Tressless22

I've been on 1mg finasteride daily for about 14 months. I pay ~$60 for 30 tablets of 5mg of the generic. At about month 2, I noticed a few additional hairs at the center of my hairline, and although those hairs are still there, my temples have continued to recede despite being on fin which bothers the hell out of me that I can't at least halt the hair loss. I am just now adding Nizoral shampoo, but I do not plan to add rogaine/minoxidil. By the way, where can I get the best deal on Nizoral shampoo in the US and how often should I use it? For now, I am not considering a transplant. As long as I don't get one done this upcoming summer after M1, I won't even have the option to get one done until after I graduate in ~4 years. At that time, I'll probably have more hair loss and be a better transplant candidate. Hopefully you won't see me back on these forums until then.

I think I may be a better candidate in a few more years once my hair loss stabilizes. That way if I decide to go through with one I can avoid a procedure that implants into an area with existing hair. Also, I think I will start with Nizoral shampoo now to be more proactive. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through it right now, but I really appreciate your advice. You and others who responded have really changed my thinking about going through with this. I think I am going to wait a few years before reconsidering a transplant again.

Joining a forum to talk with other individuals considering hair transplants has been really valuable. It's all part of the process. You're right--I should also talk to other surgeons to figure out if their approaches are different from Dr. Erdogan. I'm glad I made this post because I am really leaning towards not having this procedure done anymore.

You probably don't need a hair transplant either because it is a cosmetic surgery and your starting point isn't baldness, but if it makes you feel better and you don't develop an unhealthy obsession with perfecting your entire appearance, I don't have an issue with anyone getting one. There are legitimate concerns like risk of infection or a design that would yield unnatural results either a year from now or when you are 60 years old. That's mostly what this post is about. Is Erdogan's design for me risky given that hair would be implanted in an area I already have hair? Is there a much better surgeon choice for my case? I appreciate the responses I've gotten.

I just went through several posts written by users on this forum who had similar if not better hairlines than me, and no one raised these concerns or called them dumb for having gone through with the procedure. Their first post was several progress pics after the transplant had already been performed rather than an initial post about surgeon choice and design. Not sure if the post format accounted for the difference in response.

Body dysmorphia is a mental illness. I don't think I've exhibited that. I recognize my hair loss is less than other users on this forum, and I have the capacity for rational thought when it comes to considering whether to proceed or not. I am just now starting medical school at a later age than my peers, and I fear the additional stress of losing hair over the next 4 years and not being able do anything about it because the only time off I have for the next 4 years is next summer. Having an unnatural appearance following a hair transplant might be even more stressful than just losing hair. After having posted this, several users have brought to my attention the risk associated with transplanting into a region with existing hair. I initially thought this was a small risk but other posters have made me feel like the risk is significantly greater. When you say I have no worries, do you mean I should not be worried about my current hair loss or I should not be as worried about the risks of a bad surgery with Dr. Erdogan?

I have not had a transplant before. My left temple recedes faster than my right, but the right always follows suit in about 6-12 months, so I will have equally deep temple recession eventually. I am somewhat concerned about density. My hair is somewhat dense and probably of medium thickness, and I am not sure if that density is achievable after one procedure. I notice that some people who don't have receding temples or only slight recession have less dense hair in their temples as compared to other parts of their hairline and scalp, so I brushed off that thought once before. I appreciate the response. I may wait or seek out on this forum if there are any surgeons known for making dense hairlines in one procedure.

Does implanting into an area with existing follicles make my potential surgery more risky than others, or do you mean the risk of worsening my current hairline? If I notice a difference, and I can stop worrying about temple recession for the next 5-10 years, that will be hugely beneficial for me and worth the price tag. I feel like I am ok with the potential risk of worsening my hairline, however I recognize that is difficult to say for certain. I had planned that if the surgery did not meet my expectations then I would just shave my head which is a hairstyle I would probably adopt if my temples recede much further anyway. Thanks for your response. I'll consider waiting or at least talking with other surgeons about how advisable this procedure would be for me.

Hi, I am age 29, and I have been considering getting a hair transplant for a few years despite having moderate hair loss at my temples. I started taking finasteride a year ago, and though my hair seems to have thickened up and added a few hairs along my hairline, I have also experienced continued recession at the temples. I contacted Dr. Erdogan in Turkey who estimated I would need 1800-2000 grafts. The placement of theses grafts is in a manner I have never seen before on any forum. The majority of the grafts are being placed where I already have hair so that as I experience continued hair loss, the grafted hair will remain and effectively hair loss will be hard to notice when looking in the mirror. I am mostly interested in having my temples filled and not necessarily having density added to other areas, and I indicated this in the questionnaire I filled out for Dr. Erdogan. Maybe the conservative approach for my situation is to add many grafts in the areas adjacent to the temples, but as I mentioned I have not seen this design before. Can anyone comment on this strategy/design and if they have seen it before from other posters? Also, I am mostly looking for hairline restoration. Almost everything I see from Dr. Erdogan looks great, but much of it is with grafts planted in the crown and midscalp with usually the same widely curving hairline design. Is Dr. Erdogan a good choice for hairline design, or should I be looking at other surgeons in Turkey? Your feedback is appreciated. Here are some photos of my hairline: Here is Dr. Erdogan's design: