Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted July 8 Valued Contributor Share Posted July 8 Looking awesome @Steeeve. šÆ šš» 1 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted July 8 Author Valued Contributor Share Posted July 8 6 hours ago, Gatsby said: Looking awesome @Steeeve. šÆ šš» šthanks Gatsby!Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted July 8 Administrators Share Posted July 8 On 7/3/2024 at 3:02 PM, Steeeve said: Monday, the 1st, was 8 months post-op. The hairs in the front have mostly sprouted and are currently growing out/still going through the maturation phase. At this point they are maybe an inch to an inch and a half long but while they are still very thin and wispy they add quite a bit of coverage along with everything else.Ā As before, if I get out of the shower and brush my hair back, let it air dry, then the hair is quite curly. If I blow it dry then the hair is straighter. I think overall the state of my hair is very good. It looks and feels very soft. It also looks very lush. People I meet face to face have no idea that I have had anything done. People who Iāve worked with for over a decade have no idea anything has been done but that is a testament to Dr. Arochaās work. It makes that whole process of not having to shave your head very appreciated. My crown has also made excellent improvement. When combed back there is almost no visible evidence that Iām a bald guy back there. When I expose it for the camera you can see that there is still some room for improvement. Compare thatāš»to pre-opšš» Lighting is different but I think that itās fair to say that there is significant improvement. I think that room for improvement should be expected at this point, though. Iāve still got months and months to go but I may be at the midpoint of this particular journey. I still feel a ton of stubble all throughout my scalp. In my crown, midscalp, even some in my hairline. So my assumption is that I still have quite awhile left to see even further improvement all throughout. Overall Iām still very happy with how everything is going. Iām going to talk to Dr. Arocha next week for my 8 month follow up. If thereās anything significant to address afterward Iāll hop back into this thread to update. Looks awesome. Crown is filling in nicely. Overall amazing results šš¼ 1 Iām a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey:Ā View my thread Topical dutasteride journeyĀ Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for theĀ Hair Transplant Network, theĀ Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and theĀ Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media:Ā Facebook,Ā Instagram,Ā Linkedin,Ā and YouTube. Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member FUEtile Posted July 8 Regular Member Share Posted July 8 How many grafts do you have left? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted July 8 Author Valued Contributor Share Posted July 8 4 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said: Looks awesome. Crown is filling in nicely. Overall amazing results šš¼ Thanks Melvin! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted July 9 Author Valued Contributor Share Posted July 9 2 hours ago, FUEtile said: How many grafts do you have left? You know, I donāt have an exact number right now. When I went in for my first transplant the doc talked about it during the morning of but I was already getting pretty high from the Valium and I canāt remember. When I went for this last procedure he told me I could easily get one more strip out of it before we moved into total FUE. My donor is still really strong. My lateral humps are still very high. I still have really excellent laxity. Iām not experiencing any sides from Fin. Iāll bring it back up and find out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member 4chanhrn Posted July 9 Regular Member Share Posted July 9 Superb results and you have a lot of donor resources to tap. The doc did a very good job managing your situation so well. I would be absolutely thrilled with where you ended up at. Also shows the value of strip if done right. You wouldn't have had as many high quality grafts if you had used FUE. Sure you can use beard or extend the donor area beyond the safe zone, but this is a better approach in lot of cases like yours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted July 10 Author Valued Contributor Share Posted July 10 Thanks @4chanhrn! I appreciate the love and I agree. Strip isnāt for everybody but it could be extremely beneficial for some guys in a situation similar to mine.Ā 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted July 26 Author Valued Contributor Share Posted July 26 (edited) Iām about 6 days early but this month was a big month. I would say I saw the most change this month in terms of the transplanted hairs thickening up. Still a long ways to go for the crown but in terms of where I startedā¦holy moly. And the density in the front is truly amazing. So. Seeing as I donāt know how much will change in 6 days hereās a smidge earlyĀ 9 monthĀ update. I had my 8 month follow up with Dr. Arocha at the beginning of the month. They were really impressed by my progress. They didnāt think that my crown was quite at the halfway mark, however, it looked very good for where Iām at during this journey of growth. They felt the hairline and frontal third/midscalp was really thick and dense. I agree with all of it. š¤£ And Iām very happy. Since my last update and even that FaceTime meeting my crown made significant change and is heading in a really good direction-not that I felt it was not moving in a positive direction before. The hair