mister_25

To be honest, I think you got a pretty good result. Usually there is some evident signs of Harvesting/Implantations and I myself who have been looking at these for a long time are really struggling to look for it. The only thing that indicates that this is a hair transplant is the redness in the frontal third.

I don't think anyone will notice it unless you point it out to them. Even people that are in the know in hair transplants/hair loss.

14 hours ago, James1677 said:

have been losing my hair for 6 years now and started Finn last year which slowed down but my hairline is still regressing.

Do not get a hair transplant if you haven't stabilized your hair loss. There are alternative options that you may try on top of Finasteride such as Saw Palmetto and others.

Would recommended Minoxidil

Just now, LookMaxx said:

Neither of those essential oils inhibit DHT and they help nourish the hair follicles but don’t really do much for hairloss. So don’t worry you can take it as a teen.

Saw palmetto is horrible, I tried it and it was the worst feeling ever. Finasteride is a lot better. Could just be me. 

Saw palmetto is more like a weak dutasteride as it blocks both types of 5 ar enzyme whereas fin only blocks one type. So yeah not really recommended for teens

I take it with Finasteride since I was 20. No side effects from either and I've stabilized and got significant regrowth. If that's the case then its probably best he doesn't try it.

Just now, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

Why is this knowledge not common enough? I'm sure there are cases where people are not or are no longer taking meds after their procedure.

You have alot of hair already. If you do not take DHT prevention medication you will probably have to go through a similar journey as Melvin. A Norwood 6 with nothing exhausting every possible resource he can to get hair on top, including hair that is prone to thinning later.

There are other lesser known forms of balding such as Retrograde Alopecia and DUPA. Retrograde is where you thin at the bottom of the nape and above the ears. This compromises your Donor. DUPA is significantly worse where you cant guarantee ANY hair on your head will go or not. INCLUDING your donor. Finasteride and other DHT prevention medication is the only way to combat this possibility. Not only does it strengthen/prevent hair loss on top of your head. But also affects your donor if you take it Orally or apply it topically to that region. This could strengthen donor areas that were prone to thinning to be transplanted. Increasing your overall donor.

4 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

Why is this knowledge not common enough?

I went pretty much bald at 20 and a Norwood 5 and I didn't even know hair loss medication existed. Its a taboo topic for men to open up about personal struggles and feelings in society. 

5 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

I have seen cases where people with full heads of hair after a procedure who claim to be on no medication.

Every person reacts to DHT differently. Generally speaking, the younger you are the more DHT you produce and the older you are the more DHT Sensitive you are. Some people get lucky where the sensitivity as they get older isn't affected because the lack of DHT levels they are on. Some peoples hair are only prone to Norwood 3 with Super thick remaining hair. You cant guarantee anything, even looking at family history is no promise but a decent indication of "FINAL PATTERN" not rate of balding

7 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

I'm sure there are cases where people are not or are no longer taking meds after their procedure.

These cases are mostly people that have their frontal third transplanted. Then quit meds, then bald everywhere behind it. Giving them a Island of hair in the front and bald everywhere else. Tory Lanez is a celebrity example

8 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

It just doesn't sit right with me that I have to rely on medication for temporary results.

You got this the other way around. Hair transplants are a temporary solution. Medication could make them a permanent solution. This is why you test your reaction to Finasteride/DHT Blockers before you get a hair transplant. You stabilize then hair transplants can become more "permanent"

9 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

Also, my hair loss has slowed to the point where there has not been any further recession for about a year. I have monitored the state of my hairline for a year without medication and can confidently claim that there hasn't been dramatic recession like the previous 2 years.

Still can't guarantee, your not doing anything to actually inhibit hair loss. Remember as I stated earlier. Younger you are the more DHT you produce, older you are the more DHT Sensitive you are.  Its a gamble that you are talking about right now

11 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

I am also looking at my father (who is also receding, though still has hair in his crown area) for reference.

People overrate family balding as a good indicator so I'll tell you my story

Father. Norwood 5 Diffused at 50. Norwood 2.5 at 40.

Paternal Grandfather  Norwood 5 slick bald or Norwood 6

Maternal Grandfather Norwood 4 or Norwood 3A. in his 50s before passing.

Maternal Uncle Norwood 3 60s

Maternal Cousin - Alopecia Areata (I am not blood related to the side of the family that was prone to this)

Paternal Cousin - Norwood 1 50s

Paternal Cousin - Norwood 3 45?

Myself - Norwood 5 20 years old

As you can clearly see from myself example the general idea of final pattern is evident in family members. But not the rate of balding.

14 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

Also, couldn't I just take meds in the future if I do see the hair loss progress after the transplant? 

