Like @trism’s brother, I too started balding in my 20’s. My best friend suggested that I go “full Matt Hasselbeck” and I haven’t looked back since.
Currently using the Skullshaver - Pitbull Platinum and it’s decent.
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This is one of the coolest threads Ive read. Not my thing since I still have the full set of follicles the good lawd gave me. But interesting to read for sure.
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Again, disclaimer that plastics and derm are not my area of expertise, but the bios of the surgeons (w/ the possible exception of the female surgeon) do not inspire a ton of confidence.
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I gave this stuff a shot several years ago and the unbearable itching I developed to the point of being unable to sleep was enough to make peace with whatever was going to happen!
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I’m still working on a reliable idea of cost, but check me on this. Some of this wasn’t posted earlier, so I’m not arguing, just working through the logic out loud. 
Option 1: $12,000 quote after consultation. Team flies in from CA to perform 3-4 procedures over the course of a week.
Option 2: Only does hair procedures (presumably with local staff; will know more after my consultation at the end of November). They advised when I made my consultation appointment that procedures run $8,000 - $12,000.
I need less than the average number of grafts.
So based on the limited info I have from personal experience, it would appear to me that Option 1 (who brings in experts from 2,000 miles away) means that a decent chunk of the cost is my 25-33% share of travel expenses for the team… which would be fine if they were the only/best option in town.
They aren’t the only, and I haven’t yet concluded that there aren’t equally good/better options even if I never leave this metro area.
Have you asked the folks behind option 1 who the team from CA is and the how and the why of why the local team works w/ them? Might help you to decide if you think the “upcharge” is worth it.
Also, do hair transplants sometimes fail? Joel McHale mentioned he needed more than one (not sure why; maybe it had nothing to do w/ transplant failure) and I saw one guy a few yrs ago who had a shaved head and what seemed like a pretty obvious donor scar on the back of his head.
I didn’t ask further questions about the outside team, no.
The business arrangement only popped up when we were discussing scheduling, and she was explaining to me why they only book appointments during a specific week each month.
This got me wondering on the way home about the dynamics of the revenue sharing / business model and other potential facets of the business arrangement, like who’s indemnified from what liability, etc. (I think about things like this all day at work).
As I understand it, the main risk of “failure” is from expectations for people in their 20s / early 30s who already have significant hair loss, because the pace of loss will continue in those areas that weren’t transplanted. And often this means a second procedure is necessary to get back to where they were after the first one.
BUT… I’m not at the place yet where I can write a dissertation on all of the risks and negative outcomes or their likelihood. Still plodding through with my research.
I don’t work on the admin/legal side, but that could be potentially be quite complicated since “fee-splitting” and “self referrals” are considered unethical, and, depending on the structure, illegal (esp since there are overlays of individual state and federal law).
Liability could potentially be more straightforward since those CA docs should be separately licensed in your state (OH). If you saw a physician for the first visit, perhaps they are only providing a referral and then provide office/admin support for the CA team? But I guess it fundamentally depends on, liable for what specific damage?
This thread is amazing, sorry for your hair loss.
PRP doesn’t work in the US because FDA won’t approve REgenkine. It’s why Koby and other pro athletes fly too Germany and are now traveling to Panama to have procedures done.
All I was trying to say was that I didn’t ask follow-up questions about the outside team in the moment because I didn’t really start processing that info until the drive home.
I work in an entirely different industry, but it’s heavily regulated at the federal and state levels, and affiliated business arrangements are dicey if not done with extreme care.
I really don’t want to unwrap all that in an unfamiliar industry until I’m satisfied with all the answers, which is why I was turned off by the arrangement.
I appreciate your input.
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panama also very big for stem cell treatments
Yea Dr. Riordan I think his name is, a lot of people go see him.
PRP, as far as I can tell, is allowable in the US b/c it is minimally manipulated and thus not considered a drug.
The manipulation required with Regenokine means that is considered a drug.
PRP and Regenokine are not technically or legally (in the US, at least) the same thing.
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Yes that was my point…the extra steps are what make it effective. Which is why insurance won’t cover it, it hasn’t been proven in the form they allow or use in the US.
No point in even doing it, using crying chamber would be more effective for getting blood back to inflamed spots.
Is that the reason who people are getting BBL’s and other TikTok procedures from outside of America? Or is price the main factor?
yeah i’m seriously considering it myself
Biz flights can also be had for 65-125k Amex, Chase, Avios and other airline points each way. Way less than $8000 to “acquire” these points
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Price. Those procedures for us women are far cheaper outside of the U.S. However, horror stories are not worth it. There are no savings if you are botched for life or have to have procedures to fix the mistakes.
I have never had any procedures, but I do not know of many that have not at this point. ESPECIALLY BBLs. Those are the new breast implants.
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Good for you. I appreciated Devin Townsend embracing his weirdness in a self-deprecated manner, even joking on stage about it (all 16 hairs)
Then he goes Hasselbeck, and becomes mellow dude. Fry scream on the ‘pain, pain’ lyrics where he kicks it into overdrive gives me the shivvies every time.
Use points. Citi premier sign up is now 80 k enough for RT in TK business