How many grafts is possible to take out of my donor? (Pictures)

danielx111 · July 24, 2013

Here's a picture with TOPPIK :

http://i39.tinypic.com/281fqcm.jpg

Thanks again guys.

Please let me know what u think, ty.

Edited July 25, 2013 by danielx111

agenteye · July 24, 2013

Daniel-

Tough to say buddy. I'm sure a physician or a patient advisor would chime in with a more "accurate" assessment. Looks to me like you have a good, dense/thick donor area.....however, photos are super hard to give an assessment. I know plenty of people who were expecting a great donor area, and then on the day of their procedures found out it wasn't as good as originally thought. Same goes for the other way around too. Scalp laxity will also play a role in what the physician will be able to harvest.

But speaking as an outside perspective, your hair characteristics look very similar to mine, and I had above average laxity and donor supply/density!

If you don't mind me asking, what nationality are you? Some of us Italians and Spaniards luck out in that department.....and are ideal hair transplant candidates. Just curious and not trying to be rude....so please don't feel as if you have to answer that question! =)

Best,

Mike

danielx111 · July 24, 2013

Daniel-

Tough to say buddy. I'm sure a physician or a patient advisor would chime in with a more "accurate" assessment. Looks to me like you have a good, dense/thick donor area.....however, photos are super hard to give an assessment. I know plenty of people who were expecting a great donor area, and then on the day of their procedures found out it wasn't as good as originally thought. Same goes for the other way around too. Scalp laxity will also play a role in what the physician will be able to harvest.

But speaking as an outside perspective, your hair characteristics look very similar to mine, and I had above average laxity and donor supply/density!

If you don't mind me asking, what nationality are you? Some of us Italians and Spaniards luck out in that department.....and are ideal hair transplant candidates. Just curious and not trying to be rude....so please don't feel as if you have to answer that question! =)

Best,

Mike

I like how you write your answers very carefully, I'm a jewish but im pretty much hairy like italians, hehe, I believe that my hair is heavy. I posted some of my photos to Chad (Dr.rahal services), and he said I may not be a good candidate which is very disappointing. However my hair is real short now, when it's a bit longer the donor destiny look much better, if you got skype or e.mail I can send you some of my photos and give me your opinion of what you think.

After all, i'm young, 19 years old and my hair doesn't look good at all, I lost most of it, I'm using TOPPIK so even my girlfriend or friends doesn't know im going bald.

I know 1 day I won't be able to hide it and before that day comes I want to do something about it.

Again, thanks a lot!

agenteye · July 24, 2013

Daniel-

At 19 years old, you are far too young for a hair transplant, in my honest opinion. I'm sure everyone else in these forums would tell you the same thing. The problem with getting a transplant so young, is that it is hard to predict what Norwood pattern your hair will progress to in the future, and so physicians need to be conservative in their approach to treating you. That is probably why Chad said you are not a good candidate, as most ethical clinics would NOT perform a procedure on someone of your age (unless it were a rare circumstance/medically necessary). I hate to be the bearer of bad news......but not all is lost.

Are you currently on any of the medications (Rogaine, Finasteride (propecia), supplements) to help halt the progression of further loss?! If not, I would recommend/advise you to consider getting on these treatments. I wish I would have known about them at your age....I could have prevented A LOT of loss. I didn't have my hair restoration until I was 31......as it was important for me to wait to see where the loss was halting. Once my loss stabilized, it was obvious where I would need my grafts placed, and where I would need to save my grafts for future procedures.

I would get on those medications as soon as you can (consult a physician) and continue to use Toppik. Concealers work great until you reach a place where you are ready to have a transplant!

Please feel free to reach out to me or anyone else if you ever have questions. This place is a great space for advice and support, as this community really cares!

Best,

Mike

Spanker · July 25, 2013

I agree, you are way to young to consider a transplant. Your best bet by far is get on finasteride, like yesterday.

Can you post the photos that you showed Chad? You donor actually looks great, so I wonder if he said you were not a candidate based on your donor or your age?

danielx111 · July 25, 2013

Guys, thanks a lot on comments, i'll post my photos right now and tell me what u think, I'm using propecia, 15% minoxidil with PG, Omega 3, Multi vitamin and now i'm going to start what chad told me to use.

