my son is going to have a veralex system in about 4 weeks placed on the top of his head. he's only 21 and is balding quickly on top. we shelled out $1,800 for the first whole session and now they want appr. $200 a month for upkeep. but his depression got so bad when he started balding, this seems to be the quick fix, and costly since we live paycheck to paycheck. any input would be so appreciated!
and happy easter everyone!

bijous-

Sorry to hear about your son. Hair loss can be very disheartening to experience. I encourage you to do some research on this forum using the "find" feature. You likely will not receive overwhelming support in having him opt for a hairpiece. They "can" look okay, but as you're finding out do require "maintenance" to look decent and even then it's hard for me to believe that any are undetectable.

So you'll be spending $2400 per year just to keep the hairpiece, correct? You may want to have him look into a hair transplant at a later date.............21 is pretty young to consider it since it's probably still difficult to tell how far his loss will progress. There is a pill he could try taking called Propecia (active ingredient Finasteride) which can drastically slow or halt hair loss in many cases......possibly even regrow some hair. Another proven product is Minoxidil which is a topical solution.

I encourage you to do more research before making a decision.

Best of luck to your son!

__________________
Hairbank

1st HT 1-18-05 - 1200 FUT's
2nd HT 2-15-06 - 3886 FUT's Dr. Wong
3rd HT 4-24-08 - 2415 FUT's Dr. Wong

GRAND TOTAL: 7501 GRAFTS

current regimen: 1.25mg finasteride every other day

My Hair Loss Weblog

Disclaimer: I'm not a Doctor (and have never played one on TV ) and have no medical training. Any information I share here is in an effort to help those who don't like hair loss.

My personal opinion is don't do it. If he's very depressed about losing his hair at a young age, then he may get even more depressed with a hair system because it's not real hair growing out of his head. It's just a wig. You can't run your fingers through it... well you can, but you won't feel your scalp, you'll be touching the mesh underlining of the hair system that is on your head. If he's depressed about his hair, he may be feeling like he's not good enough to date hot 18 to 23 year old women. If that's true then he'll be even more afraid to date them after he gets a hair system because he'll be always worried that they will touch his hair and find out.... and girls love to grab a guys hair when they make out. The pictures and brocures and stuff makes it look and sound great, but it's not.

Even though he's only 21 I would look into having a hair transplant session. What you want to do is try to thicken the area a bit without trying to make a low hairline or get too thick in one area. Depending on how much hair he has now, sometimes just a little overall thickening in the thinning areas will make him feel better and won't cause any problems later such as having too low a hairlne if he loses a lot more hair or having thick transplanted hair in one area and not enough donor area to transplant the rest. Sometimes just knowing there's a certain amount of hair on top that won't fall out can make a big difference in a persons outlook. Hopefully instead of thinking "I'll be bald in 2 years. Why bother to live?" will turn into "OK. At least I know I won't ever be completely bald and in a few years I can add more." It can give him something to look forward to and feeling like he can improve it over the years rather than thinking it just gets worse from here.

This is all coming from personal experience of what I went through when I had a hair system when I was 21 and my own opinions. I had the hair system for 7 months and was so glad to finally get rid of it.

Good luck.

is this the same thing used as "Virtual Reality" hair? their website really hypes and boosts up their method as being revolutionary in effectiveness....

http://www.virtualrealityhair.com/

Also, I truly empathize with you and your son; I, myself, am 21 and over the past ~15 months have really come to rue the state of my thinning hair.....it has been a serious detriment to my self-confidence and I've gone through various bouts of depression over it.

Best of luck, keep us updated!

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

bijous111, Has your son had an opportunity to view this site? I/We fully understand how hair loss affects the psyche of some more than others. However, there is also a group of men and women here that can support and assist him in dealing with this problem to some degree. The more your son continues to dwell on his trouble, the more he's apt to continue to spiral downward. I see that you are supporting him both psychologically and financially in dealing with this issue. But it's the men and women here that know all too well everything he's thinking. We've been through it. In your own subtle way, encourage hium to view the site and post as many questions as he likes. He will get the most honest and heart felt answers from experienced hair loss suffers just like him. It will, at least, help him realise he's not alone and it can provide him with a wealth of perspective. Good luck.

Don't do it. Got into a hair system in my 30's & became trapped in it for more than a decade. I will say, most of the time a good one looks good & undetectable BUT they will look bad more often then you might think. You will always be self conscience of wheather people know especially with respect with social situations with the opposite sex. Just cut you hair short, do a lot of research, & wait about 6 or 7 years. That way you can make a better choice, while saving for a possible permanent hair restoration procedure.

Hello

I too am a 21 year old, moderately balding male (NW 2-3 diffuse) and i know just how depressing it is, watching your precious hair fall off, making you look like a 45 year old.

I had a 1650 graft transplant done last months, and so far i have no regrets. Having an intact, albeit diffuse hairline, is going to make it easier to achieve a full, lasting look.

As time goes, its likely that i will need another transplant, but its going to look more gradual than someone with a receeded hairline, and a full head of hair behind it. I did not touch my moderately receding temples, due to this reason.

I am currently on finasteride and minoxidil, and im going to use revita soon, and im hoping to grow some of my native hair back too, especially in my crown, which was left untouched from the procedure.

Hopefully this example is helpful to you and your son.

I would not advice something like hairsystem/dermatch, i wouldnt be comfortable as a young man, with something artificial as this.

__________________
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11/04-07 - 800-1600 ish grafts - danish clinic - poor results

12/02-08 - 2764 grafts - Dr. Devroye - good result but needs hairline density

03/12-10 - 1429 grafts - Dr. Mohmand - result pending

Feel free to visit my picture thread

My Hair Transplant Photos - Surgery with Dr. Devroye

Young lads below 25 unite!

Hair systems are all the same one way of another.. I think it is a short term answer to a long term problem AND quite costly. I would rather shave my head than wear a rug.. Too much anxiety involved wearing something fake.

__________________
JOBI

1417 FUT - Dr. True
1476 FUT - Dr. True
2124 FUT - Dr. True
604 FUE - Dr. True







My views are based on my personal experiences, research and objective observations. I am not a doctor.

Total - 5621 FU's uncut!

i can understand older guys wearing a hairpiece but in my opinion i dont think any guy under 30 should wear one

Hi

I am a female in her thirties and i have had a hair system for over 10 years. OK i agree, it is not great. Yes I don't like it and i am always aware of it (although i cannot feel it unless it physically touch it). There are more pros than cons for me as at the moment I have a lovely long hairstyle which I would not have other wise. I have suffered from hair loss since i was a teenager so I know what grief it brings. It isn't cheap and I can' really afford it but my life would dreadful without it.

For women suffering with being bald, I think it is a good option.