How many grafts using FUE would I need?

[jamiejay337]

Hello there, first off yes I know there are people who have it alot worse than I, I have suffered with Social Anxiety Disorder for a decade and it went untreated. The anxiety caused a good amount of recession in my hairline and thinning on top, my genes aren't great, but both my brothers aren't getting this amount of hair loss and my hair loss has stopped since my anxiety has been treated.

 

Basically my head would go super red and burn and then I would find hair in the bath and motorcycle helmet, which hasn't happened for over a year now so...

 

Anyway back on track, here's a few pictures. I am below working class but this is what I really want, I was wondering if any of you insightful folk could give me any clue as to how many grafts I would need? My hairline at the back of my head (on the neck) is very low down so I presume alot of hair could be taken from there? I always hated having hair so far down my neck anyway.

 

I've attached a few pictures of my condition.

 

Now I know people have it worse like I said, but I have severe confidence issues and this only hinders me even further, I want my old hair back or atleast close to it. I've been using Regaine for a year now and figured the price tag on that for the rest of my life is 4x as much as a transplant so...

 

Oh, and I'm 24 years old. :'(

[TakingThePlunge]

jamiejay337,

 

Welcome! I'd say your hair is very similar to how mine was at your age. While it's difficult to predict exactly where hair loss will lead, I'm going to guess that you are in for more balding in the next few years. My hair held on pretty well into my early 30's and then disappeared rapidly.

 

Unfortunately, restoring one's hair is not normally a choice between medical and surgical hair loss treatments but a marriage of the two. You will want to medically stabilize your hair loss whether or not you choose to undergo hair transplant surgery.

 

It's difficult to estimate the number of grafts someone may need without knowing if their hair restoration goals are reasonable. I suggest trying our interactive graft calculator here.

 

Best of luck!

[jamiejay337]

Hey thanks for the response. As I said I feel like my hair loss has stopped, atleast now. It was rapidly happening due to the anxiety and stress and then once that stopped, the hair loss stopped. Havent seen a single hair in the bathtub in over a year coming on to around 2.

 

Anyway, that tool is great! But I'm confused a little on the slider, I mean if I put it all the way up ofcourse its going to be full of hair but I'm wondering at say the 30 mark, how much hair would that be really? It's hard to determine.

 

Thanks again for replying

[England]

Hi JamieJay,

 

Your hair looks great, honestly I can barely tell that you need an operation at all. It doesn't look to me like you require too many grafts, is it just to close out the temples?

 

To give you an idea on density, natural hair is probably in the 90-100 range (grafts per sq cm). To achieve the 'illusion' of natural density, a 'dense packing' strategy of say 50-60 grafts per sq cm is about as far as you can go. No transplant will ever give you native density but that's as close as you can get and will probably give you the result you want. 30 grafts per sq cm generally will not give you the thick result you are probably after. It's worth noting that while you may need 50+ grafts per sq cm in the hairline, this is because hairline grafts only contain 1 hair (for naturalness) whereas grafts further back can have 2 or 3 hairs and so lower densities of perhaps 30 can achieve the right result.

 

If you're just looking to close off the temples, which is all I can see you need, I would estimate 1,000-1,500 grafts for a dense result. Of course I'm not a doctor at all and if you're serious you should consult with numerous surgeons, eg Dr Rahal, Dr Charles, Dr Feriduni, Dr Bisanga and get their opinions.

 

Good luck with it all!

[HARIRI]

With a hair like that, Its insane to go under the blade for a hair transplantation. Your hair looks great, I don't advice you to go near any HT clinic at all, you will risk the hair shock loss thing. I didn't listen to the advices of my friends when I did my bad 2000 grafts job, My hairline density was 40% imagine. Just try using minoxidil and wait more. Dont be sold out by any HT clinic for the mean time. I repeat that again, you have a beautiful head of hair. Try to use a bit of concealers like Nanogen or Toppik and you will be 100% satisfied.

[TakingThePlunge]

What England has said is perfectly true. For a guy in your situation who is truly not going to see further hair loss, an ethical surgeon may agree to close the temples recreating a youthful hairline. For most hair loss sufferers this is not advisable.

 

Your best bet is to consuls with a few recommended hair restoration physicians in person if possible. They'll be able to more accurately predict where your hair loss may be headed in the long term and help you devise a plan of attack.

