Please help me out...

[rossw_88]

Ok, im new here but this board seems like a place to get the info i need. Now, please dont think im lying when i say this but ive lost a significant amount of hair and im only 17 years old. It started when i was 15 and hasn't gotten any better despite my use of both Propecia and Rogaine. As you can probably understand, this is very embarrasing for me to be bald in my teen years. Anyway, i dont know much at all about the restoration process but i want to know how much it would cost, and if it is OK for someone my age to have this done. This is pretty much my last hope since nothing else has worked. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

PS.- I swear to god im not kidding about my age.

[rossw_88]

Ok, im new here but this board seems like a place to get the info i need. Now, please dont think im lying when i say this but ive lost a significant amount of hair and im only 17 years old. It started when i was 15 and hasn't gotten any better despite my use of both Propecia and Rogaine. As you can probably understand, this is very embarrasing for me to be bald in my teen years. Anyway, i dont know much at all about the restoration process but i want to know how much it would cost, and if it is OK for someone my age to have this done. This is pretty much my last hope since nothing else has worked. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

PS.- I swear to god im not kidding about my age.

[arfy]

A good transplant will still look good twenty years from now. In other words, if a doctor gives you a hairline that looks right for a guy in his twenties, later when you are in your forties you will not look natural. And I doubt you will be happy with a forty-year-old's hairline right now, even though that is probably the right thing for a transplant surgeon to do. So you are in a difficult position. Before you decide that you want a hair transplant, learn everything you can about them. They have their limitations, and a younger guy might not be able to be satisfied with one, even a good one. There is a limited amount of donor hair, a hair transplant doesn't create any new hair, it just moves hair from the back and sides to the top. They can only acheive a limited amount of density, for example, plus as I said, the issue of the older guy's "receded" hairline usually being the correct one to transplant.

 

How long have you been using Propecia and Minoxidil? Some guys take up to a year (sometimes even two years) to see results. Also, hang in there because new therapies are being developed all the time. For example there is Dutasteride coming in a few months, and there will be a new "foam" Minoxidil soon, which is supposed to be more effective due to better absorption. Because your hairloss is recent, the potential is there to see good results from drug therapy. Also, supposedly Lysine makes Propecia and Minoxidil more effective, so look into that. (and it is cheap). Good luck, and don't rush into anything.

 

Also, there are a couple of guys your age who post in the "General" forum at www.hairlosshelp.com, you might want to check for posts from "Cowboy_Dallas" there. You might get some "moral support" for your predicament.

[Guest]

Do you have a link to this new formulation of minoxidil coming out?

[arfy]

http://www.hairlosshelp.com/html/rogainefoam.cfm

 

[This message was edited by arfy on January 03, 2002 at 04:28 PM.]

[rossw_88]

now how much does this cost? I know you cant give me exact numbers, but a cost estimate from greatest amount to least amount would be cool. thanks

[Guest]

Its funny but you don't see alot of numbers ($'s) mentioned in these forums. I've seen a few times a dollar figure by graft (i.e. anywhere from $4 to $7 per graft). So if you do the math and use lets say $6 per graft and lets say you have 2800 grafts, your talking a $16,800 cost. And since your going to want to have FU's to look the most natural, you won't get the density you hope for. So you've spent $16,800 dollars for a little hair. These numbers are what I'm preparing for. I can already see myself wanting more grafts later. I'm guessing I would end up spending around $33,600. Jeezzz....that's a down payment on a house.

[arfy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> And since your going to want to have FU's to look the most natural, you won't get the density you hope for.

 

Density is not a limitation of Follicular Units, it is simple supply and demand, and a limitation of hair transplants in general. Patients have to choose between a small and dense coverage, or a thinner but larger area of coverage. This is true no matter what kind of grafts you use.

 

This "density issue" is a bogus criticism of FUs. Sure, a minigraft has a lot of density "within itself". In other words, the hair "inside the graft" is close together. But NOBODY has enough donor hair to duplicate that density over the rest of your scalp. So you have little dense areas (the minigrafts themselves) that are surrounded by balding scalp. In other words, they will look PLUGGY. They are "too dense", because it is impossible to match their density with other grafts, all over your bald area. Also, because there are too many follicles per graft, they are a waste of follicles. You'd get BETTER coverage, by having less hair per-graft, and more diffuse grafts.

 

Read the article "The Logic of Follicular Units" in the "Research Library" section of this site. About halfway down there is a sub-section called "The Mathematics of Follicular Units" where the authors prove mathematically that Minigrafts can never result in "more density" than Follicular Units, they can only result in BIGGER GAPS between grafts! (Also known as "plugginess".)

 

Also, Minigrafts result in divots and cobblestones. In other words, they make your scalp look "bumpy". That's because they aren't trimmed as carefully as FU grafts, and the excess tissue causes a "bumpy look", because the excess tissue prevents them from being "seated" in your scalp as easily.

 

Minigrafts also get "constricted" when they heal, the healing scalp tightens around them, causing a "tufty" look. This makes Minigrafts look even MORE pluggy.

 

Follicular Unit grafts do not need to be concealed by other grafts, or your remaining hair, like minigrafts do. If you get FU grafts, and you lose all of the remaining hair on your head over time, you will still look natural. If you have minigrafts though, you will look like hell.

 

Sorry to post this in the "Doctor's Forum" but I hate to see people passing on misinformation about Follicular Unit grafts. (Nothing personal, Midnight. I just read that you are getting a FU transplant soon, so I know that you "get it" about the superiority of FUs.)

 

[This message was edited by arfy on January 08, 2002 at 02:54 PM.]

[Guest]

I'm not downplaying FU's. I had some grafts ten years ago prior to FU's. I've seen FU results, which is why I'm finally going back to fix what was done 10 years ago.

 

But lets be fair here. We have a young man (rossw_8) who is contemplating spending a crap load of money (which nobody here ever talks about). I just think this young man needs to have his expectations set realistically. Those expectations should be that..1)FU's are the way to go..2)They will most likely only be able to give him a 40 year old look at his young age...and 3)To get to where he's going to want to get to he's going to spend upwards of $30,000 or probably more. That's certainly alot of money for a young man his age don't you think? And why didn't you address the money issue here?????

 

Why is it that nobody ever talks about the total amount of money they've spent?? The only thing you see is a dollar/graft discussion.