Tag Archives: hair transplant

Third Procedure: One Year Update (365 Days Post-Op)

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.

Hello everyone,

Today is Wednesday, January 17, 2018 and I am one year post-op from my Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) scar revision procedure.

I got my hair cut on Monday the 15th and I feel like I have the best haircut since October when I was at the 9 month mark. I got a 3.5-guard around the entire suture line with a 2-guard below the scar and had the temporal peaks, front, and top blended with scissors.

I’ve talked about how I’ve been stuck at a 3.5-guard around the scar and if I looked hard enough, I could see a very minute crease line on the left side of the back of my head. Because the left side of my scar is more visible than my right, I wonder if all of the grafts from this procedure have fully grown out.

In my experience, by 11 months post-op you basically know what you are going to get but it is true that you can sometimes get a 5 percent push after 12 months post-op. In December 2016 I had a huge ingrown hair on my right temporal peak.

To be honest, if this is the shortest I can go, I’m actually pretty happy with it.

Going in, I was told I would be able to cut the hair around my scar at a No.3 guard. Although I have to keep it a bit longer, this is honestly the shortest I care to go. Prior to my hair transplant surgeries, I never cut my hair shorter than a No.4 and I never did a fade style haircut. If I didn’t do it before my surgeries, I don’t really care to do it now so it’s not an issue for me.

For almost three years getting a haircut that would not show the scar gave me a great deal of anxiety. The good news is I don’t have to worry about anything anymore.

It’s incredible to think I have now completed three hair transplant surgeries and have done a blog post and video almost every month for the past three and a half years.

With how much I’ve learned from these experiences, I will do another video on a lessons learned/final thoughts that sums up my hair transplant experiences and what you need to consider if you’re looking to have your first procedure, corrective surgery, a touch up, or whatever.

I want to say thank you to Dr. McGrath and his staff. Dr. Dan is not only an excellent surgeon, but also a great man who puts his patients first. And I want to give a special thank you to my patient educator Steve Cook. Steve was one of the first people I talked to about hair transplants back in 2013 and his knowledge and leadership put me on the right path to restoring my hair.

Last but certainly not least, I want to thank all of my followers who have traversed this journey with me since 2014. I can’t tell you all how much it means to me that this platform has helped so many men and women with a resource on how to deal with their hair loss. To all of my followers and anyone out there looking to embark on their own follicular journey, I hope I’ve provided the best possible map. It’s been a privilege to share this journey with you all and as always if you ever need to reach me, I’ll be here to help you embark on your own follicular journey wherever it may take you.

It’s been a pleasure sharing this experience with you all.

All my best,
-Lance

Check out my YouTube channel for this month’s video.

Third Procedure: 11 Month Update (346 Days Post-Op)

Hello everyone,

Today is Friday, December 29, 2017 and I am now 11 months and 12 days post-op from my Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) scar revision procedure.

I find myself saying this quite a bit, but I must apologize the delay in this month’s update.

I got a haircut on Saturday, December 16th that kept the top, the front, and temporal peaks long while I had a 3.5-guard around the entire suture line. Unlike my previous haircut in November which left the hair around the suture line a little too long, this time the barber went a little too short. I had a slight crease line on the left side of my head but it slowly blended into the rest of my hair as the week went on. I wonder if there is more hair that will grow into my left side as I close in on my one year mark.

If you’ve been following my blog and my channel for a while now, I’ve often mentioned that when you get to 11 months post-op you pretty much know what your final result will look like, so if this is what I will end up with, I’m actually pretty happy with it. To be honest before this FUE procedure, no matter how excited I was to get a haircut, the back and sides always gave me a bit of anxiety. Now I have an idea how short I can take it, which is much short than I’ve been able to the past couple of years.

Check back next month in January when I reach the finale for this FUE procedure.

Happy holidays and all my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: 10 Month Update (310 Days Post-Op)

Hello everyone,

Today is Thursday, November 23, 2017 and I am now 10 months and six days post-op from my Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) scar revision procedure.

I got a haircut on November 19th with a 3.5-guard around the entire suture line but I feel the barber kept the hair a little too long, compared with my last haircut.

As I mentioned in last month’s post, unfortunately, I can’t get my temporal peaks cut at the same length as the hair around the repaired suture line. This is because density grafts were used to thicken those areas and if they are cut too short, they will look pluggy.

With next month being 11 months post-op, I pretty much know what my final result will look like and I am super stoked to see how short I’ll be able to cut my hair.

Check back next month in December when I reach 11 months post-op.

Happy Thanksgiving and all my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: 8 Month Update (243 Days Post-Op)

Hello everyone,

Today is Sunday, September 17, 2017 and I am now 8 months post-op from my Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) scar revision procedure.

I got a haircut on Wednesday, September 13 and it was one of the best haircuts I’ve had since this FUE surgery. I got a No.4 guard around the scar and had a No.2 guard below my scar and it looks great with no noticeable crease line.

