jacksonbrowne

I see homeless people in my neighborhood all the time with full heads of hair. These guys smoke and drink all the time yet keep their mane. Plus looking at pictures of all the concentration camp ghettos in addition to starving peoples throughout the world. Those men lived in slave like conditions. Many of them skinny to the bone still sporting a full head of hair. There is no empirical evidence to support the assertion that Japanese men went bald at an accelerated rate after the introduction of a western diet sometime around the 1900's. Thus far it's just anecdotal evidence that has been perpetuated on the internet. Empirical evidence doesn't exist to support many of these assumptions of diet affecting hair. Yes diet has been shown to affect the quality of hair growth, but nothing to suggest that it causes MPB.

Don't like the side effects of Fin, i'm back on Rogaine again. After close to 7 months off Wellbutrin and heavy aspartame consumption, i'm going to wait it out a year to see the benefits. I thought that the benefits of getting an HT was so one doesn't need to mess around with pills and topical solutions.

Propecia for females? Not concerned that it hasn't been studied in depth for use in women or its long term effects? Snap a pic of just your hairline, don't worry, no one will be able to tell who you are. If you expect an answer, even a ballpark figure, anyone, medical professional or not, will need a baseline from which to judge. Otherwise, it's like trying to land a jumbo jet while flying blind.

I read up on SMP over a year ago. I'd shy away from it since it'd be hard to get rid of if I ever decided to shave my head. To all the hair loss experts, is this a realistic hairline given my state of balding?

Hi there Lukey, your pattern resembles mine very closely. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/156613-hairline-recession-age-3-31-need-opinions.html I was able to sweep it forward until around 28 when the central forelock started thinning. I tried a years each worth of propecia and avodart ditching both and rogaine sporadically. With the temples swept so far back, it makes your forehead look abnormally huge like mine.Best of luck to you and hope you're able to keep what you already have long term.

SMP? I usually buzz it off and you're right, sanity first. Because my temporal points are swept so far back, it looks like two flaps fluttering around chasing my frontal forelock. Hat is still my best friend.

This is my crown and top in 2005. Any signs of crown thinning in the picture?

It's now 2 years later. I thought things couldn't get any worse, but...... -Hairline remains the same. -Thinning significantly on top and in back. Frontal forelock remains. -Hair won't grow as long. Additionally, hair has thinned in the permanent zones as well. I'm surprised at how hair texture has changed from raw and coarse to thin and wispy. In 2010, I could sweep it forward and cover the enormous temple bald spots. That's no longer possible. A giant bald patch is forming along the crown area where the cowlick is. No bald spot, but the area is noticeably thinning and I can no longer comb it over. Since January (6.5 months) I have made some dietary changes along with discontinuing certain meds (Wellbutrin) I suspect of exacerbating the situation. I'm still on adderall (amphetamine) which is known to cause hair loss. -No more diet cola or any products containing aspartame (was drinking 3 litres/day diet soda) -Discontinued Wellbutrin. I've noticed that hair is growing in at a faster rate (globally) with some minor thickening in the temporal triangle area.I'm hoping that with the dietary and medicine changes, the permanent zones will grow back thicker and coarser and hopefully some improvement on top and in back.

Paul Teutel Sr. from the show American Chopper, owner of Orange County Choppers (OCC) has had an HT. It looks decent on TV, though somedays it appears thinner than others. At his age, his hair looks pretty thin, but it does look good. His son Paul Teutel jr, is quickly receding both on top and his temples. Jr., rarely takes off his cap and is obviously well aware of the situation. His haircuts in the early years were always kept a bit longer in front. http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/f/1/4/c/Paul_Teutul_Sr_cf62.jpg?adImageId=2194525&imageId=5949808

I'd like to reference this post where Bauman shares his thoughts and postulates (in 2007) that he prefers 'rounds out' the temple points more than Hasson & Wong. Some good work in this one. I guess it's a bit of negotiation with the hair doc but i'd definitely take a higher hairline with stronger temple points. I've observed many people in class, public and on the train to the point of being stared back and have found that I prefer a higher hairline with stronger temples than a lower hairline w/weak temples. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/154445-temple-point-restoration-when-%22safe%22-do.html

Thanks everyone for rallying and giving some great answers. I've developed a bit of an obsession with temple points and have noticed that great hair and strong temple points go hand in hand. MattJ brought up an interesting point, but from looking at photos and people iMO, strong temple points look good regardless of deep recession. Look at Jude Law vs. Phil Collins. The criminal Whitey Bulger. Look at Kevin Spacey who is in dire need of some temple point. Personally, I feel that the 'cove' effect like seen on Jude Law looks stronger than w/o.

At the risk of being criticized, i'm growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of input to my questions. Before posting a thread, I search these forums to avoid duplicate posts/threads and answer my own questions. Also, i've generally scoured the existing literature available on the internet. I've tried my best at maintaining etiquette on these forums, but so far have not been satisfied with the answers. Because opinions vary greatly amongst the medical field on Ht restoration guidlines I seek out opinions from HT specialists. Perhaps the mods/community can tell me how to best attract answers to my questions without directly resorting to PM'ing indivuals.

Why isn't more emphasis placed on the temporal peaks/triangle in HT's? my uniformed opinion is that temporal peak restoration helps balance out weak transplanted hairlines with minimal grafts necessary. My temporal peaks/triangles have always been thinner than the hair surrounding it. Sure there is a chance it could recede back, but from what i've gathered, it takes about 200 grafts to fill in the peaks and 400 to resculpt them. How come more docs don't emphasize it?

