futureresearch

Nice, this is gonna be awesome! Appreciate your thorough updates!

It's way too early to be worried about hair growing. Give it a couple of months man. So many people have this experience where they overreact in the first couple of months, if you've followed this forum you'd see it's common knowledge a hair transplant is a 12 month journey and the first couple of months are sometimes even worse than baseline.

I also recommend learning to cut your own hair. I started cutting it myself and it made a huge difference. I used to hate going to a barber while my hair was thinning, plus cutting your own hairs means you can learn how to make adjustments to minimize thinning. I used to use a higher guard on my frontal third since it was thinner so it would look as thick as everything behind it. Haven't been to a barber since pre-covid, it's a game changer. You'll definitely make mistakes along the way but it'll teach you a lot in the long run. If you have significant other they can really help out too.

Trust me, it's likely the fin. I was on fin for over 3 years and was always finding excuses for why my erections weren't as strong (alcohol, not into the girl enough, stress...). Got off of it for 9 months to see what would happen and felt like I was 15 again lol. Didn't even realize I wasn't getting morning erections while on it till I got off.

Are you planning to do anything to maintain hair? I have the same issue with DHT inhibitors as well but feel like I don’t really have any alternative solutions so trying to see how others deal with it.

Glad to hear the transplant went smoothly. Really looking forward to seeing how it turns out, hope you update us! I consulted with him a year back so I agree he’s pretty knowledgeable, but you’re right it’s really hard to communicate with them after. Did you do it in ATL? I’m based there so would make things considerably easier if I didn’t have to travel lol

I'm glad someone said this cause I completely agree. I also have afro hair and when looking people constantly tout Mwamba, Bisanga, Umar and Lupanzula so I'll check their site and see very few if any black patients posted. The only thing I noticed is they are all black themselves. I think they are brilliant doctors but to tout them as experts for afro hair seems like a disservice to black patients everywhere if we can't even hold them to the same standard of hair mills who actually do post results of black patients. This is the exact reason why so many black patients are running a gamble to go to places like Asli Tarcan, because they actually see results anecdotally and from the clinics. I've asked constantly why those doctors are touted as Afro experts and have yet to see a lick of proof. I can find more results from other doctors like Diep on this site who are still very expensive so I don't think cost is the only factor here. I will happily take back my opinion if anyone can provide any proof because I am more than willing to pay for quality but seems like results for black people is severely lacking on this site.

Any updates? Also thinking about going to Arocha soon, was there a waitlist? Also how's the donor?

I have afro hair as well and am considering a transplant and I was just passing by and wanted to say even though you're worried about cobblestoning and growth you may not be satisfied with, you have amazing hair and curls. I hope you're not letting the unsatisfactory results impact your perception of that

Hi everyone, I am looking for a doctor to do Afro hair. I’ve heard people say Mwamba and Bisanga, and previously Diep. I know both Mwamba and Bisanga are great surgeons, but I seem unable to find any evidence to back up why people point to them when they refer to Afro hair as well. Is it because they have Afro hair themselves? There aren’t many published results for them with Afro hair and I’ve seen a couple of threads where the results weren’t great for Mwamba. I’ve seen some positive results for Dr. Arocha. I’m only worried because it seems many of the posts seem curated and there aren’t too many patient reviews. I’m just hoping someone can guide me so I can make an educated decision based on data. Thanks!

Looking strong! One benefit of losing my hair early is I was way more motivated to take care of myself in other domains. I spent much more time lifting than I should have in college haha. Luckily I still ended up getting a degree and a good job 😁

Absolutely ridiculous. I’ve been working out since I was 18 and am pretty lean and muscular. Let’s not assume we’re medical researchers here.

Yup hopefully there’s a breakthrough someday, the hair will be missed haha

That’s good to know! Thanks for the advice, i think it’s what I’ll end up doing if these sides don’t subside. I’ll take a closer look at SMP and see what I can do. Thanks!

Hey Gatsby, just had a question. I’m 25 and also experience side effects from fin, both topical and oral. Was wondering, would you still have gotten a transplant at 25 without medication given everything you know now or would you just have made peace with it. I only ask because I have a lot of hair now but will likely end up a norwood 6-7 in the coming years and have started shaving my head in preparation the last year but am having great difficulty getting used to it and my dating life has certainly suffered a bit. Just wondering if I should just accept my new world order haha or would you keep up the fight using transplants and minox at 25? I’ve thought of fue and smp but people seem to often discourage doing both so I suppose there’s a reason for that. On the plus side I have a super thick beard haha. Thanks!

I don’t think I’ve had it while going off.

Ahh I see, you’ve been on it for a while. It takes a couple of months for symptoms to subside once you get off I hear, which has been the case when I come off fin too. Definitely is a good idea to let a doc know just in case but it will most likely subside in time along with a reduction in other sexual sides.

For me the ball pain goes away even with continued use of finasteride. I think it is one of those things that occurs when your body first gets used to it. How long have you been on?

Cool, thanks for the info!

Thanks for the update! I’ve been curious about this new formula but a bit skeptical as well. Wish they would just lower the dosage since if any does happen to go systemic, 2.5mg would be way worse than the normal topical dosages. I had a question, what form is it in? Like a gel or liquid? And how easy is it to apply? Also do you dermaroll or anything? I used topical fin after dermarolling accidentally and that increased systemic absorption by a lot.

Yes I’ll get a good consultation before anything, the thin spots I believe are just what happens if my hair is short and curled, which happens in the back if I let it grow out after a haircut and don’t comb. The top is fine since I’m always messing with it to get it to look right. Either way, it’s good to know it is a possibility. I’ll see if I can figure out a tolerable medication plan in the meantime.

Thanks for the reply. I tried topical finasteride a couple of months ago and developed side effects again in a month. I’ll look into oral minoxidil and dutasteride but with the latter I am expecting that it will also lead to side effects despite the molecular size theory. Medication is probably my best bet so happy to take a look at any options. Here are some pics of donor as well. My hair curls tightly if I haven’t combed in a while which you’ll see in one of the pics. Also I currently have alopecia areata and dermatitis, have gone to a derm to address that. Again sorry about the quality of pics, my goal really is just to determine if I have any options or ways to hold ground until there is a new treatment given my experience with side effects related to current treatments.

Hi all, I am 25 and have been losing hair since I was 18. I was on fin from age 20-23 but I had side effects all throughout and decided I should stay off. Currently I am using minox though I know it is not a permanent solution. I know it is generally not recommended for young people to get transplants without meds as they are likely aggressive candidates. Is there no alternative in that case? I’ll attach pics and show some ideas I have. My hair type covers a lot of thin spots when grown out as you can see below. I also have a decent beard. I was wondering if fue, beard, and smp would work. I would do FUT but I worry that the scar would be too raised as my body is prone to doing that. As for shaving my head, I have done that and am not a fan of the look, my head is quite wide and long and I used to be bullied for it as a kid though I can accept it if I have no other options. Money wouldn’t be an issue and I would make sure to find a top surgeon, so far I am thinking Dr. Diep or Bisanga but would like to hear your guy’s input as well. Also I wouldn’t do this until about 2 or 3 years as I want to see how my hair loss stabilizes off fin and also hoping a new anti androgen would get approved though I know this is unlikely. All the pics are with same hair loss, just hair grown out.