Stil86

Hey guys, I've never heard too much about the strategy of using keratin fibers (brands such as Toppik, Nanogen, etc.) to lessen the amount of grafts needed to achieve the appearance of a relatively full head of hair. I would think this could be a viable strategy for men at higher Norwood levels who either don't have enough donor supply to cover everywhere they want to cover, or who want to conserve donor hair just in case. I would imagine that you could go for roughly 50 or 60% coverage via transplant grafts and use hair fibres to fill in. Anyone who has used these products knows that you don't need all that much natural density for the hair fibres to work. The football/soccer player Wayne Rooney seems to do this and it looks quite good, IMO. Anyway, not an ideal scenario of course, but perhaps a good way to stretch your follicular resources? Does anybody here do this?

I have a suspicion that there's something unintentionally misleading about the Norwood scale in that it implies that Norwood 7 emanates from Norwood 6. However, I am wondering whether it might not be more accurate to posit that Norwood 7 is on an entirely different plane than Norwood 3-6. Take Norwood 5, for example. If you've gotten to where your front and crown are pretty much gone, but your sides are still up high without loss, those high sides aren't going anywhere, are they? If they were going to thin away a la Norwood 7, they'd be well on their way by the time your front and crown are gone, no? I find the distinction between Norwood 6 and 7 to be quite important, because although they both present as "proper bald," Norwood 6 has a lot less ground to cover in a hair transplant before coming in contact with the sides. Anyway, seeking observations and opinions here.

I look at it as narrow, yes. Broad would be where your side hair starts balding an inch or two above your ears (i.e., Norwood 7). That's really what I'm getting at here. If I were going to be Norwood 7 bald, that pattern would've revealed itself by now. Went and found this is another thread. I would have to agree with this, if you're not proper bald by mid-20s, you'll never be a Norwood 7.

There are Norwood 7s in my close family, but they, like most Norwood 7s, got there within 10 years or less. Physically, I take after my mother's side more, and there aren't Norwood 7s there. Not sure I believe the "mother's side controls hair loss" adage, though. I've heard a general figure floating around that most balding occurs within a span of about 15-25 years. Of course you've got to trot out the "you never know, everyone's different" line but, generally speaking, this seems to be true for many men. In my case, my assumption is that a Norwood 7 would've already become apparent by now if it were ever going to happen. Instead, my best guess is that my current Norwood 5-6 is the pattern I'll always have, and that all that will happen is further thinning within the confines of that pattern. It's interesting to think about, at least to me It's an area that I don't think has been studied a great deal, probably because it's not a real health issue (though it could be a potential sign to keep a closer eye on your prostate). Who are some famous Norwood 7s? Would be interesting to see how long it took them to get there, when they started balding, etc.

How can you even tell since your hair is quite long in that area? It covers the scar anyway. I would think scar visibility would only be an issue if you want maybe a 1 guard or shorter?

Hi guys, I'm interested in information on predicting one's final Norwood state, if that's possible. In my case, I started noticing my hairline receding at age 18. I'm 30 now. Over the past 12 years, I steadily developed a more receded hairline, a balding spot in the crown, and thinning throughout the rest of the top. Everything has seemed very gradual, with no discernible periods of accelerated loss. Crucially, I don't believe my areas without any loss have grown over the years. I.e., even though the different areas of the top have thinned at different rates, the same areas have been thinning over all these years, without and further thinning along the sides and back. This has led me to suspect that my areas around the side and back that are DHT resistant are pretty much "locked in" at this point, while the areas that are already thinning will likely continue to thin, perhaps to full baldness in those areas. Has this been the experience of others here, or have you had expansion of your thinning areas even after many years had passed since you first started thinning? I'm interested in this because, thus far, it looks like I might be one of those guys with a narrow bald top, but a high back and sides. This would obviously be helpful with a hair transplant because there will be a narrower area to cover, especially since I'm not too concerned about addressing the crown balding. I will not be taking Propecia or any other hair maintenance meds, so I need to plan for future loss with any transplants I get.

So is the hair in the front and mid part of the top of your hair all transplanted hair? If so, it looks very natural and the bald spot at the back blends in very naturally. I understand if you want to cover the bald spot more, just wanted to say that it looks natural.