in my hairline throughout my frontal third is a little over 4 inches long so that pretty much means it started growing around the 1 month mark. The hair in my crown is a little over 3 and a half inches so it seems that it started growing around 2 months. This is all give or take. None of the hairs are the same length and I still have sprouts all throughout that still have yet to take flight. Theyāre just sitting there, resting and feeling spikey. Everything is blending very well. Crown is first here. I blew my hair forward with the blow dryer to give you a good look at how it is blending. This is straight out of the shower and blown dry. There is no product or concealer in my hair. Here the hair is pushed back followed by me parting it to better expose the grafts growing in the crown. Overall, Iām really happy with the direction my crown is heading. I donāt think Iāve had that much hair in my crown since I was a teenager. That would mean itās been about 25 years. My crown went first and I noticed it around 18 years old going into 19. They say the crown takes longer to mature. Depending on your genetics and blood-flow to the crown. 18-24 months so maybe Iām halfway there? Looking at my hairline is a different story. This could be my final result and I would be happy. Iāve still got months to go for more growth and maturation butā¦Iām there. This is how I style it. šš»The hair is long enough that it falls on my face and Iām constantly brushing it away. Itās an emotionally good feeling.Ā Here Iāve got some more images of it styled. Lastly I would like to address my hairline.Ā Iāve had some private messages asking questions about the line, while everyone has been very respectful, things I have read are people saying that itās ānot very aestheticā and that āI would need additional work to address itā. āThe hairline is not as pristine as it could beā. I donāt think thatās an unfair assessment. Itās the opinion of someone(s) other than myself looking at it. I will say that since this last transplant my confidence has gone through the roof. Iāve found work acting again with one project in reshoots and 2 projects coming in the very near future. Having seen myself moving around on camera I can objectively say that only your keen eyes are going to be able to tell the difference. No one in my every day to day life can tell about what they are looking at. I will also say that more work in my hairline is not on my radar just yet in terms of further work I would like to have done. I would like to wait to see how this turns out and from there address further filling in throughout and then throwing some grafts into my scar. I would like to give a huge thanks to Dr. Arocha and his team. Theyāve helped me feel very very good about the future. Thatās pretty much all for now, per usual.š If anything changes in a week Iāll update again. I hope all is well with everyone āš» Edited July 26 by Steeeve 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Al - Moderator Posted July 27 Moderators Share Posted July 27 10 hours ago, Steeeve said: Iāve had some private messages asking questions about the line, while everyone has been very respectful, things I have read are people saying that itās ānot very aestheticā and that āI would need additional work to address itā. āThe hairline is not as pristine as it could beā. I donāt think thatās an unfair assessment. Itās the opinion of someone(s) other than myself looking at it. Ā Seriously? What is wrong with this hairline? It looks pretty natural to me. I can see some people thinking it should be lower, but not everyone has the luxury of having enough donor to do everything. Ā 1 1 Al Forum Moderator (formerly BeHappy) I am a paid forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Berba11 Posted July 27 Valued Contributor Share Posted July 27 26 minutes ago, Al - Moderator said: Ā Seriously? What is wrong with this hairline? It looks pretty natural to me. I can see some people thinking it should be lower, but not everyone has the luxury of having enough donor to do everything. Ā Was wondering the same thing. I can't see any issue with the hairline. Soft, natural looking, subtle irregularities and nice connection with the temple corners. Looks terrific! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted July 27 Administrators Share Posted July 27 15 hours ago, Steeeve said: Iām about 6 days early but this month was a big month. I would say I saw the most change this month in terms of the transplanted hairs thickening up. Still a long ways to go for the crown but in terms of where I startedā¦holy moly. And the density in the front is truly amazing. So. Seeing as I donāt know how much will change in 6 days hereās a smidge earlyĀ 9 monthĀ update. I had my 8 month follow up with Dr. Arocha at the beginning of the month. They were really impressed by my progress. They didnāt think that my crown was quite at the halfway mark, however, it looked very good for where Iām at during this journey of growth. They felt the hairline and frontal third/midscalp was really thick and dense. I agree with all of it. š¤£ And Iām very happy. Since my last update and even that FaceTime meeting my crown made significant change and is heading in a really good direction-not that I felt it was not moving in a positive direction before. The hair in my hairline throughout my frontal third is a little over 4 inches long so that pretty much means it started growing around the 1 month mark. The hair in my crown is a little over 3 and a half inches so it seems that it started growing around 2 months. This is all give or take. None of the hairs are the same length and I still have sprouts all throughout that still have yet to take flight. Theyāre just sitting there, resting and feeling spikey. Everything is blending very well. Crown is first here. I blew my hair forward with the blow dryer to give you a good look at how it is blending. This is straight out of the shower and blown dry. There is no product or concealer in my hair. Here the hair is pushed back followed by me parting it to better expose the grafts growing in the crown. Overall, Iām really happy with the direction my crown is heading. I donāt think Iāve had that much hair in my crown since I was a teenager. That would mean itās been about 25 years. My crown went first and I noticed it around 18 years old going into 19. They say the crown takes longer to mature. Depending on your genetics and blood-flow to the crown. 