mattj

You might regrow some of the lost hair, but the drugs are far better at maintaining what you have than regrowth, so don't expect to. If it isn't noticeable yet then I would really advise you to try and stop worrying. You've caught it early and you do stand a good chance of putting a halt to, or significantly slowing, the hairloss.

I am assuming that Sebolac is the shampoo commonly known as Nizoral, which is a mild anti-androgen. It's good that your derm knows about this. Studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that it can help. There's no reason why you shouldn't use regular shampoos on the days when you don't use that.

Not sure about the minoxidil - I haven't tried it.

I'm an advocate for the mature-ish hairline, and I think it will suit your head/face especially well.

How long have you been losing hair for? If it's been dropping for a while like you say then you've been lucky considering you haven't taken propecia.

Anyway, good growth to you. You picked a good time of year with winter being the best time to keep hidden under hats. Come next summer you should be sporting a fine head of hair.

It would've been a legendary game if his mullet wig flew off during a final.

What exactly is it that you don't like about your transplant?

I don't know who this doctor is or whether he's any good, but there's nothing contained in your summary of the conversation which raises any red flags. It's good that you're shopping around though. It's vital that you choose a doctor based on reputation rather than convenience.

I don't really remember that far back. Did he always wear it long like in the photo? He looks better bald.

Balboa, have you shown us photos?

I doubt if risk is an important factor. Most men probably aren't really aware of what technology can offer these days, and those who do look into transplants probably for the most part are exposed to the more famous, less ethical doctors who don't really communicate the risks to them.

Plus I don't really think transplants are risky enough that they would be avoided by large numbers of bald men who could otherwise afford the procedure. There is risk but many men are prepared to take a chance to restore their hair and with a good doctor the chances of success are high.

I think for many rich men it's a matter of embarrassment, especially if they are in the public eye and everybody is going to know and talk about the scalp transformation.

Originally posted by azn_guy_001:

I keep looking at the photos and considering that I'm asian, I'm now a bit scared to even consider a HT.

 

Considering that this patient had quite a bit of existing hair, does anyone have any comments about how to approach patients with existing hair?

 

I still have quite a bit of hair just like chanyouzhe does. I guess it's really up to the HT surgeon to ensure he doesn't kill the existing hair.

 

Still, very scary and I have not seen A LOT of solid HT for Asian men (oriental decent, not indian). ==> I guess it's all numbers games, asian are definitely a minority on this forum.

 

I did see one on H&W, but that dude already had a lot of existing hair, he didn't even need a HT

 

Latin Lotus, where are you?

There have been Asian patients from various doctors over the years I've been on HT forums. There is certainly no reason why an Asian man should especially fear getting a transplant; the risks are the same for you as they are for anyone else. (Although I think African hair can be trickier due to it's tightly curled nature, but there are black HT patients out there too)

I think the relative lack of Asian patients is most likely due to Asians being a minority in the West, where most of the transplants take place (At least the ones we see online) and it is also a fact that fewer Asian men loose their hair to begin with.

Dr Rahal will be presenting an Asian patient on this board very soon.

I could be wrong but I think the majority of under-30 transplant patients who have gone to doctors who can 'dense pack' will have had this done, if you take your own definition of dense pack. In fact most will likely have had grafts transplanted to 60 or more per square centimeter. (I'm talking about at the leading edge of the hairline.)

Dr Bisanga does some very good FUE work, and I've recently seen some cases from a Dr Keser in Turkey (OK, not Europe but close) which are excellent. However, I haven't heard enough about that doctor yet to really vouch for him, and I'm not sure what his standing is on this website.

Originally posted by Manko:

I'm not sure what's the better situation, slow torture of a gradual receding hairline, or quick torture of a rapidly receding hairline. Good luck to all.

 

Manko

I reckon you were lucky to be tortured so slowly.

Nice and thick. It must have been difficult to place the grafts among that long hair.

I noticed that the transplanted hairs are darker than the hair on the sides. Presumably the donor hair was as light as that hair before it was harvested, so I wonder why it became darker. Not that this gives an unnatural appearance. I've seen men with that shade difference before.

How do you know you have 8000 (or 10,000 including FUE) grafts to play with?

I reckon you had your hairline placed in just the right position. Fantastic result. One of the best transformations I've seen from such a high NW starting point.

One question: how do you know you lost all of the hair on top? It seems like it would be hard to tell if it happened since the transplant.

It's hard to tell what's going on at the front/middle where that lock of hair falls. Did you comb it down to show the temples or do you generally wear it like that? Cutting that front bit shorter will help to decrease the extent to which the temples appear receded, because at the moment it just serves to exaggerate the retreating temples.

Personally I wouldn't worry myself with formulas and measurements and supposedly perfect proportions. Being sensible with your donor potential and planning ahead are far more important things to think about.

A thing or a person can look good without being perfect.

My hair has pretty much stopped receding on finasteride, but I still see loads of hairs in the tub every day. I don't let it worry me as if they weren't being replaced I would be very bald by now.

Originally posted by Time to do something:

Thanks Tony Montana-I'm not the one who wrote that nor went through that, it is what someone else went through and I just posted their email.

It really came across like you were talking about yourself and your work with Dr Epstein.

Originally posted by shanti:

I shaved to grade 2 and I could see the scars but I doubt someone else would.

 

It's more like gaps from missing hairs rather than scars.

How many grafts were taken? It sounds like something you'd have to know you were looking for.

Aren't there steroids available which don't cause hairloss?

http://www.hairloss-research.org/steroids.html

(I don't know if this is accurate information or not.)

It looks to me like the very small area where hair has been lost is still mainly covered with shorter hairs, which are probably miniaturizing. These might be helped by the minoxidil and it would be worth waiting to see. You really have very minimal loss. Your hairline is not far from the point where even the lowest transplanted hairlines are placed, and the hair is thick behind this - thicker than a transplant would achieve - so you would be looking at getting a very small procedure along the leading edge of the hairline and not one which strays very far back. Strip surgery would be crazy, IMO, so you would want to contact a surgeon who performs FUE. But be prepared for rejection or strong discouragement from going ahead with any surgery.

You really shouldn't let this affect your well-being or your social life.

It's possible that the first doctor you saw was right when he said you shouldn't touch the diffused area yet. That's not to say it shouldn't be done, but doctors have different philosophies when it comes to what they feel is right for a patient.

It would be good to see photos... I know you know this.

We're going to need to see a better photo with better lighting and from an angle which gives a clearer view.

Should you wait for further loss? The answer to that can never be a No. It's always a case of assessing your age, rate of loss, how well you respond to the drugs and perhaps family history of hairloss too, and weighing up the risks against how badly you want to restore your hair.

At age 26 I think most doctors would accept you. Are you desperate to get back the sort of hairline you (probably) had as a teenager, or are you willing to accept a more 'mature' result?