Eugenix - NW6, 5634 grafts, Dr. Arika Bansal - Sept 2023

[baldforawhile]

 

I’ll try to keep this brief (update - looks like that didn’t happen, haha!), but would like to post about my recent-ish transplant I had done at Eugenix.  I am now 10 months post-procedure, and am absolutely thrilled with the result.

The plan: 5200 grafts, 3500 from scalp, 1700 from beard.
The actual procedure: 5634 grafts, all from scalp.

Background - I was 43 at the time of my procedure, and am now 44.  I started balding at 19 and was shaving my head by my early 30’s (and had hung on to my balding hairline way too long before that).  By the time I was 25, I was already the noticeably balding guy.  I never went on fin or anything else, because I figured it was a losing battle and I’d rather just let it happen.  I now consider that a mistake, but I am fairly conservative with my health and didn’t want to take the risk 20 years ago.  The transplant “landscape” was quite different back then as I’m sure you all know, and had pretty much resigned myself to being a bald man.

For 20 years I’ve kept up with the state of affairs in hair transplants.  Usually checking in on things every few years, seeing people’s results, and continuing to dream about getting it done, but not having the guts to actually do it.  My willingness to take the risk changed recently, once I learned about people doing “hair systems” (aka toupee’s).  I always thought they would be pretty obvious, but saw some results on YouTube and ended up going to a salon myself.  I tried it out for about 5 months, and in that time I realized that I REALLY would love to have hair, and that I have the resources and decided to give it a try.  The hair system was fine, just a lot of work to maintain, and it’s still not your hair.  That always made me feel strange, and sort of like I was wearing a mask and hiding.  Someday I hope there is no stigma around wearing a hair system, but it got me to the point of wanting to get the transplant so I think it was a good thing.

After an initial consultation with Eugenix, I was given a few options for “packages” to select.  Initially I was wanting to save money and “go cheap”.  I did trust Eugenix’s reputation, and thought that their younger doctors would give a great result, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I wasn’t happy with the result, I would be mad at myself for cheaping out on something that you really cannot undo.  So I decided to go with the top end package and selected a date for Dr. Arika Bansal to perform the procedure.

A funny coincidence - when I told my family that I was going to get the transplant done, my mom started googling about it and watched some videos describing how to set your hairline to make it look natrual.  She said she found a video that made her feel more comfortable with it from a very nice doctor that seemed to be very knowledgeable.  I asked to see the video and it was Dr. Bansal!  I told my mom not to worry, the Dr. in the video is actually my doctor and I’m in good hands!  This really reduced their anxiety about me getting the procedure done (I had not discussed this with them at all in the last 20 years so it was a bit of a shocker when I told them).

Anyway, I booked the appointment a month before and was off on my Flight Seattle -> Delhi before I knew it!  Once I arrived in Delhi, Eugenix had a driver pick me up with a sign with my name on it at the airport.  I always wanted to be one of those people that gets picked up by a driver with a sign, it felt very posh!  The driver got me over to the Marriott in Gurgaon after an hour in pretty heavy traffic.  I had a day buffer before my procedure so I booked some sight seeing around Delhi for the next day and had a great time.  When I got done, I unfortunately received a text from Eugenix saying that they had to postpone my procedure a day.  I was scheduled for 3 days and was a little bummed because I wanted to have an extra few days buffer before heading back to the US.  I was also just anxious and wanting to get on with it, so having to wait an extra 24 hours was really tough.  And also wondering if it would be postponed again.  It is very stressful.

Fortunately, the procedure started on time after the 24 hour postponement.  On day 1, a driver picked me up at 8am and I was prepping at Eugenix shortly after.  We took pictures, set the hairline, they answered questions, and we got started with the actual procedure around 10:45.  Dr. Arika did the slits and the hairline and oversaw the rest of the team for the rest of it.  Around 2:00, we finally took a break for lunch.  I chose the Indian lunch (non-veg) and it was absolutely the best Indian food I’ve had in my life!  It was fantastic, and was clearly just from some local chain (it came in a box that seemed like it was a “fast food” type of a place).  I couldn’t believe the flavors!  After lunch we continued until around 6pm where we stopped for the day.  We got roughly 1/3 of the transplants done and I knew I was in for either 2 more days or one very long day to finish it up.

