How many grafts would I need.

[johnbradley]

Hey all. First post here. In fact, first post in any forum of this kind. I guess by registering to a hairloss forum I'm finally admitting I'm suffering the early stages of male pattern baldness.

 

My Dad has a full head of hair to this day and he's 46. I'm 21 and have more of a receeding hairline than him and more thinning at the crown. My mum's Dad and brother are totally bald at the top. I know the bald gene comes from the Mother's side so I've came to terms (sort of) that I'm probably getting this from her side of the family.

 

Like everyone else, It's really getting me down to the point where I'm constantly thinking/stressing about it, probably resulting in even more hairloss!

 

I've decided I'm going to start using regaine to help regain some thinned hair on my crown, however looking into things I discovered that this won't help my hairline.

 

I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience with hair transplants who could help me out a bit.

 

I want to restore my hairline but not sure how many grafts I would need to bring my hairline down to the level I want it. I've attached a photo of my head, one of the images has a red line marking where I'd like my hairline to be. I just want it to be a bit straighter and lower.

 

Does anyone know roughly how many grafts I would need and what the usual cost of such a procedure would be?

 

Would really appreciate any feedback!

 

Cheers!

[BadBeat]

Here is my feedback: You DON'T need a hair transplant! I don't see any balding. Looks like you're mature hairline is developing. No qualified surgeon on the planet would touch you. If you're really that worried then get on fin and/or Rogaine.

[kokosam]

Your hair looks fine man. You should not worry about it now. Like what BadBeat mentioned, most PROFESSIONAL and ETHICAL surgeons won't operate on you at this age. You may get on rogain or fin to keep what you have.

Good Luck

[johnbradley]

Thanks a lot, guys. It's good to hear I'm just being paranoid. Although I'm definitely going to go bald at some point so I'd like to do all I can to keep as much of my hair as possible. Boots is doing a deal just now. 12 month supply of regaine for ?180. Other than this. What other things would you recommend taking alongside this? I don't know what the best brands are etc for propecia. I already bought alpecin double strength shampoo and alpecin liquid.

 

Is there anything else I can be doing?

[Arthur]

Click on Spex' profile and go to his website Spexhair

You'll find all you need to know on there man.

[TommyLucchese]

propecia and minoxidil should sort you out and keep those fears at bay

[GBU]

You have received some good advice johnbradley . My advice is always to wait . You are still a young man and medications make more sense .

[Raphael84]

DO NOT even think about having a hair transplant right now. Your hair looks great. Your hairline is right where it should be! If you are sure that you are losing hair, then consider the aforementioned medications. Have you compared photos of your hairline to a few years ago? You do not look like you are receding to me, you have a mature hairline as opposed to a juvenile "straight" style hairline. You hair looks great!

[TommyLucchese]

I don't think it's right to say it's just a mature hairline. My hairline went from juvenile to the one seen in the original posters photos, 4-5 years later my hairline was awful.

 

It's true that you may not be going bald. It COULD be just a mature hairline. The fact is we have no way of knowing. I think you need to go and get it checked for miniaturisation. If you ARE losing your hair then propecia and minoxidil should sort out that crown and should keep your hairline in tact (maybe even grow a bit more too, mine did). Catching it early is the key, right now it is VERY early for you.

 

HT is definitely out of the question for you though, I'd say.

[Raphael84]

Tommy, you could be right. But Johns hairline does not look like it is receding to me. It looks like a mature hairline. Some people have a mature hairline from their early teens. Its just how their hairline is. Only he knows if he has experienced hairloss, and obviously photos would help him analyse this. Whilst I agree with everybody, getting on meds, the earlier the better would be preferential regarding halting the hairloss, if he has no hairloss, it would be foolish to even begin with the meds. That for me, is so very important!

I take Finasteride. I am a very healthy minded person, following a Paleo diet, eating grass fed meat and organic veg. I analyse every little thing that I digest. I hate, and I mean hate the idea of taking any type of medication, especially on a daily basis. Yet, when weighing up the pros and cons of Propecia, I have made the educated decision to use it. However, if this is not necessary, then, in my opinion, it would be insane to take it. Therefore, an honest evaluation on hairloss or no hairloss is essential here. Not just an insecurity over a mature hairline (which I am not saying that this is!).