Also, I just bought some minoxidil, so we'll see how that goes. I'm not opposed to minoxidil, I just never used it in the past because I was afraid of the infamous "shedding" and figured it wouldn't do much. I'm not afraid of shedding anymore because I'm getting to the point where there's not so much top left to shed

Thanks for the responses guys! Here's another photo of my hair when dry and clean. I think I should reiterate that I'm planning for a Norwood 7 transplant and wouldn't even get one until my top is pretty much gone. I'm not trying to look like Elvis; I know that would be a mistake without taking Fin. I would just like the appearance of thin hair in the front with a big bald spot in the back when I'm older, assuming my entire natural top balds. One other aspect I think is relevant is that I don't think my area of unaffected hair has grown for years. In other words, my continued thinning has been limited to areas that had already been thinning from early on. As noted in my first post, my corners started receding when I was 18, and then my crown and the rest of the top started generally thinning probably not long after that. I noticed the top thinning around 20, 21. This thinning area has slowly gotten thinner and thinner over the past 8-9 years, but the unaffected area hasn't really enlarged over all this time. My temples (the area above the sideburns) hasn't really thinned, which, when it does, is often a sign of extensive balding. I figure, if I wait maybe 5 more years until I'm 34-35 and my unffected area hasn't grown, I think I might end up being one of those guys with a narrow bald top, but with strong sides and back that go up pretty high on the head. I think these results are nice and would be happy with these: Hair loss treatment surgery before and after images with 2816 grafts Hair restoration procedure on a Norwood Class VII male with 2500 grafts Hair Transplant Results: Patient CMO | Bernstein Medical Hair Transplant Photos: Patient VTZ | Bernstein Medical Before and After Hair Transplant Photos: Patient AJI | Bernstein Medical Most of these guys used less than 3,000 grafts, which I think would mean they probably just borrowed from the genetically most balding resistant areas. Remember, keratin fibers like Nanogen can be used to thicken these looks up as well. I use Nanogen sometimes, it's just that it won't continue to work if my top goes completely away.

Thanks; I actually just shaved it the other day. It was very different to look at at first, but I'm starting to get used to it. I'm lucky to have a well-shaped head. Due to this, I've kept my sides and back at a 1 guard for quite some time and, funny as it sounds, that's one of my biggest concerns with a transplant is not being able to show my skin at the back! So perhaps just taking the buzz all the way around my head as I've just done is just the logical conclusion I'm not about to jump into anything, I figure I'll wait and see if my thinning areas spread in the next several years. Like I said, my temples started receding at 18, so my loss has been very slow, but steady. Then again, I might not even care in several years, so we'll see. I think I heard somewhere that most of your hair loss happens within maybe 10 years or so of it starting, can anybody confirm this based on their own anecdotal evidence? I mean, a guy who starts thinning in his early 20s isn't going to take until he's 50 to lose all he's going to lose. I've been thinning for almost 12 years.

I actually think this looks great, all things considered. You have to consider the fact that Rooney is what I would scientifically term "properly bald", so to get to a point where you can have a full looking head of hair with transplant and concealers? Pretty darn good. Also, it looks like he's still got room to add some more density in the mid and crown area

Thanks for the info. If I could use a transplant to keep my density looking relatively like it is now into my 30s and 40s, I'd be fully happy with that. I know everyone is going to say that I should just take finasteride if that's my goal, but the idea of affecting my testosterone isn't acceptable to me. Everyone seems to go for 1,000s of grafts, but it would seem to me that just several hundred would create the appearance of thin hair in areas like the temples?

Hi everybody, I've browsed this forum from time to time for years, but now have finally signed up. Here's a little about me: - 29 years old - Started noticing my hairline receding at age 18. At that point I figured I'd be pretty well bald by age 22, but my loss has been very slow and gradual. - I thought about wearing a hair piece, but even with the thinnest density available it was just too thick for my comfort and just felt too weird. - At this point, I'm trying to create a hair transplant plan that meets my goals and concerns. Here are two shots of my hair, one with it fully clean and dry, the other on the weekend after having not washed it for a while, so it's looking thin and oily. I'm basically a Norwood 5 or so, but with my balding areas all just thinning; only my front corners are completely bald. My front center has thinned a lot as well, and this is what I want to address the most. Essentially, I just want a moderate amount of density in the front and to fill in my front corners only slightly. I'm fine with the thinning at the back. Pros: - I only want a small adjustment and don't need a fully thick head of hair all over the top. - I'm blonde, which I've heard helps because there's less contrast between my hair color and skin color. - I like concealers and don't have a problem using them with a transplant. Cons: - I could end up a fully bald Norwood 7. - I will not take Finasteride. - I like to keep my sides and back clipper short, so I'm moreso looking at FUE over FUT, but could be persuaded otherwise. Any thoughts? I think the fact that I'm looking for a very light adjustment and don't mind being thin in the back and central top, especially the older I get, gives me room to work with, even if I end up a full-blown Norwood 7. You can't have Elvis hair from a transplant with a Norwood 7, but you can at least get moderate frontal coverage. How viable is it to just do small transplants on an as-needed basis? Are there problems with surgical continuity there? With modern transplants, would transplanted hair look odd or "pluggy" if the surrounding natural hair eventually went bald and I just let the transplanted hair form a "thinning hair" look? I.e, if each transplanted hair had a fair amount of bald skin around it, would it look natural?