I’ve just had a hair transplant AMA

[Witchinawell]

Last week, via the unshaven method, it took 8 hours for the doctor to individually extract 2000 hair grafts. These were then sorted into 1, 2 & 3 hair follicles then inserted into my forehead. I had this done in Istanbul. I am 46 and have always had thin hair at the front, it has though gotten worst over the years and affected my confidence. Ask away !

Following with interest

Mine was a mix of genetics and perimenopause, brought on by medication I take due to a past breast cancer diagnosis (tamoxifen). I never tried minoxidil but intend to start using rosemary oil in about 3 weeks time.

Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that you had breast cancer, you've had quite an ordeal. I've heard good stuff about rosemary oil, I wish you all the best with your hair and your health.💐

Ps. Please come back and show us the final results!🙂

One in two of us will eventually develop cancer and I was very very lucky that it was caught early 🙏. I will certainly report back with updates as I found it so hard to find any women online doing the same.

???

I wish you lots of good fortune with your hair transplant & look forward to hopefully see more pics as the healing progresses!

I considered hair transplants as I've got female pattern baldness. I can't take the various medications on offer as they clash with existing medications that I take.

I went to several hair loss clinics in the Harley Street area for 30 min free initial consultation.
Each clinic examined my head & every one told me that I didn't have enough hair at the back to support removing grafts to replant at the front.
Whilst I was upset about this, I was also impressed with the integrity of the clinics. They could've charged me £££s for treatment but all were honest & sent me on my way!

Me too!
I'm hoping to have the same treatment at some point.
Looking forward to seeing the results and wish you all the best x

Apologies, missed your post. I could have stayed longer but the usual is day 1 arrival, transfer to hotel and met the chap at reception who was looking after me and translating. Day 2 at the clinic (round the corner from hotel) and procedure from 9am until 8pm (long long day). Day 3 check up in the morning, doctor washed my hair and gave me the lowdown on how to look after hair post procedure and medication. Transfer to airport and home. I’ve WhatsApped the doctor once and he got back to me within the hour.

It obviously sucks that you cannot go ahead with a transplant, but thank goodness you received honest feedback. Have you considered a hair system ? I used to have one from a place called Hair Solved, it’s a fair amount of upkeep and not cheap but they do look good.

My brother is 6 months on after this procedure and it's looking good!

Maybe just the algorithms now think im going to have a hair transplant but i just scrolled on an Irish article that the HSE announce that they won't fix anymore hairp transplants done in Turkey, so get health insurance I guess. I know you did your research @Witchinawell but it seems like it's still a risk, getting things done in Turkey. I think it's because the aftercare is cut very short. Glad it has worked out so well! Sorry if I seem negative. I'm a cautious person.

Yes, that could be a worry. I also agree that the NHS / HSE shouldn’t cover aftercare costs for elective operations. There are lots of very cheap places in Turkey (and elsewhere) that operate like hair mills, they over harvest the donor area on your head which can leave you with bald patches and bad scarring. A lot of these places spend £££££ on social media advertising. You can get special insurance for cosmetic procedures abroad. I didn’t as I felt very confident I’d chosen one of the best hair transplant doctors in Europe, however I do get your cautiousness.

They need to factor in more after care because then there'd be far fewer horror stories and over time people see standards have risen.

How did you choose your doctor? How do you know he’s one of the best?

Do they create a parting?

Is the transplanted hair expected to grow through the same texture, or are textural changes possible?

Good luck! Hopefully the results will be just what you’re looking for.

I was under the impression that success is lower for women but not entirely sure where I have read that. I hope it goes well. When will you know? I could do with one but wear a system instead.

@GiveYourHeadAWobble I did a ton of online research and spoke to past female patients of the dr. However this doesn’t actually qualify my earlier “best in Europe” statement so allow me to rescind that please. They sorted grafts out into 1, 2 & 3 hair grafts and implanted them accordingly to give a natural hairline. I’ll post an update in a second.

Update Day 10, all the scabs are gone. Left my scalp looking rather pink but I’m very pale and apparently that’s to be expected for a few weeks following the transplant. Head looking greasy as I’ve had the treatment mousse in for the last hour.

And sides …

I too had a system from Hairsolved. Can’t fault them but I should have just gotten a transplant years ago. I had one from 2018 through 2021. With the replacement extensions, monthly tightening and annual net replacement costs, I think I spent between £6k - £8k. Not sure about the male v female stats, what I didn’t want was a big bald patch at the back of my head or scarring, guessing a lot of women don’t want this and the method I chose isn’t that popular as a lot pricier than the shaven, FUE method.

Transplanted area feels really stubbly and I haven’t had any bleeds which would indicate a lost graft. All feeling rather secure, if still a tad sensitive. I can also feel stubble at the back of my hair so the extracted grafts are growing back. Kind of fascinating how the body reacts and repairs itself.

Very interesting. Thanks for the reply. Please keep us updated with your progress in the coming months too, if you’re able to.

Ooooh great. I hope you get amazing hair!

Please keep us updated.

I think it looks really promising !

Day 15 update … getting myself ready for the inevitable shedding. The new hairs will fall out and (hopefully) grow back in 3-6 months time..