Fabulous

Lordhair have ready-to-wear pieces. 

On 11/26/2022 at 5:25 AM, midas14 said:

I'm currently 21 and from everything I've read, I'm not sure if a HT would be right for me at this point in terms of being too young and not being on any meds except topical minoxidil. I'm NW5, approaching 6 and this rapid hair loss has affected me so much mentally over the past year. Would you go back and do the HT at 20 if you had the chance?

Try a system and see if it is for you or not (how you can handle the maintenance, new look, etc). If you find that is not suitable for you just take it off and start looking for hair transplant alternatives. For a NW 5-6 I'd say systems are better aesthetically.  No transplant will give you the same density and coverage.

I'm curious what made you give up on hair systems. After 10 years I assume you got a lot of knowledge about them and the maintenance was a lot easier than it was in the beginning.

It really depends on how many grafts do you need, what hair loss pattern do you have, if you need front only or full head.

My preferences are from EU only since I live here and I followed mainly doctors from here.

Front: Couto, Freitas, Ferreira

Full head/diffuse: Bisanga, Mwamba, Zarev 

I started to lose hair at 15-16 and tried several topicals like: castor oil, argan oil, petroleum based oils, even garlic. None of them worked. The only thing that helped me get more density and actually slow the progression of the hair loss was minoxidil. In the beginning I even grew a lot of hairs. The only problem I had with it was that after 3-4 years it started to lose it's efficacity.

I'd say to start with minoxidil(the brand doesn't matter) and maybe some Zinc and Biotin supplements if your budget allows. I would stay away from finasteride at your age , minoxidil could be enough to keep what you currently have an start fin at 18+.

I'm looking into hair systems as well, planning to get the first installation at a salon and then re-apply it at 10 days or so at home. 

I'd say the best way to learn is practice, of course documenting before will help a lot. I'm aware that at the beginning it will be a headache and it won't look perfect, but with time we'll get there.

Another place you can get your system for is https://hairhub.com

If you are looking for places to get a system + installation, I'm currently considering the following because im based in Europe: Onnahair(Turkey), Heydecke(Germany) and Novocabelohair(UK). You can find results from them on Instagram.

Already looking amazing. Congrats!

17 hours ago, deeznuts said:

where's the diffuse loss?

I misused the term "diffuse". What I was trying to say is that my front hair is thinning

7 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Fabulous,

I apologize if you’ve answered any of these questions already but my first question is, when is the date of your upcoming procedure? How much time do you have before undergoing surgery?

Also, it seems that you are on both Nostrand and dutasteride which means you are essentially using the most potent and powerful DHT blockers to combat hair loss. You say that your hair loss is still progressing after one year and three months of finasteride use and nine months of dutasteride use simultaneously.  My question is, how’s your hair loss slow down at all or is it still progressing as rapidly as it was prior to using this medication?

Note that I work for Dr. Rahal but I am not personally a doctor so please don’t take this as medical advice. But in my opinion, I suggest progressing with your treatment as long as the doctor has approved it until you reach at least two years.  That said, there is a very real possibility that you’re just not a responder to the medication.  But I think giving it more time would be a good idea.

also, the surgeon you selected, what has he said about the fact that medication doesn’t seem to be working for you at this time? I don’t know how much hair you have left on top of your scalp but I think it’s important that the surgeon you selected knows what you’re going through and you discuss and agree on the actual surgical plan in the event that you are not responding to the medication.

for example, I don’t know what your donor hair looks like and how much you have available throughout the course of a lifetime rather than just a single procedure, but if you have a lower donor hair supply and you have aggressive hair loss on top of the scalp and you’re not responding to the location, you may end up with a fairly thin looking result. And then you have to decide whether or not this is even worth it. 

Note but I’m not trying to talk you out of anything.  But I am a firm believer in informed consent and it’s important that you know exactly what you’re getting into and that your expectations are realistic. It’s also equally important that you are satisfied with what can be realistically achieved. Because if you’re not, and there’s no sense in going through with the procedure as it will just be a waste of money and you will be unhappy.

A hair system is always a possibility and there are some advantages and disadvantages of going that route.  The primary band just that I can look very natural and give you the appearance of much more density than a hair transplant ever could.  On the flipside, a hair system will require ongoing maintenance and it can and will be expensive.  Moreover, it doesn’t take a lot for it to look on natural so regular maintenance will be important. You will also have to worry about weather conditions and other things that could potentially affect the natural appearance of your system.  There’s also a much greater chance of show me noticing that what’s on top of your head isn’t natural.  but, as long as you rarely attend to the system and have the money and use it for regular upkeep, it may be a rather decent solution.  In fact, some people will combine a hair system with hair transit surgery in that they will undergo a hair transplant surgery to re-create a natural looking hairline and then use the hair system behind it as it’s not always easy to use a hair system to create a natural looking hairline.

if you are willing, I do encourage you to post some photos of your current hair loss and the side the back of your scalp so we can see what your donor area looks like. I also suggest that if you are having second thoughts that you talk to your doctor about postponing the procedure until you are fully confident with the decision you have made.

I hope this helps.

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Hi and thank you for your input,

- The date of the procedure is 9&10 Jan 2023

- The only issue I see since I start with fin and dut is that parts of my hair (which are at the border) are growing thinner and shorter(last 3 photos). I never had problems with the hair in the crown area or from back, but even those area improved in strength. Im not aware if dht blockers could grow new hairs, and in fact those small hair I see are in fact new hairs, but I highly doubt it.