[RCWest]

I also believe 1000-1500 would be PLENTY. You look to have fairly coarse hair, and your hair color is excellent for a hair transplant.

[BadBeat]

With a hair like that, Its insane to go under the blade for a hair transplantation. Your hair looks great, I don't advice you to go near any HT clinic at all, you will risk the hair shock loss thing. I didn't listen to the advices of my friends when I did my bad 2000 grafts job, My hairline density was 40% imagine. Just try using minoxidil and wait more. Dont be sold out by any HT clinic for the mean time. I repeat that again, you have a beautiful head of hair. Try to use a bit of concealers like Nanogen or Toppik and you will be 100% satisfied.

 

I don't really see how Nanogen or Toppik would help him. He has really good hair but it's the temples that are bothering him. Since there isn't any hair there I don't think that concealers could do anything for that area. I think he has 2 choices really. He could get an HT and close the temples which would probably commit him to at least 1 more procedure down the road should his hair loss continue or he could accept that he actually has pretty good hair and be happy with it. The latter is a very hard thing to do though!

[michaeljames]

Hello there, first off yes I know there are people who have it alot worse than I, I have suffered with Social Anxiety Disorder for a decade and it went untreated. The anxiety caused a good amount of recession in my hairline and thinning on top, my genes aren't great, but both my brothers aren't getting this amount of hair loss and my hair loss has stopped since my anxiety has been treated.

 

Basically my head would go super red and burn and then I would find hair in the bath and motorcycle helmet, which hasn't happened for over a year now so...

 

Anyway back on track, here's a few pictures. I am below working class but this is what I really want, I was wondering if any of you insightful folk could give me any clue as to how many grafts I would need? My hairline at the back of my head (on the neck) is very low down so I presume alot of hair could be taken from there? I always hated having hair so far down my neck anyway.

 

I've attached a few pictures of my condition.

 

Now I know people have it worse like I said, but I have severe confidence issues and this only hinders me even further, I want my old hair back or atleast close to it. I've been using Regaine for a year now and figured the price tag on that for the rest of my life is 4x as much as a transplant so...

 

Oh, and I'm 24 years old. :'(

 

Hey Mate;

 

First of all your hair looks great right now so don't be so anxious. Get a good evaluation form a recommended surgeon on HTN. I am a patient advocate for one. Determining the number of grafts takes a bona fide evaluation. However, using a medical treatment for starters might be advisable in route to making a decision on progressive HT demanding on the results of an evaluation. Propecia, Revivogen may be a good solution for you. Always check with a top doctor. All the Best, Michael.

[jamiejay337]

I will not touch Propecia sorry, a 2-18% chance of becoming impotent is not worth it

 

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

But I really really need good hair, it's a large part of my confidence issues which are ruining my life.

 

I doubt I will have continued hairloss for a good 2 decades providing I take good care of my hair and keep my anxiety in check, so a hair transplant seems the best option..

 

 

With regards to pricing, I am using Regaine right now and it requires you use it for life or hte hair growth will dissapear and continue. I figure all the work to apply it twice a day (and makes it look greasy) and the price tag for the rest of my life is ridiculous comparing to a one off payment of ?4,000-7,000.

 

Thanks again for replying :3

[Gandolf]

I will not touch Propecia sorry, a 2-18% chance of becoming impotent is not worth it

Bro many people don't get side effects from Propecia and they are reversible if you get them, you just have to go off the medication and nothing is lost.

 

I think almost anyone here would agree that in your current age and hairloss amount, that this would be less risky than going under the knife. I think it would be crazy not to at least see how you respond to Propecia first before considering a hair transplant so young.

[jamiejay337]

Bro many people don't get side effects from Propecia and they are reversible if you get them, you just have to go off the medication and nothing is lost.

 

I think almost anyone here would agree that in your current age and hairloss amount, that this would be less risky than going under the knife. I think it would be crazy not to at least see how you respond to Propecia first before considering a hair transplant so young.

 

I have actually read and heard about side effects being irreversible in some cases, whilst a full head of hair is majorly important to me, so is the use of my manhood.

 

Propecia is a nono. I've used Regaine +5% Monoxidil and have seem some results, but the cost of using this for the rest of my life is at least 5x more than a transplant would be.

