Microprose:
Maybe I misstated. I'm not interested in lowering my hairline. Without doubt, it would look better considering my "young face", but I think it would look weird later on in life. And you can't undo the HT.
Initially, I envisioned my hairline being a bit "broader". In other words, the hairline is not lowered, but the temples filled in more so the hairline is more "squared off".
I was then convinced that this was not a prudent course of action. We would have had to devote a lot more FUs to the front, adding more hairs to the hairline and sides, as the temporal angles and sides would have had to be recreated. I don't think that is a good idea considering my family's history of hairloss.
Anyway, I'm not going lower. I MAY add more hairs throughout the top and possibly round the hairline a bit -- very subtly. But I won't do that if they have to rebuild the sides.
For now, I'm happy with the progress. I've seen a lot of great looking NW2s. I'm not disappointed in that final state of my hair restoration.

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
-- The truth only matters if you know about it.

quote from TopJimmy, "IT PAYS TO WAIT WHAT YOUR TRUE MPB PATTERN IS"


That's all I am trying to tell people all along! I've had the same hairline, amount of hair, and thickness of hair since I was 19 (i'm 29 now). every male in my family has 1 of 2 hairlines:

1.) Full head of hair, or
2.) The hairline I have (NW2)

(and yes, arfy, my 80+ year old grandfather has "a teenage hairline" like you like to call it! oh wait, let me guess, he probably uses white toppik, right?)

so I am asking this: Is 10 years long enough to know? or should i wait till i'm 40 or 50 years old to do something?

Texas,
That's a tough one. I have a close friend who was kind of known for his thick head of hair. He started balding at the age of around 35 years and it became very noticable by 45 years. He's now 55 years and gone!

Personally, I would kill for the receded line I had at the age of 19 years. At the time, I thought it was the end of the world.

Hopefully, looking at your family history might give you a clue. As I'm sure you're aware though, this is no crystal ball. There is no guarantee. Maybe if you give your receded line a little more time, you won't mind it so much as you get older.

On the other had, maybe you could ask your grandfather where he get his "White Topik!"
Jim

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"Temples 'n Crowns Forever"

Uncjim's Hair Loss WebLog

Haha, thanks uncjim. you just never know with these things. I'm just gonna keep on researching this HT business a little further.

keep in touch

The answer is, you really truly never know when exactly is the right time to do an HT. How can you?
The warning to younger men doing HTs is not to be too aggressive and certainly give Propecia and Rogaine a chance first.
No one can tell you how to run your life. But certainly, it is better to hear criticism HERE than to go to a chop-shop or hair-mill and fall prey to their suggestions ("stay ahead of your hairloss", etc), which are clearly motivated by greed and not by your concerns. If your future is destroyed and they still get paid, they are still happy as hell with that. Will you be?
They play on fear. Better to play on knowledge than fear in my book. That's the only way to go forth with confidence and clarity of thought.

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
-- The truth only matters if you know about it.

Personally, I would recommend against lowering a Norwood 2 hairline, pretty much at any age.

-If you do lose more hair (at any age) you have a problem.

-the ultra-low hairline is not necessarily age-appropriate.

-For a Norwood 2, the surgery is not worth the expense, hassle and risk (see point 1).

If I was Norwood 2 I would use Propecia and be happy. I would not get cosmetic surgery.

arfy,
from what i have gathered from everyone here, with the exception of one or two people, is that an HT should be taken on a case by case basis. Period! Each person should be judged individually. there are no rules set in stone as to when, how, who and where to get an HT.

also, if you are thinking why i love to parry and joust with people is that this is part of my research. i can get a lot of feed back from people if i ask pretty tough questions or make some smart remarks. am i going to get an HT any time soon? probably not. you'll see that i'll end up with 500 to 700 posts before that happens,

Your first two points are valid, but I can't agree with your last point:

"For a Norwood 2, the surgery is not worth the expense, hassle and risk"

It is very subjective, and for some people properly closed temples, with nice angles ARE worth the hassle, risk, and expense (money should play no role in any case).

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic''. Arthur C. Clarke