22 and losing fast!

[Piano Man]

HI everyone, I'm 22 years old and a professional musician. Both of my older brothers lost their hair around my age and I am following in their footsteps. I've used rogaine for about 6 months and have seen no results. I have the funds and would rather just get the follicular transplant, however the surgeon in my town (who is recommended on this site) does not see patients younger than 25. What should I do? I've attached a couple of pics to show where I'm at.

 

thanks!

 

matt

[Piano Man]

Here's the superior view.

[Chuckisduck]

Did your brothers loose it in the back also? I had front hairloss but none in the back (like rest of family). I took propecia for about 9 months and didn't notice any growth in the front area. I just had a ht (26), so I would wait. Some docs would see ya, but you might end up with spaces from further loss.

[HealthyLiving8]

You should see a tricologist (a specialist in scap care) asap. It is normal to loose approx 100 hairs a day. Unfortuently there arent really any remedies.. u need to see the specialist and take it from there.. hair loss can be related to stress as well.. if thats the case it will grow back. Best of luck =)

[Dr. William Lindsey]

We have no problem with younger patients AS LONG AS a complete and thorough consultation is done; and the patient has time to think about options. We don't like a 20 year old to fly in for a medium case, and think that this will hold him forever.

 

We would be amenable to discussing correction of the frontal-triangle recession; as posted by us several times on this forum. It is important to go through the family history and make some kind of "guestimation" on where a patient will wind up, and plan for the future.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Piano Man]

Thanks for the responses everyone. to answer some questions... one of my brothers lost all of the hair, both frontal and crown. I think that I am following in his footsteps. My other brother has thinned across his entire scalp; however, he did not develop the frontal triangle recession like my oldest brother and I did. I am assuming that within a couple of years, I will have no hair left on the top of my head. I'm basically getting to the point where I am going to shave my head, or do something about it.

 

I do have some stress, but I doubt that stress plays a critical role. All of my cousins on my mom's side are balding as well. It's a bummer....however I should mention that I do realize that there could be a lot worse things going on. I am blessed to have my health and wonderful family and friends.

 

Nevertheless, I am very interested in correcting the frontal triangle. But, if I'm going to loose the rest of my hair, is HT going to be worth it, or will I risk looking silly once i loose the rest of my hair?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Piano Man,

 

Thanks for the private message to garner my input on your thread.

 

Men who start losing hair at younger ages have a greater chance of reaching advanced stages of balding. In looking at your photos, I can see signs of thinning on the top of your scalp.

 

In my opinion, if you want the best chance at slowing down or stopping your hair loss from progressing further, get on Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). They are even more effective when used together.

 

Like any drug, potential side effects exist, and you should be familiar with them up front before deciding to undergo medical treatment.

 

In my opinion, it would be in your best interest to try medical treatment for a year to see if it at the very least, stops your loss, and optimistically, thickens it.

 

Only hair transplant surgery is proven to grow hair in completely bald areas. Therefore i wouldn't expect too much benefit in the receded area, though area of thinning hair has a chance of thickening.

 

Age is definitely a factor to consider, but most surgeons don't put a hard limit on it. The key is understanding your options, the benefits, limitations, and risks of those options, and working out a long term hair restoration plan, including making the most of your donor and reserving a good amount for potential future loss.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

One quick note:

 

The "triangle" hair transplant approach can be helpful, but keep in mind that if you lose more hair (which is pretty much a guarantee without medical therapy), your hair loss pattern will look completely unnatural and will require subsequent sessions.

 

In my opinion, it's better to transplant hair in patterns that look natural on its own (especially in younger patients). That's why targeting an area and doing too much dense packing is often a waste of valuable grafts in the event of advanced balding in the future.

 

There is clearly a lot to think about, but it's worth taking the time to research

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Dr. William Lindsey]

I would agree with Bill. Particularly with your family history, try medicines for a while, a year or so, and see what that does. You may be able to put surgery off a long time.

 

The "triangle" approach is still an option, but given your family; I would push for a much more conservative hairline than most 22 year olds want. That way if you do lose most of the front, you still have sufficient donor hair to frame the face with a nice forelock abutting the triangles.

 

This thread is just one more example of why I say an in person consultation with a doctor is so important.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Piano Man]

Thank you so much Bill and Dr. Lindsey. I am extremely gracious to receive first hand advice from a Physician and an experienced patient. I will continue with the minoxidil and get a prescription for propecia. I'll update you all periodically with my status. While I would love to go ahead an correct the frontal triangle, I realize that having patience is probably in my best interest.

 

Best Regards,

 

Matt

[Bill - Seemiller]

Matt,

 

I'm glad we've been able to help you. Please do keep us posted and feel free to ask any additional questions and participate in other discussions.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[guano_apez]

You can try to consult in "Svenson" maybe they can help you minimize the shedding of your hair, for the meantime you are too young to go through with hair transplant...I've been to Svenson and they have done so far great for my hair..

[john36]

Man listen to Bill.And Falxceros I am not trying to be funny now,I really like what you are telling this kid.

Wait untill you are in your late 30's to consider transplant.Untill then shave your head if thinning bothers you.You have nice shape head.Just a thought.All the best

[JamesBX2]

Hey Matt

 

I had the exact same amount of hairloss when I was 22. I actually had 2 transplants, the first when I was 23 and the 2nd when I was 25. Take my advice and wait a little longer. Once you have the procedure your hair will still continue to thin making the transplanted area very noticeable. You will no doubt need at least 3 procedures to acheive an acceptable result. I would definitely suggest looking into a laser treatment program before having an HT procedure. I live in Arizona and just finished a 9 month laser treatment program here and my results were amazing!!! It's definitely much easier than surgery and would probably work just as well with your degree of hairloss. Don't get me wrong, I am not sorry I had the HT procedures done, but I really do believe I could have avoided them if I had just done the laser treatment first.

[Vasilius]

James,

 

Do you have any before/after pics from the laser therapy? There are a number of us in this forum who would be interested in seeing your results.

 

Thanks :-)

 

-AF1

[thanatopsis_awry]

James...no doubt he will need at least 3 ops to achieve an acceptable result? HT areas become very noticeable? Noticeable like what? Hair?

 

Look forward to the clear pictures of your science-defying, result-defying success with lasers....

[Vasilius]

I agree with thanatopsis about the transplants. Unless you already are severely bald (you're not), you should have 'acceptable' results from the first session. While additional sessions later in life may be needed to provide desirable coverage and density as hair loss progresses, treatment from a competent surgeon will not result in 'noticeable' transplants.

 

But don't hurry - do it when the time is right for you.

 

-AF1

[JamesBX2]

Here are the before and after pics. You can see in the first pic the transplanted hairline is fairly noticeable and the only hair I have in the front are the transplants. After the laser treatments my hair is much fuller...even the temple and crown areas.

[Vasilius]

James,

 

Thanks for your response. I can see why you said HTs were obvious, because in your case the surgeon who constructed your hairline used a very outdated/poor technique. Trust me, you could have done better with another surgeon.

 

The difference in the photos is obvious, but if you don't mind I'd like to ask a few questions:

 

Were you using any other treatments (minoxidil, finasteride, etc) while undergoing the laser therapy?

 

Were you using any concealers for these photos?

 

Also, who is the doctor who is treating you with laser therapy and what device(s) are they using?

 

I appreciate you posting the photos and look forward to your reply. I'm sure others here will be interested as well.

 

Thanks,

-Vasilius

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Where did the photos go?

[Al - Moderator]

Originally posted by Dr. Alan Feller:

Where did the photos go?

 

I had to download the link to disk and then open the jpg from there to view it.