[johnbradley]

I really appreciate all this advice! Seriously it's already stopped me stressing so much. Looking at photos from 2 and a half years ago, my hairline doesn't seem to be that much lower. I always have had a widows peak anyway, ever since I was a kid. I think maybe the thinning of the hair is making me focus on a receding hairline that isn't as bad as I actually think. I never used to notice any hairs coming out in the shower. And over the last year I'm counting up to 10 hairs in the bath pretty much every time I shower. Who knows how many is actually coming out that I haven't spotted. The thinning is definitely there as sometimes in harsh lighting I can see more of my scalp than I ever could before. My Mum's Dad and Brother are completely bald so I'm expecting to go down that route.

 

I don't want to start taking regaine at the age of 21 and continue for the rest of my life when I might not need it. I'd be happy to have the hair I have just now for as long as I can. What would be the best way to do that? Any particular brand of tablets? Already using the alpecin shampoo and liquid.

 

I realise how much of a noob I sound. I literally have no experience with this and all the different names for chemicals, treatments and what they do etc is confusing!

[Raphael84]

John,

Dont worry about not knowing which medication is which etc etc... thats why your here!

Basically, there are two kind of medication that are FDA approved in the attempt to halt and in some occasions reverse hairloss. Now, the reversal of hairloss that I talk about, is generally in the crown area as opposed to the hairline, and is often a mere thickening of existing hairs rather than regrowing a full head of hair. Lets remain realistic about this.

The first is in tablet form, and is called Finasteride. You will see that this is generally marketed as Propecia or Proscar. Depending on which brand you purchase, the dosage (mg) is different. It is recommended for hairloss sufferers to take 1mg on a daily basis. Now, Propecia for example, each tablet is equal to 1mg, so it is simply a case of taking 1 tablet daily. However, the price of Propecia is ridiculously more expensive than a generic Finasteride for example. The difference being, that Finasteride will generally be tablets of 5mg, that you must then personally cut into 4ths or 5ths, in order to consume the correct daily dosage. This medication can not be bought over the counter, and must be purchased with a prescription. Depending on your location, you have options. If you are UK based, then I can recommend a website where you can purchase them. Please research this product as a small percentage of users, can experience sexual side effects. The percentage that is detailed, always seems to be different and to differing degrees. I myself have used Finasteride for 7/8 years with no issues, but others report various degrees of side effects. I understand the percentage of sufferers to be between 2-5%. Do your research and make the decision that works for you.

The second product is Minoxidil. Which is marketed as Rogaine/Regaine. A topical solution that you apply twice daily to the affected areas. This is an over the counter medication, that can be purchased without prescription. I believe that you mentioned this product in your initial post, and so have some awareness. Again, this brand is not the cheapest option. Kirkland foam, contains the exact same ingredients as Rogaine/Regaine foam at a fraction of the price. Again, if you are UK based I can advise a website to Purchase. PM if you need. But I believe that you can even purchase this product at such sites as Ebay and/or Amazon at reasonable prices.

I hope that this helps!

[johnbradley]

Thanks so much for the info, Raphael. I'll shoot you a pm later on and get those links off you if you don't mind! I live in Scotland so I should be able to use them.

 

Also, I took some new photos. I gave myself a buzz cut to have a better look. Without the flash the thinning doesn't look too bad. But with the flash, it's exposing a lot of scalp and it looks really thin and shows more detail. My hairline doesn't look as bad when it's short, ironically. I think the my long fringe made my hairline look like it was receding worse. Weird!

 

But I took a profile photo as well with flash and it exposes a lot of my scalp from the side, too. I don't know if I just have thin hair everywhere.

 

Really confused.

Edited October 29, 2012 by johnbradley

[Leeson]

John,

 

Your hair is fine, the flash can do weird things. It can make a thinning man appear to have a full head of hair and vice versa. Your at an age where you worry about lose and can have hypervilgilence. The most extreme move I'd take is what the others suggested and take FDA meds, but do not entertain the idea of a HT. Your not losing your hair!

 

L

[Bobilero]

You hair is good fella. Dont fret it. Get on Minox., I could never recommend propecia but maybe saw palmetto.

 

The only thing i would say is KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON IT AND MINUTURIZATION. There is an insane statistic where people only notice their hair thinning after they have shed 50% of it !! This is a trap i fell in to and was unable to take enough preventive measures in time.

[rev3]

take propecia for the crown

 

if you are over 40 years, you will be pretty safe lowering the hairline temple angles

and i am sure you can get this done

 

if you are in your 20's and want to fill in the temples you might find a hard time for a qualified HT surgeon to approve