TommyLucchese

At 5 months you've barely started growing - you'll be surprised how good a conservative hairline looks at 12 - 18 months when it's all grown out. Sit back and relax! There's a long way to go. £7.50 is a lot - what doctor did you go with?

I think you should take fin and minoxidil for a few years and see where you are then. You still have a lot of hair there, to me 2500 looks a lot for that area. Because your crown is thinning you need to be careful with using too many grafts on the hairline at a young age. One year of the meds and researching on this forum will do you a lot of good, and you'll be in a much better position to make a decision then.

Not twice, just once... minoxidil max 6% minoxidil with 0.5% finasteride once a day, three times a week, and usually one or two oral pills. I've only been doing this since October so haven't really got it all worked out yet...I don't think it's good to make drastic changes so I've tried to still do some rogaine foam and oral pill just while my body gets used to the new stuff. After my 3 month supply is over I'm moving to the stronger 7% minoxidil and 1% fin - that will probably be once a day 5 times a week and no oral pill. How long have you been buying from minoxidil max? To your original question - you don't want to put too much finasteride in your body so I wouldn't take that oral pill any more than once a week if you're still doing topical.

I'm taking that exact same product...I do once per day 3 times a week, with one oral pill a week just to ease the transition. I think you just need to try with and without the pill and maybe take photos to track if there's a change.

You look very similar to me 8 years ago. I had 2,000 grafts to rebuild hairline....I have no density problems and don't need another pass. It's a conservative hairline because I was only 23, so eventually I want to lower the corners a bit, but it's nothing to do with density or dissatisfaction at my result. I guess that, like me, you're more of a "routine" case for a skilled HT doctor and you'll get a result you're very happy with.

Actually if you do just make a drastic change and shave your head, it will make it less obvious that you were wearing a piece before. Grown out hair makes your hairline lower and covers up crown loss within reason....David Beckham had a thinning crown and receded/mature hairline when he shaved his head years ago. People won't question your old hair, they'll just be like WOW YOU LOOK SO DIFFERENT WITH YOUR HEAD SHAVED! And then you'll be free.

Don't believe I've heard the phrase "settled for Konior" before! Congrats on choosing one of the best doctors around....I'm sure it'll be a great result. Good luck with the long road ahead.

Brilliant thread......I really hope this can be it for you brother. Your hair with fibres is amazing, and in all of your post ops I just feel for you going through all this so many times. You've come a long way and you will definitely be a reference for many people in the future about BHT. Hopefully you'll be able to move on in 6 months and go enjoy life with a good head of hair again.

Looks good! Really jealous of that crown work too I wish I could get something very similar to yours right now. Good luck.

Lots of new hairs all over, even within my HT. The "corners" of my hairline are also starting to close up although the hair is not dark and thick right now....not sure if it will ever become that. I don't know if this is due to the meds or since I started dermarolling around the same time. I might be getting a side effect though - flaky forehead and light red markings over my face and forehead. Regular moisturising gets rid of it but it comes back after a while, even today when I haven't used any topical fin/minox for a week. Because of working from home I've spent more time in the sun this year than in the last 15 years, and I had noticed some very light flaking over the summer, so it could be related. I do get eczema on my hands so this isn't the first dermatology issue. I didn't get any redness or flakyness from years on rogaine foam though so perhaps it's a reaction to the liquid? Either way, I'm happy to keep moisturising (I did so every morning before going to the office anyway) to keep away these symptoms.

1mg propecia.... cut that into halves and take one half every 3 or 4 days. Basically, avoid putting 1mg daily into your body for 3 months or so until your body is used to it. Over time you can switch to the cheaper proscar but i think it's best to go with propecia to start with. i'm currently doing a topical fin and minox combo and it seems to be working well so it's definitely worth considering

Due to your age and level of loss, I'd say you have the potential for a "home run" kind of result as they're often referred to here....on the hairline at least. I recommend looking further afield than just your local area though, even if it means waiting longer to do it.

Nice! Seeing a difference already.

