HT in early 20's

[Guest]

For the most part everybody knows the disadvantages of getting an HT when you're young. But surely there must be some positive sides as well. For example, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't one heal faster at a younger age? You'll also get to enjoy your investment longer, and at the same time you will have to suffer bad hairline for much shorter period of time? Assuming of course everything goes according to the plan.

 

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic''. Arthur C. Clarke

[Guest]

For the most part everybody knows the disadvantages of getting an HT when you're young. But surely there must be some positive sides as well. For example, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't one heal faster at a younger age? You'll also get to enjoy your investment longer, and at the same time you will have to suffer bad hairline for much shorter period of time? Assuming of course everything goes according to the plan.

 

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic''. Arthur C. Clarke

[vocor1]

That's a valid point. I healed very fast and the redness disappeared quite quickly from the recipient area. I think I turned out to be a good candidate.

I can only speak my case, but chances are about 100% that I would have had to get another HT if I did temple work in my early 20s. My top wasn't thin at all at that point, I didn't have any balding crown, and I didn't have that ridiculous front tuft thing going for me either. Just deep temporal recession that steadily got deeper.

I still haven't completely ruled out another HT at this point, but I think I do have that option where at 22-24 I would not have considering how my hairloss has progressed since then.

 

vocor1

Knowledge is Power

If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.

[NW]

Younger = some risk

 

I think young guys are at a bigger risk with HT, look at Ron Howard....full head of hair on "Happy Days"..?

 

Look at him today ?

 

I am not preachin' here but the risk can be far greater the younger you are, who knows Propecia may have helped him ?

 

Vocor, your HT pattern rocks ! you have nothing to worry about IMO. Very well thought out design.

[arfy]

I started writing a response to PR Guy because I think his post is full of innaccuracies, but it turned into a book. Lets just say I disagree with what he says. If you are going to try to debunk someone else's views, it is important to represent those views accurately, PR Guy.

 

To respond to the original question:

Age by itself is not a deal-breaker, but there needs to be enough hair loss to make a transplant make sense.

 

Young guys usually want to erase all signs of recession, which is a mistake. Some recession looks natural, and looking natural is the #1 goal. An older guy with a perfectly straight hairline could draw stares from people who wonder "what's up with that". The sign of success is a hair transplant that nobody notices.

 

To answer the original question, your healing abilities don't change all that much from when you are 20 to when you are 30. Even the subtle changes of age on healing are not important factors that should influence your decision-making process.

 

Get a hair transplant only if you really need one, because you have a significant amount of hair loss. Be realistic about not expecting lots of coverage, and pick a hairline you won't find embarrassing when you are 40 or 50.

[NW]

Hairline taste is a personal decision, to each his own.

 

The Wildcard:

I think the wildcard here in my opinion is individual hairloss progression between the ages of 25-50, contrary to the notion "look at your Dad", well..my Dad had "more" hair than me even at 65 & my mothers Dad had "more" hair than me ?? So where do I predict my future ? It aint easy even with Propecia etc..

 

Conventional wisdom says plant grafts where you know you can sustain your Hairline...this is not bad advice ?? (Most Docs will NOT even do aggressive HT on Young guys or even do HT period ? - just ask yourself why ? are the Docs wrong ?)

 

Otherwise if you go for it.Figure on several surgeries to come and the hopes of having adequate donor hair. The more aggressive the hairline, the more maintenance area to keep up - or the more FU's needed just to stay afloat.

 

it may be workable for some ?:

I think "some" guys can pull this off with an aggressive hairline, but for other guys it is playing "Roulette".

 

Prguy looks like he does have a pretty good abundance of hair, hopefully that holds true w/age...I am just saying for "most" young guys.

Be careful I have seen story after story of "I wish I wouldnt have went so low". Now what do I do ??

 

NW

 

[This message was edited by NW on April 19, 2003 at 09:07 AM.]

[Guest]

A hypothetical question for you. Assuming a donor supply of 8000, and no more hairloss. What is the highest NW level, that can be restored to original (teenage hairline), using that amount of hair?

 

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic''. Arthur C. Clarke

[arfy]

I don't know. You'd have to define the desired amount of grafts per square cm, and define how large that area is.

 

To PR Guy

Sorry if I came off a little strong on you, but you are claiming that "all the rules have changed" regarding shock loss, hairline placement, and the limits of donor hair. These are big claims that I do not see other doctors making. If you want to claim the rules have changed, you need to have some proof. I would find it interesting to hear those claims come from a doctor.

 

-Even Dr. Woods transplants "mature and recessed" hairlines. He also turns away very young patients (20 and 21 year olds, I believe, maybe others).

 

-Dr. Woods claims that everyone can transplant "10,000 hairs" (not grafts, hairs). This is hardly an unmlimited supply that would justify staking out a large area.

 

-Dr. Woods does claim "no shock loss" but there have been patients of his who claim they have had a problem with shock loss. I don't believe that any doctor can guarantee that there will be no shock loss, or that the hair will return.

 

While I think FUE is a big step forward, I don't think it changes the guidelines about hairline placement, or makes young guys who were not good candidates suddenly become good candidates, or make the concerns about donor limitations a thing of the past.

