petergibbons

Propecia starts working within about 24 hours. Its job is to reduce the conversion of testosterone into DHT since the original purpose was to shrink the prostate. According to the insert it reduces DHT something like 60-80% within 24 hours. However, it can take up to twelve months to start seeing noticeable results in your hair. That doesn't mean it doesn't start working sooner, so you have to keep on it and remain diligent. Even if it just manages to stabilize your hair loss, it is still a lifelong commitment, because if you stop taking it, all of your DHT-sensitive follicles will shrink and play "catch up"

As a side note. I remember being your age and getting made fun of for having a Jewfro. Kids are just mean at the age. I take back what I said about wanting to be young again You will find that if you go off to college you are going to meet so many kindred spirits and like minded people that you'll build confidence. So many advances will happen in your life. I bet in your life time they will be able to clone entire organs. Skin is nothing more than an organ with a vascular system. And a final thought -- everyone hates their hair. The follicles are always thicker on the other side...

I hope that by responding I can help you feel better. I am 32 and have been concerned about hair loss ever since 2001 when I was working at a .com and some guy leaning over me (45 year old with a full head of hair) said that my bald spot was shining in the light. Turns out it was bad lighting, but it was enough to affect me and make me do something about it. I started taking propecia shortly thereafter and had an HT of 800 grafts in March of 2002, which really helped a lot. I'm not saying this is the solution for everyone, and as a teenager, your body chemistry will change a lot over time. I would not worry so much about the side effects from finasteride. The worst thing is that you can not donate blood and can not compete in any professional sports that check for doping since finasteride masks other drugs. If you are concerned about sexual side-effects, they are of a mechanical nature and not a reproductive nature. If you do experience erectile dysfunction, don't be ashamed to take something like Cialis or Viagra, even a quarter of a pill. If you think you might want to consider hair transplantation, start putting aside something like $20 a week in a special bank account or a money market account. In 7-10 years you'll be able to afford most procedures even with a top doc. You're probably too young for it now. The only people in your demographic who should be considering hair transplantation are young men who have lost so much hair due to androgenetic alopecia that they only have their permanent zone remaining, and I can't imagine there are too many teenage norwood 6/7s out there. Hang in there and you'll be ok. I am only 3 weeks post op from my second HT (3703 grafts) and believe me I am driving my wife nuts already with the worries and the scalp checks. I'll trade my confidence for your youth any day!!!

Here's a passport photo from 1998 (21) You can see slight thinning at the hairline that I won't notice until 2001. I first noticed my hair thinning after the fall of 2001. Call me crazy but I think after 9/11 I start thinking about my own mortality and examining things a bit quicker. In March of 2002 I had an HT and in July of 2003 I met my lovely wife. I told her right away I had had an HT and she loved running her fingers through my hair. She was supportive of me getting my second procedure but I believe she would not be supportive of a third one.

Here's me at age 19 in 1996 at work. I had one of those neat-o .com jobs back then

1 week, from another angle. I hope it's not too blurry. Again, if you know me personally, then feel free to contact me but we'll keep this between us. It's highly unlikely that people who aren't experiencing alopecia troll these forums looking for face pics, and if they do, who gives a crap? I've got some before pics but usually I comb my bangs forward so it's really hard to see the recession. I don't have bad hair loss issues, I just want to nip this in the bud and I see it as an opportunity to stay ahead of my hair loss. I will look for some good post surgery pics to show where they put the grafts but the hairline is the most noticable. If you zoom in you can see the 1's and 2's.

2 weeks #2. You can see most of the transplants have shedded, as expected. If you happen to know me from the pic. Great. Chances are you don't. If you do, I only ask that you don't mention this on facebook or at our workplace.

2 weeks #1

1 week. The moustache was an attempt to distract people. It worked great. Uh huh.

Two days

Ok I have to figure out how to load up The Gimp 2.4 on my Linux box and blur out my ugly face.

I went to Dr. Chao on 9/18/2009. I paid $6,000 for 3500 grafts FUSS. They do not do FUE and since I had a scar from a 2002 operation there was no point in doing FUE. I also have no plans to shave my head and if I do, I'll worry about that then. I suppose any clinic will do FUE if you offer to pay them but it's labor intensive and the transection rates are high. I have diffuse thinning on top with the potential for a NW3v so this is hopefully my terminal hair transplant. I have been taking 1.25 mg generic proscar every day. I am 32 years old and my loss seems to have stabilized. From my donor area, they were able to extract 3,703 follicular unit grafts as follows: 602 1's, 1676 2's, 1020 3's, and 405 4's. No 5's but very few people have those. I have typically "Jewish" hair so it is wavy and brown. I have a very light complexion so that might add a complication but I can always get a tan later I was leery of going somewhere that charged so little but the facility does hair transplants six days a week and is a very lean operation. The owner of the company, Rob, also does the consultations and he is a patient of Dr. Chao. I have every reason to believe that they make a ton of money. There were no hidden fees. I paid a flat $6,000 and it included all medications. It does not include graftcyte but you can probably buy that elsewhere. I was very pleased with the attitude and the cleanliness of the clinic. They do make money selling other products such as laser hoods and they do other cosmetic procedures which are probably higher margin. A hair transplant is very labor intensive but you can make a living as an individual doctor doing these if you have loyal support staff. I've studied the financials of it and it's very similar to the cost breakdown for any small doctor offices. I believe they are completely happy with their take home. All of their advertising is done on Google and by referrals and every time I have gone in there, even on Saturday 10/3 to have my sutures removed they were doing a procedure. The hairline design is very reasonable. I'd call it a NW2 with conservative density in front. You don't need more than about 30 follicles/cm2 at the hairline anyway so he was able to populate the other diffuse areas on my head. I spoke to several other doctors including MHR, who did my procedure in 2002 but I got a really good feeling about Dr. Chao. Some people are obsessed about hairline design and hair transplantation and he is one of those people. I am not paid in any compensation by Dr. Chao but I am definitely willing to put in a good word. I'm more than willing to be a reference. I think you should give them a chance. If you don't have a good feeling, then go somewhere else. It's really an interview process. The price is very nice too. I paid by check and have no debt from this procedure. I will not speak ill of any other doctors but I knew from my thinning that someone trying to sell me a 1500 graft procedure was trying to under-sell and get me in later, and there were several of those. Best of luck.

I actually just had a hair transplant with Dr. Ron Chao. He is a very talented surgeon. I did not have much pain on day three. I paid $6000 for a 3500 graft procedure and they got 3703 grafts out of my head. I had the following: 602 1's 1676 2's 1020 3's 405 4's ( ) In 2002 at age 25 I had Dr. Kurgis do a 700 graft procedure and he harvested 800 from me. The pain was a lot worse in 2002. Today I am about ten days post op from the surgery with Dr. Chao and all my crusts are gone, the hairs seem to be anchored in place nicely and I am very pleased with the design. I started out as a NW3 with diffuse thinning on top, and he filled in a lot of the spots. I did not have a balding crown or any obvious hair loss to anyone except me. I'm just a bit vain. The hair line I got is a nice NW2 with normal receding temples. Think "Don Draper" from Mad Men. I have curly "Jewish" hair so it is going to look very good on me. I am not receiving any compensation from Dr. Chao but I definitely want to put in a good word for him. The price is a no-haggle price. The offices are very clean, in a nice location in Brentwood. The staff is very knowledgeable and very easy to contact.