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I also must say I was very impressed with the communication from Dr. Rahal's representative. First class!

Please skip to the end where I've listed my questions if you'd like to skip my ramblings and details I just spoke with an agent of Dr. Rahal's about my potential hair transplant and was given information on what Dr. Rahal thinks about my case. They suggest 1600 graphs to my hairline which, to me, seems like a low ball considering the grafts counts that I've seen for people who have similar hair loss. Regardless, they said I have medium hair, above average donor density, and are content with the medications I am on. They say I am a candidate for both FUE or FUT and I can't decide. I am young, and before hair loss hit, I did really enjoy wearing hair as a 1 on the sides and long on top (i.e. every soccer player in the 20th century). However, I think FUT maximizes what you can do and is about half the cost. Questions: What are implications of first doing an FUE procedure and then FUT later on in life? How short can you wear your sides after FUT procedure? Anyone have experience with Rahal FUE as I feel I have mostly seen FUT and I think the only FUE I have seen posted by a patient on this forum was a failure. Anyone know anything about Dr. Ross who now works at Rahal? I was a bit thrown off when they kept referring to "your RAHAL physician" in the email they sent - so it turns out you could get Dr. Rahal or Dr. Ross.

Ernie, Hahah boring answers are always welcomed by me. It must be true that some people don't really ever stabilize on fin, otherwise people wouldn't make it to Norwood 5/6/7 don't you think? By the way your results are looking great, Ernie. I plan to go with Dr Rahal as well. Really amazing.

Thanks cool hairstyle! Kalab23, I take 1.25mg a day of generic fin. I was very nervous about side effects, but I have not experienced anything really negative. I actually had an insanely high sex drive for about two weeks after I started it, after which it returned to normalc, not worse at all. I know that's the one people worry about. Other than that the most major thing I experienced was a bit of difficulty sleeping for about 3 weeks. I'm not even 100% sure that was from fin. Hope that helps!

So I've been on Fin for just about 6 months. I admit I have missed a few doses here and there.I am mainly losing hair in a norwood 3a pattern. That front 1/3 of my scalp seems to be getting worse to me. I still get lots of hair in my hands when I wash that part of my head. However, I notice that from mid scalp back, no hair comes out at all. When I comb my hair nothing comes out back there, and visually I'd say it looks fuller back there since I've started fin. Does that mean that I've stabilized my hair loss for the back two thirds? That's all I really need as I would be planning to restore the front 1/3 anyway. How can I really tell?

Hey Everyone, I'm in my mid 20s, considering a hair transplant. My goal is to wait another year or 2 but it definitely doesn't hurt to do plenty of research. Anyway, I'm wondering which you think is better for a younger patient FUT or FUE. From what I understand, FUT has the upsides of better yield, more grafts at once, less expensive, best coverage BUT there's the scar which leaves no chance to go back to bald if things don't work. FUE has the upside of being more discrete, allows for edgier hairstyles, and seems like you could probably go back to shaving if things don't work out (I know there is still scarring) BUT sounds like it has a worse yield, maybe a worse success rate if in the wrong hands(??), less grafts, and is a good bit more expensive. Just looking for people to way in on which they think makes the most sense. Personally I'm leaning toward FUT because I think, being young, it is the way that I can get the most coverage as hair loss progresses over my lifetime.

Hi Everyone, Just looking to hear any thoughts on how people have or would try to cover up after getting a hair transplant. I'm considering the option, but I'm thinking about things like I would only be able to get 3 weeks off of work max, and that still leaves you well in the ugly duckling phase. Best advice on concealing it?

Hey All, So I'm 23 years old and I just started Propecia about a week ago. I'm completely aware it'll be months before I see any results, but I do have a question about them. I've seen conflicting views about whether or not propecia works better if you're young. I've seen some sites state that people over the age of 30 get better results and then I've seen sites that say it will work better because I'm younger and the hair loss is not as advanced. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!

This is likely to be the most embarrassing thing I'll ever put out there, but here it goes. Strangely, over the past 2-3 months I've been having a hard time getting erections and I'm having no morning wood. This came out of nowhere, and my best guess is that it's porn induced ed, so I've decided to quit that and I'm confident normal function will return since I've never had a problem before! However, I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday in order to get a propecia prescription. I'm very scared to start it because I don't know how I'll be able to tell if I'm having sexual side effects or not given my current predicament! I guess I could wait until I'm back to normal as far as sex life, but that could be weeks or months and my hair loss is really starting to accelerate. Any advice??

