Myr

22 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Your donor looks patchy, have you gotten your hair loss evaluated before? I’m concerned you may have LPP or scarring alopecia. 

15 hours ago, gillenator said:

You definitely want to get a microscopic examination of your donor first.

Yikes, just googled LPP and scarring alopecia. None of the clinics have said anything about this but those have been online consultations. I do have diagnosis of Alopecia Mucinosa in a past though which is a very rare skin disease. 

Do you think it would be worth to pay a visit to dermatologist before travelling to any HT clinic? I'm considering HLC but if I'm honest, I'm not 100% sure they would give me impartial view if I'm eligible candidate for HT.

I´m thinking to pull a trigger and go for HT. I have somewhat NW3+ hairline and thinking of fixing it. 

In 2017 I cancelled HT because I did not feel comfortable to do it. My main concern is that I can't take finasteride (it destroys my free test) and I worry I would end up in a worse place than before HT down the road. I have been on treatments for almost 9 years now (Min + Nizoral). For a past 6 months I have also added Zix and micro needling. I have not lost that much hair during years.

However, I´m worried about my donor hair which to me is average at best. Mid-scalp is also thinning a bit which is also concerning. Few (Turkish) clinics have said everything is fine and I would need about 2800-3000 grafts. I'm 36 years old btw.

Any thoughts?

18 hours ago, gillenator said:

It depends how advanced it is and if there is miniaturization in the primary donor region.

I do not see any evidence of DUPA.

I have attached better picture of my primary donor region. 

Any thoughts? 

3 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Looks like retrograde alopecia. That doesn’t mean you’re screwed. Just means you have less donor supply.

Thanks. However, dont´t you think at least ethical doctors would not consider patients with retrograde alopecia as suitable candidates? 

What do you think of my donor hair? Am I seeing retrograde alopecia or dupa here? My hair is quite short in pics but maybe a trained eye can already see if I am screwed or not.

Amazing results considering you are at 5 months mark

I have been told by quite a few doctors, including Erdogan. However these have been online consultations. Unfortunately I am not living anywhere near HT clinics so online consultations have been the only choice so far.

If I may ask opinions, what do you think of my donor in general? And in a case my donor would be thinning, does it mean HT is ruled out?

Do you have some pictures you can share ?

Sure!

I have tried to research on this subject but I have yet to find comprehensive answers. If person (like I do) have thinning in donor area, should they give up on a idea to get HT? What kind of limitations thinning donor might bring if HT is possible? I assume medication, especially propecia, is mandatory to anyone with thinning donor area and are considering HT.

The fact that you've been losing hair for at least ten years and only have slight recession and minor diffuse thinning is a positive thing. My hairloss began at around the same age. I would say I'm slightly less thin on top but my hairline receded deeper than yours has, and I think anyone would consider my hairloss to be very slow to the point of being stable. The same could be said about you.

 

The only concern (and it's only an issue if you're considering a HT) is the donor area. I do think you have some thinning in that area and I see it in the photo you added. If a photo shows possible donor thinning then that makes it very hard to give an accurate estimation from that photo. I think it reflects well on the doctors you consulted with that they were honest about your donor area and didn't promise you the world.

 

I totally agree with Spanker. You appear to look good with your hair buzzed short, you have barely enough recession to justify hairline work and definitely aren't thin enough to have a transplant to the diffused area.

Thanks for your reply mattj, I think you might be right. For example Erdogan did not want operate me because of my donor hair and suggested I need to take fin for 6-12 months before he would reconsider surgery.

Since I have booked HT for another reputable dr, I am thinking to cancel the procedure and save the money (and donor hair). It kinda sucks because while I like buzz cut quite a lot, I am not able to grow my hair longer due to uneven hairline. My options are

1) stay on treatments (big 3) and keep my hair buzzed for a time being or until we have a real cure on hands

2) stay on treatments (big 3) and fix the hairline. Problems may arise if my hair loss progresses and I run out of donor hair.

3) same as no 1 but maybe get quality SMP to fix hairline / get more density

Here is a better picture of my donor hair. It is taken with flash. My hair lenght is about #1.

You definitely have diffuse thinning, but a lot of guys with frontal recession have at least a bit of thinning throughout the top. It'll be less noticeable with longer hair but also buzzing it even shorter than it is would probably make it less apparent.

 

It's difficult to be completely accurate when judging donor area from photos, especially only one photo, but it looks like you might be thinning downwards from your crown.

 

How old are you and when did you first notice that you were losing hair?