You aren't guaranteed to get your hair back from medication, so lets say with medication you stabilize but don't get regrowth. You will need to get another transplant to fix what you lost. Nothing is a guarantee, and most good doctors have ethical reputations. They will only accept if you are on medication because they want what's best for you. And ethical doctors are more trustworthy and trustworthy doctors have better reputations and better reputations are better business.

I know that Finasteride is not recommended for people under 18. But what about Saw Palmetto? I know that it Inhibits DHT but at a much smaller amount than Finasteride.

Would like a more experienced member of the forum to correct me on this. I DO NOT want to give bad advice especially to someone so young.

11 minutes ago, AsianBoyHairLoss said:

Hi, I have not started either. I don't wish to take hair loss medication for 3 reasons:

1. Potential Side Effects 

2. Temporary Effects 

3. My body getting used to the medicine and relying on it

 

I have consulted Hasson and Wong, they are asking me to take finasteride for at least 6 months just to be CONSIDERED for surgery. Why is this? 

Thanks

You need to stabilize your hair loss to be any form of a candidate. Just because you have receded a tiny bit or lost a bit in your crown doesn't mean that's it not going to get worse.

Hair loss is progressive, you need to stabilize and monitor your situation for around 6 months to a year. If you get regrowth on meds, or no hair loss has been visibly noticeable for 6 months to a year (would recommend a year) than you can consider getting a hair transplant. 

Also your third point. People that get surgery are on Finasteride/Minoxidil for the rest of their life to maintain their hair. Its a life long war/battle. Don't treat Hair Transplants as one and done because you will probably need to do it again if you thin out across 10-20 years. Hair transplants are a temporary solution, they will get your hair back but not address progressive hair loss and balding. That's what medication is for. Hair transplants to win the battle, Medication to win the war.

Dr Hasson is a top choice of Surgeon, I would recommend listening to his advice as he is one of the only people I would let touch my head (I'm getting a HT with him at the end of the year)

Looking forward to your next update. Do you have any photos with wet hair?

5 minutes ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

when did most of you all notice the most loss of hair and then when did you notice a slight plateau?

I was a Norwood 2.5 or Norwood 3 when I was 19. Within a span of 6 months in 2020 (20 years old). I went from Norwood 3, to almost slick bald Norwood 5. 

From what I've gathered. There is no answer to this question. DHT is the main reason most people lose their hair and they produce alot of it in their younger years hence more balding. However this isn't the case for everyone because as you age your DHT levels will drop by a degree but your sensitivity to DHT will go up.

Your 6 months is probably going to be outstanding. Absolutely amazing work

What month is this? Incredible results so far.

This topic came up in a thread earlier today. Here is my quote on that thread that has relevance to your question

20 hours ago, mister_25 said:

My doctor wants me to stop minoxidil all together or at the very least 6 weeks before and thinks that minoxidil is not worth the effort. Saying that continued usage of minoxidil can make hair transplantation difficult in the long run with collagen damage, destabilization of the tissue and other things like premature facial aging and excess bleeding.

23 minutes ago, LookMaxx said:

The impression I get is this forum hates Turkey but if you look around other countries as well, the situation is no different. US, Spain, Brazil, India where these top doctors are recommended everywhere there are horrible botch jobs and hairmills, no different than Turkey.

Everywhere has bad surgeons, the reason Turkey in particular gets a lot of scrutiny is because its known for its health tourism, it has that reputation and that power to be called a holiday destination to get your hair back, but that is far from the truth. The amount of hairmills that I have heard of beats the amount of doctors that I would trust by a overwhelming majority. The thing about turkey is that they don't have necessarily have skill in hair transplantation, they have skill in marketing hair transplantation.

Every country in the world has good and bad surgeons, every good surgeon has good and bad results, every hairmill has good and bad results. I wish this industry was black and white so we can easily point "bad clinic, bad result" "good doctor, good result" buts its more than that. When people say US, Spain, India, Belgium, Portugal or whatever they are talking about the locations of very few specific elite doctors, not the locations itself. They aren't saying "US is the best choice for hair transplantation" its more like "The US has some of the best choices for hair translation."

Geography doesn't determine the result, the surgeon does. 

Adil Jemil, I'll stand by my opinion and give you my honest advice and this is from someone that is/was in a similar circumstance as yourself. You have a advanced pattern, You are about Norwood 5 or Norwood 6, if your goal is coverage than the best choices in Turkey could work like Dr Bicer and others that have been mentioned. There are still other cheap options that are probably as good as Bicer or if not better, these options are probably found outside of Turkey. If your goal is to get something close to density (like a half way point between illusion to density) you are going to need to go to Elite Doctors which cannot be found in Turkey and that will also cost a heavy sum.

