fusion razor for $250 looks tasty.

I'd posit 3 things: One, DHI has very poor patient feedback (I know of but a couple satisfactor cases, and even then there were serious ?s). Two, I would be shocked if any half-way good clinic was willing to operate on you at 17, and I'd still be quite surprised even if most poor clinics would work on you. Three, look into getting on rogaine foam 5%, nizoral 2% shampoo, and inquire about finasteride. Doing this is essential to try to stabalize your loss, and it will also accelerate the time it takes for you to be a viable candidate for a HT. Also, post some pics if you can.

Positive signs, and as Chucky mentioned, entreupenurial competition is a very good forboding. I still believe that ~10 years is a reasonable "deadline" for when a true "breakthrough" may very well occur and be available to some -- for a hefty price, I'm sure. Of course, it could be longer, but it seems like some legit stuff is definitely in the works.

lol @ Hair Club For Men.....it's painful to think that for every guy that comes to a forum like this and ends up going elsewhere, there are a dozen+ guys going to those hacks.....

Stick with a combination of finasteride and rogaine (foam 5%); you can get proscar, as opposed to propecia (which are both basically finasteride), with proscar being less expesive. Combined, both work particularly well, and many even see results in the frontal 1/3rd -- though their primary potency is for the vertex/crown. You may also want to add Nizoral 2% or Revita shampoo into your regime; they are basically "adjunct" treatments, and if they work for you they won't work miracles, but nonetheless, I'd recommend it.

LOL @ like 5 different points in reading that!

Hopefully your loss really remains contained to your frontal region for a good while, which it seems it may very well. Looking at your pics, I would probably want to shoot for ~2k, but it's tough to say -- the long hair can mask things. Considering your MPB started at but 17, you are in a very fortunate position @ 29, imo, with "stabalized" losses.

Ridiculousy nice mop -- congrats, must feel great!

Fishman, As discussed in PMs, I wish you the best of luck, which unfortuntely I think you will need. Getting a HT is indeed a very tumultuous process -- emotionally, to say the least. If you get *any* reservations about the quality of their work, which I hope you end up getting a good glimpse of prior to the op, by all means just take a step back.

Toco-8 is a potent vitamin E supplement.....there is some reasonable, albeit unproven, evidence to suggest it may have some hair-related benefits. I find it very easy to take, and that it is worth it -- plus, it is undeniably good for you, hair aside. The nanogen product works to swell your hair and make it look thicker. I just began using it recently so a bit early to say whether or not it works, but I'm pretty confident with it.

I've considered it. I have read of one "success" story in particular; he switched after having unbearable side-effects with Fin, and switched to Avodart with great success. Personally, my view is to start with fin, and if it doesn't seem to be working for you or you are experiencing untenable side-effects give dut a try.

Rise2. Also, I am banking that some newfound follicles will put some pep in my proverbial step -- so, until I give that a fair shot, I won't be altering my dosage. I may or may not try out dosing it EOD; not sure, as I would hate to sacrifice any potency in combating MPB.

Place seems pretty shady to me; not the least of which is their ubiquitous sh*tting on "follicular units". Maybe I'm totally misreading their site, but the place doesn't look kosher. Looks like objective, patient feedback is pretty horrid for them, also.

Grow well! And those "minis" being called "minis" is a bit of a misnomer -- getting rid of those beasts alone will be awesome!