MAGNUMpi

Hard to say if this was a good result.

djohnson,

It's sort of a slippery slope. MPB is progressive. If you get 1600 graft FUE next month you are going to need another HT down the line for sure. The native hair behind the transplanted hairs will eventually fall out without the help of propecia. This will means that is 5 years you'll have some hair in front and be in dire need of "round 2" to make it look natural again. etc, etc.

I actually think you should go for 2000-2500 now to get a solid result. I would also consider at least trying propecia first and see if you get the side effects. If you don't get the side effects your'e good to go and can expect the propecia to help hold your native hair for years longer.

Without propecia I would imagine you would be getting multiple HT's down the line. I dont know your age but consider your 50's and 60's. You won't want to look strange then either.

You also look like you have thin(ish) hair caliber. Maybe it would be smart to postpone your HT fr now and really do some serious research for the next few months before taking the leap.

Just my 2 cents.

Some good points. I think a lot more than 3 percent have some native on top. Fortunately, I do think that a modern transplant can look natural IF a proper hairline is done. Not saying that the much older will have super dense results, but it should be natural.

You're right. I should have said "a small percentage". Good to hear your thoughts and glad they are positive.

Stay strong Lorenzo. I always enjoyed reading your posts, they were fair, knowledgeable and well written.

Good luck buddy.

Probably the lack of concern/dialogue for the 30 year result.

I sat behind a guy on an airplane the other day who was now a NW 6. completely shaved head and a big nasty FUT scar. I looked at his top area and could tell that at some point he probably was hoping that coverage was possible. He was wrong. There was not enough space on the back of his head (normal head). He never had a chance.

When the native hair all goes, unless we are genetically predisposed to be a NW2 or 3 there might not be enough in back to make us look natural.

He was completely shaved down with a big high necked jacket trying to cover that scar. Not a place anyone wants to be.

I wonder if the only people who are really going to be ok in the long run will be the 3% who even in old age still have some native hair on top. The others might very well be looking strange with rice stalks in front, and a depleted and/or over harvested donor area.

I see a lot of guys on here who are going to be NW5 putting 2000 grafts up front and thinking everything is good. That is a short term band-aid at best.

This should be a major concern because the short term turns into the long run pretty quick in life.

Change plans and visit India. See the sights. Explore the country. Don't get the HT.

Then go home and get on Fin. Wait a year or 2. See where you are then. Good luck.

Fin really slowed down my hairloss over the last 7 years. I try to take it every day but sometimes miss a day or 2. I think I remember reading that it only stays in your system for 24 hours (but I could be wrong). It would be great to cut down to M-W-F.

The hairline doesn't look very natural to me. I know it's thin hair and that limits the illusion but just not my cup of tea.

Obviously an improvement, but hard to really tell because it's combed forward and styled for coverage in all the "after" pics.

Great result with FUE. Looks very natural. Bravo.

Great coverage with that FUE.

I didnt know that it sometimes isnt possible to FUE around a scar = less grafts for FUE after FUT. Interesting.

I do hope he has more grafts in the bank for the future though. He's only 31. Any native on top wont be there for long.

Again the fUE looks really good.

Wow. Great work. Very nice looking result. Looks natural!

I would suggest first doing some online consultations, finding a few doctors that sound like they can help, and then going in person to consult with them. It might cost a bit for the flights but you will get this sorted out. Most likely you can find someone to make the hairline a bit higher or do a great job filling in above the existing hairline. You are in the game now. It will take some time and effort but you will look good in the end. Most patients end up doing 2+ HT's. It's part of the nature of progressive balding repair. Don't give up hope, you just need a bit more work.

Naturalness is everything. Clean work. Bravo.

I think something you have to remember is that finasteride/dutasteride rarely truly "halt" hairloss. For most men they slow down the rate of hairloss, sometimes significantly, so that for example the amount of hair you would lose over one year naturally may take 3 or 5 or even 10+ years with finasteride. This makes planning procedures and producing consistent, cosmetically acceptable results easier. The more aggressive your balding, the less likely finasteride is to slow the hairloss over time, but for some men that perhaps only have moderate balding, the drug can significantly slow hairloss, so that you might have in your 50s or 60s the hair you were going to have in your 30s or 40s.