The bad news are, I used Propecia for 2 years when I was 15-17! It didn't help me at all (that's atleast what I think because my hair became wrost). Honestly, I started propecia about 3 months after I found out i'm lossing my hair, I'll upload now the photos, thanks again.

agenteye · July 25, 2013

You were taking Propecia at 15? I guess it's not entirely out of the question, but frankly I'm surprised a physician would start a patient on a serious hair loss drug so young. It's not too often that young men start losing hair so young, although I guess it happens in rare circumstances. I'm wondering if your hair loss was maybe due to a thyroid condition/deficiency when you were younger?

At any rate.....the photos you post will help us give you a better assessment of where you stand. And you may not have had the best results with Propecia the first time around, but now that you are a bit older (and probably even more susceptible to DHT), it might have a more profound result this time around. Often times the drug causes an initial shed of your hair, but if you were on it for 2 years, then your hair loss shouldn't have gotten worse. The shed is only temporary while your body adjusts to the foreign medication....and then the positive effects are usually seen.

danielx111 · July 25, 2013

Yes I know 15 is too young and you know what's funny? well it's not funny at all lol, my brother is 15 years old and starting to lose some hair (You can't notice anything but you can see how his hair shedding when play with his hair).

My father went totaly bald when he was 26 so it makes sense that he probably started to lose when he was 16-17, all my uncals, from both sides are bald, so I believe it genetic, I'm sure stress make it wrost since I have a lot of stress, usually when i search up on this forum and see a bad HT, my heart starting to beat hard because I'm scared i'll be one of them, or when Chad told me I may not be a good candidate I couldn't sleep... hair become part of my life, actually the only part, since I was 15 and nothing didn't change, my parents always tell me to move on but I know for sure it won't happen and I never give up untill I have full head with hair like you guys have!

Uploading now the photos and tell me what u think.

Nick153452 · July 25, 2013

You are for sure young for a hair transplant. However, some people are so blessed with an above average donor supply with above average donor laxity that allows them to address any level of balding. That being said, if you do meet these qualities, you may be a candidate for a HT at your age, although most doctors would suggest against it, because you'll most likely have to have a hair transplant in the next 3-4 years. They would much rather try to stabilize the hair loss and then address what needs to be addressed at that time in order to save you time, money, and unneeded emotions. I am speaking, of course, of respectable doctors -- ones that actually enjoy what they're doing more than how much money they can make off of somebody, even if that person is 19 years old.

By the looks of your picture, you do look you have a good donor density, which will work into your favor, and if I remember right, your skin is on the darker side, which minimizes the contrast between your scalp and your hair, giving a more dense look. I suggest that you get on finasteride until you are at least 21 years old, do research in the meanwhile, and if a hair transplant is something you're still looking at, do it. Just do a lot of research and make sure you get a good doctor.

danielx111 · July 25, 2013

You are for sure young for a hair transplant. However, some people are so blessed with an above average donor supply with above average donor laxity that allows them to address any level of balding. That being said, if you do meet these qualities, you may be a candidate for a HT at your age, although most doctors would suggest against it, because you'll most likely have to have a hair transplant in the next 3-4 years. They would much rather try to stabilize the hair loss and then address what needs to be addressed at that time in order to save you time, money, and unneeded emotions. I am speaking, of course, of respectable doctors -- ones that actually enjoy what they're doing more than how much money they can make off of somebody, even if that person is 19 years old.

By the looks of your picture, you do look you have a good donor density, which will work into your favor, and if I remember right, your skin is on the darker side, which minimizes the contrast between your scalp and your hair, giving a more dense look. I suggest that you get on finasteride until you are at least 21 years old, do research in the meanwhile, and if a hair transplant is something you're still looking at, do it. Just do a lot of research and make sure you get a good doctor.

Thanks a lot on comment, i never meant to do HT right now, but I want to do it in the next 2-3 years.

My skin is actually white and my hair is dark brown, I just know that my hair is really heavy.

And by the way, does it possible to take hair from the legs and put them on my head ?

if u see my legs you'll understand why i'm asking that.. LOL..

thx again!

