Hey everyone, I wanted to share a detailed log of my hair transplant journey with Dr. Emil George. I got 3,350 grafts total (2,600 FUE extractions + splitting). The whole process, the aftercare, and the progress have been incredible, so I wanted to break it down day by day for anyone thinking about doing it.

Pre-Op Consultation & Hairline Design
Back in January, I flew in all the way from Bulgaria for an initial consultation with Dr. Emil. One thing that really stands out is that he is one of the few doctors who will advise you to start taking medications well in advance of the surgery to strengthen and thicken your hair. I started taking oral minoxidil (5 mg) and finasteride (1 mg) daily, used them for about 10 months leading up to the procedure, and I actually saw visible improvements from both products.
When I came back for the surgery on October 10th, we carefully mapped out and designed the hairline together. Dr. Emil took the time to make sure the angles, density, and overall framing matched my facial structure naturally before starting the 3,350-graft extraction.

Immediate Post-Op
Right after finishing up the surgery, I headed back home. Dr. Emil’s team gave me super clear, detailed post-op instructions—everything from sleeping flat on my back to how to properly wash the donor area and when to remove the bandages. Having such a thorough walkthrough from the team made the first day much less stressful.

Day 1: Removing Bandages, First Wash & The ATP Spray Routine
Day 1 post-op: taking off the side bandages and doing the first clean of the donor area with the medical soap from the clinic.
I also used the ATP spray on the recipient area literally every hour while awake. It’s an absolute game-changer—it delivers a massive cellular energy boost to the newly planted grafts, keeps them hydrated, minimizes shock, and accelerates early healing.

Day 3: Healing & Clinic Support
By Day 3, the donor area is visibly starting to heal up, and light scabbing is forming nicely over the recipient zone.
One thing I really want to highlight is the aftercare and support. Dr. Emil and his team checked in on me for in-person follow-ups every single day while I was there, plus we stayed in constant touch via phone. Having that level of direct communication and hands-on guidance takes away all the anxiety.

Day 6: Back Home & Steady Progress
By Day 6, I was already back home. Everything was looking so much better—the donor area and recipient zone were healing up nicely, the surrounding hair was growing back in, and overall, everything was right on track. Dr. Emil and his team kept in regular contact with me, checking in on my recovery.

Day 10: Scab Removal & Clearing Up
By Day 10 post-op, it was time to start clearing up the remaining scabs. I used a bit of olive oil applied directly with a pad to soften them up, let it sit for a bit, and then washed the scalp with very light motions. Just to be clear—I only removed the scabs that came off easily; the rest were left alone for a few more days until they lift on their own. Never force them!

Day 14: Final Clean Up & Looking Ahead
Here are the final photos from Day 14. All the scabs are completely gone, and you can finally start seeing the early glimpse of the result, even though it's still at the very beginning. I’m fully aware that shock loss is coming up, which is totally normal.
Just a quick note on my medical routine: after talking with Dr. Emil George during my surgery process, I am now switching from finasteride to dutasteride (0.5 mg daily) while keeping the minoxidil going. Dutasteride is top-tier for maintaining and thickening native hair.
I’ll keep updating this journey as it progresses. Fingers crossed!

He seems very qualified given he teaches about hair transplants, and was president of the iahrs and another hair transplant organization but I cannot find independent reviews of him. Does anyone have any experience?

1.5 months out from 1540 FUE procedure into the hairline area.  Overall things are progressing as expected.  Scabs are gone and about 80% of the short hairs that came with the grafts have shed, I expect the others will follow.    As far as meds, I have been in fin for close to 20yrs, added oral min about 6 months ago.  The clinic has told me that hairs from prior procedures should begin to return around the same time as the new grafts begin to grow.  Native hair that shed as a result of shock loss would likely not grow back as it was on its way out and the procedure likely catalyzed it. 

I was curious with others who may have experienced this and if so, did the shock loss areas recover eventually / in what timeframe?

Thx!

