I finally have made the first step towards my HT. I'm meeting with Shapiro at the end of the month or early November. I can't wait for this. i just hope he doesn't tell me that I should wait. I'm 25 years old, but have pretty much stopped my hair loss dead in it's tracks three years ago with Propecia and now Avodart. I looked at my pictures from three years ago when I was receding really bad and my hair is exactly the same. I feel lucky that I started so soon and caught it early. I can finally afford a procedure financially, so I will definitely be asking alot of questions. My only goal is to establish a really nice front line. The rest can always be thinner, you don't see the top as much as the front. What do you guys think?

I finally have made the first step towards my HT. I'm meeting with Shapiro at the end of the month or early November. I can't wait for this. i just hope he doesn't tell me that I should wait. I'm 25 years old, but have pretty much stopped my hair loss dead in it's tracks three years ago with Propecia and now Avodart. I looked at my pictures from three years ago when I was receding really bad and my hair is exactly the same. I feel lucky that I started so soon and caught it early. I can finally afford a procedure financially, so I will definitely be asking alot of questions. My only goal is to establish a really nice front line. The rest can always be thinner, you don't see the top as much as the front. What do you guys think?

SMG will do a good job on you.

A thin top with a denser front usually does NOT look good. You will want another procedure at that point.

Don't worry, though, I think SMG will put about 20-30 FU/cm^2 in any balding area. They may have revised their numbers, but that is what they advertised when I had my procedure with them. You problably won't have future density inconsistency issues with that transplanted density. I mean, much, much less chance than if you dense pack the frontal hairline.

You are in good hands.

Man, I wish I'd known more about Propecia at 24. I looked at picts of when I was 24, and although I had bad temporal recession, at least the top had density consistent with the sides at that age. By 28, the sides were visibly much thicken than the top, giving me "bozo hair".

Congrats on taking proactive measures very early on. That is a major win in the battle against hairloss in my book.

Let us know how your consultation goes.

vocor1
Knowledge is Power
If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.

__________________
vocor1
Knowledge is Power
-- If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.
-- The truth only matters if you know about it.

It sounds like your inconsistency issues with density was like mine. My hair was really thick down the center like a mohawk or "bozo the clown" like you said earlier. Since Propecia and Avodart, I can say that the thinner areas where I had hair have densed up and made it thicker in the thinner areas, but the recession areas had never filled in, but I never expected them to either. I think this whole logic of getting on Propecia early is a life saver. When you shed the smaller thinner hair, I strongly believe a thicker one will replace it, making your hair more dense. That's just my opinion. I always noticed when I went through a shedding phase, I was always shedding smaller thinner hairs, never a longer thicker one. Once I started Avodart, the shedding really intensified! It usually came every month for about 3-4 days. I hope this information is helpful to people considering it.

Hey Justin

It sounds like you have very similar circumstances as both Vocor and I. We have shared our experiences previously, and we both had basically the same pattern, same history with Propecia and same doctor, Paul Rose with SMG, so I thought I would weigh in.

I couldn't agree more with Vocor that any doc in the SMG will take great care to plan for any potential future loss, and give you a hairline that will stand the test of time. In my case, Dr. Rose interspersed transplanted hairs throughout the frontal area, even where I still had strong, thick hair, just in case I do ever continue to lose (although like you and Vocor, the Propecia pretty much brought my loss to a grinding halt). That way, I would not have unnatural looking patches of hair where balding men normally don't have it. It might be thin throughout, but it wouldn't look freakish.

I have a thread running with photos of my recent procedure here.

Good luck!

Tedd

November 15th is the date that has been set. I was told that after my consultation it would probably be until February until I could get in for the procedure. That makes me feel good that these guys are that booked up. It just sucks that I'll have to wait that long. Oh well, several months is worth waiting to look better for the rest of your life. I'm taking a really conservative approach that won't make me look like I've gained all my hair back from when I was 18; I want to make it possible for further procedures when I'm older in case I may need them. I personally think the minor NW1 recession look is better.

justin:

Sounds like a good course of action! Best of luck and you are in good hands.

SMG is always booked up because they have great doctors and have done a good job marketing their practice.

A little recession does not look bad. Deep recession or the dreaded tuft usually does. A little recession conveys wisdom and a break from youth. In general, this is respected and not a pitied look. A lot depends on age and facial features, of course.

Late 20s and in the 30s, a little recession is the norm and not the exception. I think you are in good shape!

Best of luck.

vocor1
Knowledge is Power
If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.
The truth only matters if you know about it.

__________________
vocor1
Knowledge is Power
-- If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.
-- The truth only matters if you know about it.