I’m around 13 months post-op from a hair transplant at Vera Clinic in Turkey. I had about 3,300 grafts placed, mostly in the frontal hairline and somewhat behind it.

I know the usual answer is “wait until 18 months” and that’s exactly what the clinic told me when I contacted them. I sent them recent photos and they basically told me to continue minoxidil and finasteride until month 18. I understand that hair can still mature and thicken between months 12 and 18, but I’m not stupid enough to believe that a result this see-through at month 13 is suddenly going to become dense.

The photos are not taken in harsh sunlight. This is basic bathroom lighting. Up close, the hairline looks sparse to me. I can see individual implanted hairs, gaps between them, and the frontal area doesn’t really create a fair illusion. From a far away distance it can look okay, but up close it actually bothers me a lot.

I’m not saying there was zero growth, there clearly was. So I’m not asking whether every graft failed. My question is more whether this looks like poor density or a poor yield for 3,300 grafts, especially at 13 months.

So I’m trying to figure out whether waiting until month 18 is right, or whether they’re just delaying the conversation about a possible touch-up.

For people who have had transplants: did your result meaningfully improve between month 13 and month 18? I don’t mean a slight improvement in texture or calibre. I mean did a visibly sparse hairline actually become dense?

I’m trying not to catastrophise, but at 13 months and 3,300 grafts, I expected the frontal area to look stronger than this. Any honest opinions would help.

13 months post-op, 3,300 grafts at Vera Clinic