r/HairTransplants

hi everyone, i'm past day 93 now, but for the last 2-3 days i'm experiencing a heavy shedding phase that feels like shock loss. about 70% of the shed hairs are shorter and thinner than my normal hair, and 20-30% are normal length and thickness (around 50-60 hairs a day).

they look like the ones in the attached photo. is this normal? shouldn't the shock loss phase be over by now? i'm on finasteride for 78 days. would appreciate any insights from you guys.

I live in the Netherlands and I did a hairtransplant 7 months ago. Do you guys think I’m suitable for a second one?

I contacted dr laorwong and he said "You have receding hairline and diffuse thinning to the crown area, you require a lot of grafts and estimated 4,000-4,500 grafts.

Then i contacted dr patty and she said "After careful consideration and a thorough examination of your scalp and hair, it has been determined that you are not a suitable candidate for FUE hair transplant procedure at this time. The reason being insufficient donor hair for a good result and the severity of hair loss."

Finally, to settle the score I went locally to a HT place and after checking it with a little device she said "You have good follicular density throughout the top with miniaturization. I think shaving your head down now and doing 3,000 grafts would be premature." And she advised I stay on meds(i'm currently 5mo into dutasteride and minoxidil) and said she thinks I only require 850 grafts to connect the corners, and that the rest of my hair will thicken. Also laorwong said i might have 6-7k lifetime donor and the in person dr said 5-6k. Dr Patty thought it was insufficient.

What do you guys think? I'm so confused.

If you had to guess, how many grafts do you think were implanted here?

This is an update to my original post. I’ve received dozens of DMs asking for updates and referrals, so I finally decided it was time to post an update. Also, please do not DM me for a referral. I get a LOT of these messages and sadly I can't just refer dozens of people.
https://www.reddit.com/r/HairTransplants/comments/1ls87d4/fue_with_dr_carlos_wesley_in_nyc/

I had my transplant with Dr. Wesley over two days, July 2 and July 3, 2025. The first day was primarily the incisions/site creation, and the second day was extraction and implantation. This was an FUE procedure.

We did approximately 3,400 grafts. The main focus was my hairline and frontal area, with more grafts placed toward the front than the back. Dr. Wesley recommended that approach, and I agreed with him. I don’t remember the exact distribution, but he also reinforced areas that he believed were most likely to thin next so that the overall distribution would continue to look natural as I aged.

I’m extremely happy with the results. If you want to hear people ask how you have taken 10 years off your age, in my case the answer was to lose 15 pounds and get a hair transplant. Funny how we can forget to take care of ourselves, and its amazing how much better some of us can do with a little effort and a little extra hair.

It’s obviously not magic, and 3,400 grafts didn’t give me the density of an 18-year-old, but from normal conversational distance, I think the result looks fantastic. Most people would probably just assume I have a very good head of hair for a 46-year-old. It sounds silly, but it also looks fantastic on Teams meetings.

I did have pretty significant shock loss at around the one-month mark. Interestingly, I never really felt like I went through the “ugly duckling” phase, probably because my hair was already bad enough before the transplant that the temporary setback didn’t feel especially dramatic to me. I was also not taking care of myself as good prior to the transplant. Let me be very clear about something to those who do not feel great about themselves. The biggest gains in how I look and feel about myself had to do with my fitness and personal care routine. The hair transplant was just a very nice bit of icing on the cake. Please, exercise and take care of yourself, you will see the biggest gains and it costs little to nothing to do this.

My donor area appears to have recovered extremely well, and I believe I could comfortably support another transplant if I ever decided to chase additional density. For now, I don’t see much reason to do that, but I’ll see how I feel as time goes on.

For maintenance, I’m taking oral finasteride and oral minoxidil, although admittedly I skip days fairly often out of paranoia. That probably makes very little sense considering I’ve taken finasteride intermittently for about 20 years and never had any side effects. I probably could have preserved more hair with perfect consistency, but based on my family history, I’m also pretty confident it added many years to the hair I still had and kept me just dense enough to justify a transplant instead of shaving my head.

Currently, I probably take finasteride about five days per week and oral minoxidil three or four days per week. I also use topical minoxidil a few times per week.

Beyond that, I take plenty of vitamins, generally try to take care of myself, and use a ridiculously overpriced red-light therapy helmet. Sometimes I use it every day; other times I forget about it for several days. In fact, I have it on right now because writing this post reminded me that I hadn’t used it in a while.