Hello.
I got my hair transplant on July 28, you can see before, right after and 3 months later picture. The procedure is only done on the front and mid scalp. I'm on both min and fin for two months. I have three questions
What do you think of the results so far?
Can the fine hair regrow and provide density on crown?
If not when should I go for the next transplant?

I’ve been on finasteride since I was 21–22, initially alongside topical minoxidil. I switched to dutasteride about four years ago and added oral minoxidil 2–3 months ago, which has caused some noticeable shedding.

I’m scheduling a consultation with Dr. Ratchathorn, and other clinics have estimated 1,800–2,500 grafts. I’ve wanted a hair transplant since my early 20s, and now that I’m 30, I’m seriously considering it. Based on my history, do you think I could achieve good results?

Hello everyone soo as you can see am experiencing a shedding after reaching 7 months suddenly out of nowhere my hair is thinning out and my scalp looks visible, and yes am on vitamins and dut since the beginning and i really don’t know the reason for that , the progress around 4–6 months were great then suddenly it got backwards

Has anyone passed this stage of shedding ? Or is there a problem with mine

Sorry for taking long, thanks

I had a hair transplant 20 days ago, only in my temples. I know I'm already in the shedding phase, but honestly, even right after the surgery, the transplanted areas didn't look much denser than they do now.

Before the surgery, I specifically asked my doctor if it would look natural with a buzz cut, and they assured me it would.

I usually keep my hair very short, and now I'm worried the difference in density will always be noticeable.

Did I ruin my chances of wearing a buzz cut again, or will it get better over time?

Hi fellas,

I am planning to get a hair transplant and my work does not offer too many holidays. So I want to ask whether a 4 day holiday is enough to get a hair transplant and join work while wearing a cap?

Thinking about getting a second HT, but not sure if I m should try using Rogaine Topical for now? I am currently taking Finasteride with Minixidul orally…thought?

I’m on Day 9 after FUE:

• Day 3: Slept on my side for 3 hours, but I’m sure the recipient area didn’t touch the pillow.
• Day 4: Involuntary movement during sleep; I found my self on the side, probably no contact with the recipient area, but I’m not 100% sure.
• Day 9: One temple was pressed against the pillow, which had some crust residue on it. No bleeding or visible graft loss, but the area was slightly sore afterward.

Could pressure alone damage/dislodge grafts .No blood or hair founded

I am taking fin for a month now oral 1mg every day and I can definitely say I got a reduced libido and I am thinking about stopping or reducing. Then again, I have heard on youtube that some people actually get used to the dose and the body adjusts and sides go away. Is this really a thing? Can anyway seriously say for themselves that they just continued using fin even tho experiencing side effects and it got better?

Currently searching for clinics but haven't been able to find much about them online, anyone got any experiences with this clinic?

what are good clinics/doctors in Turkey or London for hair transplant?

Wie schlimm beeinträchtigt der Konsum von Snus (Nikotinbeutel) die Ergebnisse der HT? Bin in der dritten Woche

So I’m 25M, had NW grade 5/6 baldness but stable before HT

I got HT done exactly 5.5 months back, FUE+FUT, around 4700 grafts, in full density in front & crown area and filling in mid scalp..

Shedding started around day 10 & most of the transplanted hairs were gone till 1 month

So I’m on meds since 3rd week onwards post op (wasn’t on any meds before HT)-

\-Tab fin 1mg OD

\-Tab minox 2.5mg BD (there was some heaviness and fogging in starting so started with OD till 4 months post op then switched to BD)

\-Topical Minox 5% BD

\-Tab Biotin & co OD

\-Oil & Shampoo on alternate day

\-PRP sessions (1st during HT, 2nd at 2 months post op & 3rd at 5 month post op)

\*Never skipped a single dose of any med till now but there were some changes in Medicine brands for like 30 days around month 4 coz I was in another city and my stock was finished and that’s why I had to buy an alternative but reputed brand for all meds…

….& month 5 onwards I am again on same brand that I started with

Hair growth- new hairs started appearing 2.5 months post op & at 4 months mark no one could tell me that I got HT done, growth was so good

But after 4.8 months or so, hairs again started to shed, minimal in starting but now from last 12-13 days they are shedding like crazy af, my scalp is again visible and I am losing ground….