 

The bottom line is, though, that for most men hairloss will still continue. It's unlikely that finasteride is losing its effectiveness, it's just that you're not blocking all the DHT and those hair follicles are still "under attack" somewhat because of that (we need DHT, so the drug only blocks about 70% of it). If you were to stop taking fin/dut, you'd likely notice a pretty significant loss of hair, so the drug is still probably working, it's just not a perfect solution.

 

The honest truth about surgical hair restoration is that, once you're on the boat, you're on the boat. Essentially all men, no matter how stable their hairloss seems, must commit to the idea that they may need more than one surgical procedure to meet their goals over time and that, ultimately, even on treatment, their hairloss may progress to the point that they cannot cover every cm2 of their balding with the available donor.

 

That's why most doctors will focus on building a decent density hairline and move back naturally into the midscalp, with much less focus on restoring the crown with any density. That way, if the day comes that you do age and continue to bald, you'll likely have a pretty good hairline and midscalp with a natural fade back towards a bald or thin crown - this will look natural and will likely happen fairly slowly over time. Of course, multiple surgeries down the road could continue to correct further loss - the idea with finasteride is that it will either limit the amount of surgeries you need or significantly extend the amount of time needed between surgeries, so that you may need 2 or 3 over 20 or 30 years instead of 5 or 6.

 

That's also why good doctors will be hesitant to chuck 5,000 grafts into 70cm2 of balding, particularly in younger men. Further loss is always possible, probably even likely in the fullness of time, so a good doctor will focus on rebuilding your hair with maybe 3,000 - 5,000 grafts and try to leave a couple of thousand in reserve for the "rainy day" fund, which is usually needed if the sides of your hair drop or the crown opens up significantly over time and you want to touch those up.

 

Your position sounds like a tricky one; on the one hand it's a positive situation because it sounds like fin/dut is working and you still have a pretty significant amount of hair, which is great. The downside with that is surgical restoration becomes more tricky - you're probably wanting to use a few thousand grafts wisely to build and thicken up a mature hairline and thicken up the mid-scalp a little. The reality is, though, if you do this, you almost certainly need to commit at least to the possibility of more surgery down the line to address further loss - and you also need to plan conservatively and assume the areas that are thinning will one day be gone. Then, with a good doctor you can estimate how much donor you're likely to have in total, how much balding is theoretically possible, and come up with a plan that meets your goals without compromising the basic supply/demand issue common in restoration.

Well said.

The shape of your hairline looks much better now. Im guessing that's what you were going for. The HT worked well for that.

What part are you unhappy with?

I agree with others you should wait until 18 months. It'll give you more time to rest before considering another HT.

If you do go for more grafts I would suggest flying to a TOP doctor and being sure he doesnt make the hairline too straight. Talk to him about doing a sort of zig zag so it looks natural when grown out.

You have great hair and can get this all sorted out well with some smart planning.

But first take a well deserved break.

is folliculitis basically random pimples on your scalp?

Good question, and one that really everyone should consider. We all hope to live to a nice happy old age and not have a HT scars showing through. But what happens in 10-15 years if Fin stops really working?

I guess it would be best to be sure you have AMPLE donor supply because you might be needing that to cover things up in the future. That being said, I notice a lot of older men 60+ who have very thin donor area, basically if they are losing on top they are also eventually thinning out in the donor area also.

Something to consider because even as an older man you dont want to be looking strange with sprouts in front and nothing backing them up.

So sorry to read this thread.

Dr. Doganay sounds like a crook.

I know that when I get my HT one day there will be no techs working on me.

No how, no way. Too risky.

Sorry about your poor results. Hope you get it sorted out eventually.

That looks really dang good!

I think his HT looks terrible

https://v.cdn.vine.co/r/thumbs/0116E...9hd8k58XN.MuPF

That looks really bad to me.

100% detectable.

Very nice. How's the donor area looking?

Awesome. Nice work!

You cam to the right place tbone. There is a wealth of knowledge on this site and a lot of people who have gone through the same thing. I'm sure you'll get some great answers here.

The transection rate in this case looks to be about 3%

If FUE gets up there next to FUT regarding transection rates, big scars will be a thing of the past and hair restoration will take a step forward.