As far as the clinic and surgeon, I would absolutely choose Dr. Wesley again. The entire experience was fantastic, and knowing what I know now, I would make the same decision again without hesitation.

Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the decision or the result.

Coming up on 6 months next week and really starting to get concerned about the lack of growth coming on The hairs coming in are incredibly thin and there are sections where I feel like I can maybe see follicles at the skin but nothing is sprouting. I need to keep it buzzed really close with a #2 otherwise it looks pretty terrible and see through in front. I have SMP that is helping somewhat with the shading underneather. Been on Min/fun since the surgery in Feb. Had 3500 grafts - 2500 in front and 1k on crown. Before picture had zero hair where the transplant went in was just the scalp micro pigmenten.

pic 1 & 2 - Before op

pic 3 - Day of op

Pic 4 & 5- Day 3

pic 6 & 7 - Day 5

pic 8 - Day 13 (by now almost all scabs on implant area was gone)

pic 9 - Day 19

Pic 10,11,12- Day 31 ( today)

Had my first ever transplant for receding hairline and diffuse thinning at Saraswat hospital by Dr. Satya Saraswat FUE 3204 grafts. He has Diplomate in ABHRS, ISHRS and FISHRS. These were some of the credible indicators as per my research.

Very Humble and ethical Doc, overall had a really smooth and comfortable procedure and followup. Dr. Satya has 3 methods ( normal FUE Rs.50/graft, Sapphire Rs.60/graft and Direct implantation Rs.75/graft and for people from abroad it is $1/graft any method). I was more cautious at first, so i wanted to do Direct implantation to maximise the results but Doc explained me that in my case there is going to be very very minimal differences in results with any method, so he advised me to take least costing one if i feel assured and that damn moment really made me think i made the right choice.

Follicular extraction and slit making was done by Dr Satya himself, Implantation was done by his senior team with his Supervision.

The team had a good procedure for planning and analysing the scalp for hair transplant. Every procedure of them is shown in their Youtube channel so i can check it out there.

only thing i didn’t like is the city of hospital !! The hospital is in Agra, India. Coming from South India, The place was too hot and humid, kinda dirty and poorly developed considering it is one of the India’s biggest tourism spot because of taj mahal. Even the Airport was below average quality.

Overall pretty happy with the results so far and hoping for the best in future!

current post op care:

topical 5%min+0.1%fin - twice a day

multi vitamins stack

A warning from my consultation & experience : PLS AVOID DHI India hospitals, it has become a hairmill, way too expensive with less qualified and experienced doctor and they were too pushy or highly marketing in the consultations and calls.

7 months and 3 weeks update. Around 2000 grafts with Dr. Bekir Bek. Really happy with the progress so far. Still some time for more thickening, but overall I’m very satisfied with the result.

My previous 5 month update : https://www.reddit.com/r/HairTransplants/comments/1tz7wdq/5_months_post_hair_transplant_with_dr_bekir_bek/

I keep reading posts here about people paying $2-$2.50+ per graft and that's crazy. Those are prices I saw years ago, and what prevented me from getting a transplant.

My husband and I just had hair transplants done at a place called Solee Cosmetic Surgery about 8 months ago and I couldn't be happier. It's been something I wanted to do for 15 years, I searched to find a place that wasn’t 10-15K for a transplant in the US, and I finally found it.

I’m simply sharing this because for 15 years I was told I needed to go outside of the US, to Turkey, Colombia or India to not pay 10-15K for a hair transplant. I am from the US and it was very discouraging because yes, I am saving money, but what happens if after the transplant, when you go back home something goes wrong?  Get back on a plane to get it fixed?  This was a major concern for me, personally.

I found an ad for Solee and it was $1 per graft. At first I was like, yea ok, sure - what's the catch? Nothing. It was a really great experience for me, the place is pristine, the staff and doctors were great. Megan was the NP who oversees the transplants, and the techs were actually from Turkey! From start to finish it was amazing, they still follow up with me to check in. I saved so much money, my husband got one too!

Highly suggested for anyone in the US that is thinking about getting a hair transplant, and not wanting to travel outside the US.

I’m exactly one month post op and I’m a little worried about how my donor area is healing. I’ve noticed that it looks a bit thinner and more patchy in some areas. I know it’s maybe too early to judge after just one month, but I’d still love to hear what you guys think about the pictures. Some of the pics were taken under pretty strong lighting, so they look a little worse than they actually are…

Btw, do you think I should get a fade, or would that make the thinning more noticeable?