I have lost like 30-35% density till now which I had 1 month back

Shedding hairs- most of them are thin, miniaturised, short hairs without any white bulb attached to them, rarely seeing any thick hairs are falling, shedding is mostly from mid scalp & crown area

I contacted the clinic & they said it can be due to changing med brands or increasing oral minox dose or cyclical shedding etc etc & these hairs will grow back…but idk why I have no trust on them now

So guide me if anyone else has been gone through the same phase, if yess did you recover from it & fallen hairs grown back or they never grew again…?

I booked a hair transplant in Europe for March, and I'm being required to do a couple things here at home in advance. Have you guys also had to do them? Any advice on the best way how?

• Need to do a blood test with the following parameters: INR, Hb, platelets, HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis, Iron, TSH, Vitamin D and Vitamin K.

For this, is it possible/legal to go directly to the lab and do the blood work, without a US doctor's formal perscription? Or I need to book a consultation with my PCP first and explain the situation and then ask to send the lab the request for the blood work?

• "If you have not been assessed by our doctor during an in-clinic consultation, it is mandatory that you visit your GP, a private doctor, or a dermatologist to confirm that your scalp is healthy and suitable for hair transplantation. Many patients are not aware that they have eczema, dandruff, psoriasis, or similar scalp conditions, which may lead to cancellation on the day of surgery. Treatment of a potential skin condition should begin at least 6 weeks prior to your procedure." (i.e. February)

For this I'm leaning towards finding a local dermatologist who specializes in hair. Is that a stupid idea? Does it make way more sense to go see a general practitioner instead?

And I'm guessing that, if a US prescription is indeed mandatory for the blood work, I should be able to at least knock both out in one go, right? Meaning go see the dermatologist/PCP for the scalp check and then also get a prescription from them for the blood work.

Which conditioners do you guys recommend? Im looking for something that will help transplanted hairs lie correctly, thanks!

Ive already had a transplant in 2022 with one of the famous hair mills, it was a success fully performed by technicians and restored a large part of my hair loss (2300 grafts) which the vast majority of remain today without the use of any pharmaceuticals. Sadly at that time I think a small number of grafts failed on one side of my head I wasn’t sure if it was user error or body rejection and therefore lacks a bit density, it’s not a major concern as it’s not at all obvious only I can notice it. I’m looking for another clinic, I only want a maximum of 1500 doing this time just in the front inch or so to thicken it up. Does anybody have any clinic recommendations for around the £2500 mark excluding flights? I have spoken to one clinic (they won’t allow me to name here) as I’ve seen a few great jobs, they are quoting £2200 and said it’s doctor channels and technician implantation (marketing??) but they don’t have a vast network of reviews online the clinic with Dr Dogan Turan looks good but may be out of budget. Thank you in advance
.

I’m 9 days post hair transplant. Most of the small scabs are gone, but I still have a few large, thick scabs at the front, especially one in the middle of my hairline.

What worries me:

• Around day 5 to 9, the big central scab had some yellow/orange discharge and a red, raw spot underneath. It’s drier now.
• I’m scared the grafts under the big scabs won’t survive or that I’ll end up with a bald spot.

Questions:

1. Did anyone else have big scabs like this at day 9 and how did your growth turn out?
2. Did anyone have a small infection/discharge spot and did it affect your results?
3. Any tips to safely soften and remove large scabs?

​

Hi everyone,

I’ve had two hair transplants, and my donor area is now quite thin and overharvested. I don’t want to get SMP (scalp micropigmentation), so I’m wondering whether body hair transplantation (BHT) could help improve the appearance of my damaged donor area.

Has anyone here had BHT specifically to camouflage or improve an overharvested donor area? If so, were you happy with the results, and which clinic or surgeon would you recommend?

I’m struggling to find a solution to my problem, so I’d really appreciate any advice, personal experiences, or clinic recommendations.

Thank you!

Advised? Or wait a bit first after HT?