Speegs

Hi Stevoo, please see my reply above, I really think it is in your best interests to consider taking finasteride again if you weren't personally experiencing side effects. The potential side effect of finasteride are reversible and will stop the moment you discontinue use of the drug, but the repercussions of not taking finsateride can be permanent in the form of hair loss.

Did you experience any side effects? Because it is a very small minority of people that do, and the sexual dysfunction side effects are next to nonexistent in young patient cases, not impossible mind you but very rare. They're more likely to occur in men well into mid-life and older that have other health issues that can contribute to impotence and erectile dysfunction. I recommend you take finasteride as soon as possible if you have not experienced any side effects, you could've likely saved much of your crown loss had you stuck with it.

Not to discourage you, but have you tried shaving your head just to see if you like the look? Many find they like the look once they experiment with it, it's of course not a solution for all, but if it works for your specific head and face it would spare you a lot of effort and money.

I've gone to him twice, so I'd have been dumb to return had I not been very pleased.

In the hands of an unskilled surgeon that makes bad recipient sites, yes. That's why you go to a good surgeon with custom blades, that knows how to do lateral slit technique and stick and place. The risk you speak of would be if the existing grafts were carelessly transected or if too many grafts were left competing for the same blood supply, these risks are mitigated in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing.

I'm getting better at eyeballing what people need, it's usually always more than you think, just in case. Sounds like Dr. Rahal and I have similar guesstimations, I defer to him in the matter of course.

Finasteride tends to protect the crown and the mid scalp, if you have MPB you likely will still thin and recede in the front, in two years time you'll definitely know if you don't take finasteride...but hopefully not at the expense of a bald spot on your scalp. I recommend consulting with a dermatologist or a hair restoration physician in person to determine if your hair is miniaturizing and to look at your scalp.

Have you tried finasteride? It can help stabilize your hair loss and keep it from progressing. Unfortunately you're too young to consider a hair transplant just yet, I'd advise getting on finasteride, and then around 25 or 26 if you're still uncomfortable with your hair you can explore a hair restoration procedure once you have a better idea about the extent of your hair loss pattern and whether or not finasteride is working to halt your hair loss progression.

Of your list I can personally recommend Gabel, he did two of my three transplants, super professional and personable, cares about his patients, has competitive pricing for a top tier surgeon. He was trained by Dr. Konior, who is a very well respected physician and Gablel by extension is as well, and Gabel has of course in his own right become renowned for good and consistent work. PM me if you want to chat about my experience more personally.

I would guesstimate between 1500 and 2000 to really hit it home, finish the job and all but guarantee you don't need more. Since you already have 3000 plus, and the rule of thumb is 6000 makes as cosmetically dense a density as currently possible in a given area for most, I think that's a reasonable ballpark assessment.

I see what you mean about wanting to touch up the density now, personally i think your crown is fine, if anything a marginal touch up of the front third ought to be a enough to get you through the rest of your life.

Weight the cost and benefit, for me the third was another 1800 grafts, which filled in a couple of trouble spots in the temples etc. This was on top of 2300 my second time and 2700 my first, so I have around 7000 grafts in my frontal third, but that's what it took for me to have a cosmetically great density. People on here that think they're gonna get that with one procedure are either misinformed or naive.

I think it looks pretty darn good, cropped like that style it doesn't appear to have any density issues in my opinion, but I must confess we are all our worst critics, and hair greed is real. I had three hair transplants to restore my front from a Norwood 3A, two was enough to look good in most instances, but that third one completely took all density issues away when it came to styling or lighting. It's a personal choice, I find no one scrutinizes ourselves as much as we do ourselves.

Should look good, you have a battle scarred scalp already, so even if you continue to wear your hair short, if the donor wound heals correctly, it shouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Your donor availability is key, you have a lot of real estate to cover, as well as dark hair and fair skin which make a contrast that often exposes a lack of density, especially in harsh lighting. You may have to have very tempered expectations if you decide to pursue a hair transplant, you'll likely need more than one to satisfy your scalp coverage needs, and you likely won't be able to apply as much density everywhere that you'd like in order to create a cosmetic full head of hair. As asked before, are you on finasteride? It appears you are not. Would you be willing to reestablish a hairline but leave the crown bald? That seems like a realistic option for you based on the pictures.