Im 32 years old and I have been losing hair over 10 years. Some days I feel confident about my hair, some days I feel bummed out. Its difficult to get objective analysis of my hair loss outside of this forum (god bless for this community Lol). Even my GP who prescribed me propecia thought I had only bit of recession on my temples. I can only wish the truth was so simple :rolleyes:

I could provide more pictures of my donor. Btw, every single HT doctor who has consulted me online, have found it difficult to analyze or give estimation of my donor hair. Not sure what to make of it :rolleyes:

Hi all,

It was not until recently that I found (thanks to this forum) that im losing hair on my mid-scalp. Before that I was so obsessed about my receding hairline that I kinda ignored other parts of my scalp.

I took new pictures today under harsh lightning to give you better view on my hair situation. I would be grateful if someone could give their opinion on my hair loss (diffuse thinning or not, potential NW-level in a future, donor hair good or bad, good or bad candidate for HT).

4 weeks off is an excellent amount of time.... concealing the redness after a HT depends on where you're getting work done, ie frontal zone, midscalp, crown, etc.? will the recipient area be shaved? size of procedure? etc. FUE healing time is definitely much quicker than FUT as well, which was one of my primary goals - to get back to work ASAP, best of luck

Procedure will focus on frontal zone: hairline and frontal half. They will shave my whole head so both recipient and donor area will have no cover after FUE. They are also using manual punch (and small extraction needless 0,6-0,9 mm) so donor healing should happen fast. This was important factor when choosing a clinic.

I have read where guys have said it's a sun burn because they put sunblock on their face but not forehead. I have also seen the allergic reaction to a medicine excuse. Some people may ask but 90% of people won't pry for any more information after you tell them something like this. Good luck man and I hope everything goes well.

I have actually thought about sun burning as an explanation. I have tendency to get sun burns easily so that would fit well with the story.

4 weeks off is awesome! How big is the procedure ?

Yes, I have planned this for a year and managed to get long break from work so I would have time to heal well. Its going to be 2000-2500 grafts in 2 days operation. Part of me is quite anxious tbh but the other part cant wait to jump on a plane already.

Im going to procedure soon and my biggest concern at the moment is the intial healing period and especially the treaded redness in a recipient area (hairline). Im going to take 4 weeks off after HT so I will have time to take care of swelling and scabs etc. But the redness in a recipient area worries me a lot. I work in sales and I have to face customers daily basis. Additionally, my co-workers would go absolutely nuts if they find out I had HT done. They can be quite ruthless :rolleyes:

Since cap is out of question due to office environment, are there any ways to hide redness? Make-ups or something else?

Thanks for your replies guys, I appreciate them!

I have booked HT with HLC Clinic in Ankara (dr ?zgur) few months ago. I think I was 25 years old when I decided that I wont look into HT before I am in my thirties. Well, now I am 32 yo

While I feel ok with buzz cut, it never felt like "me". I believe most of us here know what I mean. After dealing with hair loss over 10 years and getting older, I have started to appreciate and value time. While I could always wait a bit more and postpone HT, I would waste (arguably) the best times of my life waiting. Further, I fully believe we will have much better treatments in next 5-10 years which will halt and possibly reverse hair loss. Having said that I would never go to HT without being on legit hair loss treatments (big 3).

So now I am on big 3 which worked wonders for hair loss last time. HLC is considered one of the best HT clinics in Turkey. I believe my hair loss is not aggressive but more like moderately progressive ( without legit treatments). But I am not jumping the sharks without thinking Plan B or Plan C If something goes wrong along the road, I have planned to shave my head and get SMP with skilled artist. One of the (many) reasons I chose HLC is that they use manual punch with small sizes extraction needles leaving the donor with minimum damage in a case I would need to shave my head someday (and get SMP).

Thanks for your answer guys. I have used finasteride along with rogaine foam 4 years ago for a short time but I had to quit due to health problems (unrelated to finasteride). I documented my progress with big 3 and I responded to treatment extremely well in a very short time. I can upload pictures of progress if someone is interested in to see them.

Im 32 yo so not too young but not too old. I think I am in difficult position regarding to HT. I could have nice head of hair for "prime" time of my life but on the other hand you never know the future loss and therefore there is always a risk. Im also content with buzz cut ( I really like no guard buzz cut with a nice hairline) but I also like medium length hair (I think it matches the best with my personality and identity if you know what I mean).

Hello everyone,

LONG time lurker here. Im looking for HT procedure in a next few months. I have planned this for two years now and suffered from hair loss for a good 10 years.

Now when HT is coming closer and closer, im starting to get bit cold feet which I guess is normal :rolleyes: I have read that HT is generally suitable for people with "stabilized" hair loss. Could someone please elobarate what that means in real world?

I have also attached comparison picture of my hair situation. Left one is taken in March 2017 and right one in 2012 before any treatments. I have been using Rogaine 1x day and Nizoral 2% 2 times pre week. Would you say my hair loss could be considered stabilized?

I have also started now propecia 0,25 mg per day just be on the safe side after procedure.