Age for HT

[munchkinman]

Hi, I am 18 and am about a Norwood 2 soon to be a 3 I reckon, my Dad is bald and so is one of my uncles, but one still has a full head of hair. But I am pretty sure I will be bald unless I do something.

I am on generic Fin, but I was wondering why surgeons will not perform transplants on younger patients. Why could I not have a surgery of about 1500 grafts to fill in my temples so it just has the appearance of a mature hairline, then continuing small surgeries to fill in the rest?

My Dad had quite a large donor area as the hair goes quite high up the back and sides of his head, and the bald bit in the middle is quite thin, I think I have a very similar loss pattern so would have a large donor area.

I have sought no professional opinion so far, I was just wondering if anybody would even consider operating on me within the next couple of years?

Thanks.

[biscuit]

You think you have a similar pattern to your dad. Unfortunately hairloss isn't that consistent. If you're wrong, and heading for a NW6 or worse, the last thing you want is a strip of 1500 grafts on your forehead and visible scarring in the donor area.

 

If you already have hairloss at 18 the chances are really high that you will lose a lot of hair.

[munchkinman]

Yes, but if I continued to get smaller surgeries to keep up with the hair loss that would not happen. Besides from that being quite expensive, is that not viable?

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

I had surgery at 19. I don't regret the surgery, however I do regret the fact that the surgeon I chose did not properly inform me on current and or future hair loss. That was 1993. I am now 37 years old and I will be having surgery with Dr Gabel in February. Trust me when I say this!!! " I thank GOD that I have enough donor hair and that my hair loss is relatively slow for it starting so young!! " if I were you, and I was you, I would wait till I'm at least 30!! Get on meds and stay on meds... I'm excited about my surgery and I know you will be too. It's hard being as young as you are, but your not alone and going bald at 18 DOES NOT mean you are doomed to be a Norwood 5,6, or 7. But I think you do need to wait a bit. That's my two cents!

[rich91403]

Munchkinman,

 

Please get a COMPLETE evaluation before doing anything. Family history of hair loss, miniaturization study, donor density (hair per square mm), hair type, scalp laxity and any other contributory personal health history.

 

I had my first procedure in my early 20's. I kept adding more hair as I continued experiencing advancing hair loss. I'm glad I had the donor availability.

 

There are two schools of thought: one is that you are too young and you should wait. The other is that these are the most socially impactful years of your life without waiting passively while continuing to experience all the negatives of hair loss.

 

You would need the basic information suggested above to be able to make a more clinically appropriate decision.

 

Keep us posted and some pictures would be helpful.

[ziggy00]

Hair loss patterns can't be determined exactly, and it's even more difficult with younger individuals. A series of small operations could turn out to be very costly and your donor hairs may not last for when you truly need them. I wouldn't (and most doctors wouldn't) recommend locking yourself into that lifelong path at such a young age.

[mmhce]

but your not alone and going bald at 18 DOES NOT mean you are doomed to be a Norwood 5,6, or 7. But I think you do need to wait a bit.

 

 

Fully agree! Because you start young may not necessarily mean you'll end up NW7.

[bonkerstonker]

You think you have a similar pattern to your dad. Unfortunately hairloss isn't that consistent. If you're wrong, and heading for a NW6 or worse, the last thing you want is a strip of 1500 grafts on your forehead and visible scarring in the donor area.

 

If you already have hairloss at 18 the chances are really high that you will lose a lot of hair.

 

Biscuit i know you are very knowledgable but with respect i'm not sure what you're implying or if you've mixed your words slightly, losing your hair at a early age does not mean you're more likely to move to a nw6 or nw7 if that's what you're meaning. Follicles are programmed to be dht affectable at birth so just because them follicles give way under dht pressure early on in a mans life does not mean that he has a wider area of dht affectable hair nor more likely to be a nw6 nw7, it just means the follicles that can be affected are under high strains of dht which could be caused by high tesosterone levels in a man or they were not capable of taking much dht.

 

Munch i have been in your shoes at 20 i lost lots of hair to a diffuse nw5 point but i regrew lots of hair with meds that i still have today at 31 and had a small fue session of 1000 grafts approx in my early 20's that changed my life and gave me a happy part of my life during my twenties it was the best thing i ever did.

 

The key is if you have surgery young like i did choose wisely where you're gonna place them and don't use anymore than you have to but you MUST be on meds and have a decent donor supply. Also strategic styling and a good cosmetic shampoo is important to get the best out of your hair when you're young. I also used to do a little trick with minoxidil where i'd let it dry for 30 mins and comb the exccess through my hair which would leave minoxidil powder substance in my hair like chalk then i used hair wax to make it look dark over the chalky minoxidil dust in my hair which worked amazing. Unfortunately only a certain brand of minoxidil can do this and it can only be found in one place now Dr lee has gone but we're not allowed to post websites for products on here for some reason so pm if you're interested.

Edited June 18, 2011 by bonkerstonker

[bonkerstonker]

I've had quite a few people asking about the fast drying minoxidil that gives you the thickness illusion that i was speaking about above so to make things easier the info is here if you want some ... just put minoxidilmax in google.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Future_HT_Doc
Removed outside link

[Hal]

Hey Munchkinman,

 

You're in a difficult spot, no doubt.

 

From what you describe, your potential balding pattern (and that of your father's known balding pattern) match pretty closely to mine.

 

I too have a lot of hair in the back of my head and high up on the sides. I had a receding hairline from about 18 or 19 years old. It hung on through my 20's, slowly getting worse until my early 30's, when I lost it.

 

If I would have had my temples filled in, I would have ended up in a very bad way, chasing a dying hairline with multiple surgeries. That's one road you do NOT want to go down. Run as fast as you can from anyone who states otherwise, suggesting that you can "stay ahead of your hair loss..."

