M20, had a transplant at 19, 8 months post op and the hair is still a weird curly kinky texture unlike my usual hair

[head]

I went to Merchant City Medical Group in Glasgow because it was local and to be honest I just didn't think I'd be unlucky enough to be done dirty. Should've put in more work and gone further I know... £3900, 2600 grafts

So I've always had a very high hairline which has been commented on a few times throughout my childhood, never did bother me until further into teen years and especially now when its not a good look anymore. Haven't noticed any receding, been on minoxidil 8 months since the HT and fin for 3 now, oral tablets from Hims.

When measuring with fingers, its 8 fingers from my eyebrows to my original hairline (where it peaks), 4 to the new hairline (a hairline which I'm very happy with). New distance from new to old hairline is about 1½ fingers in the center. Cool measurement system I know

The density is awful but whatever I'll get another HT. I'm more concerned right now with why the texture is so bad. My hair is naturally very fine and straight, type a1 with no wave or volume until I start using product. The transplanted hair is curling, feels weird/bitty when running my fingers along it, and sticks directly out of my head which my original hair on top is being pushed outward by, I've had to just shave the transplanted hair for the time being. I really hope it's gonna return to normal because right now its unworkable...

Going to have a consultation with Dr Farjo next month (after recommendation from Dr William Rassman who I had a personal zoom chat with), I'm worried he's gonna charge a crazy price like £7k-£9k which is gonna take a couple years to pay off in installments which I'd hope is an option. Huge worry is if it's still imperfect and I'm in debt over it.

I'm young for a transplant but I don't want to live disliking going or being outside, wearing a cap if not indoors, feeling anxious and insecure ruining my mood and attitude, seeing friends less as a result, for literally any longer. So please don't advise me against a HT or waiting years.

[HappyMan2021]

1 hour ago, head said:

The transplanted hair is curling, feels weird/bitty when running my fingers along it, and sticks directly out of my head which my original hair on top is being pushed outward by, I've had to just shave the transplanted hair for the time being. I really hope it's gonna return to normal because right now its unworkable...

 

I am 100% certain this is badly angled hair. Unfortunately it will not get better, it is permanent. 

You should laser/electrolysis the bad hair off and start over again. It is the simplest option and ultimately the less stressful and less costly route. 

The alternative is to extract the bad hair and then reimplant it elsewhere. This will be 2 surgeries minimum, and could likely be more depending on how much bad hair you have and any other complications. 

[head]

10 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

You should laser/electrolysis the bad hair off and start over again.

Even if the angle is bad I could probably work with it so long as the texture returns to normal, that's the part that worries me and I really can't find info on it. Even the clinic doesn't seem to have an explanation for this that seems intelligent or knowledgeable. Why is it curling and bitty if that's not what my hair is like?

[HappyMan2021]

15 minutes ago, head said:

Even if the angle is bad I could probably work with it so long as the texture returns to normal, that's the part that worries me and I really can't find info on it.

 

15 minutes ago, head said:

Why is it curling and bitty if that's not what my hair is like?

it is badly angled hair. It will not return to normal unfortunately. 

 

15 minutes ago, head said:

the clinic doesn't seem to have an explanation for this that seems intelligent or knowledgeable.

the clinic 100% knows they messed up, but they never ever EVER will admit to it.

It is in a clinic's best interest to never admit they botched a surgery. Sadly, they have no reason to tell you the truth.

I understand if this is all hard to take in, but the sooner you can accept the reality of your result, the better your repair journey will go. 

Edited March 19 by HappyMan2021

[head]

9 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

it is badly angled hair. It will not return to normal unfortunately. 

The clinic is saying to wait til month 14 and that it'll return to normal. If it doesn't I plan to demand a refund (starting to look likely). I'll bring this up to the Farjo clinic though, if completely removing the last transplant is really a potentially good idea.

You're just saying 'badly angled hair' though to explain the curly pube-like nature of the new hair, how does that create that effect? Surely it's a separate issue?

[HappyMan2021]

4 hours ago, head said:

The clinic is saying to wait til month 14 and that it'll return to normal.

It won't. Clinics hope to delay delay delay in the hope that you will just go away.

4 hours ago, head said:

if completely removing the last transplant is really a potentially good idea.

Can you please provide more pictures? It is hard to judge with just one

As of now I cant speak to whether removing the hair is a good idea or not, but i can tell you that the only solutions for this are:

1) extract then reimplant the bad hair elsewhere

2) laser/electrolysis

3) bandaid solutions like using gel to mold the hair into proper shape. Or growing your hair longer. Longer hair can really help with bad angles

4 hours ago, head said:

You're just saying 'badly angled hair' though to explain the curly pube-like nature of the new hair, how does that create that effect? Surely it's a separate issue?

