Assess my Loss

[gonehair]

I am Norwood 6 I guess though it may well turn out to be 7 based on your assessment. Ive severe sebhoric dermatiits that goes pretty bad of and on. I had many personal issues so did not pay attention to hair loss that started 10 years ago. I've just recently started taking 500 micrograms of propecia daily (I break the pill into two) as well as using NIzoral shampoo 2%. I sporadically use MInoxidial 2% as I developed face swelling when I used 5% a couple years back. Minox also exacerbates my seborhic so that is another problem. What to do now?

 

I am 28 years of age Middle Eastern/Pakistani

 

Thanks

[Jotronic]

You should not have a procedure any time soon. You are between a NW6 and NW7 with extremely deep crown loss developing. If you are not experiencing side effects from Propecia then you should up your dosage to a whole pill and not split them. If you are going to use medication you should use it to it's fullest potential as it was intended.

[gonehair]

You should not have a procedure any time soon. You are between a NW6 and NW7 with extremely deep crown loss developing. If you are not experiencing side effects from Propecia then you should up your dosage to a whole pill and not split them. If you are going to use medication you should use it to it's fullest potential as it was intended.

 

Thanks

[gonehair]

You should not have a procedure any time soon. You are between a NW6 and NW7 with extremely deep crown loss developing. If you are not experiencing side effects from Propecia then you should up your dosage to a whole pill and not split them. If you are going to use medication you should use it to it's fullest potential as it was intended.

 

Thanks

[Spanker]

To be honest, you look like you are going to be very advance. Luckily you have a nice round head. Get your skin issues under control, shave your head, and be a bad-a$$.

 

I personally do not feel that you are a good candidate. Also, instead of splitting propecia, consider slitting finasteride. Its cheaper and is a 5mg tabled, so you get 1.25 mg per day, instead on .5 by splitting a propecia.

[gonehair]

To be honest, you look like you are going to be very advance. Luckily you have a nice round head. Get your skin issues under control, shave your head, and be a bad-a$$.

 

I personally do not feel that you are a good candidate. Also, instead of splitting propecia, consider slitting finasteride. Its cheaper and is a 5mg tabled, so you get 1.25 mg per day, instead on .5 by splitting a propecia.

 

Thanks.

 

I don't want to shave my head

 

Please if you can elaborate more on why I am not a good candidate for the procedure?

[Naltima]

 

Please if you can elaborate more on why I am not a good candidate for the procedure?

 

There is a limited amount of donor hair each person has. Unfortunately when you are in the NW5-NW7 territory the available donor hair is not sufficient to give you an acceptable result. You will get some coverage, but it will still be obvious to people that you are balding/bald because of the low density. Most ethical surgeons will not perform a transplant once hairloss has reached a certain point.

 

Please try Propecia, Rogaine and Nizoral for at least a year and you might get decent regrowth. I've seen people with diffuse thinning that got amazing results after getting on medication. Best of luck to you!

 

I'm hoping that a breakthrough will come around in the next 5-10 years to help guys like you out.

[gonehair]

There is a limited amount of donor hair each person has. Unfortunately when you are in the NW5-NW7 territory the available donor hair is not sufficient to give you an acceptable result. You will get some coverage, but it will still be obvious to people that you are balding/bald because of the low density. Most ethical surgeons will not perform a transplant once hairloss has reached a certain point.

 

Please try Propecia, Rogaine and Nizoral for at least a year and you might get decent regrowth. I've seen people with diffuse thinning that got amazing results after getting on medication. Best of luck to you!

 

I'm hoping that a breakthrough will come around in the next 5-10 years to help guys like you out.

 

Thanks for the input. What about taking hair from chest and beard? I hope there are more options available to surgeons now.

[Naltima]

Yes, it's possible to transplant chest/beard/etc. hair to a head, however body hair is different than the hair on your head so the result might look somewhat unnatural. The best surgeon for body hair transplants is probably Dr. Umar.

 

Here is an example of his work.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/167955-update-14-000-fue-ugrafts-body-hair-transplant%97dr-umar.html

[gonehair]

^

 

Thanks for reply. I know it would look unnatural but the reservoir is thin on my head already. Can you also tell me if I am too young for surgery (27 years)? Another thing, are there more chances of people seeing results with finasteride in my age?

[Naltima]

^

 

Thanks for reply. I know it would look unnatural but the reservoir is thin on my head already. Can you also tell me if I am too young for surgery (27 years)? Another thing, are there more chances of people seeing results with finasteride in my age?