18-24 months so maybe Iām halfway there? Looking at my hairline is a different story. This could be my final result and I would be happy. Iāve still got months to go for more growth and maturation butā¦Iām there. This is how I style it. šš»The hair is long enough that it falls on my face and Iām constantly brushing it away. Itās an emotionally good feeling.Ā Here Iāve got some more images of it styled. Lastly I would like to address my hairline.Ā Iāve had some private messages asking questions about the line, while everyone has been very respectful, things I have read are people saying that itās ānot very aestheticā and that āI would need additional work to address itā. āThe hairline is not as pristine as it could beā. I donāt think thatās an unfair assessment. Itās the opinion of someone(s) other than myself looking at it. I will say that since this last transplant my confidence has gone through the roof. Iāve found work acting again with one project in reshoots and 2 projects coming in the very near future. Having seen myself moving around on camera I can objectively say that only your keen eyes are going to be able to tell the difference. No one in my every day to day life can tell about what they are looking at. I will also say that more work in my hairline is not on my radar just yet in terms of further work I would like to have done. I would like to wait to see how this turns out and from there address further filling in throughout and then throwing some grafts into my scar. I would like to give a huge thanks to Dr. Arocha and his team. Theyāve helped me feel very very good about the future. Thatās pretty much all for now, per usual.š If anything changes in a week Iāll update again. I hope all is well with everyone āš» With all due respect to those users, your hairline looks exceptionally natural. It looks textbook to me.Ā 1 Iām a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey:Ā View my thread Topical dutasteride journeyĀ Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for theĀ Hair Transplant Network, theĀ Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and theĀ Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media:Ā Facebook,Ā Instagram,Ā Linkedin,Ā and YouTube. Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted July 27 Valued Contributor Share Posted July 27 @Steeeve your hair from start to finish (with still more growth to come) looks incredible man. šÆšš¾ 1 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BaldReaper Posted July 27 Senior Member Share Posted July 27 Idk who these comments come from but your hairline is really good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted July 28 Author Valued Contributor Share Posted July 28 Thank you everyone. I do appreciate the love. Truly. Honestly, the comments caught me off guard. Ā I didn't see them as mean as much as I felt my growth was moving in a positive direction (Like, really positive. Lol) And it seemed out of left field. @Al - ModeratorĀ I agree, maybe it could be lower and maybe I can achieve that one day (maybe I won't be able to š¤·š¼āāļø) but as it is I'm really happy with the placement and how full it looks. And I also agree with @Melvin- AdminĀ that it looks very natural. All in all, I just wanted to address the comments aloud here to anyone who had lurked and maybe hadn't spoken up. I'm very happy with how everything is progressing. Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Al - Moderator Posted July 28 Moderators Share Posted July 28 There will always be some people who try to put you down in life no matter what the issue is, whether it's hair, weight, income, whatever. You should assess all opinions, both good and bad. Some people will give you good advice and others won't, and what's good advice to one person may not be for another person because everyone has their own idea of what their life should be. With all that, you make your own honest decisions on what you feel like you should do based on what you want in your life. Ā Ā Al Forum Moderator (formerly BeHappy) I am a paid forum moderator for hairrestorationnetwork.com. I am not a Dr. and I do not work for any particular Dr. My opinions are my own and may not reflect the opinions of other moderators or the owner of this site. I am also a hair transplant patient and repair patient. You can view some of my repair journey here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted August 16 Administrators Share Posted August 16 @Steeeve, I saw people saying the same thing about MTB's case. I did a podcast with him and showed his hairline in a video; it looks fantastic. Sometimes, when a result is as good as yours, people naturally feel the need to nitpick. You have a fantastic result, and you've done an amazing job sharing your experience transparently, parting your hair, and showing it in different angles and lighting. This is why you're a