The next day started similarly, however we got started doing the grafts much earlier, I believe before 9.  I had made it known that if it was possible to wrap it up that day, I would definitely prefer to do that.  The second day was really a marathon session, and I was doing everything I could to help speed things along, like not taking bathroom breaks, and not asking too many questions.  As a patient there is not really much you can do to speed things along but I felt like I was helping at least a little.  The doctors were working very quickly this day and we made great progress.  We broke for lunch a little earlier and were back at it pretty quickly.  Around 5pm, it was determined I was going to need an extra 250 or so grafts, I approved it and they kept working.  By 7:30, we had finally finished up with the grafts, and all that was left was to wrap things up and get me out of there.  I got back to the hotel around 9pm, so that really was a long day.

During the procedure, there is really not a lot you can do to entertain yourself.  Before the procedure I had thought maybe I’d be able to listen to headphones, but you really need to be able to respond to the doctors because they will ask you how you’re doing every 10 minutes or so.  So I sat there, and listened to the music they had on in the room.  It sounds boring but it really was not too bad.  Sitting there while getting poked repeatedly, with the occasional poke that actually hurts, is surprisingly exhausting.  I was very happy to be done, and had not expected the procedure to be so mentally draining for myself.  

I had a 2 day buffer returning home, and so the 2nd buffer day I took a trip to see the Taj Mahal.  I was comfortable enough with the state of my transplant by this time to know that I could go out and about and not do any damage, so that is what I did.  It’s probably not recommended, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the Taj Mahal!  Anyway, it worked out fine and I spent that entire day being driven to, and then back from Agra.  From the time I started the procedure, to going to the airport, this is the only time I left the hotel, opting to play it safe and not risk doing any damage to my head for the rest of the time.

Sleeping worked out pretty well, I took some pointers from these forums and used my neck pillow + other pillows to prop myself up so that I was not laying on the transplanted area.  I definitely suggest to research about how to do that on these forums.

The flight back was pretty uneventful.  I was supposed to spray my head once an hour with saline solution, but thought that would be too awkward, so instead I just sprayed my head on the layover in Dubai and once when I went to the bathroom on the final 10 hr flight.  I used the neck pillow to get a little sleep, but sleep was pretty hard to come by during the return flight home. 

It was pretty excruciating having to wait for the hair to grow back in, not knowing how it would look.  To my surprise, when it did come back in, the hair was very curly.  I’ve known forever that the hair on the sides and back of my head is curly, but for some reason I never put it together that all of my hair would now be curly.  I guess I sort of forgot about that since I’ve shaved my head for the last 10+ years.  On the plus side, the curls give a bit of volume that straight hair does not.  This allows my head to look much more full than it would if it was straight.  However the “hair of my youth” that I was trying to get back was perfectly straight.  So I just wasn’t happy that I now have a curly head of hair.  My solution is to straighten the hair, which doesn’t work great, and I end up with the wavy hair you see in the final pics.  I straighten quite a bit on the top but not all of it, and leave the sides and back curly.  It takes a couple hours every month or two.  This made all of the difference, as I now see my hair as what it used to be before I got hit with this hair loss problem.  It also leaves much of the curls to hide the fact that I’m thin.

I could not be happier with the state of my hair 10 months after the procedure.  Everyone says it, but I wish I had done this 20 years ago (however, the tech did not exist 20 years ago so that is really not something that would have been possible).  

Final pics here have no volumizers or fibers or anything like that.  I do use gel to keep it a bit straighter but other than that, it’s just my raw head of hair.  Eugenix said I do have donor available still if I need to do more work, and they ended up not having to take any beard grafts (the original plan was 1700 from my beard, but they ended up not needing it).  It feels great to know I have options if my hair falls out over the next 10 years, but as of this moment I am totally happy with the result and don’t see myself needing to go back for touch up work.

Despite there being some bumps along the way with Eugenix, they did everything they could to make things right, and I ended up with the result I was looking for, so I’d definitely recommend them to anyone with a high NW pattern.

Finally, on to the pictures!  

Pre-Transplant:

 

Immediately after the transplant:

 

2 weeks later:

 

4 Months:

 

5 Months:

 

10 Months: (Today, 7/12/24)

 

 

As you can see, there is some thin-ness to the hair, where I'm parting it.  But I haven't been able to even part hair for around 15 years, so I'll take it!  I am also 6'3", so people rarely see the top of my head.  I could go back and fill it in a bit, but I really don't see the point.

Overall very happy with this result, and want to thank everyone on this forum for providing all of this great information along the way!  Cheers!

