Why Alex Finken's Hair Transplant Left Him Looking Like a Cartoon
How far would you go for a full head of luscious locks?Alex Finken (@iam.thats.a.bad.idea) coughed up $17,500 for a hair transplant in hopes of reclaiming his confidence. But the next day, he woke up with severe swelling that made him look more like Humpty Dumpty than a heartthrob.“Some people look OK with it, it goes around their eyes and just looks like they got in a boxing match,” Finken said in a now-viral TikTok. “I literally just look like an egg.”Alex Finken has been sharing his hair transplant journey on TikTok. The swelling took him by surprise. Tiktok/@iam.thats.a.bad.ideaThe 27-year-old from Denver isn’t alone in his follicular frustration. An estimated 35 million American men experience measurable hair loss — and while the risk increases with age, up to 30% begin shedding before they turn 30.“I’d been dealing with thinning and male pattern baldness since my early 20s,” Finken told The Post. “By 24, I was basically living in hats and felt uncomfortable in social situations without one.”Though hair loss is common, the emotional toll can be steep. Many men experience anxiety, depression and low self-esteem, all feelings that can lead to embarrassment and social withdrawal.Finken had joked about getting a transplant for years. Then, one day, he pulled the trigger and booked the procedure.Finken’s swelling made him look unrecognizable. Tiktok/@iam.thats.a.bad.idea“For me, it wasn’t about vanity — it was about confidence and feeling like myself again,” he said. Finken flew to Salt Lake City for the operation, where doctors harvested 3,536 follicles from the back of his head and redistributed them across his thinning scalp. “We completely restored my hairline, my temples and added density into Zones 2 and 3,” he explained in a TikTok, pointing out the bald zones on the back and middle of his head.Finken went public with his hair transplant journey to help combat the stigma around balding and the surgery itself. Courtesy of Alex FinkenFinken knew to expect swelling — but he didn’t think he’d end up looking like a rejected Pixar character.“At first, I was shocked. I looked like a cartoon version of myself,” he said. “The worst of it lasted about three days, and it’s been improving drastically every day since.”Day 1 brought puffy temples. By Day 2, bruising bloomed under one eye and the swelling started to block his vision. By Day 3, it had slid down into his neck.“My brain is not in danger at all. All of my airways are perfectly fine,” he reassured his TikTok followers. “It’s just swelling underneath the skin.” Viewers flooded the comments with questions and concerns, but Finken explained that the swelling was a normal part of the process.“The main thing that’s going to cause that swelling is the saline and anesthesia solution that they inject into your head,” he said. “Everyone’s lymphatic system works differently, also because of genetics, so some are going to puff up more and some it’s going to drain a lot quicker.”Of course, his pre-op weekend antics didn’t do him any favors.Finken admitted to drinking both Friday and Saturday before his Wednesday procedure — a move he now cautions others against. “You should not do this because it causes vascular dilation and also it makes local anesthesia less effective,” he stressed. Even still, Finken said he has no regrets about going under the knife. Within a matter of days, Finken’s swelling had largely subsided. Tiktok/@iam.thats.a.bad.idea“The recovery itself has actually been way easier than I expected — it just takes patience and a good sense of humor,” Finken said. “I was also shocked by how little pain I’ve had overall. The first night was rough, but as of Day 5 the pain is almost nonexistent.”Now, as his restored hairline begins to take root, Finken said the transplant was “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself.”“If it’s something that can improve your confidence or quality of life, there’s nothing wrong with doing it,” he said.“And yeah, sometimes you just have to embrace looking like an egg for a few days.”
