r/HairTransplants

So I hit the 12 month mark and honestly I kept waiting for the moment where I’d stop being impressed and get used to it... but it still catches me off guard sometimes.

I know people say "it changed my life" and I always thought that sounded a bit dramatic, but I kinda get it now. Not because I suddenly became a different person or anything, but because I stopped thinking about my hair completely. That mental space being gone is weirdly freeing.

The craziest part for me is that I genuinely never thought I would have this much hair again. I was hoping for "better". I was hoping maybe I’d stop obsessing over photos, mirrors, bright lights, windy days etc. I never expected I’d be able to actually grow it out and wear it longer. Like… that wasn't even in my expectations lol.

I still remember before surgery spending hours on this subreddit zooming into other people’s hairlines trying to convince myself I wasn’t making a mistake. I was worried I’d end up looking "transplanted" or unnatural. Turns out I massively underestimated what a good result can look like.

I had a moment recently where I looked in the mirror after getting out of the shower and thought: "wait… this is actually my hair." Sounds stupid written out hahah but yeah.

Obviously everyone is different and results vary, not trying to convince anyone here. Just sharing because if you had told me 12 months ago I’d have this hair and be growing it longer, I honestly wouldn't have believed you.

Still kinda surreal tbh.

It’s officially been a year since I got 3400 graphs at Ileanovo in Medellin by Dr. Santiago. I’m very pleased with the results. The whole procedure took about 12 hours. They analyzed my scalp, shaved it, marked it and then started the harvesting process. They provided lunch and after about an hour break started injecting the areas. The procedure includes 2 PRP sessions and they injected PRP through out the process. I’ll be tracking the process will post again after a few months. Highly recommend Ileanovo and Dr. Santiago.

I’ve got a trip to Istanbul to see Dr. Turan in a few months. I was previously not on min/fin when I had my consultation. I feel like my crown has filled in a bit and I was curious what you all thought my graft count would need to be to fill in my crown now. Been on fin/min for coming up on 4 months now and I’m seeing baby hairs around my hairline and in my bald spot! The second picture is 1 day before I started fin/min and Nizoral shampoo twice a week.

’m not thinning. My hairline has just always been sparse, especially on the top. I would like a more rounded and fuller hairline. I had a consultation with a clinic and they recommended I bring the hairline down but I think I just want fullness and length to camouflage the baby hairs and for area above my temples to be more rounded.

My FUE hair transplant May 2026

I recently received a FUE Hair Transplant procedure by Dr Ahmet Murat and his sensational team. As of this post, I’m 6 days post surgery.

I’m 53, and was a self proclaimed Norwood 4/5. I started booking the surgery in November 2025 for May 26. In between that time. I was using
GHK-Cu (Peptonix), Minoxidil & Finasteride, both orally.

Great communication and information prior to surgery date. All questions answered without pressure or sales tactics. After I discussed my hopes and dreams, I was then guided to best scenario for what I have to work with.

Surgery day. Long day.
I had Exosome therapy early in the day, then back to clinic for early afternoon start for surgery.
2 doctors on site in my rooms throughout the afternoon. I have managed high blood pressure, so the Doctors were monitoring me constantly.
Donor extraction, very easy pain wise, so quick and precise work done by the team.
4350 grafts were extracted, sorted and readied for implantation.
All hairline measurements and designs were done and checked multiple times by both Doctors on site. Full discussions between us allowed me to full relax into the final stretch of the day.
FUE channels were a work of art, designed around my old hair flow and my traditional hairlines.
Total aftercare is well underway. All medications needed are fully supplied and explained, getting the timings right is important and for me, it was nice to make sure of this whilst there.
I have flown back home (30hr transit) now. Slight swelling in donor area which is normal,

Aftercare.. I have been supplying photos and updates to the team at the clinic via WhatsApp. Any questions I have are been answered quickly. So reassuring.

To add some context:

I starting taking finasteride at a young age, been about 3 years now since on finasteride. My hairline has been stable on finasteride.

Whole procedure was painless, besides a little discomfort when numbing. It has been about a 5 days since surgery and I feel fine.

(3000 HAIRS), I repeat hairs, not grafts.

Ask me any questions.

I have been on meds for over 6 years and it has been slowly getting worse

10 months in from my 2,500 graft hair transplant in Tijuana. On 2.5mg of daily minoxidil. I feel like density js lacking, my hair looks decent flipped one way, but the other way not so much.

What’s everyone’s thoughts? Did they mess up and I need more grafts?

Hey everyone, this is my current state. Been on topical minox + dutas for years and I’m looking for honest feedback + clinic recommendations.

I've done a lot of research, had consultations with several clinics in Turkey, and received quotes ranging from 3,500–6,000 grafts depending on who I talk to. The wide range has made it hard to feel confident about where to go or who to trust.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:
- Does the graft estimate range make sense for what you see in the photos?
- Any surgeons/clinics you'd recommend for my pattern (or ones to avoid)?
- DHI vs FUE - open to either if the result quality justifies it
- Turkey vs staying domestic - is the savings worth it?

I'm turning 30 later this year and want to make a well-informed decision before going forward. Any input from people who've been through this is really appreciated. Happy to answer questions.

I am unsure if this was my native hair dying off or what. I’m 10.5 months out so it’s obviously not gonna get better as much as I’d hoped.

This side had a lot of trauma during the surgery because I required more numbing injections, which I think may have caused some issues.

Also I didn’t start finasteride til afterwards which was probably a mistake.

Not going to name the clinic yet as I am waiting to see if they will fix it first.

Any recommendations and where and how to contact a doctor to get an appointment for procedure?

I’ve been on minoxidil for a little over a year and 1mg finasteride for 6 months (photo one is day one of starting fin and photo two is 6 months after taking).

Photo 3 is how I learned how to cut and style it with hair fibers to make it pretty much unnoticeable (until the wind blows 👀) after losing confidence to go to a barber after my last experience almost two years ago (I was pretty much getting clowned on for my thinning hair)

As of today almost 3 months after photo two and it’s more of less the same stopped losing hair but not gaining any hair and was looking to pull the trigger for a HT but after doing some research for a few days feel kind of lost and overwhelmed, someone will recommend a doctor I’ll do some research on them then see another post saying how that doctor is a scam and how this other doctor is better so I’ll do research on that doctor and THAT doctor messed up someone’s HT and they don’t recommend them so I’m just adding doctors to my list just to put a question mark next to their name because I don’t know if these reviews are honest or someone from their clinic is making post and comments trying to boost them up if that makes sense.

Fiancé recommends I just go to someone in the states but that looks like it’ll cost 10k-18k and the reviews don’t look good enough to justify 10 thousand dollars so I was hoping spending 3k-5k in turkey or somewhere overseas

If anyone could help me out or give me any advice on where to start or what websites or WhatsApp chat I could use to find a good doctor would be greatly appreciated! I don’t have the head shape to go bald!

I was so excited to share these results here because I always found motivation in seeing the posts here that is exactly why I created this account the process took a long time but I am so glad I had a hair transplant doctor mustafa ayhan balci performed the hair transplant at istanbul vita what was important to me was that it was a licensed boutique clinic