Hair loss in young male

[AnthonyB]

Hello

My son is 22 years old and is experiencing hair loss from the crown moving towards the front of his hairline. Currently it's not too bad but is causing him deep concern. On Friday (17th Dec) we visited a company in London called Ziering. Does anyone have any experience of this company good or bad.

Many thanks for reading this.

regards

Anthony

[tarepanda]

ur son is only 22 yrs old...

consult a doctor and start on propecia, rogaine.

 

don't wait until the hair loss is bad then u start on those. he got very good chance of retaining those healthy hair if he start propecia, rogaine on a early stage.

[largechris]

Please please please focus on the only 2 medically approved treatments for hair loss - finasteride and minoxidil.

 

He is very young for a hair transplant.

 

As I understand it Dr Ziering does not perform operations in London so your son is likely to only meet up with a salesman here.

 

If you want the reassurance of a 'big name' then Boots the chemist do a hair loss programme with the same treatment options, and they are probably not on commission.

 

Otherwise you can save a ton of cash and buy generic finasteride and minoxidil online.

 

Also does he eat sensibly? Force him to take a multivitamin / multimineral a day as hair loss could even be down to a deficiency in his diet.

 

Try this for a year before even considering booking any surgery and spend the rest of the time on this website reasearching the best surgeons (who are not necessarily the most expensive).

[largechris]

Sorry should explain reading above post -

 

Minoxidil is (brandname) Regaine and Finasteride is (brandname) Propecia

 

Tarepanda is recommending the same thing I am

[Sparky]

There isn't anyone in London that does good Hair Transplants, there is only 1 good HT clinic in the whole of the UK. But I agree with the others, he's too young, try meds first.

[AnthonyB]

Many thanks for your replies. He seems to think that a transplant will be the answer to his problem especially having read an article and seen before and after pictures about the transplant that the actor James Nesbit had. When we went to see the advisor (salesman) at Ziering (part of the London Hospital Group!). He explained that a transplant will be the answer my son is looking for as taking hair from the back or side of the head means they have no DHT receptors. He also mentioned Minoxidil and Propecia but explained that they will only stop further hair loss and a transplant was the only longterm option which is what raised my concerns that they may not have his best interests at heart and are looking to charging ?7,500 for a 2,100 - 2,500 folicle transplant. I'm happy to pay this if this is the answer but I'm not an expert.

Regards

Anthony

[tarepanda]

22 yrs old is definitely not a good candidate for HT.

[mattj]

It's good that you have taken an active part in helping your son (and are willing to cough of the money for a transplant for him) but definitely listen to what you've been told above.

As your son's hairloss has started at the crown then there is a good chance that the treatments you've been recommended will actually cause him to re-grow some of the lost hair. This isn't certain and I wouldn't want to offer false hope, but this area tends to respond the best to treatment. It's best to give the treatments a year, and who knows, by then if he responds well he may totally forget about getting a transplant.

 

The advice to try the programme available at Boots is good. You could obtain the drugs cheaper elsewhere, but Boots offer guidance and support and there is a level of convenience and peace of mind when you're dealing with a highstreet chemist rather than buying over the internet.

[largechris]

Hello Anthony, please be aware that hair transplant surgery is very difficult to do well, and internet forums are full of genuine stories from patients who have had devastating results (scars,little or no growth, pluggy appearance etc). You sound like you both want to pursue surgery urgently, which scares me. Please at least ask the salesman to put you in touch with some London based patients of Dr Ziering who can show you their results. If the salesman can't do this then maybe get in touch with Spex on this board who does meet people in London and helps out many people in your situation.

[AnthonyB]

Many thanks to all who have given me the benefit of their advice. James (my son) has booked an appointment with Boots the chemist this evening (20th Dec). I think he still has his heart set on a transplant but when he comes home for Christmas I'll show him your replies and hopefully he'll realise it isn't necessarily the only option and maybe I can persued him to join this forum Perhaps he'll realise he's not unique in the problem he has.

I'll post an update to keep you all informed of his progress.

Thanks again and best regards.

Anthony

[mattj]

If James is set on getting a transplant, at the very least you should insist that he hold off for a year and see what the treatment does for him. After a year you'll be able to asses whether the treatment has stopped or slowed his rate of hairloss (important when it comes to knowing how viable a candidate he is for a transplant) as well as given enough time for the drugs to re-grow his hair, if he is fortunate enough to respond well.

 

I'm repeating myself I know, but this is probably the most important thing that James needs to understand at the moment.