The surgeon inserted the hair at an incorrect angle, that is why it looks odd

When you say separate issue, i am unsure what you mean

As of right now, I am assuming you just have 1 issue, which is badly angled hair. 

[Al - Moderator]

Sometimes transplanted hair will grow in very curly, wiry, kinky, rough, etc. That usually slowly gets back to normal by around 18 months. You should hopefully start seeing some improvement of that soon. You may also have badly angled grafts which could make it look worse.  In that situation the hair grows in a different direction than your native hair. Bad angles won’t improve, but the roughness, wiryness should. You can see what Farjo thinks of your situation but I suggest you don’t actually do anything until at least past the 1 year mark to really know what you’re dealing with. 

[Gatsby]

@head did you just have a high forehead or has your hair begun receding? I'm not a doctor but at only 19 you really should (need?) to get onto finasteride and try and prevent any future MPB. How long ago did you have this surgery? Unfortunately you have made the same mistake I did when I was 18. for the time being don't touch your finite donor. You do not want to be in a situation where you have tapped out all of your donor in ten years and you're still experiencing further MPB. Good luck with Dr Farjo. I wish you had have found the forum before the surgery but what's done is done. What you do from here will dictate everything.

[Berba11]

The wiry, kinky hairs are normal for a while and to an extent. However, yours does look especially wiry. This can happen if the bulb of the graft has been damaged during extraction, or the incision sites are too deep, the grafts haven't been handled well in general etc. In short, this can happen when the work hasn't been carried out very well. Looking at the density issues and the angulation issues, I think it's fair to say that this simply wasn't a very well executed HT. The fact they took you on as a 19 year old is, to be frank, disgraceful.

It would be useful to have more photos: pre-op, so we can see your starting point, immediate post op (so we can see the work), and a better range of angles and profiles of your current situation so we can better see the results and advise on how you might go about correcting things.

In terms of getting it fixed (as far as one blurry photo goes)... Right now there's nothing you can do other than seek consultations with more reputable clinics. The issue you'll have is that if your HT has indeed been a botch job, then filling in the density and hoping to simply cover the existing HT might not work very well (and you'll be ploughing through more precious donor hair at a very, very young age). The other option is to look to have a load of grafts punched back out again to try and create more of a blank canvass. The problem here is that this usually requires two or three surgeries to resolve, and there's only a handful of surgeons who are expert at this - none of them come cheaply and that "crazy price" of £7-9K will likely be the very minimum.

16 hours ago, head said:

The density is awful but whatever I'll get another HT

With love and respect, this kind of blasé attitude got you into a muddle to begin with, and throwing yet more grafts into an area with a load of bad grafts could backfire quite spectacularly. Firstly, you've already burnt 2,600 grafts away - that's a significant number of grafts by any measure, but especially at 19, and you've used those grafts in an attempt to reduce your forehead size rather to address any major hair loss it seems (from what you've said). Assuming you have the same issue on both temples as shown in your picture, you could easily be faced with throwing another 2,000 grafts at that whole area, leaving you almost 5,000 grafts out of pocket at 19/20 years old and without having actually addressed any hair loss. In 10 years time that could be a major issue.

Secondly, if those grafts you've had placed already are beyond the pale and unlikely to improve due to poor work, then putting a load of good grafts in amongst them will still cause you issues in terms of managing the hair. The bad hairs might be blended in a bit more, but without some de-bulking of the bad grafts then you're probably going to have the same or similar issues to what you're facing now.

[head]

8 hours ago, Gatsby said:

did you just have a high forehead or has your hair begun receding?

Always high forehead, never noticed receding over the years.

HT 8 months ago, no meds prior, min for 8 months since, fin too for 3.

The donor area doesn't look or feel any different, almost like nothing was taken from it

46 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

However, yours does look especially wiry

I think it is starting to improve a little, the newest grown hair feels smoother than it used to (some parts still feel bad). Pic I posted was 1 month ago.

53 minutes ago, Berba11 said:

It would be useful to have more photos: pre-op, so we can see your starting point, immediate post op (so we can see the work), and a better range of angles and profiles of your current situation so we can better see the results and advise on how you might go about correcting things.

 

post op. Pre op pics attached to post

I've been told by some others they created a feminine hairline though this doesn't bother me. They also left a gap between the new and og hairline, I brought this up in the clinic post op and the doctor said it'll 'expand' and fill in when its fully grown.

[Berba11]

1 hour ago, head said:

I've been told by some others they created a feminine hairline though this doesn't bother me. They also left a gap between the new and og hairline, I brought this up in the clinic post op and the doctor said it'll 'expand' and fill in when its fully grown.

