Alessa Avec Fashion

The hair transplant doctors gather annually at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery meeting, and this year's event was in Boston in October (2010).

I love my hair. It's a Sesame Street muppet singing about her hair, and it's a viral hit that teaches self esteem and diversity. But what about the bald people? And I don't see any mullet representation. And this is the poison we're feeding out kids via television?

Here's a recent photo taken by my friend Joe Shields, who took the headshots on my book and consulting site. If you can get past the "weepy puppy" look, you'll see the hairline has visibly improved. The collection of photos from "Hair Insider" are here.

As someone who marketed to men with male-pattern hairloss (Propecia/Merck), I saw many of the advertisements for lotions, potions, medications and transplants. I know the usual tricks of before and after shots. Just like the "before and after" diet photos, lighting can be an easy way to expose balding hair or hide it quite well. I hope this week to get Joe Shields, who took the photos for my Nalts Consulting page and my book, "Beyond Viral," to do a similar shoot to see how the past orbit around the Earth has changed me. For those of you unfamiliar with my experience, here's the video that documented my procedure.
In summary, a few key takeaways:

Here are some time-lapsed photos, including the most recent (bottom right) I took after a haircut last night (see video), and we're still not at the one-year anniversary of the hair transplant I documented on YouTube.

I read a comment on a blog from a jaded patient who claims FUEs have a lower "stick" rate than hair transplanted from a strip of hair (this guy must have a sad story because he occupies a lot of his time with negative comments on this blog, YouTube and forums).

Here's a photo I just took (March 21, 2010) after a haircut, so you can better see the hairline.

This is almost exactly 7 months after Dr. Bauman did his magic on me (should be a bit more than 50% of the benefit visible now, with 90% after a year).

It's hard to compare the location of the hairline in these photos, but you do see a density (different lighting conditions aside) that I didn't have before. Basically if I let my hair grow before I'd get these nasty patches and then blank spaces.

Much more even now. I may go hat free when it gets hot! :)


Compare to a few photos I took before the transplant. Whatya think?

According to a recent RealSelf.com survey (see press release by Dr. Bauman), guys want better hairlines second only to whiter teeth... and 20% of the 2000 plus adults said they wanted hair transplants.

Greg Benson, the follicularly challenged brains behind MediocreFilms, has selected Earth's best hair-transplant doctor to update his Bosley transplant (see video). With more than 13,000 live viewers via the Internet, this would indeed make hair-transplant history.

Dr. Alan Bauman, who you may know as SurgeonOfNalts, did the work... and now it's a race to the finish. Will Nalts (me), the YouTube personality who once pitched Propecia, have the best hairline of 2010? Or will Greg? In a great moment of irony, Benson's sporting the old Propecia mirrors. Ah, the days that we pharmaceutical firms could give out tissue boxes, pens and mirrors. Those were the days.



Benson made me proud when he, like perhaps every male transplant candidate, made the obligatory joke when one of Bauman's peeps warned him about the loud, wet and cold cleansing-wash machine. It's funny because it's predictable, like his inclination to yell "bye MiniMi" before he runs over midgets.

Nearly 3500 new follicles (which represent a few hairs each) may be a record for a minimally invasive (no surgical slice) transplant. Dr. B uses a NeoGraft to do follicular unit extraction (FUE). Cutting edge that's so cutting edge, it doesn't require a cutting edge. Here's a photo of Benson, with wife Kim Evey (producer of TheGuild and star of Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show).



Go, Greg. As YouTube funnyman Mark Day exposed, there are some side effects as I well know. Here's some footage I just found that someone took of my live Internet broadcast during treatment, and here's my summary video called "Hair Transplant Fun."

Also worth watching are the educational videos we both did. Here's my conversation with Bauman (which summarizes the steps in 5 minutes), and here's Benson/Bauman talking about the entire procedure. Benson said he slept like a baby after his transplant, which is not what he experienced years before with the traditional surgery from Bosley. In a sequel to Alan's interview, the duo speak about how even a year ago this 3K plus process wouldn't have been possible, and about the recovery phase. After 6 months, you don't notice much, but by 10-12 months you'll see 90%.

Benson and I spoke recently, and are just gaga over this experience. In my Merck/Propecia capacity, I had lots of insights on the best hair-transplant surgeons. When I asked people who they'd chose, Bauman's name came up constantly. We both know why.

Benson did it for his acting career, and I did it because 3 years working on a medication that treats hairloss will make you somewhat self conscious.

With all of this buzz, one can only hope that hair-transplants don't need to be secrets. Some of the film and television actors and actresses you love have had these procedures, but you wouldn't know it. Why?

1. They don't talk about it because they feel it would hurt their image.


2. The doctors can't reference their celebrity patients... unless they're weblebrities who chose to take themselves a bit less seriously.