baldforawhile

I should note I have a couple scars on my chin there from falling off my bike when I was a kid (whoops) and no hair grows there. That patch on my left chin is a graying area. There are a lot of those graying hairs spread throughout the beard and donor area pics as well. That being said, I would not mind taking the entirety of all the hairs below my jaw line.

My beard is pretty strong I think. As with my usual donor area hair it gets out of hand if I let it grow out, and is also greying. I’ve been wearing a stubble look since my early 20’s and don’t plan on ever changing that. I don’t know how that effects your ability to use the beard as donor (can you still wear a stubble beard after?). It has been one of the paradoxes of my life that my side head hair and beard are so thick yet the top of my head is so bald. But I’m thinking the thickness of the hairs is not as important as the density of them, so I really have no idea what kind of donor hair I have. I’ll definitely consult a few doctors before jumping off the cliff, but beard hair is definitely fair game I think.

Thanks Melvin, I appreciate your feedback! I almost didn’t post this after writing it out and looking at the pics, since I was like what’s the point I am doomed, and my hair loss is bad. I am not opposed to Fut these days since I’ve lived with being bald so long and just don’t want to do it anymore. I figure later in life I still won’t want to be bald and will wear the toupee. I hadn’t thought of the fact that a line of transplanted hair with nothing behind it would be way worse then scars, thanks Gatsby, I had not thought of that. That is a lifelong commitment to a hair system and I don’t think I’d be willing to do that. Maybe I’ll get some hair dye and dye the hairs so they are all black and then update this thread, I think that is the only way I can show the donor area well. I am really not under any illusion that a miracle can happen here but do think the donor area is better than the pics show. I did hit “post” on this thread after thinking it’s hopeless just because I want to get some real and realistic opinions so I very much appreciate you guys taking the time to post.

Thanks JDEE0! I'd say it was pretty clear where I was heading by my late 20's, yes. I had an obvious receeding hairline by 25, and by 30 people would refer to me as the 'bald guy'. (Thanks random stranger in a movie ticket line). When I initially started shaving my head, 33/34, I would say it was not obvious that I'd lose anything at the back of my head, I only started noticing that in the last few years. So I do think I am continuing to lose hair even now, although at a pretty slow rate.

Not sure why the photos aren't working so here they are.

Hello, I've been balding since I first noticed it in my freshman year of college (19 years old), and am now 41. I've attached some pictures of my current state of hair affairs, and after doing some research I think I'm a NW 6 or 7. (After taking a look at the pics I've uploaded, I'm leaning towards NW 7). I recently came across this forum and have been researching / reading posts, and the members here seem to be very knowledgeable! I figured I'd ask what people think is achievable for my head, as I've seen some others do. For some background - when I realized I was balding at 19, I accepted the fact that it was going to happen pretty quickly. Back then I only remember seeing hair transplants using FUT method and was very wary of having any scars on my head. I assumed that since I was balding at a young age, that I'd eventually be extremely bald and did not want to have scars if I ever had to completely shave my head. I was also hesitant to do literally anything to stop the hair loss progression, since at the time the medications seemed unproven and there was not as much information on the internet. I was also not keen on the idea of having to be on meds for the rest of my life just for my hair. Looking back, I'd probably have preferred to use the meds and roll the dice on whether they'd work or not. I've been slowly balding for the last 20 years, and about 7 years ago took the plunge and shaved it all off. The pics you see here are about as long as my hair has been in the last 7 years. I do not look terrible with a bald head, but I don't personally like the look on myself, and have always wanted to fix it but just didn't think it was possible. About 6 months ago I saw a video on social media of someone applying a hair system. Shaving their head, applying glue, and slapping down the hair. I started laughing immediately because I thought it was a joke, but after a haircut they showed the end results. I was shocked at how natural and awesome it looked. It was then that I started researching hair systems, transplants, etc, and became interested in fixing my hair situation. I started weighing my options - is it better to be bald, or is it better to walk around with a toupee? I actually bought a hair system and tried it out just to see how I liked it (I figured I'd go to a professional if I felt like it was something I wanted to do). The jury is still out on that as having hair is awesome but the maintenance and just being self conscious about is very much not awesome. A better alternative I've felt would be to get a hair transplant. If I could just pay a lump some and have a hair transplant and be done worrying about it, I'd do it. I figured people like Elon Musk have done it and look great, but I don't have millions of dollars for the best surgeon. And of course, who knows if his hair loss is anything like mine. That leads me to today - I'd like to ask everyones opinion on what my best options are, how my donor hair looks, how many surgeries (and approx. grafts) people think would be required, and possibly find some links to threads of people with similar loss to my own. I have searched the forum already and have a few examples, but just figured i'd throw that out there. Also would you think it would be wise to start on fin/min before thinking about a HT? I would still prefer to not be on meds and would also prefer to not use FUT but I would do either if it meant I could get the result I want. As far as the result I want - to me, if someone looks at me and thinks "he's going bald", I may as well not mess with my scalp at all and stay very bald. If I could get a full head of hair with a high hairline that would be acceptable though. I did also see a thread on having just the hairline transplanted and filling the crown with a system - that may also be acceptable and I'm sure would open up my options considerably. I have not consulted with any HT surgeons and obviously will be consulting with many before I take the plunge, but figured since there seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum, that I'd ask for opinions here first! A few notes on the pics - the hair I do have is turning grey so the pictures might look like worse donor area than it actually is, but I'll let you be the judge of that. When I've let my hair grow out in the past, I actually dislike how thick it is, so always figured it would be good donor hair (of course as I mentioned it's been a while since I've done that). I appreciate everyone reading this, and also appreciate anyones feedback! Thanks!