Hello everyone. I’m Adam Rivietz, and this is my journey to a new head of hair. My story begins 11 years ago when I was on a summer camp trip with 120 kids my own age. I vividly remember getting out of the shower one day and noticing my entire scalping revealed, there was barely any hair on the top of my head. I was completely devastated. I thought that it was far too early for me to lose all the hair on the top of my head. I was just 16, and even though I knew my older brother went bald at 18, I thought that there had to be something I could do to get rid of this terrible feeling that I had. It was so much anxiety and I was so embarrassed, that I really, from 2009, from that moment until now have not gone in public with my hair wet again.
Flash forward to my first year of university, I was still embarrassed, I was still anxious about my hair, and I contemplated taking Rogaine. I looked at the pricing, I looked at potential side effects, but I decided against it. Maybe had I taken some preventative measures, I could’ve prolonged the inevitable, the hair transplants, but we’re here.
It was really two years ago when I noticed the right side of my hairline start receding. I had to make sure I was covering my entire scalp, so I started with the comb-over and really strategically placed every bit of hair. For the receding hairline, I went on Amazon and started looking up the top-ranking products for hair loss. I found shampoos that were pretty incredible, that made me feel better and made my hair look fuller, but the best product was called Boost Powder by American Crew. I put it in my hair almost every day for the last year and a half. It makes it look thicker, makes it look fuller, but it doesn’t give it that wet effect like a traditional gel or wax would.
Thanks. Once I committed to the idea of a hair transplant, that’s when I began researching online. I looked at dozens of websites of all the different doctors in Ontario, and I wanted to find someone who employed the latest technologies but also had years of experience. I graded the doctors’ websites based on design, based on services offered and based on the amount and level of testimonials they had from folks around my age. And after reading through their websites and going through hundreds of Google reviews, I consulted my personal network. I spoke with my barber and about half a dozen folks that I knew had the FUE treatment. And coincidentally there was a consensus between my personal network and my online research, and that was Dr. Robert Jones.
I completed the form online and submitted photos of my head. These were the ones that I submitted. Within 24 hours, Dr. Huber got back to me and gave me all of the instructions I needed to book my consultation. Unfortunately with life happening, I didn’t book for eight months. I was busy with work and then I ended up going on another family vacation, where I had to refuse to go into the pool or the ocean with my nieces and nephews. And so I finally decided to move forward and book the consultation with Dr. Jones. We met on February 3rd. He showed me recent testimonials and videos of other patients who were similar to my age, it really helped me build confidence in the procedure. And I spoke with his nurses and his office staff, and they were so lovely and really reassured me that I was making the right decision in moving forward with the transplant.
In addition to the transplant, Dr. Jones actually told me about a few other treatments that I could do to help prevent hair loss before the transplant, to help with the transplant taking better hold of my head, and then to help after the transplant to prevent any future hair loss and to maybe even spark additional hair growth. Those treatments were obviously the FUE hair transplant. Second, he spoke about PRP and the soak that could be done during my transplant. Then he told me about minoxidil, or more commonly known as Rogaine, and how they have a more potent formula that I could start using after the transplant, once my hair had started growing.
He told me about Propecia or Proscar, the prescription that I was given at my consultation. I have since been taking the pills every day and will do so for the foreseeable future. And then he also told me about the laser hat or helmet that could be worn for seven minutes a day to also help with potential hair growth and stop any future hair loss. So with Proscar, I was skeptical. I am only 27 years old, and I was worried about having to take a pill for the remainder of my life, ultimately. But after reading online and really discovering that only 1% of men see side effects or negative side effects, I was more confident in taking the pill. And soon, once my hair grows back, I will begin taking the minoxidil and pouring the few drops on my head every night before bed.
Well, thank you everyone for watching and tuning into the journey of how I decided to move forward with a hair transplant, and why I chose to work with Dr. Jones. If you have any other questions, please reach out to me directly, [email protected], or you can reach out to Dr. Jones at the Toronto Hair Transplant Surgeons in Oakville. Tune in to the next video where we will take you through the entire procedure, step by step, with my commentary about how I was feeling throughout the entire experience. Thank you.