Get on finasteride soon, it could potentially slow down or even halt your thinning from worsening. As it stands you have the early stages of classic male pattern baldness, and presently are in a Norwood 3 or Norwood 3A stage, as evidenced by your receding hairline and visible thinning in the front third of your scalp. A rule of thumb to realize is that visible thinning only occurs when approximately half of your hair density has already been lost, so roughly half of the hair in your frontal scalp has left you, and potentially there is baldness elsewhere in the scalp that has not yet shed more than 50 percent of your density in the areas. Finasteride is terrifically effective for most, it has halted my hairloss, I was a little balder than you in the front, and more severely receded, but the last two thirds of my scalp were/ are preserved by the finasteride. Finasteride could probably allow you to pursue a relatively modest transplant of 2000 or so grafts to restore the appearance of your hairline and frontal density. That depends upon your hair type, if it's fine it could require more. I had Jude Law caliber baldness by age of 26, started taking finasteride at age 22, and only watched my frontal third erode. Then I had a hair transplant for 2700 grafts to restore the hair line, but it wasn't enough, i looked better but more density was required. So a year after my first transplant I got a second transplant of 2300 grafts, it lowered the hairline a bit and fleshed out a more satisfying density, but it still left a few spots susceptible to looking thin in harsh light. So 5 years after my second HT I decided on a third, one purely for density augmentation, 1800 grafts places among the restored frontal third. I now have a cosmetically full head of hair, and look better at 33 than I did at 23. If you choose your doctor wisely it's not a decision you're going to regret. And realize that without finasteride you'll continue to lose hair, and that even if you get one hair transplant, the likelihood of you wanting another for density is high.

Density and longer hair styling options. Unless you're planing on shaving your head to a buzz cut, there's no advantage to going FUE, and even then the lack of scarring is somewhat exaggerated.

There's an alarming sales tactic afoot with some proponents of FUE to say it is a scarless procedure, it most certainly is NOT. Many prominent surgeons that can do both procedures (and frankly a surgeon should offer both) will tell you that large procedures will ideally utilize FUT to avoid transection and maximize the donor, ensure best graft survival, etc. FUE is best used for smaller sessions, touch up work in the temples and crown, or to help revise and camouflage scars. Know that this is SURGERY, scarring is inevitable, but a good surgeon will minimize it and not butcher you. Most hair transplant scars are not visible to people that aren't looking for them, transplant patients and balding men are typically much more self conscious about their hair than anyone else ever will be that looks at you.

Given the amount of loss, the texture of his hair, the contrast of his hair color from his light skin, 2,500 to 3000 will probably not be dense enough. A second pass will likely be needed. Every case is different, but in my experience, all these factors lead to there being at least two sessions.

This a several procedure case, and will likely take two to three procedures consisting of 2000 or more grafts a session to satisfy a cosmetically appealing density for your restoration. I'd guessitmate at least 5,000 to 6000 grafts are needed to make an appreciable difference to the existing thin and balding spots. The larger number is because you appear to have fine dark hair and fair light skin, which creates greater contrast between scalp and hair and typically requires more hair to create an appealing density that isn't see through in harsh light. Hair restoration is a long term game plan, it takes at least a year to reap the benefits of a single procedure, so when you're in need of two or three, be prepared to spend about four years restoring your hair. Hope that helps.

That's a pretty common hair loss pattern, i don't think he's had an ht.

I'd ask the doctor to bandage your head, both for its own protection, your comfort, and so that security will leave your head alone and not ask you to remove a cap etc. You can also have them write you a note explaining why you're bandaged if security/ customs wants to inspect your bandaged head.

Don't panic, honestly until 18 months afterward it's best not to panic.

Really sorry to hear that, I've yet to hear good things about UK doctors in this field, I am thankful that I had this site to research before i pulled the trigger on my three procedures, and that there are a number of talented surgeons in the United States at the forefront of this medical science. I hope you're able to to speak with a competent surgeon in the near future, perhaps a head and neck specialist who can assess your nerve damage. If you have the inclination, i would research potentially traveling to the United States for repair work.

PS how did you have two strips in a single year? That's not medically ethical, no wonder you had such bad scarring and nerve damage, your body didn't even have a full cycle to heal.