New to the forum, could use a little help here. :)

[Relavare22]

I would just like to see what you all think about my current hair loss. I am a 22 year old college student and have been losing hair since about 17 years of age.

Do you all think it's worth going for it given my current specifications? How many grafts do you think I would need (just an estimation). Does anyone have a similar recession that has had the procedure done that I could look at?

 

Thanks for your replies!!

 

 

 

[Relavare22]

I would just like to see what you all think about my current hair loss. I am a 22 year old college student and have been losing hair since about 17 years of age.

Do you all think it's worth going for it given my current specifications? How many grafts do you think I would need (just an estimation). Does anyone have a similar recession that has had the procedure done that I could look at?

 

Thanks for your replies!!

 

 

 

[dhuge67]

You're about my age (I'm 21) but considerably further along in the balding process. I'd say that you'd want to start near the mid-to crown area going for maximum coverage. I'd check out Hasson & Wong if I were you and see about getting a mega session of 3,000+ follicular units. At your point, I wouldn't even mess with Propecia, but I'm not sure what others will say about that.

 

You are a Norwood-6 or 7 and I'd definitely say that H&W have the best record with those types. Get as much done per session as you can, with an open playing field like that - it'd be ridiculous to cut your head for anything less than 3,000 grafts (if you could get 5,000 at once that'd be awesome), I think.

[Relavare22]

How much coverage would I be expecting with 5,000 grafts?

[dhuge67]

Originally posted by Relavare22:

How much coverage would I be expecting with 5,000 grafts?

Whew, I'd say a lot. Let me show you with a drawing...

 

In the area I have circled in, I'd think that with 5,000 you would have pretty good to excellent density, depending on your hair's characteristics. It's only an ameteur guess, of course.

[Relavare22]

Wow! So for full coverage, my expectations would be high. Would 8,000 or so grafts be a fair assessment? Thanks for taking the time to help me gain a better understanding. I've been lost. Haha.

[dhuge67]

Originally posted by Relavare22:

Wow! So for full coverage, my expectations would be high. Would 8,000 or so grafts be a fair assessment? Thanks for taking the time to help me gain a better understanding. I've been lost. Haha.

I'd say 8,000 grafts, if placed right could give you a pretty good look. You'd have to go to a top clinic though. Keep researching.

[John_in_NC]

The problem is not what you need, it's how many grafts you could get. At your age, with the current state of affairs, you have to assume that you will go to a full 7 (see http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=U...&q=steve%20ballmer), so you have to work from there. Transplanting hair that could, or most likely will fall 5-6 years from now will only make you look much worse. Maybe you can get away with using body hair on the crown and near it to save the normal for the hairline. With what I've read, the jury is still out of BHT though.

 

Finally, now you can shave your head, however, once you get the scar you will not be able to do so. Once you go the HT route you cannot go back to shaving, regardless of what tenchnique the doctor uses, the scar will be seen with a shaved head or a #1-2.

 

Go see a few doctors and see what coverage they can get for you, and decide whether that is better than a shaved head.

 

 

Originally posted by Relavare22:

I would just like to see what you all think about my current hair loss. I am a 22 year old college student and have been losing hair since about 17 years of age.

Do you all think it's worth going for it given my current specifications? How many grafts do you think I would need (just an estimation). Does anyone have a similar recession that has had the procedure done that I could look at?

 

Thanks for your replies!!

[JakeVig]

Unfortunately it seems that no one is stating the obvious here. At 22 with balding that progressive you can very well end up a NW7 in which case you would not be a candidate for a HT. 8000 grafts is very rare, the best that most people can hope for is between 5000 - 6000 grafts. With this in mind the best you can hope for is thinning coverage. Also after a HT you will not be able to shave your head without the scar being visible, and generally a shaved head looks better than a thinning head. If I were you I would take advantage of the free consults and get an expert opinion with one of the ethical doctors in the coalition. Whatever you do dont go to unethical doctors and shop around till you find someone that will tell you what you want to hear.

 

Like john_in_NC mentioned BHT may be your best bet for the future, though at this time it is considered very experimental.

 

I dont want to the bearer of bad news but you need to have realistic expectations with your level of hairloss at such a young age as you could regret having a HT in the future, which would be worse than having no HT at all.

[troy]

I think if you hit the tanning booth and the gym you could pull off the shaved head look good and its a lot cheaper

[Relavare22]

I would like to thank you all for the information!! I don't mind the shaved head look, but was always curious about whether or not I was even a good candidate for HT. With more knowledge i'll wait until college is over for a consultation. Good luck everyone!!

[MrJobi]

I think this thread is good

 

 

The knee jerk reaction tends to be MEGASESSIONS. In this case he has so many other factors involved..

 

-Is he willing to have a huge scar so he cannot shave his head in the future?

 

-Is it possible to get 8000 grafts down the road?

 

-What about future loss, current hair quality & scalp laxity?

 

-Is he on Propecia?

 

This guy is soo young I wouldn't touch him if I was a doc , I would think twice to promise him too much..

 

This kids need to be careful and get valid advice

[Relavare22]

Mrjb, I've never taken any supplements that are in association with my hair loss. I have concluded that it isn't a very good idea for me to even get a consultation until some technological advances in HT. Hopefully my pics and my post can be used as an example to people who have a similar hairline. It's time for me to gain some color and shape. I'll have to suck it up and accept the shiny head for a while .

[irish homer]

well done Relavare, u did ur homework, sought advice and got some good advice from some of the best posters here. your decision to wait and see whats available for you in the future is well thought out and a mature intelligent reaction.

[MrJobi]

Cheers Relavare

 

I agree totally. My reference was to the earlier comments suggesting Megasessions and immediate hair transplantion without taking into account your situation especially your age. You are doing the right thing although you may want to consider Propecia IF you are concerned with future hairloss and the possibility of a HT in the next couple years. Our cloning and similar technologies have possibilities BUT we still cannot regrow back lost hair on a large scale. What Propecia can do is stop the loss and have some minimal regrowth .. This would mean less area to cover..

 

good luck

[Guest]

Hey Relavare22, I hope you will stick with the forum. This is one of the best resources I've found on the net. It's hard to find so many knowledgable and, more importantly in some cases, objective people anywhere!