Now that I am 8 months post-op from this FUE surgery, I can definitely tell that the grafts placed into the suture line from my second strip procedure are growing albeit, some parts are a bit patchy. I estimate that by the time I reach one year post-op in January 2018 I can get a No.3 guard around my scar without any noticeable crease line.

In other news, I’ve been getting a lot of emails and requests from my followers and if I haven’t gotten back to you it’s because of the high volume of requests that I get and it takes me a while to meaningfully respond to all of them. So if I haven’t gotten back to you yet, please be patient.

Check back next month in October when I reach 9 months post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: 5 Month Update (150 Days Post-Op)

Hello everyone,

Today is Saturday, June 17, 2017 and I am now 5 months post-op from my FUE scar revision procedure.

I got a haircut two weeks ago on June 3 and it was the shortest haircut I’ve had since this procedure.

The barber used a No.4-guard on the back and sides and then trimmed the bottom of the back of my head to a 2-guard, while I had the front and top blended with scissors.

I noticed a slight crease line on the left part of the back of my head but I’m pretty confident that area will eventually fill in. I’m thinking by one year post-op I should be able to cut my hair comfortably down to a 3-guard on the back and sides but we’ll have to wait and see until next January.

I feel like at this point the hairs in the back of my head where the old suture line is are growing in much faster and thicker than the single hair grafts that were placed in my frontal hairline and left temporal peak.

Although most would be concerned that not much is growing at this point, in my experience at 5 months, I’m about 60 percent of the way through so I have plenty more to grow.

Check back next month in July when I reach 6 months post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: 4 Month Update (120 Days Post-Op)

Hello everyone,

Today is Wednesday, May 17, 2017 and I am now 4 months post-op from my Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) scar revision procedure.

As I have talked about in my previous surgeries, the 4-month mark is one of the most exciting parts of a hair transplant because that’s when the grafts start to wake up and sprout. At this point, a few of the 50 single hair grafts in my frontal hairline and a lot of the 265 grafts in my suture line are finally starting to grow.

I haven’t had a haircut since the 3 month mark and I will most likely do a 4-guard around the suture line again as at this point, anything shorter could create a crease line in the back of my head.

I’ve been asked if I would ever do a fade style haircut and I will consider trying it when I get to at least 6 to 7 months post-op so that most of the grafts have grown out and I won’t have any crease line issues.

Check back next month in June when I reach 5 months post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: 2 Month Update (61 Days Post-Op)

Hello everyone,

Today is Sunday, March 19, 2017 and I am now 2 months and 2 days post-op from my Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) scar revision procedure.

At this stage, not much is happening, which is expected.

The hair on the back and sides surrounding my suture line is still growing out from the day of my procedure and when I run my fingers through the suture line, it feels like a lot of hairs have hung on.

Unfortunately the majority of the grafts placed into my suture line along with the 50 single hair grafts that were place into my left temporal peak and frontal hairline won’t start growing until the 4 month mark come May.

It’s a long process, but having been through this a couple of times, I know it’ll be worth it.

Check back next month in April when I reach 3 months post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: Day 8 Post-Op (1/25/2017)

Hello everyone,

Today is Wednesday, January 25, 2017 and I am now 8 days post-op from my follicular unit extraction procedure.

At this point I am finished with my recovery and am now just waiting for the hair in the back and sides of my head to grow out to cover my scar.

Thank you for following my progress and check back next month on February 17 when I reach one month post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: Day 7 Post-Op (1/24/2017)

Hello everyone,

Today is Tuesday, January 24, 2017 and I am now one week post-op from my follicular unit extraction procedure.

All of the crusts that were in my suture line are now gone and tonight was the last time I used the bacitracin on the extraction sites above and around my suture line. A lot of hairs that were placed in the suture line, left temporal peak, and frontal hairline have hung on after the crusts have fallen off, so it’ll be interesting to see if they continue to stay on over the next couple of weeks. Once the hair on the back and sides grows out and covers my scar, I’ll get a haircut to blend everything in.

I think tomorrow will be my last recovery update as I am now waiting for the numbness in parts of the back of my head to subside and I will return to my workout regimen next wee

Check back tomorrow when I reach 8 days post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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Third Procedure: Day 4 Post-Op (1/21/2017)

Hello everyone,

Today is Saturday, January 21, 2017 and I am now 4 days post-op from my follicular unit extraction procedure.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the grafts are really starting to fly off my scalp and at this point I’m not sure if I will even do 10 days’ worth of updates because I doubt the grafts will stay on by then.

The grafts in my left temporal peak have all shed and the grafts in my frontal hairline are just about gone. Meanwhile the grafts in my suture line are still there but many of them are beginning to shed.

I am still washing my grafts with the pads of my fingers and rinsing them with a cup in the shower and the extraction sites have also healed extremely well with the bacitracin.

Check back tomorrow when I reach 5 days post-op.

All my best,
-Lance

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