 

That said, I understand your concern and the arguments for looking your best during an important time in your life-- young, independent adult hood.

 

What I think is missing here is a consultation from a top flight Doc. It's great that you are doing research, gathering facts, listening to opinions from others who have been down the same road.

 

However, you really need to be evaluated by a true professional, one who can examine your case and lay out your options and explain risks vs. potential benefits.

 

I may be biased, but my first choice would be Dr. Ron Shapiro of the Shapiro Medical Group. If you're not a good candidate at the present time, he'll tell you. He's an honest man with a sterling reputation. There are others as well-- you don't have to dig too deep on these boards to find their names.

 

Sure its an investment to get evaluated-- but one that is well worth it to get some vital questions answered.

 

I can also tell you that many of us here have gone through exactly what you are experiencing right now. There are no easy answers or instant miracle cures. There are only treatment options that have upsides and downsides, potential gains and potential risks.

 

All you can really do is become informed, get the facts, and make a call. And then live with that call.

 

If it helps, I can also tell you that everything is relative. The hairline that you are so concerned about right now will most likely retreat a little further 5 or 6 years from now. So when you're 23 or so, you'll be going, "Man if I only had the hairline I had when I was 18, I'd be satisfied...".

 

And when you're 30, you'll say the same thing about the hairline you had at 23.

 

I guess my point here is that you should try to put things in proper context. Enjoy the here and now and try not to let the thought of future hair loss poison the present. Because I can assure you that in 15 or 20 years, your perspective be entirely different.

 

That may be hard for a young man in your position to believe or even do, but the effort will pay dividends-- much like anything else in life.

 

Good luck.

 

Hal

Edited June 18, 2011 by Hal

[biscuit]

Biscuit i know you are very knowledgable but with respect i'm not sure what you're implying or if you've mixed your words slightly, losing your hair at a early age does not mean you're more likely to move to a nw6 or nw7 if that's what you're meaning.

 

 

The OP can do his own research. Ask some NW6/7 men when they lost their hair. Most guys with significant hairloss started losing it in their teens and early 20's.

 

I'll stand by my statement, if you already have hairloss at 18 your chances of losing a lot of hair are significantly higher.

[Blake Bloxham]

Munchkin,

 

In almost all cases, 19 years old is far too young for a hair transplant. The fact of the matter is that you simply don't know (at this point) how your hair loss will progress, and, like others have stated, the last thing you can to do is progress to a NW VII with 1500 grafts floating in the front of your hairline.

 

Additionally, while the plan to keep up with the hair loss via a series of small procedures makes sense on paper, I'm not sure it would pan out in reality. The fact of the matter is that the ideal time between two hair transplant procedures is 1 year (to allow time for the results to fully mature and see where you require additional density), and I don't think the hair loss will slow down and follow this prescribed pattern, meaning you'll be losing additional hair while you're waiting for additional procedures and it won't be aesthetically pleasing.

 

Furthermore, you do definitely have a finite number of donor grafts and subjecting both your donor region and scalp to a series of surgeries is unlikely to maximize your yield or keep your scalp from experiencing shock loss during the repetitive procedures.

 

Also, because of the advances in preventive medications, that work especially well in the scalp and crown regions, there really isn't any need for you to simply allow the hair loss to progress and try to catch up via a series of surgeries. In most cases, I feel like physicians would recommend preventing and stabilizing the loss with the medications, then performing the procedure(s) after the situation is under control.

 

Having said all that, I heard Dr. Feller say something interesting regarding hair transplants in young patients a while back: essentially, he said that the age of the patient isn't really a stone cold factor. For example, if you were an 18 year old NW II and had some sort of absolute, concrete proof that you wouldn't progress further than that, there wouldn't be any other reason not to fill in the slight recession and bring the hairline where the patient wanted. However, because this is rarely (if ever) the case (due to the progressive and unpredictable nature of hair loss) I do not think you will be an exception and most surgeons will tell you to utilize the preventive medications and wait some time before undergoing surgery.

 

Good luck!

[munchkinman]

Hi guys, thanks for all your inputs. I can appreciate that hairloss is unpredictable, and that having 1500 grafts at my hairline then balding behind would look pretty stupid. I was not really considering getting a ht immediately, I am on finasteride, and have been for about 8 months. I am hoping that the fin will allow me to maintain the hair I have now for a good few years, or atleast minimise the loss so that when I am around 23/24 I can have proof that the recession is slow and docs will feel less apprehensive about filling in my hairline.

Also, on an unrelated matter, would Dutasteride be worth considering just to try and sure up maintaining the hair I do have now?

Thanks.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Give fin a try first. I think medically speaking Dutasterude HAS to be better, however you may not need it!

[Hairy13]

I just had a follow up visit with dr cellar fri. I was talking to him about a procedure called prp. He went on to tell me thatvsince I've been balding since since I was 21 (now 35) it was not for me. The procedure is for people just starting to lose there hair and can possible stop your hairless while growing some back. At your age besides Mede I would think this is your best option.

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi guys, thanks for all your inputs. I can appreciate that hairloss is unpredictable, and that having 1500 grafts at my hairline then balding behind would look pretty stupid. I was not really considering getting a ht immediately, I am on finasteride, and have been for about 8 months. I am hoping that the fin will allow me to maintain the hair I have now for a good few years, or atleast minimise the loss so that when I am around 23/24 I can have proof that the recession is slow and docs will feel less apprehensive about filling in my hairline.

Also, on an unrelated matter, would Dutasteride be worth considering just to try and sure up maintaining the hair I do have now?

Thanks.

 

The finasteride should suffice for now. I'd personally stay on it.