valued contributor. I'm happy for you man šĀ 2 1 Iām a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey:Ā View my thread Topical dutasteride journeyĀ Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for theĀ Hair Transplant Network, theĀ Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and theĀ Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media:Ā Facebook,Ā Instagram,Ā Linkedin,Ā and YouTube. Ā Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Steeeve Posted 3 hours ago Author Valued Contributor Share Posted 3 hours ago (edited) 10 and 11 Month Update Since my 9 month update life got seriously crazy. I was able to document everything but I never really got around to posting it. Iām going to post frontal third pics first and crown pics last. So, here we go. Sunday, September 1st, was 10 months post-op. My frontal third is pretty much where I would expect it to be. I do plan to go back for some additional refinement to my hairline. Iām very happy with it but as anyone whoās had hair transplants can attest to; hair greed is real. While Iām happy with it, itās not quite how I pictured it in my mind. I donāt fault the doctor for anything. The way that it currently looks is exactly how the doctor and I discussed, however, when looking at it in pictures that others take of me, the left side of my hairline is much lower than the right. It tends to look like a pretty harshly angled line. Iām not looking for perfect symmetry, as that would give away that Iāve had work done, but I would like for it to be more symmetrical than it is now. Other than that one small self critique of my hairline, I am so over the moon. And, having been cast in a couple of small films, I can say that Iām the only one judging it, no one else cares whatsoever. These next few pics are in harsher but scattered light. I am so completely happy with it.Ā Here is some bathroom light with it blown straight with a hairdryer: Here I was playing with styling and where I parted it.šš» You get a look at my crown here, still quite weak but making progress. These next photos were on the same day but I took a straight iron to it. I had this look in mind when I was doing this.Sort of a late 90ās Brad Pitt look. I would continue this look out in public and at work. So with a few days left in September I decided I wanted to cut me hair to even all the hair out. I cut everything down to about 1 inch. Iāve got outside photos taken on October 1st at 11 months: Next up is in my bathroom: This last photo right herešš»highlights an issue that I notice which is that there seems to be a hole right at the top of my head depending on how I style it. If I brush the hair forward you canāt really tell but if I style it back (or up) thereās this weird hole there. Grafts were placed there. I have photos of grafts placed there.So, I guess Iāll keep watching it over the next few months and bring it up with the doc at 12 months if it hasnāt progressed. These next photos are right in front of a big giant window at work: As you can see, Iāve pretty much been going out without anything concealing my thinning spots. As I said, overall I am absolutely over the moon. If I were to stop now I would be happy enough. Iām not looking for perfection but I do have an idea in my mind about how Iād like to proceed to get myself where I feel like Iām at 100%. My crown. When my hair was long I was less critical of my crown. Compared to where I started there is a huge improvement. I think Iām definitely waiting until 18 months to make a judgement that might be final. After my frontal third took 18 to 24 months to materialize during my first transplant I cannot make a final decision on my crown just yet. If I were at that point now and my crown looked the way it looks that would be a different story. Firstly, I took this photo of my hair at 10 months while wet:I was so happy. Itās pretty dark and potato-y. Iām gonna take it, though! šĀ With the hair back it was pretty much a full looking head of hair. Here is parted:And here itās brushed completely back.and then exposedšš»still trending in a good direction. Then after I cut my hairšš»If thatās close to the end then Iām definitely not done with grafts into my crown. Itās a notorious black hole so maybe thatās my lot. Iām not going to make that call until 18 months, though, thereās a definitive transition from scalp to hair that Iām looking to get rid of. The shape of that whorl is total š„š„ though. Just needs some more density.Ā TBH, I feel like Iām seeing changes almost daily at this point. This was taken todayšš»Maybe, Iām crazy but, to me, it looks stronger. I donāt put fibers or dermmatch in itā¦but I did put fibers in it just to show that if I did this is what it would look like:I think itās undetectable. I just like to run my fingers through my hair too much and if I were to put fibers and hairspray in my hair that would be a change that Iām not keen on. I am totally over the moon. I think that may be the third time Iāve said that. š but itās true. My confidence is through the roof. Iāve been cast in 3 film projects, with a possible 4th on the horizon. In early September I was cast in one of the Yellowstone spinoffs thatās being filmed here in Austin, however, I broke my foot and had to be let go from the show. Iām not sweating that, at all, because what happened was completely out of my hands and at the end of the day I was cast to work along side some of the most amazing film and television stars in the world. Itās also just so nice to run my fingers through my hair and not feel barren scalp. Iāll update again at 12 months. Edited 2 hours ago by Steeeve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now