What do you guys think in the event that you have a somewhat negative family history of balding BUT your hair loss has stabilized for a few years due to medication. Is it ok to go for one then?

Hi guys, I've been doing my research on the surgeons recommended by this site and I've seen Dr. Rahal pop up quite a few times. It looks like he gets really great results and it seems like most people have very positive things to say. I was on Dr. Rahal's site viewing the success stories that are posted there and I noticed that quite a significant number of the patients on the site are in their 20s - especially early to mid 20s. I was wondering if there any opinions on Dr. Rahal operating on fairly young patients. He states on his site that he believes 24 IS NOT too young for a hair transplant but that you must be on propecia and rogaine. To be clear, I'm just wondering what people think of this. I am not trying to target Dr. Rahal in any way. I've even been in contact with his office and I have nothing but good things say. Thanks!

Looks absolutely fantastic brother! You're an inspiration for us young hair loss sufferers!

Thisguy1 - I appreciate the input - and you are right, I was not really being honest when I said I'd pay that much for a year of improvement. But in the event that I see myself responding well to treatment before going for the procedure, I do believe the result would last for much longer than a year. Also, I do realize that 33 is not an old man, I'm simply stating I'd rather lose my hair at 33 than 23 - I think my logic is fairly easy to see there. My parents are not "very wel off" nor are they going to fund anything I decide to do. I was incorrect to suggest I'd spent 15k for one year. But please do not assume to know my financial situation. But I do absolutely see your point and I will try to be more careful about what I say in the future. I think people set out to achieve different things with HTs and it's the management of expectation that should be the real concern. You can look at situations like Calum Best or Wayne Rooney where they started the process young and have had multiple procedures, but still look pretty good in my opinion. And they don't even take propecia! I think ultimately it's equally as tough to tell someone that they'll feel really poorly about hair loss in 10 years as it is for someone to tell you that they won't.

I also plan on giving Propecia its full year to take effect. If it manages to thicken the hairline that I currently have, that might be good enough for me and I'll be able to put this off for some time. Either way, I wouldn't actually be having a procedure until at least 24. Hoping more like 25 or 26.

Yeah the decision between FUE and FUT in 20s is a challenging one...I know FUT generally has a bit higher of a yield and is less expensive, but the scar is a big downer. And I do understand that there is scarring associated with FUE but in my opinion it's much better than the strip scar. FUE, in my mind, gives you the option to abandon further HTs, bite the bullet and shave to a low clipper in the future if you so choose. My main consideration is FUE with Dr. Rahal. He is not close to me, but I'm not going to sacrifice location and cost when we're talking about my permanent appearance. I've seen some pretty good results from him, I also have blonde hair which I now understand may be beneficial to adding to the illusion of density. Considering I'm balding at 23 my goal is to make it to about 30 with a decent head of hair. You may say "you still care about your hair when you're 30" and I'm sure that's true. But losing it at 30 is exponentially better than at 23 if you ask me!

Hey Everyone, Looking through many albums on this site and many patient results on surgeon websites, it seems very rare to come across blond hair transplant patients. Is there a reason for this or just a coincidence? Being blond myself, I'm wondering if it's not as ideal of a hair color as black or brown for a hair transplant. Thanks!

Well if you're going for a hair transplant...wouldn't mostly everyone have hair that is diffusing in the area of the transplant? I'm an NW3 but that frontal tuft is thinning. I'm scared to do work on the temples and then have the middle fall out from shock loss and look like an idiot. Would it be better off to just transplant all the way across the frontal 3rd?

Hey Petchski, So your original HT was in the fron 1/3 of your head? I have no interest in trying to get a super thick NW1 hairline. For me, an nw2 even 2.5 with moderate thickness would be fantastic. I feel like I have pretty realistic expectations. For me, at NW3 I just can't do anything with my hair anymore and it's frustrating. I'm fully understanding of what the future may hold. So you think as long as I'm conservative there isn't anything wrong with it? You mentioned having to get a second procedure years later...but that'd be no issue for me as years - or even a year for that matter - without having to be so self conscious about it, would be well worth it.

so it's fair to say shock loss is largely down to the skill of the surgeon? And how many grafts would you consider a small procedure in order to reduce shock loss? 2k?

