February 4, 2017 | NeoGraft

Hair loss is different for everyone. It’s medical. It’s emotional. It’s a tangled web of feelings about attractiveness, health concerns, professional aspirations, and it’s all magnified by our increasingly image-obsessed culture. This story is part of our mission collect a range of stories covering patients’ motivations, their procedures, their fears, their recoveries— everything. Because when all those stories come together, they take hair loss from something people whisper about to an open honest conversation about a medical condition that happens to every gender, creed, and color.

David had a hair transplant using the NeoGraft technology, which uses a concept called Follicular Unit Extraction. He had 2,800 grafts transplanted in a one-day procedure that lasted approximately eight hours.

QUESTION: What made you want to get a hair transplant?

ANSWER: Basically, I started noticing that the crown of my head was showing. It’s not a spot you typically see, so I had no idea that I had this bald spot. I actually always thought I had good hair because of genetics, so it was quite a shock to learn otherwise.

QUESTION: When you decided to have a hair transplant, what were you most concerned about going in?

ANSWER: I wasn’t really concerned about the procedure. Maybe the fact that I had to sit there for 8 hours, I was a little wary of that.

QUESTION: Did the procedure last longer or shorter than you expected? How did you pass the time?

ANSWER: It was just about as long as I thought. I got to watch TV most of the time, so looking back it doesn’t seem that long at all. I had a remote control and could turn on whatever I wanted. I had to sit in different positions depending on where they worked.

QUESTION: Was it painful, or how would you describe the feeling?

ANSWER: They numbed the areas they worked on with lidocaine, so I didn’t feel much of anything. I could sometimes feel a little pinch from where they extracted hair, or a little pinprick where it was inserted. But it was easy to manage because I was in control of the pain level.

QUESTION: What was your recovery like, i.e. did you have any discomfort afterwards, how did you sleep, was there any swelling, etc.?

ANSWER: My recovery lasted about a week. I wasn’t in any pain, but I waited about that long before showing myself in public again. I had some swelling that started at the top of the head and came down to the jaw on the 2nd day. I slept with my head elevated, and this is a big deal. When you lay flat is when you swell. One night I slipped off the pillow and slept normal and that is when my face was swollen. It took 1-2 days to disappear again. They recommend sleeping in a recliner for the first 7 days, and if I did it again, that’s what I would do.

“I would say the secret to good hair transplant results is to “baby” your hair that first week and not do anything that might harm those grafts.”

David

QUESTION: Was your head itchy afterwards? How long did you wait before washing your hair?

ANSWER: The back of my head was itchy where they extracted the hair. I kept a squirt bottle to spray water on it whenever it felt itchy. I waited 3 days before washing my hair. After that I used a cup to pour soapy water on my head, just like Shauna at the Hair Doctor had instructed me. I got a set of instructions on when I could wear a hat again, how to wash my hair, etc. My tip is to follow those instructions. If anything, I was even more careful. I would say the secret to good hair transplant results is to “baby” your hair that first week and not do anything that might harm those grafts. Whatever they tell you not to do, don’t do it!

QUESTION: How soon after your procedure did you return to work?

ANSWER: I went back after 1 week. Physically I could have go sooner but I wanted to give time for swelling and scabs to go away.

QUESTION: When did you see the first results, and were they as expected?

ANSWER: I would say at about 2-3 months. At 6 months I’m definitely further along than I anticipated. I think it’s because I did everything like instructed. I didn’t wear tight fitting hats at all for the first few months.

February 28, 2017 | NeoGraft

When I tell people I had a hair transplant, they usually ask a lot of questions. So here are some pictures and answers to the most common questions about my hair loss…

“My favorite part about getting a NeoGraft® hair transplant is that the results continue to improve, so I keep growing more and more comfortable with my decision.”

QUESTION: How does a NeoGraft® hair transplant work?

ANSWER: I had significant hair loss at the top of my head. The doctors call it crown balding. After the transplant, it took about a year to regrow a full head of hair. But long story short, a plastic surgeon extracted 1,100 grafts from the back of my head and transplanted those follicles to the areas where I had thinning hair. Six months later, the follicles started growing, and after a year I no longer had a bald spot the size of a compact disc on top of my head

QUESTION: How much should a hair transplant cost?

ANSWER: A good hair transplant isn’t cheap, but it was totally worth it. If you think about it, discount hair restoration doesn’t seem like a wise thing to bargain for. A transplant for 1,100 grafts can range between $7,000 to $10,000 depending on your surgeon and where you live. At the time, both my friend and I were choosing between getting NeoGraft® or a new car. I chose NeoGraft®. He chose a new car. A couple years later, his car has depreciated in value and my investment is growing hair.

QUESTION: Was the hair transplant worth it?

ANSWER: Imagine if every time you show your boss something on the computer, and 30% of you can stop thinking if he is looking at your bald spot. Imagine every time you go to a football game, and you can’t focus on the score because the guy behind you might be judging your hair loss. Sure, it’s a bit paranoid and a little vain. Over time, I could have gotten over it, but after doing the research on RealSelf.com, getting a NeoGraft® transplant was an easy decision. The procedure didn’t strip a large chunk of skin out of the back of my head, the recovery is faster than a traditional transplant, and patients rate NeoGraft as one of the most trusted brands in hair restoration.

