Ganderson

HTsoon your results are incredible. I'm worried that as I get older (next 10-20 years) I may want a shorter hair cut, but wouldn't be able to Achieve it because of the scar?

Also.... I'm from IL, so konior is close by (if I go the strip route , which everyone seems to be recommending) should I go with konior or should I choose H + W?

Thanks guys.... I'm a little more confused than ever now... everyone told me before to do as much as possible in the first setting because scalp laxity goes down.... The truth is... I want to get FUE... But what's the difference in the amount of grafts j can get? Will I get 10k with fut and fue combo? Will I get less or more? I don't know what to do!!! Also - who are the best FUE docs.... Are there any with more reasonable prices than 9 dollars a graft ... I was told I can get a solid 10k grafts out of me through FUT, I don't really want to pay 90k for the procedure

Thanks Bill! Based on what you are seeing here, what do you think my results would be like, going to with Konior, H + W, etc? Am I right to want to push for the max, or in my case, will it stil be "so so" and will i get a better result just doing FUE and SMP and keeping my hair buzzed to a one or something. At the end of the day, I just want it to look normal. Also, I was reading about these mega sessions of getting 5-7000 grafts in one session, is it true that they only do that by transecting the strip and calling it more grafts, or does someone like H + W actually have a procedure where they can extract 1-2000 more grafts than konior?

Thanks in advance for any of your suggestions, help, or advice. I would be glad to share anything that I have discovered in the last few months as well! Also... a little more background... I've been shaving my head this length for the past 10 years. I just dont like the receding hairline, the bald spots, etc. I never got to experience hair ( I was an athlete and we all shaved our heads for years) so now that I have come to an age (28) where i want it, I cant have it. So, what do you guys recommend.....

More Pictures.....

First of all I want to thank everyone who has responded and helped me in the past - this is a pretty supportive and knowledgeable community for the most part, and it seems like people here genuinely want to help one another - so thanks! I've gotten a few consultations, all from recommended doctors and some that are mentioned among the "top" on this site. (the ones that you see when people talk about the top 3). I'm going to post pictures below the outline the total hair loss and the potential, but here is what I have heard : I am a norwood 5,5A, or 6, with unlikelihood to go to a 7. I do not take propecia anymore, I was on it for a little while and was very unhappy with the effects. I actually didn't know much about the effects before starting, and unfortunately i got them pretty severely. if you dont, then great! I am getting a full SMP done in about 6 weeks - only within the current hairline, and only because i am definitely getting either FUE or FUT at some point. This is only to create a base to get rid of the tan colord skin. The doctors have all told me I have EXCELLENT laxity. One of them actually said that it was the most loose they have ever had a scalp (This is what turned me on to FUT in the first place, I thought H + W could get more out of my head, but it sounds like overall, at the end of the day, we are talking about 1-2000 grafts of difference?) Plan 1 Get FUT done with H + W, Konior, Etc. 5 thousand grafts minimum, try to get as much coverage as possible. Go back one year later, try to get as much as I can, and then maybe get some FUE's down the road with hair and beard ( i wont go to body hair, if it is headed there then i'd rather just go with plan 2). Thoughts? Plan 2 I will go to a different doctor than the ones above as some of the costs for FUE are in the 10.00 range, and I would like to get 10,000 grafts. Who is the best surgeon bang for buck, with the best results and does FUE? I am thinking I either get FUE with one of these doc's and hope for the best, or if not, get a decent hair line and combined with SMP ill keep it at a 1 length or so, dusting my whole head with 3-4000 FUE's. At the end of the day I think everyone who wears different hairstyles would like to keep the option open of keeping their hair short, but if its a "either do FUT or do nothing scenario" then I would like to know, and I'll do it, but I just want to get good coverage and look good. Not expecting a full head of perfect hair, just dont want to look like im balding. Higher hairline, not super dense, but not something anyone would question or think twice about. "His hair is fine, not bad, not great, its not a part of something I would judge". What do you guys recommend, if anything Please see below for all the pictures.

Thanks for helping me out man. I really do appreciate all of the responses and advice... Both from you and everyone on the board. It's crazy, I've been shaving my head my whole life, and regardless of how successful I am, there is so much fear, self doubt, and negativity associated with losing my hair..... When I've never even had any to begin with.... If you had to put your money somewhere.... Would I be "ok" getting a transplant? Will it look horrible 20 years from now? I guess the only step would be to get a measure done in person or something ..

I get that i guess ive been a little obsessed lately, looking super close in the mirror everyday, often for a little longer than i would like..... I noticed that my crown bald spot extends to my sides a little bit. Initially i thought it was just the top that was going down, but it looks like on my sides pictures you can see some thinning - just wanted to make sure that you saw that when you called me a norwood 6? I talked to Hasson and wong the other day and they thought i was fine for the procedure i wanted, so did 2 other doctors ive spoken to, but im scared, and feel like this board is the only place that has nothing to gain from me so i trust it the most!! If im going to be a 7, or i cant get full coverage, ill shave it bald. But, if I can, im fine with fut and spending money and all that good stuff......wish there was a better way to know these things.......................

I guess the important thing for me to know... Is there a chance I become a 7, or is my pattern basically set? I want to do a conservative HT, know I need fut to cover large areas, am fine with a not aggressive hairline, understand that I need at least 2 procedures and it will cost me at least 40k from one of the top doctors..... But, is this all for nothing, am I a 6 or a 7, and will I have the donor....... I'm pretty frightened right now!