 

27 might be a bit too young but it seems like your hairloss pattern if pretty well defined. The best thing to do would be to schedule a free consultation with a reputable doctor, like Rahal, Feller, and Umar in your case. Most of them will be able to give you advice based on pictures or videos you send them. You can also contact Spex who is a regular poster on these forums. He represents Dr. Feller. Here is his profile. Hair Restoration Social Network ? Community for and by Hair Loss Patients - spex's Profile

 

As for Propecia. It should work for you, granted you don't have any side effects. It will probably not provide you much regrowth but it will help you keep whatever you still have right now. Try both Propecia and Rogaine and both of these combined should give you at least some regrowth. But give it at least 1 year before you asses the progress.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

If you are looking for a full head of hair, you are better off in a hair system. You would not be a good candidate for full restoration maybe a very limited frontal forelock. As w mentioned, shaving it off is a great option which I advise to many of my patients and they are very happy.

[gonehair]

If you are looking for a full head of hair, you are better off in a hair system. You would not be a good candidate for full restoration maybe a very limited frontal forelock. As w mentioned, shaving it off is a great option which I advise to many of my patients and they are very happy.

 

Thanks for your reply but I don't want to shave it off. What is the advancement in technology if one can't get enough hair on head? What about taking hair from the body? I heard it has helped many people like me.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

Unfortunately we are not at the point where we can grow unlimited hair follicles. Every year new research on the molecular mechanisms and signals which affect hair growth are being learned. We are getting closer but not there yet. A person with extensive hair loss that wants the illusion of a full head of hair can easily consume 6000 to 8000 follicular unit grafts or more. If you calcuate an average area of 150 cm squared at 40 grafts per cm squared , that gives you your 6000 grafts. IF you have a larger head with 200 cm squared thats 8000 grafts. To achieve cosmetic density you would want to transplant at the highest density amount. Previous studies have shown that cosmetic density can be acheieved with an average of around 25 to 30 grafts per cm squared.

 

There are sacrifices in patients with severe hair loss and that is coverage vs density. You can cover alot of area but perhaps not get the density you are looking for.

Dr. Ricardo Mejia Hair Transplant Surgeon in Jupiter, Florida

 

IF you look at the older patient at the link above 9th row 3rd one across. He had close to 4000 grafts in an area well over 200 cm squared. Excellent coverage for his age, appropriate. This is an approximate average of 20 grafts per cm squared to get coverage not density for this patient. When I show this to younger patients, they say it is not enough for them. COnsequently, for me they are not a candidate for hair restoration because their expectation with density far exceeds what can be achieved with their limited donor area which in some cases is maxed at 6000 grafts.

 

Yes body hair transplant is available for those that have alot of body hair and a big financial budget. Body hair is extracted with the FUE method. Body hair does not seem to be as hearty as your donor scalp hair and the results may be less than desirable. For many it is a good complement when you have already exhausted the donor supply. But it my practice it is not a first choice.

 

Young patients with severe NW 5 will progress to 6 and or 7. COnsequently proper hair restoration goals must be set with patients to assure they understand coverage vs density and the limitations. This is why in many cases we have alternative options such as frontal forelocks or just focusing on the anterior 1/3 of the scalp. I have hooked these patients up with others that have shaved their heads or gone into a hair system so they can see first hand the differences and can be happy with either choice. The bad thing about starting with a hair trasnplant, is once you start, you are somewhat committed to maintaing it for the rest of your life. The best thing about shaving your head is if you dont like it it will always grow back to a point where you do like it. No harm done. You dont have to go cold turkey, every time you get your hair cut, trim it shorter and shorter so it is a gradual progression to baldness and easier to accept. If not then consider the limitations above or wait until hair cloning is perfected and start saving $, because I am sure it will not be cheap. These companies need to make there money back from millions of dollars of lost research.

[gonehair]

^

 

Thanks for your detailed reply. On a related note, what are the chances of success of finasteride in patients under 30 years of age?

[KO]

Jotronic - Not that I'm questioning your judgement as I don't have the trained eye that you do, and I agree with your assessment, but hasn't HW gotten good results with people of similar hair loss levels? For example the patient named Dutch or Zauriel, I believe he had a similar level of baldness, or even your case before your first surgery with HW.

 

OP - I think you should get on fin as well as minox. Fin will keep what you have minox will thicken it hopefully. You have a decent shaped head, and I think if you shave the sides real close and buzz the top, it will look good. Sadly shaven heads are not common among south asian or middle eastern people, but it may look fine on you. Also it will help if you get into shape.

Edited December 28, 2012 by KO

[MAGNUMpi]

Thanks for the good post Dr. Mejia.

[Tinkerbellz]

Hello there,

 

just for your information, you can also check at the scalp micropigmentation section of the forum.

 

All best.