Panamera13

Tell them you went to Mexico and used a some spray shampoo at the hotel...not a good idea, that's it. No further info or discussions.

they're world class HT surgeons and approved by this forum.

Listen to the doc I would say try propecia and most likely you won't notice side effects and if you do, you can always stop.

If you're balding and don't do anything to stop it, HT won't do anything. You'll continue to lose hair. You need to get on propecia/rogaine to STOP the hair loss...then after 1 yr evaluate what you want to do.

Start Propecia and see how things improve. Your hair looks fine as of now. If after 6-12 months of Propecia use, you're still unhappy, you can think about HT.

OP - Your hairloss is pretty extensive and your donor looks kinda ok (not too dense but better pics will tell more). You can't fill your head with that donor area; how does your chest hair density look like? If you really want to go for HT, your best bet is = hair from head + hair from chest/beard and it will only result in decent results; don't expect too much. You're too young to use all your donor now; I would say stick to hair system for the next 5-6 years and stay on propecia.

Dr. Bhatti - What would you say is the OP on Norwood scale. I'm curious since I'm in a similar situation.

I've been planning for 1.5 years and you got it all done in one month from your first post to pulling the trigger..well done. I'll be following your progress. My case is slightly worse as I don't have a good donor area as you. But I've been on Fin for 3+ months now and will go for HT next may/june.

Genes are unpredictable. This is a pic of famous bollywood father-son duo. The father was wearing wigs in his 30s and son hasn't lost a strand at 40.

OP's donor area is pretty thick. Just the lower neck area would cover the whole head...LOL. you're a perfect candidate for HT - Stable hair loss / plenty of donor.

Don't think about surgery yet since that will NOT stop the hair loss cycle. First get on Finastride to put "brakes" on your hair loss. Then after 6-12 months, re-evaluate where you need to be.

Thx Shera and Melvin. I feel bad for "misleading" with one pic in light and the other one in a rather darker place. See the new pic attached that's in fair amount of natural light. I'll continue on this path - Fin + Scalp massage (bought scalp elixir last week, before that tea tree oil) + Magical Laser Cap (I've completely stopped rogaine since my scalp was too itchy and it never did anything for me anyway). Melvin's results are amazing with a Norwood 6..Let's see where I end up. I'll keep everyone posted. I'm not hurrying on HT surgery for atleast 9 months so I give a full year to Fin before going for HT. Another thing I read here is - people with diffused hair loss can get into shock loss by HT. I read one post recently where Rahal's rep advised against HT to one person with diffused pattern. (But Melvin's pics bring back hope)

Almost 3 month update of using 1 mg Finastride and also using scalp elixir. I also bought a dermaroller (haven't used yet) and will buy the magical laser hat also soon LOL. My hair loss has stopped but the whole point is to "regrow". I should've started taking Fin earlier maybe 3-4 yrs ago. I want to make sure if and when I go for an HT - I've done all the pre-work in terms of controlling hair loss as well as protect my donor hair. attached two pics - one from Feb and one from today. Not sure if I see any regrowth (First pic in light, second one not so much) but with Fin it takes 6 months anyway..right?

Melvin - your comment made me look at your profile. Great results. you hair loss patter WAS pretty similar to what I have now.....your pictures give me hope OP - Please post pics. Since I'm diffused norwood 6 as well, it would be great to see others' pics as well.

Please do post the pre-OP pic. Which Norwood level are you?

I have been on Finastride for 2 months now...looks like shedding less. I want to be on it for another 6-9 months before considering HT. I'm using tea tree oil and massage it twice a day. I also ordered something called "Grogenix Scalp Elixir" for 47 dollars yesterday...let's see how that goes. It comes from UK so will take like 3 weeks. Anyway - Feedback from the members on this forum - Am I a Norwood 5 or 6 or even worse. That would help me getting better understanding of results from docs who have done that level of HT. One Pic with Light and one in natural environment.

Please focus on other important things in life. Your hair looks just fine. for the small balding spot use toppik/fiber. and yes get some new friends.

Houston / Dr. Arocha is recommended here on this forum; that's how I found out.

Shera - Quick clarification. maybe this is a dumb question so work with me Are you saying the grafts used in first procedure can be placed elsewhere (moving location?) or can they be "Duplicated" i.e. placed at the current location and a part/copy is moved to another location. Does hair grow back when taken out with FUE or FUT in the location where it was taken out from or is it a permanent move ?

Ernie - just went through your FUT pics. Looks like I have a larger real estate to cover than yours but I'm worried about the scar since I keep my hair short in the back. Can you post a pic of your scar - I know you keep your hair long but when you keep it short, is the scar visible?

Thx again. From my research so far (and let's see what the doc says later this week); cost is around 6-7 USD per graft. So far 5000 we're looking at 30,000 USD. I'm letting that thought sink in. It's a big undertaking and adding travel cost will further increase the cost. Let's see how this journey goes but I really would like to avoid the scar. Dr Bhatti is India just does FUE and i looked his website and he does FUE for norwood 5, 6 as well. Looks like I need to consult with a few docs. I might call up Rahal as well when he's in NY.

Thx for the replies. I have scheduled an appt with Dr Arocha so let's see how it goes. How do you guys manage the post-op if the doctor is in a different city? Is it possible to get HT done elsewhere and post-op in the city of residence? Has anyone done it?

Thx for all the great comments and info. I'm ok to travel anywhere in US or to Rahal in Canada or even to India. Couple of years ago when I came to know about this forum, SMP (Shapiro) was the go to clinic, not sure if that's still the case. I'm in houston and looks like Dr. Arocha has good reviews here. My worry is the scar with FUT; whenever I see pics of the scar on the back, I think staying bald is better. I keep my hair short on the back and sides, will I need another surgery to "fix" the scar? Also, based on the pics, what do you guys think - Am I a Norwood 5, 6 or 7?

Thx for the reply. Pic from back attached.

Dear Forum Members, Have been reading this forum for quite some time but posting for the first time. Have been taking Finastride and applying Rogaine (intermittently) but just started taking this seriously since the hair loss is at a stage where there's not much left I'm in houston and I know Dr. Arocha is one of the better surgeons; will schedule some time with him later this month but wanted to take feedback from you guys. I really want a solution to this hair problem and worried about surgery. At one time I was thinking about just non-surgical options. Am I a good candidate for FUE since I really don't want a scar at the back of my head. See pics. Any other recommendations in houston? My scalp is Itchy and I use clobex that the dermatologist recommended; my hair is also turning grey....all bad that can happen exists on my scalp. I use Nioxin shampoo; cold pressed coconut oil, Argan oil and what not..no luck on the itch. Is HT worth it with all these issues? My friend got a hair piece from Hairclub recently (he was completely bald) and it looks pretty good...the issue is he has to go twice a month to hairclub and pay 400 bucks for "maintenance".