It is an unusual hairline shape that isn't natural for men. Those sloping down bits on each side is indeed more of a female hairline shape. I can see from your original photo that those hairs are not only in the wrong place (because you're not a woman), but they've used thicker multi-graft hairs instead of soft single hairs to match your temple points, and the direction of those hairs is all wrong.

Nothing will "expand" - that's total bollocks. Grafts will grow wherever they've been placed. Gaps will remain as gaps until otherwise filled in.

In terms of a more immediate fix, you could look to have these bizarrely placed grafts removed and reimplanted into some of the more gappy areas. At the very least you'd have a natural male hairline shape and a bit extra density. If the rest of the transplanted hair continues to soften a bit it might be enough to get by on a small second pass for more density but this is where I would start personally.

Edited March 20 by Berba11

[Stewie]

do you have more photos of how it currently is atm?

[HappyMan2021]

20 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

Sometimes transplanted hair will grow in very curly, wiry, kinky, rough, etc. That usually slowly gets back to normal by around 18 months

do you have any examples of this from the forum? I personally have yet to see anyone with oddly curled hair revert back to normal. 

Perhaps yes if there is at most only a extremely subtle degree of wiryness and kink, as the grafts should ultimately get thicker and softer.

But for anything more than a very very minor degree of variance, every case I have ever reviewed on this, the hair has not gotten better. 

when @head mentions his hair is "curly", I feel like some/all of this hair is perpendicular/badly angled which will not improve

I think it may be most prudent for @head to assume he has been botched, but maybe leave a 5% miracle chance open that the hair will be fine

I feel that alot of repair patients have a hard time accepting they have been botched and this really impedes/delays their repair journey. 

It's a shame that clinics will never ever admit to any mistakes, because it leaves patients gaslighted and makes the road to repair alot more difficult. 

Edited March 20 by HappyMan2021

[baddecisions]

I am so sorry to read this. Even though hair appeareance may improve, it won't be a radical change.

If you are located in the UK, ask dr. Ball as well, he is well considered and have a lot of experience in repairs.

 

[Gatsby]

@head since you are in the UK I would definitely recommend you to get a consultation with Dr Mani Mittal as well.

[head]

Having my Dr Farjo consultation in 3 months actually, just because it's the best time for me that doesn't interfere with anything else. And 11 months is better for an analysis on the transplant anyway. So will update this thread after that.

Someone on Reddit messaged me saying they've had their consultation at the same clinic and booked an appointment (which requires a £1000 deposit to lock you in) right before they saw my post.

I mean best of luck to them I guess. Unfortunately I can't settle for a sub-amazing result

[Sunset Dune]

You should never had a hair transplant at 19 to begin with. 

[head]

2 minutes ago, Sunset Dune said:

You should never had a hair transplant at 19 to begin with. 

Please read the last part of my original post

[SeanT1]

There's still the possibility it can improve.. but by how much is to be determined..
I wonder, are there any tricks to reduce the curling/texture? Perhaps even using hair straighteners?

[Al - Moderator]

 

On 3/20/2024 at 4:27 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

do you have any examples of this from the forum? I personally have yet to see anyone with oddly curled hair revert back to normal. 

Perhaps yes if there is at most only a extremely subtle degree of wiryness and kink, as the grafts should ultimately get thicker and softer.

But for anything more than a very very minor degree of variance, every case I have ever reviewed on this, the hair has not gotten better. 

when @head mentions his hair is "curly", I feel like some/all of this hair is perpendicular/badly angled which will not improve

I think it may be most prudent for @head to assume he has been botched, but maybe leave a 5% miracle chance open that the hair will be fine

I feel that alot of repair patients have a hard time accepting they have been botched and this really impedes/delays their repair journey. 

It's a shame that clinics will never ever admit to any mistakes, because it leaves patients gaslighted and makes the road to repair alot more difficult. 

 

I think it will improve some, but I agree that this is much worse than a normal case of it, but the best thing to do is wait a few more months to see how it turns out and then go from there. It's rarely a good idea to just jump into a repair without seeing the end result. As I said I do think he has some bad angles as well and he should consult a better Dr to see what his options are, but I just don't want him jumping into another HT before knowing the end result of this one.

 

[head]

Hello, message to update on this again. The super frizziness of the first photo has fortunately began to improve a little recently, not everywhere and not close to perfect, but enough that I'm more hopeful on it. In 8 days it will have been exactly 1 year since the transplant. Of course still a bad transplant, it not being literal worst case scenario doesn't excuse it from that.

