GreatPelo

s2thoudriver, In the last 15 years, I too have learned and read a great deal of information as a patient...and also have been a consultant for 10 years in the industry. I have done consultations for thousands of patients, which gives you the opportunity to really learn who's a candidate for a certain method...and who's not. On a young patient with an aggressive hair loss pattern, it may not be in the best interest of the patient to perform an FUE surgery considering it starts to scar, whether you see them or not, his donor area. IF that patient, along the years, keeps coming back for more surgeries, which he will need, he starts to put more scars between the dot scar, thus resulting in a difused look in his donor area. So while trying to help him get density in his front/mid/crown areas, he now has to deal with a difused look in his donor. If he chooses FUT, he will have a linear scar..and one that may need FUE on it to hide later on, but the rest of his donor area will not be jeopardized. It will be as thick and dense as the day he was born. So although I think FUE is a great option, the above is just an example of a patient that is NOT A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR FUE. As far as the doctor who stated FUE is not for everyone, he was actually one of the doctors on the initial board for the ARTAS...go figure!!! Even though he feels the FUE is great, it becomes a dangerous thing when recommended TO ALL PATIENTS!

All FUE leave dots....skin pigmentation on FUE patients proves it. There's a great article by a very respected HT doctor that covers how FUE doctors are using this method on ALL methods and what a huge mistake it is. FUE is good...but not for everyone....same for FUT. To umbrella FUE for everyone is irresponsible.

s2thoudriver, Although I agree that FUE has its benefits, making a statement like "To put it simply... FUE has moved on, anyone still doing strip hasn't" is going overboard. So you would recommend FUE to a NW5 and above who has limited donor and is going to be further limited by scarring up his donor area with dots scars all over? This can even make his donor area look difused........ I think that was an overzealous statement if you ask me.....

If you follow post operative instructions, scabbing should be gone within 7-10 days, however, if you're totally bald in the area, you will have some redness for a few weeks. It will look like if you were at the beach and got some sun. Whether you do FUE OR FUT it will be the same, since the transplanted area process is the same for both methods. If you wear your hair just long enough, no one will see the linear scar. Finding the right surgeon is key. Get someone experienced...not just a part-time "hair doctor" that buys the Neograft machine and uses their before/after pictures when in fact they don't have much experience. Do your research!

Let's slow down and start from the beginning. First, the difference between FUE and FUT is only the harvesting method...nothing else is different. So as far as a natural looking hairline, that will depend on you choosing the right surgeon and team who will make your experience and results great. The FUE does not deliver a more natural result...it's the perfectly imperfect work of the surgeon, making the slits in the right angles, and the techs inserting the grafts correctly that will result in a natural looking frontal hairline. Second, the fact you're female and odds are you'll never wear a GI JANE hairstyle (military short), the linear scar will never be seen and you'll even forget you have one. Also, FUE leaves scarring...dot scars. So if you've read FUE leaves no scarring, it's not accurate. I think FUE is a great method of harvesting and you do have that option, but you will pay a great deal more. The questions will be: is it necessary?? Third, how do you know you need 3000 grafts? Have you visited at least 2-3 hair restoration specialists yet? If not, depending on doing research online in order to find all the answers to your questions can result in a great deal of frustration. Make sure you visit hair surgeons who only do hair in order to get solid recommendations. I don't recommend you go to a plastic surgeon or other who offer a plethora of services, including hair restoration. They will not be as experienced as a hair doctor who has specialized in hair for many years. Please take your time and do your homework. Best of luck!

Hard to study actual before/after results considering patient has a very tight hair cut in his before pictures and then has let his hair grow out in his after pictures. He's made improvements....but pictures can actually be deceptive (not saying it was done on purpose) when first looked at.....

Any medical therapy you try will take at least 6 months to start seeing its effectiveness. Patients use it for life or as long as they care to maintain hair. If you stop, your body goes back to its normal genetic state. You have a strong pattern of hair loss...take your time and play your cards right.

Finasteride (which is the most effective to slow down hair loss) gave you a side effect so you're going to try minoxidil instead? And you're considering a small hair transplant? If you start down the path of hair transplant and continue to lose, which you will, you might never have enough donor to cover your balding area, thus a moderate transplant may not give you a natural look later and then not be able to shave your head because of scarring. Be careful..........

I'm not a doctor but have been learning and involved in the hair restoration industry for the past 15 years. Medical therapy is very important. The only scientifically proven options to help slow down hair loss is Finasteride and Minoxidil. Adding laser therapy can be slightly helpful, although not the best of the 3 options. PRP is not proven to help hair and too expensive ($2-3k for each session) with no guarantee of results, so I would side step that option. Also, find a very experienced hair restoration doctor, who specialized in hair restoration, not one that does hair and 5 other cosmetic surgeries. With their guidance plus your medical therapy, you will be led down the right path. Make sure the doctor is not "trigger happy" about surgery, but instead puts your best interest first, no their pocket. Best of luck!

I agree with Mickey85.