 

Also, FUE is seemingly risk free isn't it?

[Gandolf]

Also, FUE is seemingly risk free isn't it?

Dear God are you kidding me???

[Gandolf]

 

I have actually read and heard about side effects being irreversible in some cases, whilst a full head of hair is majorly important to me, so is the use of my manhood.

There are some internet forums where people anonymously make posts about how Propecia has "completely ruined their lives" but it's pretty well established that there's no credible evidence to support any of these claims.

[jamiejay337]

I have seen people on YouTube videos and interviews with people regarding perminant impotence from it.

 

Ok so, what risks are there with FUE? I watched a few videos on it, read a few articles, seemed rather risk free.

[Gandolf]

I have seen people on YouTube videos and interviews with people regarding perminant impotence from it.

 

Ok so, what risks are there with FUE? I watched a few videos on it, read a few articles, seemed rather risk free.

Well for someone young with minor hairloss, there is the possibility with any HT that you lose more hair later in life and don't have enough donor hair to properly fill in the bald/thin spots. There are cases where people got poor yields and the transplanted areas weren't thick enough for a good cosmetic result. These would be your most likely risks and are exponentially more likely than any permanent inpotence from temporary use of Propecia.

 

This is rare, especially in caucasians, but there are a few people who keloid scar and had horrible looking scar tissue form all over their heads.

[jamiejay337]

I can deal with that, as I've said my balding seems to majorly be due to the anxiety and stress I suffered. I literally don't see any hair loss and haven't for a long while, regardless, when I'm older I will deal with hair loss better, but I'm in my twenties, I want my hair how it should be.

 

Also, if its not thick enough for a cosmetic result, still... I'd be surprised, the hair on the back of my head is rather thick, and even so thinner hair on the hairline is still better than none

 

I value your opinion on the matter though, thanks for explaining some of the risks I wasn't fully aware of But I would still much rather risk not having enough donor hair for the future as opposed to risking being impotent.

 

Oh and since when is Propecia temporary? Stopping use results in the loss of hair doesn't it?

[Gandolf]

Oh and since when is Propecia temporary? Stopping use results in the loss of hair doesn't it?

Yes, if you use it and then stop you will eventually lose the benefits AND the side effects from it. There are only a very tiny amount of anecdotal examples like the ones you've found on Youtube where people claim the side effects persist after stopping the drug.

[jamiejay337]

Yes, if you use it and then stop you will eventually lose the benefits AND the side effects from it. There are only a very tiny amount of anecdotal examples like the ones you've found on Youtube where people claim the side effects persist after stopping the drug.

 

Yes, and to me even 0.1% chance is too high, I mean come on, hair is VERY important but it is never ever worth that risk

[1978matt]

Hello mate, a few observations:

 

- Your hair appears to have receeded in a MPB manner. I'm not an expert but stress related hairloss that I've seen is often 'patchy'.

- Even if your brothers have good hair it doesnt mean your immune. My brother is older than me and NW1!

- You are young so the chances are you will lose more hair.

- IMO Propecia is definately worth a try. Men can become impotent with or without taking it. The chances are that these people are just grabbing at straws.

- Best to book some consultations with a few coalition doctors.

 

Good luck

[Gandolf]

Yes, and to me even 0.1% chance is too high, I mean come on, hair is VERY important but it is never ever worth that risk

OK, but are you aware that there are a ton of regular, everyday things that people do that give than way more than a 1/1000 chance of erection problems?

 

If you drink alcohol, drink caffeine, eat fast food, eat processed foods, smoke cigarettes, use drugs, fail to get 8 hours of sleep each night, fail to do regular cardiovascular exercise, etc. then you are taking an exponentially higher risk of having impotence than the .1% figure which you claim is unacceptible.

 

There is nothing wrong with being cautious of a drug, but I think you need to be as cautious or probably even more so about having a surgical procedure as the potential risks and long term consequences are clearly stronger than temporary Proecia use. Does this not make sense?

[jamiejay337]

OK, but are you aware that there are a ton of regular, everyday things that people do that give than way more than a 1/1000 chance of erection problems?

 

If you drink alcohol, drink caffeine, eat fast food, eat processed foods, smoke cigarettes, use drugs, fail to get 8 hours of sleep each night, fail to do regular cardiovascular exercise, etc. then you are taking an exponentially higher risk of having impotence than the .1% figure which you claim is unacceptible.