Thanks for the link, thats the kind of info i was looking for. Density varies along the strip from ear to ear, but say you extract a 10" strip by 1/2", thats 5sq inches of hair thats needed to cover much larger areas! It helps give a rough measure of how much donor vs how much recipient area that needs to be covered. I need a good 7-10sq inche in the temple area(s) alone so thats at least a 2:1 coverage ratio. i'd really love for someone to answer FUE vs FUT graft growth quality questio.

In general, what is the avg width of an a person with avg laxity? I'm trying to calculate some sq cm of strips taken out to see how much coverage that strip has to provide.

Could someone please answer the question of what to expect between on FUE vs FUT growth? thanks!

@NotUrAvg At the risk of being abrasive, you've made some dangerous and very naive assumptions. You sound like your new, but a spoonful of medicine is often hard to swallow. I'm glad you've found this place and heavily encourage you to read up, otherwise you'll end up like my mom's boss (true story). Most Respected? By who? Certainly not the AMA. Practically anyone can give presentations, workshops, whatever at these conferences including companies. The ISHRS is not some fraternity of elite HT docs. Don't put docs on a pedestal. They can do wrong. The ISHRS is filled with lots of elite docs yes, but also sprinkled with bad docs too. Reference Dr. Feller's excellent response (2nd one) with empahsis on points 1-5. After, reference Pat's reponse where he states that The ABHRS is NOT recognized by the AMA. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/146331-what-does-mean-abhrs-board-certified.html What does 'cutting edge' mean to you? NeoGraft machine is cutting edge. Actually many Docs use it for shameless plugs (pun intended) and get up on a soapbox. What about the marketing/advertisements by companies that sell products/tools/services to HT docs. What about the companies that sponsor these events?

Not a rule, but I feel that BALD PCP's are least likely to empathise or dish out lifestyle meds like Propecia. Get a male doc with a nice mane, or if female, make sure her husband has nice hair.

Ten years ago I was in the same spot. At an infosession, Robert Bernstein, MD told me in no uncertain terms he wouldn't even consider HT's for anyone under 25 except for NW7's. I asked him about medical breakthroughs like cloning and magic pills. All he could muster was Propecia. This showed me that he was no hair God, just a mortal like me. No ethical Dr. will work on you at your age. It's nothing personal.

What happens when you listen to your PCP? You con yourself into thinking the Kia you paid Lexus money for is better than the real thing because the brochure was prettier, salesman slicker, and at your mechanics uninformed opinion. Oh, and the coffee probably tasted better. My mom's boss did an HT last year after getting a referral to Robert Leonard from his PCP. Guy also visited 2 other local outfits with Mark DiStefano being head and shoulders above Bosley or Leonard. Guy actually referred to Leonard as 'the Lexus of HT's' and DiStefano as Toyota. Clearly glamor and glitz won over actual results.He told me in no uncertain terms not to consider anyone but Leonard. I threwup in my mouth a little at his suggestion. The reality? You spend $15,000 for an unknown number of grafts, far less than the 3000 from a first rate clinic. Your new hair looks oddly spaced and pluggy and you have no clue what a trychophytic closure or transection rate means. To add insult to injury, you rave about the 2 weeks of FREE low level laser therapy, and are DYING for another round with the SAME doc after seeing him on the 11 o'clock news demonstrating some new cutting edge whizbang machine called NeoGraft. (promotional link removed) If I do get a HT, i'll be sure to wear a hat around this guy at ALL times because I don't want to make this guy cry. Caveat emptor

Pictures are too subjective and dependent upon variables like a bad hair day, humidity, and hair length. It's also difficult to be truly objective since ones bias makes it exceptionally difficult to admit defeat in this area. I guess what i'd like to do is my own personal 'miniaturization study' as advocated by Rassman. The purpose is to establish a baseline and to quantify changes with treatment on different parts of the scalp.

Dr . Feller, Would it be correct to say that all things being equal, strip grafts result in 'better growth and consistency?' in a vacuum, Let's say you harvest and plant 1000 FUT grafts on one side of the head, and 1000 FUE grafts on the other. What differences will I see/notice? As a prospective patient, I understand yield isn't as high on FUE, but haven't read much in the way of quality of growth on grafts that were not killed. thanks!

When I have a cap on, I feel like Superman, when it's off, I feel like a chump.

You need to refine your question. Are you asking if transplanted hair grows at the same rate/thickness as it did before it was moved? Or are you asking if it grows at the same rate as the existing hair on your head?

I've done up close visual and tactile inspection by comparing different strands on my own head and with my brothers hair garnered from a shower drain. He has straight hair while I have wavy hair. It's easy enough to determine subjective measures such as refraction by holding strands up to a bright lamp, but visually determining which hairs are thicker and then trying to group them is like splitting hairs. My initial thoughts that a slide or glass cover with a micrometre ruler etched onto it would be a practical solution. Only difficulty I can think of is the shape of the cross section. I've come across an 'ocular micrometre' but I don't know the price. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_micrometer I also found a method measuring the refraction of a hair using a laser pointer. I haven't worked out the math to see what kind of variance result from errors in measurement, but it does seem prone to deviation. I'm pretty darn serious about this, and would like to be scientific about the accuracy part. Easy method FYSIKbasen Cool science page The Internet Foundation - Notes - FBI - Width of a Human Hair