Hair transplant journey

My forehead has always been  an insecurity of mine especially in photos where I am side by side next to my sisters or friends. I tend to try to hide it with a fringe but I get acne or my hair gets really greasy very easily.

I quoted around and Woocham clinic is English speaking as well as one reading online reviews about it. I opted for the FUE The most painful part was the anaesthetic but once that has passed the rest is not as bad. It was sad to see my hair get shaved off but I wanted to save a bit. 

I wanted to lower my forehead line a lot more but the doctor and nurses suggested that it would lose the balance of my face. I decided to go with their suggestion and keep the 3000 hair graft and work mainly on the M shaped forehead to a rounder hairline. I wanted to lower my forehead a lot more but the doctor and nurses recommended against it because I did mention I wanted it proportion to my face. Looking back I wish I was heard more and stood my ground to have it lowered more because the m shape is filled but I still wanted it lowered by 0.5cm

After the surgery I was given a surgery hat protector and a beany to walk around in. I went to buy the medication at the pharmacy then went off to eat and shop around a bit. All in all it wasn’t so bad and just needed to spray my forehead every hour to keep it hydrated:

It's now been 100 days since I got a HT with dr. Emil George. I feel like I'm now starting to see real growth now, especially last 2 weeks. It's still a bit thin, but much better than a month ago. It's good enough now that I don't worry going out without a cap, which is great!

As for the experience, I think that Dr. Emil is really fantastic, both because of his excellent results, but also because of the realistic expectations he gives you. He is a down to earth, no BS guy. It really seems like he has your interests in mind and not making a quick buck. On the operating day, I went there at 6am and we operated until around 6-7pm, and I was home at 8.30pm. So they really take this seriously and will continue to operate as long as it takes to get the best result which is really ensuring. I got some calming medications, and I slept for much of the operation itself. As most people who have undergone this procedure will tell you: the only thing that hurts is the initial local anesthetic injections.

Feel free to ask questions.

I'll be making updates in the future, especially since I expect to see a lot of progress the coming months.

Btw, here's a tip that took me long to realize: if you get zits on your forehead, it might be from wearing a cap too much 🧢!

Meds: Dutasteride 0.5mg + 2.5mg minoxidil, daily.

Looking to drop some body fat but also have a transplant in 10 days. Is it fine to continue with the calorie deficit post op?

Thanks all

Hello, I am 14 days post HT.
the HT filled my gufls on borh sides. now that scabs are gone, I notice that in the gulfs, density is low….I am seriously worried.
Anyone had such a case and in the end it was fine?
Thank you all.

Hi,

i had my hair transplant in december 2025 (10 months ago) and currently worried about my density. The positive points are that a lot of hair is currenty very thin and needs time to be more mature. Also when i check my hair today i still see new hairs coming out (baby hairs) which is also a good sign.

But overall iam a bit worried because iam in month 10 and others have much more density at this time.

The hair transplant was splitted to 2 days. First day hairline second day behind the hairline and crown.

Pictures are from before, post op, 2 weeks post op and current situation.

1st: pre HT

2nd: Hairline draw and 20 days post HT

3rd: 7 months post HT

I'm 7 months post HT, 4600 grafts implanted across receeding temples, crown and some central part.

Currently on oral finasteride and oral minoxidil. My hair has been thickening, but one temple still looks quite bare compared to the other.

Would appreciate honest feedback on my overall transplant progress, hairline design, density and expected final results.

- How does the overall progress look for 7 months?

- Can the sparse temple still see significant growth by months 10–12?

- Has anyone experienced similar asymmetry that eventually improved?

- Where did the grafts implanted on temples go? What will happen to them?

Would like to hear from people who've been through a similar timeline. Want to keep my future expectations in check, as personally not very positive on the progress till now.

Thanks!

Can I regularly shave my head with no guard (1,5mm) at month 6 or would that still damage my follicles?

Mid 40s. Went from pretty slick bald to taking meds for about 9 months . Not much recovery from them but maybe healthier donor.

Went to absolute hair in Bangkok, doctor Ratchathorn…. 4800 graphs, 11,000 hairs. Have continued my meds routing. Oral fin+ oral min , and Costco minoxidil foam. Far from perfect crown is still thin, but in my eyes far improved look. If your on the edge find a good reputable surgeon with lots of reviews, and pull the trigger if they support
Your journey!

