Hi there! I’m Dr. Taeho Jang, the medical director at Grow Clinic in Busan, specializing in hair transplants.
I mainly focus on follicular unit extraction (FUE) and intrafollicular injection (IFI) treatments for hair loss. Even among doctors, this is still considered a pretty unusual field, and I’m sure it might sound a bit unfamiliar to you as well. I wanted to share my story with you—how I ended up working in this unique area of medicine.
I’m also fighting my own battle with hair loss, just like you.
I’m also fighting my own battle with hair loss, just like you.
Ever since I was a kid, I had a big head and a wide forehead—people used to call me “General big head.” But it wasn’t until my last year of high school that I started to notice my hairline getting lighter up front.
Honestly, with both my dad’s and mom’s sides of the family full of people who lost their hair all the way to the end, I kind of knew I wouldn’t be able to escape it either. Still, when it actually started happening to me, it was a pretty shocking reality check.
I spent a lot of time worrying about what to do next. Luckily, since I was already in med school, I got to learn about the proper ways to treat hair loss earlier than most people. So, at twenty, I started taking hair loss medication. Like most folks, I began with Propecia. Now, it’s been sixteen years since I started this journey.
This was my forehead before I got a hair transplant. I used to “proudly” sport a seriously tall forehead—over 85mm from my brows!
Once I started taking hair loss medication, thankfully, the receding slowed down. I didn’t really experience any side effects either. But the M-shaped hairline and that super high forehead that had already receded were still a huge source of stress for me, especially every time I went to the hair salon. It wasn’t just the height—my temples were so sparse that both the height and width of my forehead made me really get stressed out. And if my hair got wet from sweat? No amount of styling could hide it.
In the end, I realized that a hair transplant was the answer for me.
During my second year as a public health doctor—which is probably the least busy time in any doctor’s career—I left the quiet health center in Jeju then I worked for and headed back to my hometown, Daegu, to visit a hair transplant clinic. Daegu is kind of known for strip hair transplants, thanks to Kyungpook National University Hospital. Back then, people still thought the results of FUE could be pretty inconsistent. So, I went with the strip method for my transplant. Little did I know just how much this decision would end up shaping my life.
This is a photo of my scalp right after the surgery. We lowered my hairline by about 1cm, filled in the receding M-shaped areas, and added some density to my temples. Altogether, about 2,500 grafts went in.
Honestly, I wanted to get even more grafts, but as a rural public health doctor, I just couldn’t afford it at the time. 😂 Now, I’m so busy doing hair transplants for my own patients that I barely have time to get another one for myself! I guess that’s why people always say you should make the most of your free time when you’re young.
The incision area felt tight and sore, but honestly, just seeing those new hairs in place made me so happy. I actually slept like a baby that night—it was one of the best nights of sleep I’ve ever had!
But just like many of my patients, I went through that tough “shedding phase” where all the transplanted hairs fall out—not exactly the most encouraging time. It wasn’t until about three months later that I finally started to see those soft, baby hairs coming in, and from there, things filled in more and more each day. When I do follow-up consultations, I always tell people that for the next three months, you’ll probably find yourself checking the mirror every hour—because that’s exactly what I did! 😂 It’s totally normal to worry, but trust me, once you hit that three-month mark, the new hair really does start to grow.
The surgery went really well. I still see the doctor who did my transplant at gatherings every now and then, and I’m always grateful to him. 😊 Thanks to him, I was able to overcome a huge insecurity in my twenties and live with a lot more confidence. If he ever reads this, I hope he knows just how thankful I am.
There were definitely some downsides to having a strip (FUT) hair transplant. The first issue was shock loss in the donor area where the strip was taken. Even though the stitches were done really neatly and the wound healed well, maybe because my blood circulation wasn’t great, I still experienced some temporary hair shedding around the incision. I remember taking photos of the suture line almost every day to keep an eye on it.
Shock loss can also happen—though rarely—in the donor area after FUE, but having gone through this myself, I feel like I can give more practical and empathetic advice to my patients who experience the same thing.
Another thing was the scar on the back of my head. Luckily, my scar is pretty narrow. As long as my hair is even a little bit long, it’s not noticeable at all. But the catch is, I’m really into barbershop hairstyles. I still remember the look my wife gave me the first time she saw the back of my head after I’d gotten a short cut—she asked, “What’s this?” 😂 Now she knows it’s from my hair transplant, but every time I go to the barbershop, she still asks if I can leave it a little longer in the back.
These are just some of the things you might want to keep in mind if you’re considering a strip hair transplant. While the results can be life-changing, there are some unique challenges along the way.
One of the reasons I got so deep into FUE is because of these hassles. As the surgeon, I have to stay in one position for hours during the procedure. It’s tough work. But once the surgery is done, you can barely tell where the grafts were taken. There’s less pain and fewer issues like shock loss, too. For me, that makes FUE the best option.
Some people really do need strip hair transplants. But honestly, there are already so many doctors who do that better than I can. I figured, why not focus on what I do best? 😂
I really love this job. After having my own surgery, I realized how much it changed my life for the better. Seeing my patients experience that same happiness makes all the hard work worth it. At Grow Clinic, I’ll always do my best to help you start every day with a fuller head of hair!
Grow Clinic
Taeho Jang M.D.
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This post was written directly by Grow Clinic to provide medical information, in accordance with Article 56, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Advertisement Act.
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Results for hair loss treatment can vary depending on your hair condition and the doctor’s clinical experience. Please make sure to have a thorough consultation with your physician before deciding on any treatment.
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All treatment photos in this post were taken with the consent of real patients who completed their procedures at our clinic. The before and after photos were taken under the same conditions.