I also wouldn't trust Google reviews, I've seen how easily manipulated they are. Its like Yelp reviews, put 1 real negative 1/5 review, the clinic puts up 100 fake positive 5/5 reviews.

10 hours ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Are you doing FUT or FUE?

4000-4500 Grafts FUE. I am about a Norwood 3 Vertex / Norwood 4 but I was a Norwood 5 before I started medication.

10 hours ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

This was Hasson's response in a Reddit AMA when asked about Topical Min.

I asked if switching to Oral Minoxidil would be beneficial to avoid the collagen damage and tissue destabilization. Doug emailed back saying that he thinks that it would probably not and he would get back to me. After a email back I was told that Dr Hasson does not prescribe Oral Minoxidil. I got the general idea that he is against Minoxidil all together not just Topical but also Oral as well, but I cant say for sure.

This is a quote on your previous thread that you should really look at.

14 hours ago, Z-- said:

At Norwood 6, you'll have very limited donor. If you have beard hair, that can probably be used to supplement your donor region. You can't afford to make a mistake and have grafts wasted. One bad surgery and your one shot at decent density might be gone (alongside a depleted donor with tens of thousands to fix it).

You need to do this right from the start, as previously mentioned and recommended you should probably go somewhere elite and those options are not available to you in Turkey. The luxury that Norwood 5s and above do not have is that they usually don't get second chances towards decent-good density. In my honest opinion, if price is that much of a factor for you to get a hair transplant at your stage, then you shouldn't get one at all. That's the reality of the situation you are in. If you want your hair back you can't afford to make mistakes.

1 minute ago, Tiger2050 said:

Dr. Victor Hasson?

Yes

Bicer is decent option in Turkey, good for the price but not elite.

Serkan Aygin is a hair mill, do not go there.

Don't know to much on Gur and Turan, they have a reputation as one of the better ones in Turkey.

Thanks for the input, Bit worried there. My doctor wants me to stop minoxidil all together or at the very least 6 weeks before and thinks that minoxidil is not worth the effort. Saying that continued usage of minoxidil can make hair transplantation difficult in the long run with collagen damage, destabilization of the tissue and other things like premature facial aging and excess bleeding. Are those factors eliminated within two weeks of discontinuing?

I will say that I got pretty good results with Minoxidil and generally don't want to discontinue it if I don't have too.

49 minutes ago, Adil Jemil said:

But i understand that its better to choce a docter like DR Bicer which does onlzy 1 or 2 patients a day and actually care about the patient. please give me your thought to thank you

Turkey in general is something you should avoid, The Doctors that I know that have somewhat of a better reputation from turkey here are Dr Bicer, Dr Gur and Dr Turan. Generally though the elite surgeons are found else where and thats where you should probably look at as you are a High Norwood. After looking at the new photos your probably a Norwood 5 or a Norwood 6. Leaning towards 5, you need to go to somewhere that specializes in advanced norwoods as previously stated.

11 minutes ago, Adil Jemil said:

No, i could do it in switzerland as im living in switzerland. Switzerland has very gd hair clinic but i dont want to spend that amount of money. That why i choce turkey

As stated by a post above, Hattingen hair transplant is a clinic that is well suited to you. They have a reputation as a Strip Clinic and Strip tends to work better on higher norwoods. In addition they are located in Switzerland if I'm not mistaken.

I always thought the Big 3 was Finasteride Minoxidil and Microneedling. 

Don't you need to stop Minoxidil before a hair transplant around 6 or so weeks before hand? Doesn't this induce a shed that could potentially be a obstacle to the final result because the hairs that are provided by minoxidil are missing and the surgeon will be unable to see them?

Informative video as always!

Looks like Norwood 3A or Norwood 4

Looks fantastic, your about to be another Norwood 6 Miracle on here.

When I was doing my research, I found that the general consensus was that Hasson was known more for his skill in mega sessions and Wong was known for his skill in the Crown.

2 hours ago, Beepbeepbeep said:

Is it normal to request one of them for your procedure?

Initially on my first email from Doug, he said that Dr Wong reviewed my photos and determined I was a good candidate and he was willing to take me for surgery. I then asked if I could choose the surgeon and he said yes you can. I emailed back saying I would like Dr Hasson as my preferred surgeon and got a email back saying Dr Hasson reviewed my photos and then took my case. Worked for me.

2 hours ago, Beepbeepbeep said:

Or if my own personal factors such as FUE or being an advanced NW should come into play.

On one of my replies, they said Dr Hasson only does FUE, whilst Dr Wong does both FUT and FUE.

51 minutes ago, Iceee222 said:

This is very great intel I appreciate it. Curious of other clinics that you recommend probably outside of the US due to the higher price in there. I am willing to spend more money than the hair Mills in turkey but nothing crazy like 15-20,000. I would say 8-10,000 would be a great range. Willing to go more than that though if need be. I have heard great things about Bogota hairlines and I’m wondering if you have heard of them as well? 

