Eugenix (Drs. Das/Somesh/Vinita) | 11,102 grafts | NW 6/7 | 28 yrs old | 2022/2023/2024

[Bandit90]

I'd be keen to understand peoples perspective...on what would the implication be of extracting in black circled area, to give a more homogenous look now. I understand that this area is more susceptible to DHT, but would it make a huge difference if thinned out untouched vs thinned out after extractions. Maybe even transplant those extracted grafts to the mid-scalp , such that if ever did thin, you could re-stock with beard. 

[Fox243]

25 minutes ago, Bandit90 said:

I'd be keen to understand peoples perspective...on what would the implication be of extracting in black circled area, to give a more homogenous look now. I understand that this area is more susceptible to DHT, but would it make a huge difference if thinned out untouched vs thinned out after extractions. Maybe even transplant those extracted grafts to the mid-scalp , such that if ever did thin, you could re-stock with beard. 

I think its fine to extract from there. All that matters is that the gradient of thickness is uniform (i.e. temples should be thinnest and sides of heads should be thickest) rather than having a thin part, thick part, and then a thin part again.

Edited July 29 by Fox243

[Berba11]

2 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

 

You can't tell in the pictures you posted July 16th, so it's only because you shaved it down. Let it grow out just a bit and don't get it cut so close from now on and you should be fine.

 

This.

No one's getting out alive with this many extractions with a 0.5 buzz all over.

[Grouse]

Definitely look into SMP on the donor. It should make the contrast much less noticeable, and enable you to get haircuts this close in the future without a problem

[Grouse]

@general-etwan btw your results look amazing btw! Are you glad you got the transplant after all the investment? Would you do it again?

 

I ask because I recall you were wearing a hair system to start. I have a similar amount of baldness as you and am considering a hair system. Seems like an massive W from the outside, but we don't see the emotional ups and downs going through it.

[general-etwan]

Just now, Grouse said:

@general-etwan btw your results look amazing btw! Are you glad you got the transplant after all the investment? Would you do it again?

I ask because I recall you were wearing a hair system to start. I have a similar amount of baldness as you and am considering a hair system. Seems like an massive W from the outside, but we don't see the emotional ups and downs going through it.

Yes, 100%. The minor problems I still struggle with and mention right now and try to find solutions for...they are extremely insignificant in comparison to having lost all my hair (on top) by age 22. And, where I stand right now after 3 transplants is far superior than having continued to wear transplants. Just more authentic and sustainable.

[general-etwan]

7 hours ago, Fox243 said:

I think its fine to extract from there. All that matters is that the gradient of thickness is uniform (i.e. temples should be thinnest and sides of heads should be thickest) rather than having a thin part, thick part, and then a thin part again.

I would think so too. I had previously talked about a few Dr. Zarev cases where I saw him extract right up to the boundaries and I liked that. On the contrary, so many people say not to extract from those areas because “they will thin in the future and the boundary of hair loss will recede even farther.” But I’ve been the same for at least several years now. That sharp boundary doesn’t seem to have moved for me. Do we think it ever will? If not, I might have to look into having that area extracted more to make it ever more homogenous. 

[Fox243]

Just now, general-etwan said:

I would think so too. I had previously talked about a few Dr. Zarev cases where I saw him extract right up to the boundaries and I liked that. On the contrary, so many people say not to extract from those areas because “they will thin in the future and the boundary of hair loss will recede even farther.” But I’ve been the same for at least several years now. That sharp boundary doesn’t seem to have moved for me. Do we think it ever will? If not, I might have to look into having that area extracted more to make it ever more homogenous. 

I think to that point, because you are now on meds, it's unclear how long you need to wait to figure out whether that sharp boundary will move. If you are genetically predisposed to lose it, you definitely will at some point. If you were off meds and genetically predisposed to lose it, then I would imagine it would be gone in under 5 years, but unfortunately, now it's not clear. 

But if there's an extremely sharp difference irl, it might be worth looking into, but just not sure if its worth the effort of another surgery.