Ok as you might have noticed due to the amount of posts in my account lately, I am overthinking

I would just like to know how do you guys think it is looking?

Some of my fears are if the hairs are too close together affecting graft survival later on or if there are any indicators that something is wrong.

I am almost at the 1 month mark so I'll start to be more active soon and I will definitely have less time to worry

Thank you for your time in advance

Hi everyone,
I’ve decided to document my upcoming hair transplant with Dr. Felipe Pittella in Vitória, Brazil to track my progress and hopefully provide useful information for others considering his work, especially those with advanced hair loss and prior surgeries.
I’ll update this thread from pre-op through final results, including photos, surgical details, exact graft counts, donor breakdown, and regular progress updates. I also welcome honest feedback throughout the process.
My background
I’m 38 years old and began losing my hair at around 17.
My loss has progressed to approximately Norwood 6, making this a complex case where donor management and coverage are critical.
I’ve had two previous FUE procedures, totaling around 4,000 grafts. Despite this, I still have extensive baldness and have used Toppik since around 2008 to improve the appearance of coverage.
This is therefore not a virgin donor case. Dr. Pittella will be working with a scalp donor that has already been harvested twice while attempting to cover a very large area.
Current treatment
● Oral minoxidil 2.5 mg/day
Biotion 1000 daily
● No DHT blocker currently
I’ve been instructed to stop medications three days before surgery.

Why Pittella?
I first discovered Dr. Pittella through Reddit while researching advanced hair loss cases. Seeing his results here led me to explore his work in more depth.
I focused particularly on his Norwood 6/7 cases, high-graft surgeries, and use of beard/body donor hair. I also considered other surgeons, including Dr. Zarev, before choosing Pittella.
A key factor was his experience combining scalp, beard, and body donor hair to maximize total graft availability rather than relying solely on scalp donor.
In a way, this thread comes full circle: Reddit introduced me to Pittella, and I’m now documenting my own journey here.

Surgery plan
Clinic: Dr. Felipe Pittella
Location: Vitória, Brazil
Dates: September 17–18, 2026
Procedure: Two-day surgery
Planned grafts: ~11,000
Given my limited remaining scalp donor (~4,000 grafts already used), the plan relies heavily on beard and possibly other body donor areas.
We’ve discussed the possibility of up to ~5,000 beard grafts, depending on availability and suitability during assessment and extraction.
Final scalp vs beard vs body distribution will be confirmed post-op.
Objective
With a Norwood 6 pattern, prior surgeries, and limited donor supply, I’m realistic about outcomes and not expecting high-density results.
My priorities are:

1. Natural hairline
2. Strong frontal coverage
3. Good midscalp coverage
4. Adequate crown blending for overall balance
5. Preservation of donor appearance
   I’m particularly interested in how effectively scalp and beard/body hair can be combined to create the appearance of density across a large area while maintaining a natural look.
   What I’ll document
   ● Pre-op photos
   ● Scalp and beard/body donor photos
   ● Hairline design
   ● Exact graft counts
   ● Scalp vs beard vs body breakdown
   ● Immediate post-op recipient and donor areas
   ● Healing and shedding phases
   ● 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, and ideally 18-month updates
   I’ll keep photos consistent in lighting, angle, and hair length for accurate comparison.
   I will be fully transparent about the entire process and outcome, whether positive or negative.

What I’d like from the community

I’d especially appreciate input from anyone who has:
● Had surgery with Dr. Pittella
● Undergone 8,000–12,000+ graft procedures
● Used large numbers of beard grafts
● Had multiple prior FUE surgeries
● Started from Norwood 6/7

I’m particularly interested in long-term donor appearance after large extractions and how beard hair performs in the scalp over time.
My surgery is scheduled for September 17–18, 2026, and I’ll post baseline photos before then.
Hopefully this becomes a useful long-term case study for others considering high-graft surgery for advanced hair loss.

I had a hair transplant and am currently 3 weeks post surgery. I had 2400 grafts. I absolutely hate how it looks at the moment and would like some advice on what to do with my hair whether to let it grow out or to shave it 0.5 all over until I get some growth from the transplant area? I have another two weeks until I have to go back to work so will be 5 weeks post surgery when I go back to work. First 3 pics are how it looks now, 4th pic is how it looked 10 days post transplant, 5th pic is day of surgery and 6th pic is my hair before surgery. All advice and opinions welcome!

First three pictures are current Day 24. Last pic is Day 12. I already have been shedding.

Is it too shedded? Thoughts?