 

There is nothing wrong with being cautious of a drug, but I think you need to be as cautious or probably even more so about having a surgical procedure as the potential risks and long term consequences are clearly stronger than temporary Proecia use. Does this not make sense?

 

It makes perfect sense, but with the 0.1% figure, that's just me being a fool, the actual figures at 2-18% chance and yes, most often discontinuing use of the drug solves the problem, but sometimes it does not.

 

And I don't drink alcohol, I get 8 hours or more a night, I use drugs for my anxiety and depression which is a must, I don't smoke cigarettes, I eat fast food as I have very picky tastes about food, I exercise 5 times a week.

 

Honestly, nothing will change my mind with regards to this drug, it's too dangerous.

 

Risking not having enough donor hair for future transplants (assuming I can afford it) is a small risk, besides, body hair is also usable is it not?

[jamiejay337]

Hello mate, a few observations:

 

- Your hair appears to have receeded in a MPB manner. I'm not an expert but stress related hairloss that I've seen is often 'patchy'.

- Even if your brothers have good hair it doesnt mean your immune. My brother is older than me and NW1!

- You are young so the chances are you will lose more hair.

- IMO Propecia is definately worth a try. Men can become impotent with or without taking it. The chances are that these people are just grabbing at straws.

- Best to book some consultations with a few coalition doctors.

 

Good luck

 

Hey!

 

- I agree, usually stress is hairloss in patchy places, however whats to exclude those "patchy" places being temples aswell? I feel like I will suffer some MPB, however right now whilst washing my hair victoriously I seriously get 2 hairs or something in my hands, thats it. I no longer get a red burning hot head whenever I'm anxious, I simply am not losing hair and haven't for nearly 2 years. Whether this is just a "cooling off period" or not I do not know, what I do know is that if it starts up again in 10 years time, I would love to have a fantastic head of hair for those 10 years.

- True point aswell, just seems odd that both my brothers have no anxiety or stress problems and have fine hair, whilst I being the only one with anxiety and stress issues lost some.

- Ofcourse, everyone loses hair with age, even if its a little, but I cannot see myself losing hair at the crown anytime soon, it's rather thick, just these damn temples.

- I had thought about that, but "chances are" just simply isn't good, what the hell would I do if I was one of those who permanently becomes impotent? I would not be able to handle that

- True true! I have a brochure coming from a clinic in London soon, I'll look through that and book a free consultation, I hardly have the money right now, but if he says "1000-1500 should suffice" then I will find a way to get the money.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone!

[Gandolf]

I use drugs for my anxiety and depression which is a must

I agree you should keep taking them as your doctor prescribed them for a reason but these are just as likely as Propecia to cause sexual side effects. Everybody responds differently but I can tell you from my experience that I had no noticable decrease in sexual abilities from Propecia but when I was on anxiety medicine it completely killed my erections.

 

I agree with you not taking Propecia if you believe the risks outweigh the benefits. You should stick to that regardless of what anyone, myself included, tells you. I just don't understand how you don't have the same caution with surgery. Anyhow, I will leave it at that. You are definitely in the right spot to find good information about all of your options, just make sure you go to one of the top surgeons recommended here. There's only about 8-10 I'd consider.

[jamiejay337]

I agree you should keep taking them as your doctor prescribed them for a reason but these are just as likely as Propecia to cause sexual side effects. Everybody responds differently but I can tell you from my experience that I had no noticable decrease in sexual abilities from Propecia but when I was on anxiety medicine it completely killed my erections.

 

I agree with you not taking Propecia if you believe the risks outweigh the benefits. You should stick to that regardless of what anyone, myself included, tells you. I just don't understand how you don't have the same caution with surgery. Anyhow, I will leave it at that. You are definitely in the right spot to find good information about all of your options, just make sure you go to one of the top surgeons recommended here. There's only about 8-10 I'd consider.

 

Any of those 8-10 in the UK?

 

And true, with my anxiety medication I experienced lower sex drive, but impotence is not possible with either medications otherwise I wouldn't take them. I lowered my dosage and my sex drive increased.

 

There's just too many horror stories attached to Propecia for me to consider it. Thanks for understanding