Hair loss is progressive. To tell a patient at your age that they'll only need 1 or 2 hair transplant surgeries is irresponsible. Everyone's case is different. Some keep losing hair aggressively while other go through a slow process of hair loss. Nevertheless, No patient has all of a sudden stopped losing hair at 25. It keeps going either fast or slow. By taking part in medical therapy, you are hitting the brakes!! Slowing down the process....but never totally stopping it. Since you're only 21, you have to be on therapy for a few years to see it's effect in order to make the decision down the road if hair transplant will make a difference. Be patient!

Most first time patients see their end results by a year. Seven months is still to0 early. You are definitely in a wait and see mode....while continuing your medical therapy. No doctor is going to tell you to wait 18 months if a patient wants a second surgery....so most growth occurs at the year mark. Adding 3 months end results for each additional procedure. Best of luck!

What did the doctors tell you during your consultations? You are only 21 and a future Norwood 5 on the hair loss table. You need to play this smart and not put yourself in a corner in the future. What I mean by that is if you start surgery too early and then realize you still have aggressive hair loss and may never catch up, you might get stuck in the middle and then not be able to shave your head later or look funny with limited results. Step by step my friend.

djangountrained, First of all, slow down! You should be asking "can someone refer an experience hair restoration doctor so I can have a consultation?" Don't rush into surgery. You are very young and first need to focus on hair therapy to slow down your hair loss process. Can you include pictures??? Best of luck!

ptuser, I agree with Jotronic, Neograft gives these pictures to doctors who purchase their machine in order to show some results, considering they have NO EXPERIENCE!!! Also, Dr. Finger is now connected with Dr. Bassin, who is an ophthalmologist (go figure) from Florida who does cosmetic work and has terrible patient reviews all over the net. Patient Beware with doctors who are jumping on the Neograft bandwagon with no experience and hire techs to do all the work (if you want to check if this is true, do a Google search on independent FUE techs and read their listings. They have no shame in stating they do the surgery from A to Z, including harvesting and making sites, which is illegal for them to cut into skin). Also, they all pay Neograft, aside from the $85k cost of the machine, a $1/graft royalty back to the company. Guess who pays for that???? PATIENTS!! There are other FUE tools that can give great results and even better than the Neograft. It's not the tool that delivers a great result, it's the DOCTOR's artistic skill that makes the difference! You owe it to yourself to do more research and come up with better options. Best of luck!

Hairlos9718, You seem to have a pattern of a future NW5...which means you may have hair loss from front to crown. I would consult with a hair loss specialist, especially considering how young you are. I WOULD NOT recommend PRP...its ratio of success is still very low, not to mention its cost and no guarantees. I would get started on medical therapy such as minoxidil and Finasteride and consider a hair transplant in a few years, if medical therapy slows down the hair loss pattern. Considering your pattern of hair loss in such a young age, do not pull the trigger on Hair Transplant just yet. Best of luck!

Both minoxidil and propecia have been found to be more effective in the mid to crown areas, however, propecia (finasteride) has shown some positive effect in frontal area on some patients. Consult a doctor and let him/her know you'd like to get started on Finasteride. It comes in a 5mg form and you can cut it into 1/4 for your 1mg daily dosage. Very economical this way... Best of luck!

Well, Propecia 1mg use to cost about $80/month but it went generic....but it runs about $30-40/month now. You still save quite a bit of money by splitting the 5mg and take 1/4 pill daily.

I agree with above statements about taking your time and doing your homework before making your decision, however, with all due respect to the blog, just because a doctor isn't a member of the blog or never chooses to be doesn't necessarily eliminate them from being good either. The common denominator is to do your homework and make sure you choose someone with great results! Best of luck!

Hi Zsharp, There are a few vitamins that certainly, such as biotin, zinc, saw palmetto, etc. One specific vitamin that has shown to strengthen hair is Viviscal. It's not cheap (about $40-50/month) but has shown some nice results. However, vitamins do not block the hair loss gene. So it's important that patients do something to block the hair loss gene while feeding them vitamins.

Hi Pulp, You should consult your doctor on this. I consume 1/4 pill daily and it's worked for me. If your method is working for you....then I wouldn't try to fix what works for you! All the best!

$9 for 30 Finasteride 5mg pills. Since we break them up in 1/4....those 30 pills turn into 120 pieces (4 months supply). When you divide $9 by 4 months...you're cost is only $2.25 per month.

I rather get another procedure for density if you ask me. But it seems that HairFunk is getting a Freebie...but still have to be careful with adverse effect considering not all is known yet about PRP. Best of luck!

Go to ISHRS.org and type in PRP in their search box. You'll find a great article that says It's been shown to help athletes with tissue injuries but not yet enough evidence on its effect on hair. Patient Beware!

Hi Hank, PRP has only been proven to improve damaged tissue in athletes and such. However, there is not enough evidence to conclude that PRP helps with hair or scarring. Go to ISHRS.org and type in PRP in their search box. You'll get a great article about PRP...it's benefits and hype. I would only use PRP if the doctor is throwing it in free during a hair transplant. I would not pay $2-3k for something that is not proven and that doctors have you sign a disclaimer saying it's worked on some patients but not guaranteed to work on you. Patient beware! The two ways to reduce a strip scar is a scar revision and/or transplanting FUE grafts on it.