- I did not inform my surgeon yet about the meds not fully stopping my thinning yet. I just recently saw a pic of mine and noticed that my hair looks thinner. I did not pay much attention to my hair after starting with Fin, thinking that I was safe.

23 hours ago, mister_25 said:

There is Saw Palmetto which I take everyday with Finasteride. I haven't gotten any side effects with it. Its weaker than Finasteride/Dutasteride but its something additional you can take.

There are a lot of topical anti-androgens and people get on these massive pharmaceuticals stacks for hair. Something that one of the people on this forum used to be knowledgeable about and praise a solution until they were banned.

 

Could you please share with me from where I could buy a topical DHT blocker ?

On 8/11/2022 at 9:29 PM, Mike10 said:

Sounds like a lot of stress. Have you tried shaving? In terms of quality of life should be the best option for you in the long term

Tbh I don't even want to think about shaving right now, even though it might not be as bad as I think. I prefer to let it be the last available solution.

On 8/11/2022 at 8:30 PM, mr_peanutbutter said:

in what norwood endgame are youre older male relatives atm?

My dad and his father are both NW7. I think my dad got to NW6-7 even before getting in his 30s..somewhere in his mid-late 20s.
On my mother's side everyone is a NW1.

On 8/11/2022 at 8:21 PM, thetdog666 said:

Im slowly losing hair while on avodart 0.5mg daily. Iv just started oral minoxidil. Minoxidil Foam doesn't seem to be doing much for me You could maybe look into that?

Unfortunately I can't find oral minoxidil where I live...I'll try to ask friends who live abroad to ship it to me. Thank you for the idea.

Thank you everyone for your advice and support.

Here you can see my first post in which I included photos from July 2021 (I was on fin for 2 months): 

Below you can see some photos I took today. Indeed, as @Tiger2050 mentioned, I started few months ago (4 I guess) to use the dermaroller and apply minoxidil to my thinned area, and I wasn't very consistent with that because of commodity (would use only on the bald spots from time to time). Until then I used the minoxidil only on my bald spots, as instructed by my dermatologist. 

The hair in the front is mostly miniaturized: thinner than usual and it grows only to certain lengths.

I think that the real issue for me isn't that I can't improve my current situation with a transplant, but maybe not getting what I was dreaming of. I saw a lot of good results(low dense hairlines) but those guys had more hair before the procedure than I do. This + the potential progression of the alopecia made me to take into account the potential benefit of a hair system.
@civic @sukh123 @LookMaxx @GoliGoliGoli @HappyMan2021 @Tiger2050 @Rahal Hair Transplant and others interested,
What do you guys think after seeing the photos ?

Hi guys,

My background:

Age: 26 in November

Hair loss started since I was 15-16, I've started with minoxidil at 19 which helped me to stabilize the condition for around 3 years.

Current situation: NW3 diffuse

Even though I'm on medication (finasteride for 1Year and 3Months) and dutasteride (9Months) my hair is still thinning and growing shorter. My current regimen is pretty crazy as well. I made my way up to 0.5mg Dut daily + 1.25mg Fin 5x week. Alongside this DHT blockers I'm using keto 2% shampoo (2-3x week), 5% minoxidil 2x day and dermarolling with 1.5mm 1x week.

As my procedure with mr. De Freitas is approaching (January 2023) I'm unsure if it's the right decision to keep going and I started to take into consideration getting a hair system but I have 0 knowledge in this domain (never met someone who has one, no real idea about the maintenance and costs), but it looks appealing to me because of hairline and density you can get. Does anyone have any experience in this area ?

What I would like to know is: Given the time I'm on Fin and Dut,  am I probably non-respondent to the medication or is this the way fin and dut work ? Some hairs have to shed and stronger hair will grow ? Is there a way I may do more harm to my hair with microneedling ?

Are there any other meds I can add to my routine which could help ?

There are few days in which I feel my hair looks better then before meds, but in the majority of time I feel depressed looking in the mirror and started to wear a cap almost everywhere I go. I never thought my hair loss will go this far so quick and that my first depressive episode in my life will be caused by it...

I know I read somewhere that is not advised to be in a caloric deficit after the transplant and that carbs are benefic for hair growth. 
You could try carb cycling at maintenance kcals.

One of the best transformations I've seen.

You have to stop using minoxidil only with 1 month-6 weeks before HT. If you are booked in 2023 for sure you can go back on 2x/day.
Finasteride could help too, I recommend to give it a try. If you don't get any sides just continue with it.

In addition to minoxidil you could add dermarolling.

Wow, amazing transformation!

Hi. These are the question I asked the clinic:

Excellent result, especially for 5 months. All the best!

Looking at that hairline from the thumbnail, definitely worth it

Yes, I'm booked with De Freitas on January next year.

If they offer a free touch-up I would accept it. HLC isn't a hair mill, probably they know what went wrong and how to fix it.
Also, they have a pretty solid reputation and by offering you this touch-up they want, above all, to wash up their image and send a message to their potential clients, like: Look, even there's a small chance it won't look fine at first we can fix it afterwards.

Amazing result!!!

In a best case scenario you would get the medication planning from the surgeon, but this could take some time. I think you can start with fin/dut or a combination of both and when you have your consultation just tell the doctor what your current regimen is and he'll adjust it if needed.