Need advice. I would like to get a hair transplant.

[uselessgomez]

30 years old. Been on Finasteride since age 22. Will stay on it until something better comes along. I also use Nizoral shampoo. Here's a bunch of pics from a variety of angles showing what my hair looks like. I was hoping for a small procedure, only in the front while I stay on meds and watch the crown area.

[biscuit]

Your hair looks great! I'd say no HT is needed based on those pics.

Edited October 28, 2010 by biscuit

[uselessgomez]

Your hair looks great! I'd say no HT is needed based on those pics.

 

Thank you for saying that.

 

I just wanted a small number of grafts, not even a thousand, placed in the temples to make the angle a little softer.

 

When looking at one of the top or back pics, you might notice that there's a bare area with no hair. It's a small little area a couple inches long that's thin like a line. That is a scar where I suffered a head injury about 10 years ago. I had to have staples in my scalp for several days because of the lacerations.

[Blake Bloxham]

Uselessgomez,

 

I agree, your hair does look good. You'll probably never know how well the finasteride fought off the male pattern baldness, and that's a good thing! Since you've been on preventive medications for such a long time, if you continue to do so, you are most likely a good candidate for hair transplant surgery. As to how many grafts, the areas of scalp you would like to address, etc, that is comprised of your preference and the collaborative efforts of both you and your hair transplant surgeon.

 

I recommend continuing research on the discussion forums and deciding how you would like to proceed. You can utilize the forum search function to investigate certain procedures, physicians, and costs, review our recommended hair transplant surgeons, estimate density and scalp coverage with the hair loss learning center's graft calculator, and even consider an online, virtual consultation!

 

Additionally, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask in this thread or by sending me a private message. Good luck, and keep us updated!

[uselessgomez]

Thanks again for the kind words.

 

One thing I keep hearing is that from my pictures my donor area doesn't look strong enough to support substantial hairloss. Even though I'm on meds and intend to stay on them, I guess it's not a guarantee that it will keep me from losing more hair. Plus the family history of hairloss is another potential variable.

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

A little work might improve your look slightly, but you have good hair as it sits.

 

If I had your hair, I could live my l life day to day without worry about loss. Granted, my loss is worse so its easy for me to say that.

 

Its hard to say how meds are working for you. I tried them when I was younger and felt they werent working so I decided to quit.. I've thinned out up front and a little over the top and who knows if the meds would have prevented any of this. if I were you, Id keep on the meds and skip the transplant for now.

[azjoe1]

I hate you.

 

[Tom60]

if you start ht on certain areas can't you make it worse in the future if more hair falls out?

[uselessgomez]

if you start ht on certain areas can't you make it worse in the future if more hair falls out?

 

Yeah, native hairs can fall out from shock loss. If they are miniaturizing, they may never come back. I've read that minimally thinning areas are tough to transplant because you can lose as much as you gain.

 

In my case, my temples just bother me and I'd like to move them forward slightly - where there's no hair - so I have a softer hairline.

[mattj]

I really like your hair from the front in those first two photos. But ultimately it's you who must be pleased with his own hair and you do have areas that could be addressed if you can't tolerate having a mature hairline.

 

I notice the hair in the donor region looks like it could be of less than optimal density though.

 

Has your hair remained pretty much the same since you started taking Finasteride at age 22?

[Broker]

I’m all for hair transplants, but dude, you got a good crop up there. Leave it be until you are more shine to that noggin. Just my thoughts.

[uselessgomez]

I really like your hair from the front in those first two photos. But ultimately it's you who must be pleased with his own hair and you do have areas that could be addressed if you can't tolerate having a mature hairline.

 

I notice the hair in the donor region looks like it could be of less than optimal density though.

 

Has your hair remained pretty much the same since you started taking Finasteride at age 22?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Yeah, hair almost looks identical as it was when I was 22 and started Fin. Maybe a little difference in that the forelock area has thinned a bit.

 

In those pics, my hair was buzzed pretty short with a #2. I also have some scars on my head, in front, on top, and in the back. One of them is very visible from the back because hair doesn't grow from it. Fortunately, it's pretty small.

 

I've emailed my pics to a fair number of surgeons, all but 3 of them recommended by this site. About half of them replied saying that I shouldn't get a hair transplant yet and that I should continue to try meds. The others were pretty lukewarm about moving forward with a HT, based on my pictures at least.

 

I've never been seen in person by a HT surgeon, and I think it's probably the only way to get questions answered at this point. I don't know if my donor area appears thin in some pics because of the lighting, because of my scars, or because of actual donor thinning. I guess there's no way to know unless I see a surgeon who can look at my scalp under a microscope, measure the density, check my scalp laxity, and determine where there's miniaturization.

 

I live in the midwest. One doctor I like a lot - based on what I read and the results I see - is Shapiro in MN, who is only about 4 hours from me. I can probably get a better idea of things if I see him in person.

 

Thanks for all of the feedback. I greatly appreciate it.