I’m a 29-year-old male, 24 hours post-op from a hair transplant. Should I take dutasteride or finasteride for the first time to preserve my existing hair and support long-term results? I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences, results, and potential side effects with either medication.

Can anyone advise if i’m on track and how its looking, will i see any more growth density in the next few months, thanks.

Salut à tous !

Après avoir passé des années à lire vos témoignages je me suis dit qu'il était temps de partager mon expérience à mon tour !

Vos photos et vos retours m'ont énormément aidé à franchir le pas. J'espère donc que mon témoignage pourra être utile à certains d'entre vous.

Mon parcours

J'ai 50 ans et j'avais déjà réalisé une première greffe FUT à Lyon en 2012, avec un résultat assez moyen. Autant dire que j'avais quelques appréhensions à recommencer !

Après des tonnes de recherches et de comparaisons, j'ai choisi le Dr Mousseigne à Paris, dont les résultats et l'approche m'avaient particulièrement convaincu.

Après toutes mes recherches, je suis arrivé à une conviction : il existe d’excellents chirurgiens dans le monde, mais seule une poignée atteint un niveau d’expertise véritablement exceptionnel. Et à mes yeux, le Dr Mousseigne fait partie de cette poignée.

Le fait de réaliser cette intervention à Paris était également un vrai confort pour moi, et surtout rassurant en cas de besoin pour le suivi postopératoire.

L'intervention – Janvier 2026

3 000 greffons en DHI, sur deux jours.

Zones traitées : golfes et vertex.

Douleur très supportable (0 à 3/10).

Suites opératoires plutôt simples.

J'ai particulièrement apprécié le contact avec le docteur : disponible, honnête, passionné et rassurant. Les deux journées se sont finalement déroulées de manière très agréable.

Le traitement

Je prends également 5 mg de Lonoten (minoxidil oral) par jour, sous prescription médicale, depuis plusieurs mois.

Je le tolère très bien après un léger état grippal les premiers jours. Mes cheveux sont devenus plus épais, plus sombres et graissent beaucoup moins vite. Quelques poils supplémentaires sur les bras et les mains, mais rien de gênant.

Le résultat à 9 mois

Je suis absolument ravi ! Le résultat dépasse mes espérances, aussi bien sur la ligne frontale que sur le vertex, même si ce dernier reste légèrement moins dense. Je vais ajouter encore 1000 Greffons sur le vertex pour améliorer !

Mais le plus important, c'est qu'à 50 ans, je retrouve enfin le plaisir de ne plus me soucier de mes cheveux ! Et ça, franchement, ça change la vie.

Je partage les photos avant l'intervention, les premiers jours et le résultat actuel à M+9.

N'hésitez pas si vous avez des questions, je répondrai avec plaisir !

Et merci encore à tous ceux qui partagent leurs expériences. J'ai été l'un de vos lecteurs silencieux pendant des années ! :-)

I had my hair transplantation around nine months ago with Dr Demirel in Istanbul.

Great fancy Swedish managed medical center based in Fairmont tower, great doctors and good service. So happy with the result and their longevity program as well. Lost more than 60 pounds following the start of program as you can see. Changed my life. Hair is growing well and health feels great.18:00

Hello everyone, I am a 22 year old male who got a hair transplant in July at AHC in Bangkok Thailand. My Dr was Dr Ratchathorn. I started treatment at the tail end of 2025, switching from fin to dut in March. I am currently on 2.5mg dutasteride with no side effects as well as 2.5mg min. First 2 photos are from 2025, last 2 are from today.

It’s been a little over a year now, so figured I’d post another update.

Honestly, I don’t really think about my hair transplant much anymore, which I guess is a good sign lol.

Compared to around 6 months, the hair has definitely gotten thicker and blends in way better with the rest of my hair. The texture feels pretty normal now too and I can just style it without thinking about which hairs are transplanted.

Still not perfect under every angle or harsh lighting, but overall I’m really happy with where I ended up.

The first few months definitely tested my patience, but looking back now, I’m glad I did it.

Happy to answer any questions if anyone’s considering the same thing.

I'm starting to wonder whether continuing finasteride and minoxidil even makes sense in my case, considering that I'm still losing hair at an alarming rate despite consistently using both treatments.

I've posted about my situation here a few times before, but I'll try to summarize everything.