I’ve written in depth about the process and posted more photos of the procedure at RealSelf.com, but these results and pictures speak for themselves. Honestly, I used to never let people take pictures from behind my head. Whether with friends, family, or at the bar, I’d consciously position the back of my head to the wall. When people ask how a hair transplant changed my life, I could say it improved my life for the better. But really it just returned my life to normal. Now, I can enjoy something as simple as a going for a walk for a cup of coffee without any pangs of insecurity.

September 26, 2018 | NeoGraft

Question: When did you first notice your hair was thinning?

Jessie: I had a full head of long curly locks until after my first son. During pregnancy, it’s common knowledge that women’s hair grows real thick, then can fall out during nursing, but for most women it grows back. My hair didn’t exactly bounce back, but it wasn’t a huge deal. Then after my second child, there was a noticeable thin spot smack in the middle of my hair line. Mother nature isn’t the most kind to women, but my two boys were totally worth it.

Question: What did you do about your hair loss?

Jessie: Mostly, I just kind of accepted it, and went about raising my children. Everyone has a thing they are insecure about, I thought hair loss was just going to be mine. Not that I gave up, but I didn’t let it dominate my life. My hair stylist would recommend options, and we had fun trying them all: spray fibers, shampoos, topical treatments, thickening agents, but most of that stuff just helps with the hair you have, it doesn’t grow new hair.

Question: Interesting, you said you had fun trying hair loss solutions.

Jessie: Oh yeah. Don’t pity me. I have a great life and sense of humor. Hair loss is upsetting, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy life. I love my hair stylist, we love hanging, and trying products or hair loss solutions. If they worked, great. If not, I was still hanging out with a friend of mine.

Question: So how did you hear about NeoGraft?

Jessie: Another friend of mine knew about NeoGraft. She’s the kind of friend that doesn’t worry about hurting my feelings. She says it like it is, thought I might be a good candidate for a hair transplant.

“In my six years of hair loss, this was the first time a doctor or company didn’t sell some one-trick-fix-all.”

Jessie

Question: What was the hair transplant consultation like?

Jessie: The hair consultation was so natural. The doctor listened to my whole story, then did some tests to determine that my hair loss wasn’t related to hormones or other health concerns. Once he knew I was a candidate, he explained that NeoGraft doesn’t leave a visible scar, the recovery is relatively fast, and that it takes 6-12 months before the hair starts to grow.

Most importantly, he didn’t sell NeoGraft as a miracle cure. And that the key to hair restoration is teaming up with the right doctor to create a lifetime of hair, and that NeoGraft is part of that comprehensive solution. In my six years of hair loss, this was the first time a doctor or company didn’t sell some one-trick-fix-all.

Question: What was the NeoGraft procedure like?

Jessie: The procedure was relatively comfortable. As a woman, getting segments of the back of your head shaved for the donor area was concerning, but I have long hair, so covering it up that was no problem. Their team is a bunch of pros and made it all very seamless. The whole process took about 7 hours; which sounds like a long time, but I had an iPad and a new season of Orange is the New Black to watch. So I breezed through the whole season of my favorite show and got a whole new head of hair. Seems like a fair deal to me.

Question: What was the worst part of the transplant process?

Jessie: It’s all relative. Compared to a “traditional” hair transplant, where they cut flesh out of your scalp and staple your head back together, NeoGraft is a massage. With that other procedure, those men and women can’t pick up their kids for months. That’s a non-starter for me and my two boys. Now, NeoGraft is minimally invasive, but it’s still a procedure where they harvested 1200 follicles from the back of my head and implanted them to the front of my hair line. So, it’s understandable that I had some swelling in my forehead, not much bruising, but a significant amount of itching. They gave me this “calming spray” that I can’t recommend more. After those first three days of discomfort, I was able to return to my regular routine. From there, the hardest part is the anticipation, because the hair follicles go dormant for 6 months before they start to grow again. That’s a lot of time for doubt to creep in, but my doctor prepared me for it.

Question: When did you realize that NeoGraft worked?

Jessie: There were three points that really let me know NeoGraft worked. First, when the hair started growing in, I had these sprouts of hair that weren’t as long as my other hair, my stylist and I had to figure out a new haircut. Basically, I had bangs for a couple months. Second, out of nowhere, my mother complimented how full the front of my hairline looked. Then she added how she thought NeoGraft was just another phoney miracle cure, now she recommends NeoGraft to other women she knows. Third, my husband randomly commented on how thick my hair looked. He’s the kind of guy that never notices if I got a haircut, but he noticed my hair transplant. But here’s the part that matters. I didn’t get a hair transplant for my mom or my husband, I got NeoGraft for me. And I noticed it was working at about 6 months.

“Ladies need to look out for each other, be informed about what actually works, be sensitive, yet be honest with each other about female hair loss.”

Jessie

Question: Why do you think more women don’t talk about hair loss and NeoGraft?

Jessie: That’s a complicated question. There’s definitely a stigma around female hair loss. Part of it goes back to how women are raised. We’re taught not to illuminate peoples’ faults and focus on their strengths, which is a good thing. Finding the beauty in everyone is a genuine strength, but life is short, and if hair loss bothers you, you don’t need to suffer through it. And this day in age, it’s tough to trust all the garbage on the Internet. After going through 6 years of hair loss myself, and wasting money on all those “miracle cures”, I look at it like this… Ladies need to look out for each other, be informed about what actually works, be sensitive, yet be honest with each other about female hair loss. That’s why I’m comfortable talking about it. Sure, it’d be nice if no one knew I needed a hair transplant, but it’s way more important to let women know that NeoGraft is a legitimate, bonafide, and trustworthy solution for female hair loss.