 

 

Edited July 13 by baldforawhile
Add procedure info

[Fox243]

Wow, looks amazing, thanks for sharing!

[SLA]

1 hour ago, baldforawhile said:

 

I’ll try to keep this brief (update - looks like that didn’t happen, haha!), but would like to post about my recent-ish transplant I had done at Eugenix.  I am now 10 months post-procedure, and am absolutely thrilled with the result.

The plan: 5200 grafts, 3500 from scalp, 1700 from beard.
The actual procedure: 5634 grafts, all from scalp.

Background - I was 43 at the time of my procedure, and am now 44.  I started balding at 19 and was shaving my head by my early 30’s (and had hung on to my balding hairline way too long before that).  By the time I was 25, I was already the noticeably balding guy.  I never went on fin or anything else, because I figured it was a losing battle and I’d rather just let it happen.  I now consider that a mistake, but I am fairly conservative with my health and didn’t want to take the risk 20 years ago.  The transplant “landscape” was quite different back then as I’m sure you all know, and had pretty much resigned myself to being a bald man.

For 20 years I’ve kept up with the state of affairs in hair transplants.  Usually checking in on things every few years, seeing people’s results, and continuing to dream about getting it done, but not having the guts to actually do it.  My willingness to take the risk changed recently, once I learned about people doing “hair systems” (aka toupee’s).  I always thought they would be pretty obvious, but saw some results on YouTube and ended up going to a salon myself.  I tried it out for about 5 months, and in that time I realized that I REALLY would love to have hair, and that I have the resources and decided to give it a try.  The hair system was fine, just a lot of work to maintain, and it’s still not your hair.  That always made me feel strange, and sort of like I was wearing a mask and hiding.  Someday I hope there is no stigma around wearing a hair system, but it got me to the point of wanting to get the transplant so I think it was a good thing.

After an initial consultation with Eugenix, I was given a few options for “packages” to select.  Initially I was wanting to save money and “go cheap”.  I did trust Eugenix’s reputation, and thought that their younger doctors would give a great result, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I wasn’t happy with the result, I would be mad at myself for cheaping out on something that you really cannot undo.  So I decided to go with the top end package and selected a date for Dr. Arika Bansal to perform the procedure.

A funny coincidence - when I told my family that I was going to get the transplant done, my mom started googling about it and watched some videos describing how to set your hairline to make it look natrual.  She said she found a video that made her feel more comfortable with it from a very nice doctor that seemed to be very knowledgeable.  I asked to see the video and it was Dr. Bansal!  I told my mom not to worry, the Dr. in the video is actually my doctor and I’m in good hands!  This really reduced their anxiety about me getting the procedure done (I had not discussed this with them at all in the last 20 years so it was a bit of a shocker when I told them).

Anyway, I booked the appointment a month before and was off on my Flight Seattle -> Delhi before I knew it!  Once I arrived in Delhi, Eugenix had a driver pick me up with a sign with my name on it at the airport.  I always wanted to be one of those people that gets picked up by a driver with a sign, it felt very posh!  The driver got me over to the Marriott in Gurgaon after an hour in pretty heavy traffic.  I had a day buffer before my procedure so I booked some sight seeing around Delhi for the next day and had a great time.  When I got done, I unfortunately received a text from Eugenix saying that they had to postpone my procedure a day.  I was scheduled for 3 days and was a little bummed because I wanted to have an extra few days buffer before heading back to the US.  I was also just anxious and wanting to get on with it, so having to wait an extra 24 hours was really tough.  And also wondering if it would be postponed again.  It is very stressful.

Fortunately, the procedure started on time after the 24 hour postponement.  On day 1, a driver picked me up at 8am and I was prepping at Eugenix shortly after.  We took pictures, set the hairline, they answered questions, and we got started with the actual procedure around 10:45.  Dr. Arika did the slits and the hairline and oversaw the rest of the team for the rest of it.  Around 2:00, we finally took a break for lunch.  I chose the Indian lunch (non-veg) and it was absolutely the best Indian food I’ve had in my life!  It was fantastic, and was clearly just from some local chain (it came in a box that seemed like it was a “fast food” type of a place).  I couldn’t believe the flavors!  After lunch we continued until around 6pm where we stopped for the day.  We got roughly 1/3 of the transplants done and I knew I was in for either 2 more days or one very long day to finish it up.

