BenUK

Thanks Garageland! Knowing the importance of them now will certainly motivate me to keep at them once I've booked my surgery.

I've decided to go down the Finasteride route but not sure where to buy the generic stuff in the UK. I only want a months supply at first to see how I get on with them side effects wise,all being well I'll then be on them full time. I saw some people mentioning a Dr in the UK who helps out but he only does 6 month supplies minimum. So can anyone recommend a good online site that they have used and trusted? Would be very grateful. Many thanks....Ben

And as an aside.....would I be right in thinking that if a patient was having a FUE procedure that scalp laxity is not an issue, it's only in strip surgery where laxity is an advantage?

Thank you Dr for such an in depth reply to my question. May I ask one more question then regarding laxity of the scalp. Scalp Exercises: How much do they work in reality? If someone has a non lax scalp and performed an hours worth of exercises every day for say 4 months would that achieve much greater laxity and inturn result in more grafts? Or will being diligent in the exercises still only result in a small increase in laxity? Many thanks

Thanks for the reply RCWest, that gives me a little more hope Yes I'm completely new to all this ( surgery that is not hair loss unfortunately : ) You know how it is when you want something you can think of negative reasons of why you won't be able to get it, like my head will not be elastic enough,or i'm bound to get shock loss or not have good enough quality donor hair etc. Anyway,I shall contact another clinic for another opinion. Thanks.

Hi wb280 I checked out your pictures before whilst researching Dr. P, looking good man,looking good! I never tried the drugs route,finasteride etc. I was always sceptical and didn't bother taking them however after reading this forum I think maybe I should have. Anyway looking forward to seeing your photo updates. Ben

Sorry to hijack but I have a similiar question. I sent some photos to a HT clinic and they wrote back saying they thought that they would be able to harvest between 2000-2400 grafts. It seems that the minimum other people are doing in their HT surgery is 3000/3500 so would there be any point in me going ahead with a procedure if I can only have that ammount of grafts? I only want my frontal area done for now but still,would so few make much difference? Have my dreams been shot down before they have begun? Many thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi Everyone, I have a question that I hope you can answer. How can you test your own elasticity in the scalp? I mean is it just a case of seeing how much you can pinch between your fingers or when HT surgeons do this do they use some kind of device? I ask because I'm at the start of my journey towards surgery but my skin on my scalp feels tight and thin, I can't pinch enough to be able to lift it, if that makes sense,( unlike my stomach where I can pinch a whole lot more then I'd like ). Many thanks in advance, so glad I found this site.

I'm new to the forum but so happy to be in a place where others are experiencing the same up and downs as me, it can be tough. It's funny, when I started receding in my early 20's I thought "I wish I had the hair I had in my teens", then when I started thining in my early thirties I thought "I wish i had the receded hair of my early 20's" and now I'm balding all over I think how I would have been satisfied with the thining hair I had! I never thought I would get this bald! My situation is slightly different though. My head has a lot of moles on it and I find them really ugly to look at so I want a HT to cover them up as much as anything else. If it wasn't for them I would probably just shave my head and accept my looks or atleast it would be easier to do so. It's hard looking in the mirror and knowing you look older and less attractive then you could be. I would say I think about my hair loss all through the day, don't like having my photo taken without a hat, all the things some of us have faced but I don't let it get me down too much,it cetainly hasn't made me depressed as such, I still do things I wat to do, travel,go out with friends. It's only hair-loss! it doesn't make me a bad person or duisgusting,just a bit uglier : )) I tried Toppic but although it looked good ( back when I had enough hair for it to work ) I don't like the idea of getting a crutch because you can't live without them once you begin using them. I wear my cap a lot and look good with one on but then it's embarasing taking it off, so I tend not to wear it too often. Better people know what I look like from the start as opposed to surprising them later! I think people who wear hats all the time draw more attention to the hair loss because people know why you are wearing it constantly and then snigger. Better to be open,even make a joke of it. I recently got divorced so dating is hard but I've had sucsess,but not as much as I'd like. I agree with what others have said though about women and confidence, doesnt matter if you are bald or not really. I would say if it wasn't for my sexual deires my hair loss would mean nothing to me, i mean if I was in a male only world, prison etc I don't think I could care less, although ofcourse I hope I never test this theory! Anyway I have decided to have a HT ( probably with Dr.Path ) sometime next year. I'm lucky though in the fact that I'm not expecting miracles i.e a big full head of luxurient hair, but will be happy with enough to hide my moles better ( which are mainly at the front ) and a better frame for my face. Not too bothered about the crown, I could convert to Judaism and where a skull cap! ( I actually investigated which religions wear hats so that I could have an excuse to wear one but thought that a Sikh's turban on a white man would look too funny : )) Anyway great to find this forum, look forwards to getting to kno some of you better. Ben