When you say 6k, do you think that even if i have further loss I will be "good" with 6k? or 6k for now, and more later? My plan was to max out, (because I thought my pattern was clear) in the next 2-3 years and just go over the thin areas as if there was no hair there. Good or bad idea? My moms side has 0 loss, but my dad (65) is a norwood 5 (his hair loss was WAY more delayed than mine, had a full head at 35), his brothers are all varying norwood 6's, some that are standard and some that go all the way down to the 6/7 range. Can we see where I'm headed and is that the way to tackle it?

Not sure if its 1/2 inch, but this is the best I had!

This is from 2 months ago, does this work? (I don't know if the donor area is defined, do you think it is/what are all of your thoughts on the pic?)

Thanks man. Very helpful info - and kind of relieving. It doesn't feel great handling this stuff (on my own), and having people share their experience helps a lot. I know I have some native/thin hair still there, but rogaine will only maintain it for a limited amount of time right? (Based on what i read) Having a thin crown is fine....I think that a few thousand grafts, along with SMP for contrast, and maybe 2k of beard or body hairs should probably take care of it? I mean, if youre suggesting the frontal 2 zones with a bigger procedure, maybe I can leave the crown sparse and do a larger FUT procedure, and wait 8 months and do a body beard several thousand crown transplant? and then maybe one more down the road combined with SMP, I should be "OK" and appear to not experince much hair loss, just thin hair? Think thats an ok plan?

HTsoon thanks for the input. BTW i looked at your story, do you think we have similar patterns? The timeline feels pretty similar, in terms of age and progession, I had a similar experience with propecia, which sucked. Your results look great....if i could get those results, i would be pretty happy. You arent slick bald yet with your native hair though are you? How different will it look when you are? The truth is, ive looked at thousands of pictures, and have read a million different posts, and i still have no idea what i would look like with a transplant, whether its 2k or 6k grafts. I feel like if i use the max, somethine like 8-10 k grafts to cover the areas i have now, add some smp for contrast, and have a bank of beard hair (at least 2 k grafts, very ample hair). Am i reaching? Has this been done? Can people tell your hair is "off"? Does the illusion change in water, will my gf be able to tell? I don't think i care about any of this,I just want to know - I have no magic expectations, I just want to look normal, and like a young guy, because I am one.

You guys are awesome, thanks for the advice + help so far. You make a valid point - I guess it comes down to the fact that the shaved head gives me a "cool look" but not one that I would like to have anymore.....at this point, as long as I get coverage and it doesnt look weird, having my hair long enough to style it somehow will be a huge benefit for me! Do you guys think that H + W would leave me with a poor scar if I get a ton of grafts in one session? How many grafts would I need to cover this area in totality, and how many does it appear that I have? (I know, these arent easy questions to answer) The SMP is really just for density. I dont want them to make an artifical hairline, I don't want to shave my head and have the little dots everywhere, I just think it makes sense to keep the scalp/hair contrast as minimal as possible, and I know that I won't see any growth for a few months, so at least for the next year I'll be dealing with what I have.... As I just have super thin hair everywhere right now ( on top ) and its obviously going to go at some point completely, cant I request from my surgeon to assume that its slick bald (maybe take pictures prior to the SMP and have them just go over the zones completely? I may be missing something!

Also, regarding the nape region - I'm not sure if you're referring to this, but the hair below the actual hair line- I've gotten that area ''lasered' with laser hair removal as I got sick of shaving it so frequently (the hair was extremely thick and shaving it once every 5 days started getting tedious). Otherwise, hope it's not something too serious

Htsoon- do you think that I have enough donor hairs to get coverage? Assuming money not being an issue, and I've seen mega sessions done by H + W, could I get 6-7000 grafts, and build from the front to the back, and then use a combination of SMP and FUE to get coverage in the crown? Why not have SMP prior? Only within the current hair line at least? Would is mess up the surgery potentially? David- thank you! It's great to be here! I know I won't have a very low hairline, all I'm looking for is coverage and I'm comfortable with multiple procedures... Do you think I have enough donor on the sides etc to achieve 10k grafts over two fut's? Should I only do fue and go with the buzzed look and fill in with smp? It's something I want - you're right, I've been shaving for a great deal of time, but really feel like it's been hurting me and not helping.... Could I just ask the doctors to assume that my pattern has gone slick bald, and to build backwards from their over two mega procedures?

Sorry, the back picture didnt come through on the first try!

Hey everyone, I've been looking through the site for a very long time, and have learned a lot from everyone here - so first of all, thank you! I'm looking for confirmation as well as opinions from you guys, since it seems like this is the most dependable community to ask advice from! I have been shaving my head for the past 15 years (since i was 12) and started having the desire to grow it out in the past few years (right when my thinning started) and couldn't deal with the bald spots and how old I looked. I've never had a problem shaving it, as I'm 6 4 and have played basketball my entire life, the look made sense. So, I've saved up some money, and have thought about doing the following, and just wanted the communities thoughts and validation (or alternatively, tell me if its not a good move) 1. I believe I am headed towards a Norwood 6 2. I would like to first get SMP done just to address the discoloration and patter forming for my short haircut, but also to have existing density after my first transplant while it grows in 3. I would like to go to hasson and wong, or another doctor performing large mega-fut sessions (based on my loss patterns, I will need to maximize available grafts + quality of grafts, they seemed like the best choice based on the results I saw and FUT is also based on my skin laxity, which is EXTREMELY high) 4. I don't know what I want filled in or how, but think that they will be able to help?