I had an appointment today with a surgeon to have a hair implants. He was a really nice guy with a good sense of humor. He did not try and fill my head with unrealistic outcomes but spoke very plainly and explained exactly what he would do and what results I could expect.

He did say if I had come in to have a consult for normal MPB he would have been reluctant to recommend implants as he felt I had enough hair to manage it easily with the right hair style however since I am transitioning and need my hairline moved as well as some thickening he recommended that I would need up to 3000 grafts depending on how thick I wanted my hair but suggested initially 1250 would give me a good result. He feels that with the right placement of the implants in my scalp along with a good hairdresser and I may well be happy with just the initial treatment. I have allocated enough funds for the entire 3000 implants.

I said my aim was to get my hair good enough so that at first glance my hair looks as any woman's looks...I don't think my hair will hold up to close scrutiny but then neither would other parts of me. I want to be able to blend in...I noticed a Trans Woman the other day and she had a great figure and was really appropriately dressed and seemed to be quite confident in her movements and manner. But there was something about her hair that I noticed and it ended up that it was a wig that had caught my eye because for some reason I noticed that it wasn't right and I think it is because the silhouette wasn't quite right which is what caught my eye...other than the hair I would most likely not given her a second glance.

Part of my decision is based around trying to be realistic about my appearance. I have had 52 years of testosterone impacting me, I have already had numerous facial surgeries as a kid and I have no desire for FFS and I doubt there is much they could do anyway. I had 7 facial surgeries growing up and vowed and declared after the last one that I would have no more. For me I don't expect nor particularly care if I am "passable", being able to blend in is far more important to me. If I do actually by some miracle manage to pass then that is a huge bonus and not something I am expecting. However in order to really feel this way I need to be comfortable within myself and I will feel confident. I hate wigs and my hair plays havoc with my dysphoria so having my own hair will help for sure..... If that all makes sense 
                                                                                                                                         
Liz K

So how much will it cost for the transplant? Oh, and if it isn't too sensitive... Were do the transplants come from? I have considered filling in the corners of the widows peak with transplants.

Sometimes life is just not fair at all. CIS women have such thick heads of hair, beautiful....., just beautiful. Most of us including myself do not, uggg, uggg, uggg. No matter what HRT or what I use mine just will not become thick at all. Darn!!!! Transplants are the only solution, expensive & tricky to do. Good luck to all of us girls.

Yes the implants are really expensive but I guess its where ever you need to spend your money...I have a limited amount to spend on my transition so I had to look at the things that make me feel the most dysphoric. My hair is one of them and my beard is the other. I don't want any facial surgery, I don't want any body sculping or any of the other millions of unnecessary proceedures. So the details

To get the best possible result for the least cost it will be done in two stages. The first in two weeks will be the initial implant of 1250 grafts consisting of 1,2 or three hairs per graft. We will, fill in my new hair line and then back fill in between my current hair and back to my peak. He suggested that we concentrate on the front part of the hairline as that will be the most visible. Once 6 months is up and we can see the final result I can then make a decision to do another 1250 just to give more volume. He did point out that I need to remember that no one is looking at the top of my head and that what people see from their eye level will not me a mirrors eye view  but a front view. So long as there appears to be volume and the hairline is somewhat correct it should look better than placing grafts on the top of my head where they are not really visible..if you get what I mean...I am running a daily selfie shot now so will post some regular pics as I go along

So for 1250 implants $6000 which covers the day procedure and all visits prior and after. There are 3 follow-ups after the procedure.
I may need a further 1250 but that will depend on how it looks and whether I want it thickened some more but he was reluctant to do any more than 1250 in one hit due to the stress it puts on the skin.
He will take a 5cm slice from the back of my head for each 250 grafts and then suture that back together, the grafts are then cut down and implanted.

Liz K           

I've already spent 20K on a facelift & tummy tuck surgery. I do look so much better. GRS will be about 25K. Ive looked into transplants, I need them to look & feel better about myself.....more of an attractive woman 24/7. I like being intimate with men.... For today off to electrolysis lady for facial work. It's expensive being a nice looking woman but worth it. Good luck.

I'm also going to have hair Transplantation, I've spoken to a few doctors but  I havent decided on which one I'm going to use. I have much more hair loss and will need 2 treatments of 2.5 to 3K FU each, then more if I want thinkness, luckly I have good donor hair.
It is very expensive but after hormones and electrolysis its what I want the most, GRS, FFS and maybe a tummy tuck are all things I'll probably want in a year or two, so got to keep saving.
Elizabeth, how did you decide on your Doctor? I've investigated a few and while they all have good reputations I still have reservations about each one, one seems young and expensive, one is older but using outdated techniques, one might have too many patients and the technicians will be doing all the work,  one has limited Transgender experience but the best reputation.

I totally get this. I spent real money on a good wig, and I've gotten so many comments from friends that made it clear they had no idea I was wearing a wig. I'd rather not have to wear it, but it's fine with people who have never seen me without it and don't even know it's not mine.

But I'm still not out at work, and one major thing holding me back is that I don't want everyone to know I'm wearing a wig. It feels silly just saying that, but this is a major issue for me.

So I'm working on getting hair transplants in the next couple months, and trying to get insurance to pay for it.

My doctor recommended one round of 2,500 units at a cost of $11k. Not cheap but totally worth it IMO.

I choose this doctor (Dr Goertz in Seattle) because this is all he does, and apparently he's a pioneer in the field. And in our initial consultation he showed me pictures of all of the bad transplants he's had to fix. They were patchy and the hairlines were too predictable. I realized pretty quickly that I couldn't afford to risk a cheaper surgeon.

Quote from: katiej on April 06, 2016, 03:22:33 PM
I totally get this. I spent real money on a good wig, and I've gotten so many comments from friends that made it clear they had no idea I was wearing a wig. I'd rather not have to wear it, but it's fine with people who have never seen me without it and don't even know it's not mine.

But I'm still not out at work, and one major thing holding me back is that I don't want everyone to know I'm wearing a wig. It feels silly just saying that, but this is a major issue for me.

So I'm working on getting hair transplants in the next couple months, and trying to get insurance to pay for it.

My doctor recommended one round of 2,500 units at a cost of $11k. Not cheap but totally worth it IMO.

I choose this doctor (Dr Goertz in Seattle) because this is all he does, and apparently he's a pioneer in the field. And in our initial consultation he showed me pictures of all of the bad transplants he's had to fix. They were patchy and the hairlines were too predictable. I realized pretty quickly that I couldn't afford to risk a cheaper surgeon.

For me it feels like I am putting on a costume, and I hate that. I don't feel natural or comfortable. I will probably require the same amount of transplants as you but it was suggested that more than about 1250 at a time stresses the body and the immune system too much and you can end up with more hair loss from it. I am hoping that with just the one session I will be able to form the illusion of a full head of hair. My surgeon did make the point that most people don't see the to of your head and it could be considered a bit of a waste putting implants in there. He suggested I concentrate them on the front to create a natural feminine hair line. If I need to I will do the second 1250 later in the year after giving the first stuff a chance to get settled in.

I can't help myself as hair is one of my triggers..too much on my face, too much on my body...not enough on top...got to fix that. Since growing my hair I can easily disguise my high forehead but in a couple of weeks I won't even have to do that and the best thing is I don't have to cut my hair. I have been growing it from a number 1 crew cut back in September so it is just starting to get to the really irritating stage where it is tool long to leave alone and too short to do anything really fem, another 6 months I think and by that stage the implants should be at a reasonable length. Good luck and I will keep this thread updated as I have the procedure and see if I can't post some picks.

Liz K