Hi guys, has anyone on here had a hair transplant in their mid 20s, especially mid 20s, that they were pleased with? Even if you had to have procedures later in life - I'd like to hear some opinions from people who actually did a HT in their 20s as to whether or not it was too early. Anyone willing to share would be much appreciated!

Hey all, I'm considering a hair transplant and was feeling pretty good about it. I had always been under the impression that shock loss was temporary, or at least usually temporary. What would cause permanent shock loss vs temporary shock loss. Is there any steps to take to try to prevent it? I would like to get a hair transplant at my hairline. The hair that is still in the forelock and behind has persisted but certainly is at least a little bit diffused. Does propecia help prevent the shock loss? Thanks for the advice in advance!

Gillenator - very good point! haha. I guess I just kind of was under the impression that transplanted hair may look a bit odd if cut too short.

Hi guys, thanks for the responses! However, really what I'm wondering is this - if I were to get a HT now, at the age of 23, and say in 5-10 my remaining native hair doesn't look great. If I decided at that point that I was okay with going bald, could I just shave the recipient area and buzz the rest of my hair? Or would there be scars where the hair was received.? I always read about how HTs are a bad idea at a young age and to the best of my understanding this is because you're most likely going to need further procedures if you want to keep your hair for life. However, considering I'm balding early, just making it to my 30s would be a huge win. All things considered, at that point, I think I'd be more willing to rock the bald look. Any input on this?

Hi Everyone, I'm a young guy (23) losing pretty significant hair. I'd put myself at about a NW3, but things seem to continually get thinner. Anyway, I've got two questions. First off, I will soon begin propecia. If you don't respond to it and keep losing hair anyway, are you just SOL as far as hair transplants are concerned. In other words, will doctors not be able to/willing to help you? Second, if I respond to propecia and am able to get a HT in a couple of years...what would it look like if you were to shave the recipient area after FUE? I know the donor area has a spotted look, but I've never heard much about what the recipient zone would look like. Thanks for the help!

Hi Everyone! It's been about a year now that I've been checking out this type of forum but I've finally just joined up today. I want to present to you my plan for hair restoration and see if it sounds reasonable to you. I'm a 23 y/o male who is very healthy, but unfortunately I am experiencing rather early MPB. I really only started noticing my hair loss in the last year or so, but upon looking back at pictures of myself, I realize that it's been going on since I was probably 17 or 18 years old. I am currently, by my approximation, a NW3 with thinning beginning in the frontal tuft. On the other hand, I've always had kind of a strange hairline and never really had what I would call an NW1 hairline even looking back at pictures from when I was 11-12 years old. I started using 5% Rogaine (foam) just over a year ago and I think it has helped in slowing the process, but I suppose that's hard to say. I've recently switched to the liquid form but it is make my scalp itch incredibly bad. I also use Toppik at the moment, which I know if short term, but for the moment makes my hair look good enough for me. I know the main goal is stabilization and realistically I probably need to jump on Finasteride in some form to achieve that. I've always been afraid of potential sides but my sister who is Physician Assistant confirmed for me that they are very rare, so I will be getting on that in a few months. In the hopes this helps me achieve stabilization, I plan to keep up that routine for about 2 years. Hopefully I'd be able to even get some improvement! However, once I see solid, sustained stabilization I would like to go for a conservative HT. I know everyone will immediately jump and say "25 is too young!" I've done my reading on this. I know it's hard to tell the full extent of balding. I understand that. However, if I were to go completely bald and then decide to get a hair transplant...the first place you start is the hairline anyway. As long as I'm conservative with the procedure and am educated on what could happen in the future, I don't see what the problem is with this plan of action. Does this make sense to anyone but me/does it sound like I have the bases covered? P.S. I hope to avoid the conversation about "you don't know if you'll be okay with going bald when you're 40." I know I can't know that, but what I do know for sure is that when I'm 40 I will definitely wish I had a solid hairline through my late 20s and 30s!