Earlier today I had my appointment with Dr Farjo, you can probably guess he said he doesn't often operate on patients as young as me, but I think my having a transplant before was enough of a push to not turn me away as easily, which is why I sorta don't regret the last one (a point he loudly laughed at when I explained).
After some combing through my recipient area he said he will fill the gaps and make the existing recipient area denser using 1500 grafts. I fear this is too little but he wouldn't budge on this number. He explained a couple times about how my original hairline can recede further, and about leaving enough donor area for this scenario, how I don't know how I'll feel when I'm like 30, and the limit of how much he can implant in one session.
About the new hairline, I asked about making the shape a little bit straighter, he said he doesn't want to change that and will keep it the same as it currently is.

Had some pictures taken of the current OG hairline and recipient area, while I hold some kind of white tight circular sheet, said we'll compare it again in some months to see if there's any noticeable receding. So we'll see about that later.
Quoted around £7000 for this 1500 grafts procedure. He guarantees it'll turn out better than what I've got, but said he can't guarantee it'll get me where I want to be. Honestly not entirely sure yet how I'm going to afford it, family loan or what, but guess I'll just have to figure it out soon.

Also, any advice on requesting a refund from my last clinic? They say to wait til month 14 so I will for that, but then I'm gonna have to. Current plan is just, Whatsapp message "Hi can I request a refund" > they say no (or "pls come to clinic in person where you'll lose the argument") > I maybe bargain and ask to refund half the price > still denied > I start looking into UK small claims which I've no experience in > I maybe get something back. Would help fund this next one.

I hate that this has become a big part of my life, like I could've just had better genes and doing hobbies where my hair is out, but I'm here instead, and a big part of why I'm dead set on doing this as young as possible is to get to enjoy my youth before I'm literally too old because I've missed it and keep missing it and that depresses the s*** out of me.
I don't really know where this journey ends. Maybe this 1500 procedure is the one. But it doesn't sound like enough. At least the back of my head still has insane density though.

Edited Tuesday at 09:55 PM by head
slight clarification

[Stewie]

Do you have pics of how it's looking atm? in terms of what to do now it depends on lots of factors, the main one being is your baldness stabilised, as if it isn't then your going to be chasing the hair across your head and maybe still end up in a bad place, that said I would personally not rush in with Farjo, nothing against his results but he is far to conservative for me, but thats just my take on it

[HappyMan2021]

It seems like the "frizzy" hair is misangled. It really wont get any better unless you get it extracted and new hair implanted in

Regarding Dr Farjo and his graft count, you shouldnt be going to a doctor you disagree with. You are paying alot of money and its a large mental investment for surgery as well. Dont gamble and just assume that all your worries about the graft count will disappear

Regarding a refund from your last surgery, i think that is extremely unlikely just by asking them

In order to get a refund, you really do have to raise hell online. Its the only way

What clinic did your first surgery?

Post more pics, name and shame, etc

Edited Wednesday at 12:29 AM by HappyMan2021

[Gatsby]

You've for all intents and purposes gone to a hair mill. Can you share how how your results are at this stage? Have you had consultations with other UK surgeons such as Dr Milne, Dr Mani, etc? The problem is that you are hell bent on fixing this 'ASAP' when in reality you need to slow right down and take all the time in the world to get a second chance at getting this right. You do not want to jump out of the pan and back into the fire. Dr Farjo is an excellent surgeon but I would definitely not rush this and I would get opinions from the other surgeons that I mentioned at the very least. Also are you still taking finsteride? I ask this because once you start transplants at a young age you will be chasing them forever with more surgeries unless you wait until you are a Norwood 7 like I was. I had my first surgery at 18 and it was the worst decision that I have made in my life. I spent the next 7 years having scalp repair surgeries. I'm trying to help you from preventing you from making this worse. With no money at 19 this will only compound the problem making you feel even more 'urgent' in doing something which is the worst thing that you could do. But the best thing you can do now is to take a deep breath and look at all of your options. One of those options to buy you time is to take a break while you research more and stay on finasteride. Wishing you all the best @head. 👍

[head]

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

In order to get a refund, you really do have to raise hell online. Its the only way

What clinic did your first surgery?

The first clinic was local in Glasgow, Merchant City Medical Group. They actually found my Reddit post that I made about them, and around 2 months ago (after figuring it was me from matching details) messaged me on WhatsApp that I had slandered them, that it was unacceptable of me, and want me to go into the clinic and speak in person.

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

you shouldnt be going to a doctor you disagree with.

Hard to find one to agree with AND trust they won't screw it... Maybe I should talk about the grafts plan again and try to convince him of more before accepting his quote.

6 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Have you had consultations with other UK surgeons such as Dr Milne, Dr Mani, etc?

I could do those two next if you recommend them. What do you think I could expect from them any different from what Farjo said in my consultation with him?