Hey folks, long time lurker... first time poster!
I finally took the plunge 10 days ago and got a 1890 graft FUE procedure with Dr. Parsa Mohebi in LA. I've been thinking about getting a hair transplant for over 10 years, and now that I'm in my late 30s I figured I should either go ahead and do it or stop thinking I'll eventually do it...
I'm a Norwood 3ish (3V but "V" part is not yet visibly miniaturized -- 30% where 20% is considered the upper end of normal) and have been basically since age 21. I've been Finasteride since I was 23/24. I've been contemplating the hair transplant since my mid 20s. I always wanted to soften the the receded corners... just make it less stark because my forehead is large and I was always self-conscious about it.
Finding a doctor
I went to consults with NHI, H&W, Diep and Mohebi... they all seemed well regarded.
Hairline
I wanted to keep a M shaped NW1.5-esque hairline just because I think it looks pretty reasonable and masculine on someone in their late 30s. [I attached an example below of what I'd be perfectly happy with in terms of hairline corners] Also both Mohebi and Diep had noted that reinforcing temporal points to frame my face would end up being more valuable than a pure hairline approach. Dr. Mohebi explained that with a narrow chin and wide forehead, temporal points will help make my forehead look less broad. i.e. it's about the subjective impression how it fits facial aesthetics, not just purely where your hairline sits.
My goal was to get somewhere between 1800-2000 grafts. We were targeting 2000, but I ended up stopping them at 1890 simply because at the end of the day I was ready to go... they were doing extractions and placement continuously... extract, place, extract, place, and as we got to the end of the day, the numbing started to wear off in part of my donor area... they were going to do more numbing shorts but I called it off. 1890 is enough for the first go.
Pictures
Here are some pictures from today (day 10). I've really jacked up the contrast on these so you can see the stubble (making my hair look much darker than it is and making my skin look crazy rough
. A few graft hairs may have come off with the scabs in days 7-10 but I think most stayed.
I'm not sure if it comes through in the pictures, but I'm pretty happy with the graft angles. They seem to track my nearby natural hairs very closely, even on the temporal points.
The only temporary regret I have is that doing the temporal points makes it very difficult to go back to work without conspicuous red triangles on my face. The frontal hairline is almost all concealed because I always wore my bangs messy and forward (not like in the pics). But even a hat doesn't necessarily go all the way down to your ears...
Donor area:
Hairline at age 21:
Example hairline shape I like:
I finally took the plunge 10 days ago and got a 1890 graft FUE procedure with Dr. Parsa Mohebi in LA. I've been thinking about getting a hair transplant for over 10 years, and now that I'm in my late 30s I figured I should either go ahead and do it or stop thinking I'll eventually do it...
I'm a Norwood 3ish (3V but "V" part is not yet visibly miniaturized -- 30% where 20% is considered the upper end of normal) and have been basically since age 21. I've been Finasteride since I was 23/24. I've been contemplating the hair transplant since my mid 20s. I always wanted to soften the the receded corners... just make it less stark because my forehead is large and I was always self-conscious about it.
Finding a doctor
I went to consults with NHI, H&W, Diep and Mohebi... they all seemed well regarded.
- I saw Dr. Pak at NHI in 2014... he was pretty brusque. He basically said very definitively "you aren't balding at all. It's probably psychological. I'll do 1000 grafts" and didn't bother to even look at my hair for miniaturization. I'm sure he's skilled at surgery but he's definitely a bit blunt. His follow up email said, "We discussed that fact that you are NOT balding."
- After that I went to a H&W thing when they came to my city... except it was just some random patient rep who offered me a discount if I booked within one month of seeing them. I was expecting them to check miniaturization, explore hairline options, etc.
- I went to Dr. Mohebi and though he charges for a consult... he was very thorough, very frank... etc. He did a miniaturization study, drew a few hairlines, etc. Ultimately his style seemed to match what I like.
- I went to Dr. Diep and he seemed pretty nice himself and drew a hairline design, but the office staff was really inconsistent in terms of communications, and Diep gets mixed reviews online (punch size, donor area harvest zone, aftercare, etc). He seems to the kind of guy who swings for the fences and will get outstanding looking results for some but not play it safe.
Hairline
I wanted to keep a M shaped NW1.5-esque hairline just because I think it looks pretty reasonable and masculine on someone in their late 30s. [I attached an example below of what I'd be perfectly happy with in terms of hairline corners] Also both Mohebi and Diep had noted that reinforcing temporal points to frame my face would end up being more valuable than a pure hairline approach. Dr. Mohebi explained that with a narrow chin and wide forehead, temporal points will help make my forehead look less broad. i.e. it's about the subjective impression how it fits facial aesthetics, not just purely where your hairline sits.
My goal was to get somewhere between 1800-2000 grafts. We were targeting 2000, but I ended up stopping them at 1890 simply because at the end of the day I was ready to go... they were doing extractions and placement continuously... extract, place, extract, place, and as we got to the end of the day, the numbing started to wear off in part of my donor area... they were going to do more numbing shorts but I called it off. 1890 is enough for the first go.
Pictures
Here are some pictures from today (day 10). I've really jacked up the contrast on these so you can see the stubble (making my hair look much darker than it is and making my skin look crazy rough
. A few graft hairs may have come off with the scabs in days 7-10 but I think most stayed.I'm not sure if it comes through in the pictures, but I'm pretty happy with the graft angles. They seem to track my nearby natural hairs very closely, even on the temporal points.
The only temporary regret I have is that doing the temporal points makes it very difficult to go back to work without conspicuous red triangles on my face. The frontal hairline is almost all concealed because I always wore my bangs messy and forward (not like in the pics). But even a hat doesn't necessarily go all the way down to your ears...
Donor area:
Hairline at age 21:
Example hairline shape I like:
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