[Paul_]

38 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

I would think so too. I had previously talked about a few Dr. Zarev cases where I saw him extract right up to the boundaries and I liked that. On the contrary, so many people say not to extract from those areas because “they will thin in the future and the boundary of hair loss will recede even farther.” But I’ve been the same for at least several years now. That sharp boundary doesn’t seem to have moved for me. Do we think it ever will? If not, I might have to look into having that area extracted more to make it ever more homogenous. 

Congrats on the full head of hair!

You said it, key word here is homogenous. The human eye is trained to look for patterns, not to accurately measure density

I would suggest using it to cover thinner parts in front/behind the black strip (in blue)

 

[general-etwan]

24 minutes ago, Paul_ said:

Congrats on the full head of hair!

You said it, key word here is homogenous. The human eye is trained to look for patterns, not to accurately measure density

I would suggest using it to cover thinner parts in front/behind the black strip (in blue)

 

Will keep in mind but not sure how willing I am to invest in another surgery and trip right now. I’d have it done tomorrow if that was realistic, but all the planning and everything…such a cumbersome process. The areas in blue here were also filled in the March transplant…I’m still expecting them to grow in very soon.

[general-etwan]

8 hours ago, Berba11 said:

This.

No one's getting out alive with this many extractions with a 0.5 buzz all over.

Yeah, once everything grows in well, I’m not planning on getting short fades or buzzes any more. Will grow it all out longer. Just want to ensure that cm or so wide region and the region right in front of my ears isn’t too thick/dark compared to the surrounding extracted area and transplanted area. Will keep a close eye on it. 

[general-etwan]

14 hours ago, Bandit90 said:

I'd be keen to understand peoples perspective...on what would the implication be of extracting in black circled area, to give a more homogenous look now. I understand that this area is more susceptible to DHT, but would it make a huge difference if thinned out untouched vs thinned out after extractions. Maybe even transplant those extracted grafts to the mid-scalp , such that if ever did thin, you could re-stock with beard. 

How did your extraction area look in the months after your 3rd? Did you have a small strip region of un-extracted grafts like me or did they go right up to the boundary on you?

[hair_forever]

The situation of your donnor will improve further in the next 4 months so giving evaluations now is premature, you should shave to this length in 4 months to be able to make a final comparison.
Zarev's ability is that he extracts homogeneously throughout the donnor and the human eye does not perceive differences, which is currently noticeable at this length because in certain areas no extraction has taken place.
If I'm not mistaken, you asked the clinic to extract in these areas? If so, what did they answer you?

[asterix0]

Any donor area from any doctor in the world will show FUE scars if you buzz down to the skin. With just a little bit of length that will help greatly with the illusion of density. 

Buzzing down to a 1 or 2 guard and things will help with the donor area.

 

[asterix0]

And keep in mind, yes finasteride has beneficial effects for keeping your outer line of the donor area from moving further. However I think most likely you are fine on that front and it will not change much.

Where you want to take finasteride as an insurance policy is your recipient area is still more susceptible to DHT than the donor. So these new transplanted hairs are now on less "fertile" soil so to speak, and may be susceptible to thinning down the line. 

[Bandit90]

5 hours ago, general-etwan said:

How did your extraction area look in the months after your 3rd? Did you have a small strip region of un-extracted grafts like me or did they go right up to the boundary on you?

Id say my extractions are pretty identical to yours, I have the small srip between the transplanted and extracted zone. With my medium fade cut and slick back doesn't really bother me. 

I know there is a huge reluctance from the clinic to extract from this area. When I was with @Stewie in Feb, I understand that Dr Soumesh was not too keen to go high up and extract, it ended up with Dr Arika getting with involved and him having to sign a waiver and still they didn't go as high as he would have liked. So maybe there is something very risky about extracting from this area, if even Eugenix are pushing back on it. 