Price shouldn't be a factor. I am about to spend a large sum for my procedure, the reason why hair mills get so many customers is because of Marketing and availability. They offer very low prices in a country known for health tourism. But don't take their false promises and fake advertising seriously, in the end this is surgery and the less money your paying your probably paying for a less quality surgeon and in the worst case, no surgeon at all. You should consult with some of the elite doctors and they might have a price in a range that fits your budget. It also depends what Norwood you are. In my case I am probably around a Norwood 3 Vertex / Norwood 4 with clear signs of going into a 5 with no signs of going into a 6. I would need a larger amount of grafts than a Norwood 2 or 3, more grafts = more money. I was quoted for 4000-4500 grafts and realistically need two surgeries for the result I want.

I will mention I am relatively new to this and have been thoroughly researching since September 2021. That's when I mentally decided to plan out a HT as a option, there are tons of other forum members with years and even decades more experience than myself. But I've still done ALOT of research.

I'll list the names that I consider to be the best in the world and the ones I will pay for surgery. 

Canada has H&W who I am going to at the end of the year, they are one of the best clinics in general and probably the top choice for FUT. I chose them because of their results in the Norwood 4/5 Range and how consistent they have been over the years. They charge $8 USD per graft, after 2000 grafts they will charge $6

Belgium has Mwamba and Bisanga. Two top choices, Bisanga was one that I was considering

Spain has Couto and De Freitas. YouTube algorithm showed me Couto's results and thats how I discovered HTs for the first time. His results are phenomenal but I've heard his waiting list is absurd. 

Portugal has Ferreira who seriously impressed me with Rolandes result. I've heard that he charges a fair amount as well.

Others include Zarev in I think Bulgaria? and Sethi at Eugenix.

Konior in the US, hes ridiculously expensive but I think he has to be one of the safest bets.

In the end, they always say. You get what you pay for, you might need to expand your budget depending on how bald you are. Less Bald = Less money you need to spend. More Bald = More money you need to spend. Top Clinics are Top Clinics, and everyone wants to go their so they raise up the prices. If you want to consult with the doctors I've listed you should do research and consult with them and ask if you are a candidate and get a quote for how many grafts and how much each graft is.

I'll also say I looked at your thread and think that in your case for you to get your hair back in the safest and best approach you need to see if you've stabilized your loss on Finasteride/Minoxidil for atleast one year. You are under the age recommended on here (Recommended Age at the very minimum is 25.) so after one year of finasteride usage I presume you would be 25? This places you in a much better position in that standpoint and would fit all of the boxes that are said here that makes a person a transplant candidate. However you have alot of native hair, this can be a good thing as you need less grafts but also makes the surgery more difficult as the surgeon will have to show incredible finesse to place in-between those hairs, otherwise they could damage your native hair. I think in your case your better off going to a really skilled surgeon more so than others for that very reason. You might not even need to have a HT because Finasteride/Minoxidil have a good chance of regrowing your hair.

I would like if a more experienced member of this community to correct me if I'm wrong cause I don't want to lend bad advice to someone, I am a bit biased in the fact that I am younger than the recommended candidates (22 years old) here with some retrograde loss that is getting a transplant at 22. So I don't want to lead someone into a bad path

25 minutes ago, Adil Jemil said:

Thank you for your valubale advice, im still 24. I started loosing my hair pretty early when i was about 16. Basically my doner area is pretty gd. The hairline and the upper head and crown are the areas which i need the transplant. And i understand that with one OP it would be hard to fill full head so im going first for the hairline and front part. Im leaving the crown may be for later will see.

Are you on medication like Finasteride/Minoxidil? If you aren't you should get on it and stabilize your hair loss. And if you are on those medications how long have you been on them?

Right now you are in a difficult circumstance as you are showing signs of going into a Norwood 6. If you do EVERYTHING right, you could perhaps get a incredible result but that's probably only possible with the use of medication. 

Donor Hair is finite as previously mentioned, and you want to make sure you conserve and protect it with everything you have, medication will help you do that.

After looking at your case and seeing you are norwood 6, you should go to a doctor that is skilled in that particular level. H&W are great with FUT for your case which will get you more grafts compared to FUE. Zarev and Sethi from Eugenix have shown incredible finesse and skill for Norwood 6 Patients with @Zoomsterand @HugoX.

My honest advice, if you haven't already. Get on Medication, Attempt to Stabilize your hair loss for a year. Consult with a Elite Surgeon that has great results on Norwood 6 Level Patients and post your results here to help others in similar positions as yourself.