The next day started similarly, however we got started doing the grafts much earlier, I believe before 9.  I had made it known that if it was possible to wrap it up that day, I would definitely prefer to do that.  The second day was really a marathon session, and I was doing everything I could to help speed things along, like not taking bathroom breaks, and not asking too many questions.  As a patient there is not really much you can do to speed things along but I felt like I was helping at least a little.  The doctors were working very quickly this day and we made great progress.  We broke for lunch a little earlier and were back at it pretty quickly.  Around 5pm, it was determined I was going to need an extra 250 or so grafts, I approved it and they kept working.  By 7:30, we had finally finished up with the grafts, and all that was left was to wrap things up and get me out of there.  I got back to the hotel around 9pm, so that was really a marathon day.

During the procedure, there is really not a lot you can do to entertain yourself.  Before the procedure I had thought maybe I’d be able to listen to headphones, but you really need to be able to respond to the doctors because they will ask you how you’re doing every 10 minutes or so.  So I sat there, and listened to the music they had on in the room.  It sounds boring but it really was not too bad.  Sitting there while getting poked repeatedly, with the occasional poke that actually hurts, is surprisingly exhausting.  I was very happy to be done, and had not expected the procedure to be so mentally draining for myself.  

I had a 2 day buffer returning home, and so the 2nd buffer day I took a trip to see the Taj Mahal.  I was comfortable enough with the state of my transplant by this time to know that I could go out and about and not do any damage, so that is what I did.  It’s probably not recommended, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the Taj Mahal!  Anyway, it worked out fine and I spent that entire day being driven to, and then back from Agra.  From the time I started the procedure, to going to the airport, this is the only time I left the hotel, opting to play it safe and not risk doing any damage to my head for the rest of the time.

Sleeping worked out pretty well, I took some pointers from these forums and used my neck pillow + other pillows to prop myself up so that I was not laying on the transplanted area.  I definitely suggest to research about how to do that on these forums.

The flight back was pretty uneventful.  I was supposed to spray my head once an hour with saline solution, but thought that would be too awkward, so instead I just sprayed my head on the layover in Dubai and once when I went to the bathroom on the final 10 hr flight.  I used the neck pillow to get a little sleep, but sleep was pretty hard to come by during the return flight home. 

It was pretty excruciating having to wait for the hair to grow back in, not knowing how it would look.  To my surprise, when it did come back in, the hair was very curly.  I’ve known forever that the hair on the sides and back of my head is curly, but for some reason I never put it together that all of my hair would now be curly.  I guess I sort of forgot about that since I’ve shaved my head for the last 10+ years.  On the plus side, the curls give a bit of volume that straight hair does not.  This allows my head to look much more full than it would if it was straight.  However the “hair of my youth” that I was trying to get back was perfectly straight.  So I just wasn’t happy that I now have a curly head of hair.  My solution is to straighten the hair, which doesn’t work great, and I end up with the wavy hair you see in the final pics.  I straighten quite a bit on the top but not all of it, and leave the sides and back curly.  It takes a couple hours every month or two.  This made all of the difference, as I now see my hair as what it used to be before I got hit with this hair loss problem.  It also leaves much of the curls to hide the fact that I’m thin.

I could not be happier with the state of my hair 10 months after the procedure.  Everyone says it, but I wish I had done this 20 years ago (however, the tech did not exist 20 years ago so that is really not something that would have been possible).  

Final pics here have no volumizers or fibers or anything like that.  I do use gel to keep it a bit straighter but other than that, it’s just my raw head of hair.  Eugenix said I do have donor available still if I need to do more work, and they ended up not having to take any beard grafts (the original plan was 1700 from my beard, but they ended up not needing it).  It feels great to know I have options if my hair falls out over the next 10 years, but as of this moment I am totally happy with the result and don’t see myself needing to go back for touch up work.

Despite there being some bumps along the way with Eugenix, they did everything they could to make things right, and I ended up with the result I was looking for, so I’d definitely recommend them to anyone with a high NW pattern.

Finally, on to the pictures!  

Pre-Transplant:

 

Immediately after the transplant:

 

2 weeks later:

 

4 Months:

 

5 Months:

 

10 Months: (Today, 7/12/24)

 

 

As you can see, there is some thin-ness to the hair, where I'm parting it.  But I haven't been able to even part hair for around 15 years, so I'll take it!  I am also 6'3", so people rarely see the top of my head.  I could go back and fill it in a bit, but I really don't see the point.

Overall very happy with this result, and want to thank everyone on this forum for providing all of this great information along the way!  Cheers!

