Fox243

I was wondering why there’s such a stigma to get a hair transplant for young patients who have noticeable balding (NW4+) and have very conservative requirements (Ie high hairline, lower density in mid scalp and crown, willingness for use FUT/BHT if needed). Maybe this would make sense 15 years ago, but with the advent of techniques from clinics like hasson and Wong, Eugenix, Zarev, Hattingnen, etc, it seems we can even get a NW7 to have a reasonable hairline and density.

Whoops you’re right – my point still stands for Eugenix. Why not FUT first then Eugenix if needed?

I’ve seen Eugenix, Bisanga, Hattingten recommended for high Norwoods, amongst others. However, they only perform FUE but research shows doing as many FUTs and then FUEs maximizes lifetime yield. tagging some ppl who are doing this: @Melvin- Moderator@Gatsby

Hmm perhaps that’s why some clinics were offering a HT procedure before. This is because I’m already NW4. They were giving a very conservative hairline, which I was fine with. I’m surprised my possible dupa emerged so quickly.

It might be because I had sent them the longer hair pictures I had in the other post. Maybe the possible dupa wasn’t apparent in those.

Yeah, I thought about it for a long time, but ultimately couldn’t pull the trigger

I am surprised people are saying ethical clinics won’t do this. A couple of the reputable clinics offered to do this such as hasson and Wong and eugenix. Some did say no, however, such as Dr. Bisanga.

I’m 21 – I have met with a derm but with my hair longer and she didn’t mention anything about dupa.

This is the other side of my head and the back. I’ve been on finasteride for a year and minoxidil for 5 years or so.

I’m considering having a hair transplant at some point in the future if my hair loss stabilizes, but just cut my hair and noticed that the sides look very sparse for some reason. Is this retrograde alopecia or is it normal?

I think I'm going to end up shaving my head. I can grow a decent beard. There's just too much uncertainty -- even if I continue taking fin, I may end up still balding and be constantly chasing my hair loss. I've let it define me for so many years, and I just want to move on with my life.

@aaron1234 @qui bono @GatsbyIn case you were interested, I consulted with Eugenix and unfortunately they mentioned that I basically have to take finasteride to get a transplant. Despite me having a good donor area, because I'm so young, they aren't sure whether I'll develop DUPA or if my donor will thin. And they said after 10 months on fin, if I'm not having major side effects, they would recommend I continue it as it is unlikely any severe side effects will develop. I'm still uncomfortable with this, but I guess I'll have to think about it.

@aaron1234Yeah, I've tried taking it every other day. And again, the side effects aren't super severe, but it's more the thought of being on this drug lifelong at an age where I'm not really sure how much hair matters to me. I initially got onto it hoping I would have good thickening, given my very young age and diffuse pattern. But when I only found maintenance, I wasn't sure if that was worth staying on the drug, especially since I was hoping that I wouldn't have to get a HT if I got on fin (and LLLT, microneedling, minoxidil, and nizoral).

Yeah, @qui bono, I was really hoping that the crown and mid scalp and hopefully even the hairline would have thickened up during my 10 months on fin, but it didn’t appear to do so. So I believe fin will either maintain what I have right now or slow down loss over the next couple decades, but I’m not expecting any regrowth at this point. Thanks for your advice.

And maybe I’m being too harsh on myself in terms of lack of progress, so here is a photo two months into fin.

@qui bonoI’m not sure what you mean by slick bald vs diffuse, but I’ve attached two pictures if that helps. @GatsbyYeah, I completely agree. These consultations are more about whether it’s okay for me to stop fin and still have a chance at a decent HT in 5-10 years, if I decide to go for a HT then. If I’m not on fin, I’ll definitely wait till my late 20s. If they say that I can get a transplant without fin, that would be ideal. But if they say fin is the only way I can get a transplant, I would need to think more about whether to continue fin.

@GatsbyCan you please link that list for those who specify in high Norwood cases? I haven’t tried topical versions for two main reasons: 1) there isn’t much evidence on efficacy and safety, 2) my derm suggested that it would be pretty useless for my level of balding. And yeah, I think about either just accepting my hair loss or wearing a hair system. It’s just hard to deal with it at such a young age, but it may be a route I take.

Hey everyone, as a brief background, I’m a 20 year old male who is a NW4. I’ve been losing hair since I was 16, and since then have taken rogaine and nizoral. I added LLT and fin 10 months ago, and micro needling 6 weeks ago. It seems that I’ve maintained though I may have worsened slightly. Unfortunately, finasteride has given me minor side effects such as low libido and watery semen. Therefore, I’m considering hopping off; however, I’d still like a transplant in 5 years or so. Currently, my donor is thick, dark, and wavy, but my grandfather had a NW7, so I might end up there as well. Which doctors would be best at assessing donor capacity and whether I’d still be able to have a decent transplant using scalp/beard/chest hair, even if I ended up as a NW7? I was thinking Eugenix, but would love to consult with a couple of others before deciding whether to pull the plug on finasteride.