Below are answers to frequently asked questions about my hair restoration surgeries.

If you would like to learn more about my story and how a hair transplant procedure can regrow your hair, feel free to email me or contact my patient educator Steve Cook at 305.416.8418 as well as steve@mcgrathmedical.com.

1.) What Causes HairLoss?

Hair loss or male pattern baldness is caused by the hormone DHT (dihydrotestosterone) and is brought on by your family’s genetics. DHT shrinks the hair follicle until it miniaturizes and eventually falls out in the hairline, vertex, and crown.

When a boy starts puberty his body begins producing testosterone, this turns on the genetic predisposition for hair loss. The baldness gene can come from either side or both sides of the family and can skip generations so the phrase that baldness comes from your mother’s father is an old wives’ tale.

About two thirds of men go bald in their lifetime and by age 50 half of all men experience some type of hair loss.

2.) How Many Procedures Did You Have?

I had two FUT/strip procedures in 2014 and 2015 to lower and straighten out my hairline as well as build out my side temples. I had two FUE procedures in 2017 and 2022 to revise my second FUT/strip scar and to soften up my frontal hairline and side temples.

3.) Why Did You Have a Second FUT/strip Procedure?

I had my second procedure about 15 months after my first one because I had some thin areas in my temples that needed to be filled in and I wanted the scar removed because one one side did not correctly heal.

4.) Why Did You Have two FUE procedures?

I didn’t need to do either FUE procedure but I chose to do them anyway. I had the scar in the back of my head revised so I could cut my hair shorter and had my frontal hairline softened up.

5.) How many grafts did you have transplanted?

My first procedure moved about 6,210 total hairs (31.05 square centimeter long strip x 200 hairs per square centimeter) transplanted to my frontal hairline, temporal peaks, and vertex/top of my scalp.

My second procedure moved about 6,500 total hairs and removed the old suture line with the new donor strips that were 36.675 square centimeters long.

My third procedure that was performed via FUE moved 365 total grafts, and my fourth procedure which was also FUE moved 1,378 total grafts.

6.) How Long Does the Surgery and Your Recovery Take?

My first surgery took about 6 hours to complete while my second surgery took about 5 hours because I shaved my head so the surgery could be done faster.

I had my first surgery on Monday, July 14, 2014 and by Wednesday, July 23 all of the crusts and transplanted follicles fell off in the shower. On Thursday,  July 24, 10 days post-op, I had the sutures removed by my primary care physician.

On August 5, I resumed lifting weights, working out, and playing sports.

I had my second procedure on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 and by Saturday, November 21 all of the crusts fell off and I had my sutures removed by my primary care physician on Monday, November 23, 12 days post-op.

After my second procedure I decided to take an extended break from weightlifting and intense exercise so my suture line could heal, but ended up stretching again.

7.) How Were Your Surgery Days?

All of my procedures were very comfortable and relaxing experiences.

I was given valium and local anesthesia and spent about 5 hours watching movies, eating snacks, taking a nap, and conversing with the doctor and his staff.

What you would think would be a very scary and painful operation was anything but.

8.) Does it Hurt?

The most uncomfortable parts of a hair transplant procedure are the initial pinching of the anesthesia and the first night post-op. The first night sleeping as I felt a lot of pressure in the back of my head and had to sleep at an elevated position.

After both FUT/strip procedures I had lots of swelling in my face.

By the 7th day post-op the only discomfort I had was the itching in the back from the sutures.

9.) Did you miss much time from work?

I actually did not miss much time from work from any of my procedures.

When I had the strip procedures done, I wore a hat at work to cover the grafts.

10.) Could anyone tell you had surgery?

After my first procedure I had a lot of visible crusts and scabbing on my hairline, temporal peaks, and vertex so when I returned to work, I wore a fedora from H&M from Monday, July 21 to Wednesday, July 23 when all of the crusts fell off in the shower that night.

Once the crusts fell off, the transplanted area was a little red like a sunburn with a few stray hairs that hung on, but no one would have noticed unless I pointed it out.

After my second procedure I wore a baseball cap during my recovery with the sutures in and after the sutures came out I got a buzzcut to blend all of the hair in the front and around the suture line. Because my suture line was exposed after my buzzcut, I continued wearing a baseball cap for about a month after my surgery until the hair in the back covered up my scar.

11.) How much did you pay for your surgery?

If you’d like to learn more about how much money I paid for my procedures and get some practical tips on bargaining for a better rate for your procedure, email me.

12.) I just had a hair transplant procedure. When will I start growing new hair?

Congratulations on having your procedure!

From months 1 to 3 post-op, not much is happening as the transplanted hairs are dormant.

From months 4 to 6 post-op, they start sprouting and begin shaping and framing your face.

From months 7 to 10 post-op, the new hairs begin to thicken up and blend with the rest of your natural hair, creating a new hairline.

At month 11 post-op, you basically know what you will get and at one year post-op, you reach your final result.

Most of the time patients will need to have a second surgery to fill in any weak areas that the first surgery did not address. This is because only so much hair can be safely moved in one procedure, so always plan on doing at least two procedures.