 

 

Simply an incredible transformation!!! This is as good as it gets.

Thanks for posting and enjoy the hair!

[Mario35]

Do you know how many grafts were implanted in the crown? Awesome results!

[baldforawhile]

3 minutes ago, Mario35 said:

Do you know how many grafts were implanted in the crown? Awesome results!

Thanks!  I don't know the numbers for the crown specifically, but I told them I prefered even distribution and come back for more density later if needed, rather than to focus on specific areas with a plan to come back later to fill in the skipped areas.  So I think the 5600 were distributed pretty evenly except for the hairline.

[4chanhrn]

I'm amazed at the cover they managed to give you with 5600 grafts. You should be over the moon. Are you on medication?

[baldforawhile]

26 minutes ago, 4chanhrn said:

I'm amazed at the cover they managed to give you with 5600 grafts. You should be over the moon. Are you on medication?

Yep, started on Fin about a month before the procedure and will stick with it for the forseeable future.  Also taking Biotin and a few other vitamins eugenix suggested (but not sure if those will make too much of a difference).  I'm definitely over the moon, could not have asked for better results.  Props to the Eugenix folks, they are really top notch in my mind.

[caveman]

Brother this is a home run result. Enjoy the new hair! Are you on any medications? Do you use any products for your hair?

[4chanhrn]

2 hours ago, baldforawhile said:

Yep, started on Fin about a month before the procedure and will stick with it for the forseeable future.  Also taking Biotin and a few other vitamins eugenix suggested (but not sure if those will make too much of a difference).  I'm definitely over the moon, could not have asked for better results.  Props to the Eugenix folks, they are really top notch in my mind.

Nice. Fin should help keep those humps and may improve the density further. Congrats.

Edited July 13 by 4chanhrn

[Gatsby]

@baldforawhile this is a fantastic transformation. Congratulations and enjoy your new head of hair. 💯👌

[Al - Moderator]

You look great. It looks like you even got some good crown coverage.

 

[baldforawhile]

2 hours ago, Gatsby said:

@baldforawhile this is a fantastic transformation. Congratulations and enjoy your new head of hair. 💯👌

Thanks!  You are a legend on this forum, and someone I've paid a lot of attention to over the years.  So for you to say that means a lot, I appreciate it!  

[baldforawhile]

5 hours ago, caveman said:

Brother this is a home run result. Enjoy the new hair! Are you on any medications? Do you use any products for your hair?

Thanks man!  It is my dreams come true and I can't believe it really.  I am on fin now, and some vitamins, but that's it.  I've been thinking about Dut but I don't know much about it yet.  I use some generic hair gel and a straightener, but nothing other than that.  I definitely want to preserve this thing as long as I can and open to suggestions.  I was very hesitant to address the problem with medications earlier, as I mentioned, and I regret that.  

[Hairwolf]

wow such a transformation! expect more attention from ladies after this! Congrats!

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

@baldforawhile

Thanks for choosing us for your hair restoration, at 10 months mark your hair growth is amazing, we appreciate your feedback and are glad to hear that you had a positive experience with us. It means a lot to us to know that our efforts have been successful in your case. We wish you all the best on your journey towards good health and happiness.

Keep us updated on your progress. 

Warmest Regards
Eugenix Hair Sciences 

[mr_peanutbutter]

was beard hair used?

[davidn]

40 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

was beard hair used?

The plan: 5200 grafts, 3500 from scalp, 1700 from beard.
The actual procedure: 5634 grafts, all from scalp.

[baldDick666]

@baldforawhile congrats.

PS:
In short: you have just bacome the number one favourite for the "HT of the year". Such z massive change with relatively small amount of grafts.

Congrats again.

[Nobaldscalp]

Really great result. Congrats to Euegnix! 

[Stewie]

This is stunning, for such a small amount of grafts, you are completely transformed, do you have more pics from them when they do all the different angles etc for pre/post transplant? Congrats to you and Eugenix for sure!

[BogdanNn134]

Can you show your hair normal without a slick back ? 

[sweveney]

Outstanding job man! amazing results! Congratz !  

[GoliGoliGoli]

Great coverage. In a lot of ways you were a really good candidate despite being NW6. This is a home run result. Can you post some more pics of the crown?
?

[sweveney]

I had the same Norwood level than you and man.... I wasn't lucky! You invested your time and money wisely! Enjoy your journey friend. Wow!

Congratz!

[Berba11]

Excellent transformation! Pleased to see this!