Alex Finken, product review influencer, was tired of his male pattern baldness. Wanting to look refreshed for his audience, he decided to drop $17,500 on a hair transplant.
But what should have been a triumphant transformation quickly turned into a comedy of swelling and bruises that left him barely recognizable, and looking like a living cartoon character.
Highlights
- A 27-year-old influencer underwent a $17,500 hair transplant that left him looking “like a cartoon character.”
- His swollen, oval-shaped, head went viral on TikTok with over 2.3 million views.
- Despite the ridicule, he called it “one of the best decisions” he’s ever made.
“Some people look OK with it, it goes around their eyes and just looks like they got in a boxing match,” Finken said, stunned at the way his body reacted to the procedure.
“I literally just look like an egg.”
An influencer went massively viral after a hair transplant left him with his head completely distorted and swollen
Image credits: TikTok/iam.thats.a.bad.idea
Finken recorded himself at the peak of his post operative swelling, his head so distorted that the clip went instantly viral, reaching 2.3 million views at the time of writing.
He explained that he had struggled with hair loss since his early 20s, a reality shared by up to 30 percent of men under 30, and finally decided to undergo a transplant to “feel like [himself] again.”
“For me, it wasn’t about vanity,” he told The New York Post. “It was about confidence.”
Image credits: TikTok/iam.thats.a.bad.idea
The procedure he chose is called Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), a modern hair restoration method that involves removing individual follicles from the back of the head and implanting them into thinning areas.
Unlike older “strip” techniques that left visible scars, FUE is minimally invasive and relies on precision tools to ensure natural growth patterns.
Image credits: TikTok/iam.thats.a.bad.idea
In Finken’s case, doctors harvested 3,536 follicles from the donor area and carefully implanted them across his temples, crown, and frontal hairline.
He described the process as “surprisingly painless,” ignoring that the amount of anesthesia used to ensure his comfort would, a few days later, morph his head into a cartoony shape.
As the body eliminates the anesthesia, it moves downward from the scalp to the neck
But what happened to Finken caused many to laugh at his misfortune, though it was, in fact, completely normal.
Post operative swelling is a common part of the recovery process after a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplant, caused by the saline and anesthesia solution injected into the scalp during surgery.
Image credits: TikTok/iam.thats.a.bad.idea
As seen in Finken’s subsequent videos, the fluid moves downward through the face and neck, distorting the features along the way as the body naturally drains it.
“Everyone’s lymphatic system works differently. Some people drain faster, others puff up more,” he explained, being an example of considerable puffiness.
“My brain is not in danger at all,” he added, reassuring his viewers that everything was under control. “All of my airways are perfectly fine. It’s just swelling underneath the skin.”
Image credits: TikTok/iam.thats.a.bad.idea
Still, he admitted he didn’t make things easier for himself. Before the surgery, he had spent the weekend drinking, something his doctor specifically warned against.
“You should not do this,” he told his audience. “It causes vascular dilation and makes local anesthesia less effective.”
Finken opened a completely new TikTok account dedicated exclusively to his hair transplant
For all the Hey Arnold! jokes and puffed-up selfies, Finken says the recovery has been “shockingly easy.”
“The first night was rough, but as of Day 5 the pain is almost nonexistent,” he said. “The hardest part was just looking ridiculous.”
In a recent update, Finken shared that most of his swelling had gone away. His face had returned to normal, save for minor bruising, as his body processed the remaining anesthesia.
“The recovery itself has actually been way easier than I expected. It just takes patience and a good sense of humor,” he said.
Image credits: TikTok/iam.thats.a.bad.idea
Now that the swelling has subsided, Finken says he has no regrets.
“Honestly,” he said, “it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself. And yeah, sometimes you just have to embrace looking like an egg for a few days.”
"No thanks." Finken's testimonial made many viewers reconsider getting a hair transplant
