Am I old enough for a hair transplant?

[rheostat]

Hi guys,

 

I am 23 this year, been suffering from receding hairline since I was 19

 

I am thinking of going for a HT, but thought I will post my pictures up and ask for your advice.

 

should I wait, or is my hair loss bad enough for me to go?

 

thanks!

[rheostat]

and if any administrator is reading this, can you help with my username? I signed up as "rheostat", and it says so in my profile page...but in the forum i keep showing up as "eBeckieSantosu"

 

can somebody help or direct me to someone regarding this technical problem? thanks!

[Thehairupthere]

You could be a candidate for treatment, but you are young so you need to take a few precautions before proceeding. Are you using any medication to prevent hair loss like minoxidil or finasteride? If you are not you should consider using those medications for at least one year before having the procedure. The reason is that you need to halt any further loss because you only have a finite amount of grafts available to you and you do not want to deplete your supply by using too much in the front, without knowing exactly what is going to happen behind the transplanted hair. That being said you do look like a good candidate for treatment, but again I wouldn't suggest doing anything if you are not on any medication. If you are taking the medication and it's working well at stopping the loss than you could have the procedure done but you may want to be a little bit conservative. Try meeting with a doctor that is recommended by this forum and see what he or she says.

[gillenator]

Very good advice from HUT. And just to add, you mentioned that you noticed your hairloss at age 19, and I would venture to say that it started even earlier. But the recessionary loss may not have been as noticable in your early teens. That type of loss is almost always an indicator of advanced hairloss in your future.

 

Chances are, there are Norwood Class 7s in your family history. That's why it is soooo important to see how you respond to Propecia. If you do not respond favorably to Propecia, then I would seriously reconsider getting a HT in your situation.

[Blake Bloxham]

eBeckie,

 

First, I sent you a private message regarding the name issue.

 

Second, like others have stated, TheHairUpThere (as usual) has provided some excellent insight, and I would begin preventive medications like finasteride/Propecia and minoxidil/Rogaine right away. I'm fairly certain that at your age, most hair restoration physicians would want you to begin preventive measures as soon as possible, utilize these treatments for a period of time to stabilize the loss, and consider transplantation at a later date.

 

Good luck!

[Hans - Webmaster]

Rhoestat,

No problem, this has been corrected and your name shows up correctly now.

[bonkerstonker]

Very good advice from HUT. And just to add, you mentioned that you noticed your hairloss at age 19, and I would venture to say that it started even earlier. But the recessionary loss may not have been as noticable in your early teens. That type of loss is almost always an indicator of advanced hairloss in your future.

 

Chances are, there are Norwood Class 7s in your family history. That's why it is soooo important to see how you respond to Propecia. If you do not respond favorably to Propecia, then I would seriously reconsider getting a HT in your situation.

 

What Gill has said here sounds a little bit scary so just to add i had loss like you at 20, my family members were nw6 i have been a nw5 for 11 years and highly unlikely to get worse than nw5, i also found finasteride to be very effective so don't think just because you have early recession finasteride will not work.

 

I would definitely get on finasteride and minoxidil for a few years to get things stable then go for a small ht if it bothers you that bad. You're probably not aware but you have retrograde alopecia above your ear on the side you can see it thining there too but don't worry this is common i have it too.

Edited June 6, 2011 by bonkerstonker

[aaron1234]

1) You got a good crown. Get on Fin and save it!

 

2) Stay on Fin at least two years before getting any work done.

 

3) It looks as if there is thinning hair by your ears and temple region. Get this area checked too for retrograde alopecia.

[gillenator]

Saving the crown is very important especially for the guys who are just beginning to lose in that area. The crown can potentially demand so much of one's available donor that saving it can dedicate more of one's limited donor to the areas that have the highest areas of visual impact like the frontal zone.

 

And hairloss products like Propecia and Rogaine continue to show the most favorable results for most patients across the board world-wide. In fact both products, clinically speaking, show the most efficient results in the crown area, and both are still the only two approved by the FDA for treating MPB.

 

I continue to see men wait and wait to get on effective hairloss products untill the crown is gone. Then, as a result, most of them are left to choose between the frontal zone "OR" the crown because there is never enough donor to completely cover both areas.

 

See your reputable hairloss doctor now for an in-person evaluation and diagnosis for MPB. The doctor can get you started now and then help plan your restoration over your lifetime. Effective hairloss management does not always involve surgery if you take the proper preventative steps early. There are many qualified hair restoration doctors within this community here at your disposal.

Edited June 16, 2011 by gillenator