Author: Dr. William Rassman

My forehead came down about 1cm with 1500 grafts. I am unhappy with the unnatural look, and my skin is elevated and white. I would like to reduce my forehead surgically and reverse the transplant.

This is not an easy assessment without seeing, at the least, a photo. You said the hairline was only lowered about 1cm, so I need to know what it looks like. Also, your comments about the elevated grafts after growth and the white color of the skin is concerning. If the entire area in front of your normal hairline is no more than 2.5 cm, then a hairline lowering procedure may be able to remove the entire transplanted area. You should see a surgeon that offers hairline advancement surgery, and this could be a good solution for you.

The arrows show large grafts at the hairline, something that should never be done as they appear pluggy. Also growth seemed either under transplanted or this man has inadequate growth. Either way, this man should get his money back and go to a good hair transplant surgeon to fix the problem

I want to say that, I used Rogaine a month ago. I applied it only 3 times, mainly due to the headaches, heart palpitations and dizziness. Since stopping I have had hair coming out like crazy. People at work have noticed and I’ve noticed dark circles under my eyes and a puffy face. Stay away from this product. I’m just hoping the hair that I have lost since using it comes back.

This is highly unusual and must like is the result of a combination of some allergy plus significant drug absorption over time.

They say a picture is worth 1000 words, clearly that is the case here. The surgeon’s plan was faulty from the start, transplanting only the first 2 inches of the hairline from an FUE harvest and leaving the area behind it bald. After 8 months, the plan nevertheless failed, because the grafts failed to grow. If the surgery would have succeeded, this poor man would have a bald patch between the transplants and the hair behind it. What the surgeon should have done was either spread out the recipient grafts to cover the entire frontal area that was devoid of hair producing a thinner look, or he should have increased the number of FUE grafts transplanted into the front and top. No person should be left looking like a half finished hair transplant job as this man would have looked like had the surgery succeeded. His doctor was clearly more oblivious to the realities of the transplant technique than this patient believed. Now he has lost about 2000 of his donor follicular units forever (possibly 1/3rd of his supply), and has a failed transplant in the front that he has to live with.

I have done hair transplants on many of the rich and famous. Almost every one of them has told me that it improved their self-confidence and their ability to be themselves. Hair may be the single most important feature of a man. Think of a maneless lion – he might look like a lioness. I remember early in my career when I did a hairline on a Soap Opera 20 year old who was desired by the married women on the show. When he started to lose his hairline, the producers told him they were going to terminate his role. Then, he came to me, got his hair back, and they continued him on the show at about $1million/year. He told me that his image was everything to his career. It is also important to note that since Eisenhower, there has never been a balding present of the United States (except for Donald Trump who hides it poorly and is very sensitive about it). That is because the American Voter believes that balding men are not as trustworthy as hairy men (ref: Men Fitness). I wrote about this before (see here: https://baldingblog.com/bald-presidents-and-prime-ministers/).

Tip for hair styling: Mix a teaspoon of baking soda with your favorite shampoo to remove buildup from sprays, gels, conditioners, and other products. Your hair won’t just be cleaner, it may become easier to style, too (recommended by WebMD)

After 5 years, this patient came to see me to show me the transition of his new look. Considering the degree of balding he had when he came in, his results were spectacular. He did comment that no one ever noticed the change from a bald look to this hairy look. That is what surprised him most. The two pictures tell the story without words.