[Mr T]

It seems you fail to understand is that most men's hair thins all over their head, in addition to the area that balds as a result of male pattern baldness. This is often not as noticable as the number of hairs per sq cm is still sufficient to give the appearance of a full head of hair. As a result of the overall thinning, there is less hair available for transplantation than what someone has at age 20 or 25. When a doctor says you have 5,000 grafts available now, you may not have 5,000 grafts available five or ten years from now. Given that, doing the 1,000 now and another 1,000-2,000 at some other point along the way is inefficient and may leave you without further donor hair when needed. That's why it is not a sound approach.

 

Mr. T

[vocor1]

NW:

Thanks for the compliment.

My new hairline is probably just fine for upper 20s and on. I certainly can see how sub-25 year old may find it inadequate. You see, all his friends have all their hair. More and more of my friends don't.

My primary goal is to have a full top. Any alteration of the hairline would be EXTREMELY subtle. I have no intention of a megasession any time soon.

We'll see in 6 months how I feel. I may want another 600-1500 FUs but there is no telling and it isn't worth speculating until the "results are in".

Like I said, I'm sure several do not like the conservative approach my doctor and I took. But I can live with it. You have to remember, we measured 3 points from my new hairline to my eyes and it was 7.5 cm. That certainly isn't all that high, afterall. And what I have growing in now is SO much better than it was before.

Before it was just pathetic, and I heard about it. Now, a decent tan and some hair spray and I've heard some flattering things I never heard for about 6 years.

I guess that is worth a lot to me.

 

vocor1

Knowledge is Power

If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.

[NW]

Vocor,

 

My Opinion here,

 

Temple hair often appears quite a bit thicker largly due to the top scalp hair and the "shingle effect" as the hair grows out. You can realize an amazing amount of coverage just by planting healtier hair in previously weak zones. I had fairly minimal temple grafts.

 

My hairline was placed a bit higher than yours and originally I admitedly "whined" light heartedly to Dr H., ... lol .. but I am happy and I think done for a good while, the hair showed up on game-day..done deal. Lately I dont care much about my hair, probably because the trauma is over..it is still fun listening to the success's of others, and the docs just seem to keep getting better. And of course the debate's rage on, thats what makes this site so cool !!

 

NW

[homer]

I am beginning to worry that i will not have a lot of donor hair left to hve an adequate HT. People that go bald at a young age seem to lose a lot more hair at the sides of the head and go extremely bald at the crown area. Also not everyone keeps their donor hair, something which seems to be a taboo subject here. I have seen quite a few guys who have little to no donor hair and are very bald. A HT for them would be out of the question. I am starting to think i may be among them in the future, the hair at the sides is getting thinner as is my crown. The only hope i have is that i am quite hairy and so perhaps with the advancement of technology i may be able to utilize this.

[NW]

Homer,

 

Buddy - Hair dont make the man, dont be discouraged. My praise for Vocor is beacuse he is young but is proceeding wisely by filling in reasonable turf rather than going for the all out teen look.

 

A lot of older guys not only continue to receed but around 60 they get an overall thinning, perhaps "diffuse thinning" of some sort (I dont know the scientific name/cause), but look at your Grandfathers hair, (overall thinning?)it is common.

 

Perhaps you can realize a realistic improvement without mortgaging the future of your head & Hopefully you have given consideration to Propecia, which I am sure you know all about.

 

Top-scalp FU's by a good Dr., spread for coverage, may help you keep at least a thin frame of hair, rather than slick bald ? or just dont do HT period, who knows fully what the future holds ?

 

Get some advice from the good docs & remember your hair loss is bothering you - but most likely has no impact on your friends, the girls..etc... keep your head up.

 

NW

[vocor1]

homer:

Picts would help us assess your situation. Many of us will give you our NO-BS assessment of your hairloss. We aren't doctors, but you can proceed with greater confidence.

If you've got really thin donor hair, then my guess is an HT would not be a good move. You'll just start worrying about covering the scar. Maybe FUE in that case. Or shave the head and grow a goatee/mustache.

I tried the latter approach, but my facial hair is really patchy and sucky. If it was thick, I might have just gone with the shaved look. Many men do that and look great IMO. I tried it and it didn't look good at all.

Dems da breaks! I'm just trying to say that you can always make a crappy situation better when you understand what is going on and what can be done.

 

vocor1

Knowledge is Power

If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared.

[arfy]

Each patient is different and needs to be dealt with individually.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>The "cookie cutter" type of hair transplant is outdated and DOES NOT APPLY TO EVERY YOUNG MALE THAT walks in a clinic.

I don't know what that means exactly. A cookie-cutter approach should not be taken with any patient, no matter what age.

 

The hair that you say conceals the HT is also the hair that is at risk to be lost to shock loss.

 

There is no actual "advantage" to getting a HT as a young man, being young only adds to your risk level, IMO. As far as risks, (as I already said) age is factored in with amount of hairloss and patient's expectations. Age alone isn't necessarily a deal-killer if every other factor is in order, but being young is a red flag and certainly not a "plus".