Good plan....perhaps it's even a little too conservative but I'd much rather do this than go straight into 1mg every day. I did something similar and experienced no sides at all....I was fine for 8 years until I took 6-9 months off then switched to a generic version 1mg daily and it ruined me. As you say, it may lose effectiveness over time, but my method of taking significant breaks has kept it as effective now as it was a decade ago. There's no science backing me up on this but it's worked for me - other switching to that god awful Aindeem. If you ever want to reduce the cost of Propecia then just do Proscar and avoid Aindeem.

No matter who it is you lean towards, it's always good to look around and consider others based on results and patient reviews.

Since October my HT has got thicker, I've got loads of new hairs growing all over including in between my HT hairline and in the corners. Unfortunately I made 2 changes at once so can't be sure the exact reason: I started dermarolling all over once a week, and switched to a topical fin/minox combo where I literally get it everywhere..including my donor area. My point is - 8 years after a very successful HT that still looked good - you can still do things to make it even better. I try not to think about 20 years' time if the meds stop working and it all turns to a disaster. But it's already been 15 years and there should be new and even better solutions out further down the line so fingers crossed.

I flew from London to New York for my HT 8 years ago...next time around I will go to either H&W or Hattingen. The UK seems to have a much better doctors now but the cost is the same as going to an elite surgeon elsewhere, which makes it a no brainer for me to once again not consider the UK. I saw an excellent Farjo case on an older gentleman recently but that seems the only WOW result I can recall. To me that generally seems his best type of patient - older and with reduced expectations.

Huge improvement already - looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

Amazing work... I think I'm sold on Hattingen for when the time comes. This is the first time I've seen a HT hairline as conservative as mine was (I was 23 so it was necessary). When grown out and brushed down / forward you'd never know how conservative it is.... yours looks amazing. Do you have a final result to post? And any updates on the crown / second procedure?

Not everyone does this. At my consultation with Dr Feller I asked how my donor was etc. and was just told that it was beautiful, perfect etc. without any specifics. That was perfectly fine for my 23 year old self having a conservative hairline rebuilt, but next time I want to know the details to be able to plan long term. You should request beforehand to have your donor analysed for this kind of detail to make sure you get it.

yeah this is why I said it's easy to be critical with photos....day to day in the real world I bet your hair looks great, especially with where you started from. You've won the main battle anyway - which is having it all grow in and restoring your hairline, it can always be refined later.

How's the crown looking? The hairline doesn't seem too natural to me but I could be wrong, it's easy to be critical of photos.

It has occurred to me that the reason I'm so active on these forums again is because I work from home now and see my hair in its most bare, natural state everyday. Until March, every morning I would shampoo and condition with thickening product, blow dry my hair, straighten it, use concealer on the crown, brush and style it then leave the house with rock star hair. Now I do a basic wash, let it dry naturally for the most part, and just sit home all day. Every time I go in the bathroom I see my crown, my hair isn't styled so I focus in on the conservative hairline HT from when I was 23. It's got me dreaming of maybe 800 grafts to lower the hairline and 2k grafts to restore the crown. Yet the few times I've gone out to the pub etc. and gone through my old routine I've been shocked at how great my hair looks after that process.... so I will probably wait another 5 years at least to go through a HT again. Anyway - that's my lockdown / hair story. What's yours? Has being home made you reevaluate your situation?

I do indeed but no pics... for what it's worth my results have held up very well and I'm very happy. Here's the thread anyway if you're interested (excuse my annoying writing style back then). How was your experience / results with Bloxham?

It made me not think about my hair.... 8 years of worrying and stressing about other things, but feeling good about my appearance. I'm only back now because of lockdown and working from home. I don't go through the usual morning routine of hair wash, blow dry, concealer, styling etc. so my crown area has got me interested in this again. In fact the few times I've gotten ready to go out like I used to every day, I've been shocked at how good my hair looks. Having a HT made me feel like my old self. Without lockdown I'd have been on this forum maybe once in the last 8 months instead of every day.