[general-etwan]

10 hours ago, hair_forever said:

The situation of your donnor will improve further in the next 4 months so giving evaluations now is premature, you should shave to this length in 4 months to be able to make a final comparison.
Zarev's ability is that he extracts homogeneously throughout the donnor and the human eye does not perceive differences, which is currently noticeable at this length because in certain areas no extraction has taken place.
If I'm not mistaken, you asked the clinic to extract in these areas? If so, what did they answer you?

I think I might have briefly mentioned the desire that they go all the way up to the boundary at some point in our consultations, but honestly not enough for it to be a formally agreed-to plan. So when it came time for extractions, that point obviously didn't make it through, and like others who go to Eugenix seem to say, the docs don't really believe in going right up to the boundary...maybe because they think it's likely that the boundary will thin lower over the years; maybe because it's more difficult and time-consuming to blend into the boundary properly and carefully without overdoing it; maybe a little of both reasons.

[Melvin- Admin]

This is incredible! 

[FUEtile]

Is it possible to get an approximate cost for this many grafts? 

[general-etwan]

On 7/30/2024 at 1:54 PM, Melvin- Admin said:

This is incredible! 

I definitely think finasteride has helped strengthen the donor area quite a bit...especially in the lateral hump areas that had been severely thinning when I went for my first procedure. This is why I now tell other young men the single best thing you can do as soon as you notice any signs of hair loss is to start finasteride and commit to staying on it. Best tool in preventing hair loss from becoming severe.

[general-etwan]

On 7/31/2024 at 11:54 AM, FUEtile said:

Is it possible to get an approximate cost for this many grafts? 

Well, I paid around $1.45/graft (for 8,277 grafts) plus $0.75/graft (for 2,825 grafts)...so do that math, and then add around 18% tax...and that would be around the total I paid to the clinic, which included hotel stays and transportation. Then, around $3,000 more for all flight travel for 3 trips. 

Edited August 2 by general-etwan

[davidn]

28 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

I definitely think finasteride has helped strengthen the donor area quite a bit...especially in the lateral hump areas that had been severely thinning when I went for my first procedure. This is why I now tell other young men the single best thing you can do as soon as you notice any signs of hair loss is to start finasteride and commit to staying on it. Best tool in preventing hair loss from becoming severe.

Yeah man.. its been said so often but Just starting Fin once you start balding is truly the best solution..

[EricEdwards]

On 7/20/2024 at 12:33 AM, 4chanhrn said:

If any NW7 tells me they don't have enough money to afford Pittella, Zarev or Sethi but would like a transplant, this is the link I usually send them.

I think you paid close to $1.4/graft? Absolute bargain.

Doesn't matter if it looks thin in these pics. It doesn't matter in real life and most people will look at you like you have decent head of hair, which is the best complement a transplant can get. And it'll continue to mature and thicken up.

BTW looks like Pyrilutamide is officially out on Amazon so something to look into.

I've been following your progress for quite some time and have to say the final result is excellent. 

[general-etwan]

23 hours ago, EricEdwards said:

I've been following your progress for quite some time and have to say the final result is excellent. 

Thank you for those kind words, though I'm not at my final point yet. Still got some work to do to get to a place where I can be fully content...

[general-etwan]

So I did this comparison pic, from before all 3 HTs, to now...just to see if we can determine that the boundary of where my "strong" donor area starts has risen higher on the sides of my head or not (which would be a product of finasteride and/or minoxidil). I can't be 100% certain that these two images were taken at exactly the same angle, but they look very close, and it appears that the boundary of the "dark" hair has gone up slightly, as you can see by the blue line which marks the boundary of where heavily DHT-thinned original hair stops and dark, strong hair begins. Again, not willing to say for sure it has risen, but it appears it may have a little bit, based on these pics. But then again, it's possible my head is looking slightly more left in the picture on the left, which would give the illusion of overrepresenting what I'm saying here. Also my ear seems larger now and I don't understand why, or how, my ear could grow that much in just 2 years. Still interesting though.

 

Additionally, I have received "official" pyrilutamide from Amazon and started using it today, so I will be using that probably once a day over the entire scalp and seeing if it adds any more benefit on top of minoxidil and finasteride.