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How old are you? Your loss pattern looks like you are definately headed torward serious baldness. Hope that doesn't upset or offend but that's really the truth from what i've seen. Tried propecia? If you're young, it may help a lot.

You're exactly like me!!! My hairloss pattern was exactly same. I too have thinning all over top, and I had my procedure with Dr. Wong ~ 3500 grafts. You have already done your research, so you know what you're up against. But few pointers from my experience: You will most likely suffer some serious shockloss after the HT, be prepared to look worse for first 4 months (I looked norwood 6-7 for first 2.5 months), most of the shocked hair will come back but no guarantees.

Now, I don't mean to scare you, but I thought you should know from somebody with exactly same hair loss pattern. You can find my posts and pictures on this forum. I still question myself lot of times if it was a smart move for me to get HT in area with existing hair, but I think I am happy I did because I was never happy with my hair. I am 4.5 months post-op, and I haven't been 'surprised'. Growth has been really slow, but it's still too early in the game.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck with the decisions you make.

KG

Incubus99,
Hey, I recently joined the forum but I have been reading this site and others for nearly 2 years. Balding is bad enough but a bad HT only adds to the disparity, not to mention the loss of money.

Considering you live in FLA I was wondering if you have checked out Dr. Alan Bauman in Boca Raton? I had some work done with him and so far I have no complaints. I only had work on my crown and he placed the grafts inbetween a lot of existing hair. He told me to expect a 5%-10% decrease in coverage for the first 2 weeks and then it would improve and he was right on. He charges $50 for in office consultations and virtual consultations are free. I think your situation can be drastically improved and I am in no way affiliated with Dr. Bauman. Just letting you know that he is a quality Doc who will do his best to help you w/o any B.S.

incubus99,

Im not sure why no one else is mentioning this but you are young and have diffused thinning like me and you already have had 2 HT's. If I was you I would sit back and take stock about the best use of your limited donor supply. I would never consider a HT amongst native hair at such an early age because of permanent shockloss. I have had 1 HT on my hairline to fill in my receeding hairline but I am resorting to meds to try stabalize and regrow some hair in the rest of the crown and scalp.

I have been on Propecia for 2 years and I find that has done little for me. I now started to resort to a haircare regime of Nizoral, Nioxin, Minoxidil and now Avodart. I believe at this young age it is the most effective time to attack your hair loss with meds. For thickness I will be resorting to dermatch and toppik concealers. Also as another guy with contrasting dark hair and light skin I heard that adding highlights may make your hair appear less thin.

If I can somehow hang on to most of what I got till Im in my low to mid 30's then I will try the HT route again to add some more density. Hopefully by then technology would have improved and hair multiplication or gene therapy might be an option. But we can't rely on this so we should plan at a minimum the best use of our limited donor supply over the long term.

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1344 grafts with Ron Shapiro - June 2006

Also considering you live in Florida you should definately be considering Dr Rose or Dr Charles for any future HT's (although as mentioned previously I would not be recommending one at this time). They are both apart of the coalition, both use the best practices and techniques, both produce consistent and high quality results and both can be heavily researched on this site. Most importantly I have not read anything but positive feedback from these doctors.

After having a bad HT you should really only be considering the best there is to offer.

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1344 grafts with Ron Shapiro - June 2006

incubus99,

Im suprised that you want to keep your hair short. If you have contrasting hair color to your scalp, the longer the hair the less thinning it will look. Normally I keep mine short on the sides and medium on top - I guess its just a matter of preference at the end of the day.

As for the difference between Dr Rose and Dr Ron Shapiro I believe the difference to be negligeable if at all. I had to fly in from the UK so I just chose who I thought was the best doctor in the world to do my hairline. Having researched quite extensively my opinion was that Dr Ron Shapiro was the best. Though Dr Rose has also worked for SMG for a long time and I believe there is no noticeable difference between the two in terms of results.

Even Pat (the creator of this forum) who acknowledges that Dr Ron Shapiro changed his life for the better is still going to go to Dr Rose for his next HT on his crown as he lives in Florida and it is more convenient - he mentioned that comparing the results would be comparing excellent vs excellent. I would probably get a consult off them anyway and tell them your story just to get their opinion on whats best for you, and what can be achieved with the limited donor supply you have over the long term.

I ended up negotiating my hairline with Ron so we were both satisfied that I would be able to maintain my new hairline into the future with my limited donor supply.

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Hairloss Treatments
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incubus you seem to have a negative view on treating your hairloss with meds, can I ask what meds are you on now and how long have you been on them?

Im not sure how informed about DHT being the cause of hair loss and how Propecia and Minoxidil are proven hair loss treatments that have demonstrated in some cases to have very good regrowth. When used together they provide a synergetic effect, i.e. are more effective when used together. I also feel like Propecia has not helped me a great deal as I have had most of my hairloss while on it. What I am pretty certain though is that my hairloss would've been more severe if I were not on any meds and that my future shockloss will be minimized because I am on it.

Knowing that I've had most of my hairloss within the last few years I know that the best chance for any regrowth is now which is why I finally have started a hair treatment regime which I believe to be most effective.

I use Nizoral 2% and Nioxin alternated daily, Minoxidil 5% twice daily and have now recently have switched from Propecia/Proscar to Avodart. I also use copper peptides spray to minimize the Minoxidil itch and some vitamins and MSM for overall good health. Last of all I just started using a laser brush brought from amasinglazercomb.com as I believe there is some evidence at least to show that laser therapy will at least thicken hair somewhat.

One thing you have to realize to judge the effictiveness of meds is that you have to wait a long time to see any results. This is because of the length of the 'hair cycle'. So before you can judge whether it is working for you, you have to wait at least 6 months and you should also be taking photographs to track your progress.

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1344 grafts with Ron Shapiro - June 2006

Can I also ask if you are using any concealers at this time? I generally am against the thought of using concealers myself but will be resorting to them before my next HT hopefully after I turn 30. After seeing the fantasinc results that Robert has achieved with them, I have ordered some because I need them to mask my donor scar at least.

You have shown us many great pics, can you post a couple with dermatch and toppik. I think your diffused thinning hair is a perfect candidate for concealers. It would be good to know what peoples opinions here are after they see some pics with you using some concealers.

By the way feel free to PM me anytime. I am also young very concerned about my hairloss with diffused thinning with similar contrasting hair color to yours. I also have lighter hair than yours and because of this, my thinning is more obvious.

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1344 grafts with Ron Shapiro - June 2006

As of right now I am not posting any pictures. In the future I might change my mind but for now it's a privacy thing.

You might be interested to know that I had extensive conversations with Dr. Bauman concerning shockloss. As I said earlier I had a lot of existing hair in the crown and I was interviewing for a new job shortly after the procedure so I was extremely concerned.

He told me it's all about the non-invasive technique he uses. I figured he was going to shave my recipient area but that wasn't the case. I have been on Propecia for a little over 2 years and I did 3 sessions of the Oxygen treatment for 1 and a half hours each sesssion. My first session immediately after the procedure took my headache away immediately and I absolutely believe it really helped the healing process.