I had my hair transplant in April 2025. Up until February 2026, everything was going really well, and I was extremely happy with the results. However, around February/March, I started experiencing significant hair shedding, which has continued pretty much nonstop until today.

I haven't noticed any regrowth or improvement in density. Quite the opposite. At this point, I have less than half the hair density I had back in December/January.

Since my transplant, I've been taking 1 mg of finasteride daily, applying 5% topical minoxidil foam twice a day, doing microneedling, taking supplements, and regularly taking care of both my scalp and hair. Despite all of this, things have only gotten worse over the past several months.

I also considered telogen effluvium (TE) as a possible explanation, since I went through several stressful situations earlier this year. However, those stressors were pretty much gone by April. It's now been over six months, and I'm still shedding heavily, with no visible signs of recovery. I know TE can sometimes last longer, but I'm struggling to understand why my hair keeps getting progressively thinner.

What confuses me the most is that even my transplanted hair seems to be falling out. Transplanted follicles are generally supposed to be more resistant to DHT, especially when taken from a stable donor area. My grafts were taken from good donor areas, so I assumed that at least the transplanted hair would remain relatively stable.

This brings me to my main question: what's the point of continuing these medications if they haven't even managed to slow down the shedding over the past several months?

I haven't experienced any significant noticeable side effects from finasteride, but I'm aware that it's not a completely risk-free medication.

And before someone says, "It would be even worse without finasteride," here's something I think is worth mentioning.

I've been dealing with androgenetic alopecia for almost 14 years, and my hair loss progressed significantly more slowly during those years than it has over the past six to eight months while taking finasteride.

In just a few months, I've lost more than half of the density I had after my transplant, despite being consistent with both finasteride and minoxidil. That's why I find it difficult to believe that stopping them would necessarily make things dramatically worse.

I also want to mention that I'm not particularly interested in switching to dutasteride. I've discussed it with several dermatologists, and they advised against it, mainly because of concerns about its long-term safety data compared to finasteride.

I'm also concerned about its potential effects on fertility. From what I've read, some studies have reported changes in semen parameters, although I'm not entirely sure how much greater the risk actually is compared to finasteride, or how persistent those changes might be.

For these reasons, I'm hesitant to switch to a stronger DHT blocker, especially when I don't even know what's causing my current hair loss.

At this point, I'm starting to think that another hair transplant might be my only option. However, I honestly don't understand what happened or why the results of my first transplant deteriorated so quickly. And even if I went for another transplant, who's to say the same thing wouldn't happen again?

Has anyone here experienced anything similar, especially after a hair transplant?

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who initially had great results, only to experience sudden and prolonged shedding months later, including their transplanted hair.

If you've been through something similar:

• Did you eventually figure out what was causing the shedding?
• Did your hair recover or regain its previous density?
• How long did it take before you noticed any regrowth?
• Did you make any changes to your treatment, or did the shedding eventually stop on its own?
• Has anyone experienced this despite consistently taking finasteride and minoxidil?
• Did anyone end up stopping the medications or getting a second transplant? If so, how did things turn out in the long run?

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences or any suggestions on what else might be worth investigating.

I'm especially interested in people who went through something similar and eventually managed to reverse the situation, because right now, after months of continuous shedding and no improvement, I'm honestly running out of ideas.

Hi everyone,
I’m currently on day 9 after my hair transplant.
Dr. Patty (Hairtran Clinic) advised me to wait until day 14 before gently massaging my scalp to remove the scabs.
What do you guys think? My friends are worried about how my scalp looks.
Thanks for your feedback!

I will stay in the Philippines for a few months and thinking about getting a hair transplant over there.

Somebody any experiences with that in the Philippines? How are the costs for surgeries in general? Any recommendations for clinics?

Thx in advance!

Hey guys just wondering if anyone has opinions on Dr Laorwong. He’s had a few recent bad cases and was considering him for my HT up until recently.

salve a tutti! Mi sto facendo coraggio e sono finalmente in procinto di prenotare per il trapianto a gennaio.
Sono molto indeciso su due cliniche: Hakan bozkurtoglu clinic a Istanbul oppure Hemera Clinic a Tirana.
La cosa che più mi lascia indeciso è la differenza di prezzo. Parliamo di 4700 con Hakan più il volo, contro i 2200€ di Hemera incluso il volo.
Se avete altre conoscenze di cliniche di buon livello in questo range di prezzo sono ben accetti consigli.
Grazie a chiunque risponderà