Are all of the post surgery forum members in the upper 15% of the income strata?

After gobs of research, I fail to see how the working class or the middle class afford hair restoration via surgery. Are there that many rich folk posting here?

Consultations with the Bosley people in New York and a private surgeon in Ontario reveal that my baldness would take appox 4000 grafts at five bucks per. That's a staggeringly amount of $$. I make ten bucks an hour.

Your right it is a costly affair. Im also not earning a great amount of money but definately considering a HT by way of getting a loan and financing with credit cards. I would obviously make sure i can keep up with the payments before doing it, but i dont think you can put a price on the happiness , peace of mind and potentially life changing thing a HT can bring you!

I don't make a lot of money but still financed my hair restoration 3 years ago.. Don't do it!!! if you cant afford to repair, as I cant...Stop! I am sure if I had the money to continued I would be more comfortable with my own results but I cant. I wish I just shaved my head ,even though I don't have the best head for it..I no longer have that choice. Just regrets.

Unfortunately hair transplant is a relatively costly procedure. Most cosmetic procedures, however, are costly. I don't think hair transplants are ridiculously expensive but I do understand the frustrations people have about the sacrifices they have to make to get one.

To put things in perspective, however, you could probably get one or two really good hair transplants from a reputable surgeon for the price of a fairly average car. If you smoke you could probably finance your HT on the savings you made if you quit. I guess it's about priorities and sacrifices. If you really want a HT you have to be comfortable with not having some other pleasures.

Whilst I sympathise with creepingback I wouldn't share his total objection to hair transplantation. It's incredibly unlikely you'd need repair work if you spent a little extra cash and went with a reputable coalition surgeon (and discussed your ambitions in detail). It is, however, likely you'd need more than one surgery in the long term to meet your goals, so that needs to be considered. Research and planning are the key to making the most of your money however. You need to find the best surgeon, come up with the best plan and have the most realistic ambitions to realise your hopes.

Cost should never be the main factor in your decision but there are coalition doctors who are well recommended that charge rates that may be more favourable to your financial situation. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, though, that HTs are always going to cost money and if you try and find the discounted places then you'll really come to regret it!

My advice is to just keep saving and keep researching. Over the next few months you'll probably find some options that seem a little more affordable and you might be able to accumulate some savings. If you can finance the rest on CCs or loans (sensibly) then it just comes down to whether you want to part with the cash.

Transplants tales bandied about here discuss graphs (sp?) ranging from four to eight bucks per. Say $5.00 per in my case. With me requiring at least four thousand, that's a whopping twenty grand. Name a bank that will loan even half that amount to someone at my income level.

Credit cards? Put 15K on a card with 14-17% interest along with a loan for five grand? How long to pay off at ten bucks an hour. Tell me, please!, that the vast majority of those that got surgery didn't pay that way!
My point is this is a forum for the nouveau riche.

If you're making $10 per hour, I don't see how you can afford a hair transplant. Hair transplantation is FAR more expensive than other forms of plastic surgery, and unlike breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, etc., for most people the first surgery is not the last surgery. Only get the surgery if you're certain that you can afford it now, and can afford what may be required in the future.

If you can scrimp and save for a number of years then you might be able to consider it, but unless you see a major raise in your future, I'd forget all about hair transplantation.

I feel for you thunderball so I'll give you a serious answer. Coming up with 20 grand hardly means you are the nouveau rich. Yes, it's a lot of money. But $10 an hour puts you squarely in the lower income bracket. It's not like you're knocking on the middle class door and this is still out of reach.

At $10 an hour after taxes you're not even bringing home 20 grand a year. Find a better job, go back to school, do whatever it takes to improve your economic situation and then, maybe, think about getting an HT. An HT can be a good thing but it can also be a disaster. If you're not financially prepared for more surgery and a lifelong proscar prescription you shouldn't even be considering it.

i totally agree with mahhong while HTs are defn not cheap, they are not incredulously expensive either. I gather that the emotional set back of losing hair outweighs the joy of maybe owning a higher spec car or along the likes of that. Of cos, that is only my opinion!

Next, its also abt expectations. Look, hair gone is gone. Unless u r a NW 1 ( in which prob a gd surgeon would advise u to wait anyway ), its v v hard to get back the kind of density u sprout in ur youth. Hence, if u are in a NW 3 and beyond with fine hair ( which is my case ), u can forget about getting that Brad Pitt-look alike hair u dream of. Its just to implant enough to have an illusion that u are not balding, thats all. If u cannot come to terms with that, HT is not the way for u either as u will nvr be satisfied

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View my hair loss website. Surgery done by Doc Pathomvanich from Bangkok http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=1730

Thunderball,

I'm sorry that you feel this forum (and hair transplantation in general) is reserved for only the rich. In my personal opinion, it's actually a fairly affordable procedure when compared to the pricing of normal cosmetic operations (facelifts from world-class surgeons can cost upward of $20,000). The point of the hair loss forums is patient education and creating an environment where individuals can research, share stories, gain support, and make informed hair restoration decisions. If you have any suggestions for making the forums more user friendly, or creating a more welcoming atmosphere, please let me know! Thanks.

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Blake (Future_HT_Doc)

Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

Thunderball,

I'm far from wealthy but I guess being single with no kids helps me divert my funds where I choose. That said, I still haven't paid for either of my hair transplants. They are just digits on a credit card statement.

My former fiancee was trying to squeeze a $15,000 ring out of me so after we split I considered myself in the black!

About three years ago I had corrective jaw surgery after three years of braces. The combined total for all of that cost more than my transplants although, to be fair, a small portion of that was covered by insurance.

Fortunately for me, I've come full circle. My transplants led to me being hired by the Hair Transplant Network which, in turn, is going to help me pay for my transplant!

How cool is that?

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant

I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

View my Hair Loss Website