Nick153452 · July 25, 2013

Umm, yes, it is possible to take any hair and put it on your head. But it isn't cosmetically the same hair, mind you. Hair on different parts of your body, when transplanted to your head, will maintain the same hair-growth properties as where it was taken from. For example, if you transplant hair from your chest, you will have chest hair growing on your head, not scalp hair. There are many disadvantages to this.... It generally doesn't look very good in my opinion. The best hair to transplant to your head, because it has similar growth patterns as scalp hair, is BEARD HAIR! Yes, put that beard on your head!! OBVIOUSLY, you're going to want to exhaust your scalp donor supply before you even start to worry about body hair (BH) transplantation. If you want to take a look at some results, I suggest you look at Dr. Umar from California; he is known as the body-hair transplantation specialist. You will see that BH transplantation doesn't give the desired cosmetic appearance that those of us who have scalp hair are looking for.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions. I'm not the most knowledgeable person on this forum by any means. But I am every bit as interested as the others

mattj · July 25, 2013

Even Dr Rahal would not want to tell you how many grafts can be taken from your donor area as it is impossible to say an accurate number when looking at photos. Donor supply is too important for someone to tell you a number that might be wrong. It could give you the wrong idea of what is possible.

The exact density cannot be judged and the donor laxity (how stretchy the skin is in the donor area) is impossible to judge at all. Density and laxity are the important things.

The best that we can do is say if the donor density looks poor, average, good or very good. Use words like that.

Your donor density looks like it is average. You have thinning at the crown which is going downwards towards the donor area. This can be seen in this photo: http://oi40.tinypic.com/2ii75gy.jpg

I know English isn't your first language so I've tried to be as clear as possible, which can sometimes be hard with this subject. Do I make sense?

greatjob · July 25, 2013

I started loosing my hair around 13 so it is very possible, although horrible. I would suggest you start taking monthly pictures to accurately access how propecia is working for you, it is very hard to determine the progress of hairloss without taking pics since it is so gradual. It is good you are on the meds, although like others have said I am surprised you got on them so early, you want to try and save as much of your native hair as possible.

Like agenteye said there is a small chance that your loss could be due to something else like a thyroid issue. I don't want to get your hopes up, because thats what happened to me when I was told about this, however it would be wise to rule it out as a possible cause by getting a full work up. Tell the doctor you want to rule out thyroid issues as a cause for your hairloss.

Also like others have said you are way too young for a transplant. I know that sucks to hear, but you have to think long term and not get tunnel vision. Getting a transplant too early can put you in a far worse situation than you are currently in.

danielx111 · July 25, 2013

Guys, thanks a lot for your comments, Nick, thanks for explanning me about BHT, Matt, I did understand what you wrote and thanks a lot for explanning, when you said my donor is avg, do you know about how many grafts it will possible to get of my donor? (I know you said it's very hard to know with pictures) but i'm just curious if it will be enough atleast for perfect hairline + some hair on the rest of my head, as long as toppik can hold it i'm fine with that, the most important thing for me is the front, i don't care about the rest.

greatjob, this is the first time i actually meet someone who started to lose his hair with younger age than mine.

I'm using propecia and hope it will do anything, even slow my hairloss will be fine.

Today I bought what Dr.rahal told me, saw palmetto, biotin and silica. I hope it will change something.

but for now, what do u suggest me to do? When should I start consinder HT? I just scared of the day when I won't be able to put TOPPIK anymore since I won't have enough hair on my head and then what.. People will notice im going bald, I know it's something normal, 99% of my family are balds but none my friends are, and I know it will have many bad effects on my confidence..

Thanks again guys for your comments! you are awesome

greatjob · July 25, 2013

greatjob, this is the first time i actually meet someone who started to lose his hair with younger age than mine.

I'm using propecia and hope it will do anything, even slow my hairloss will be fine.

Today I bought what Dr.rahal told me, saw palmetto, biotin and silica. I hope it will change something.

but for now, what do u suggest me to do? When should I start consinder HT? I just scared of the day when I won't be able to put TOPPIK anymore since I won't have enough hair on my head and then what.. People will notice im going bald, I know it's something normal, 99% of my family are balds but none my friends are, and I know it will have many bad effects on my confidence..

Thanks again guys for your comments! you are awesome

Trust me I know exactly what you're going through. Balding is normal but not in your teens and early twenties, and it can be pretty rough. Even a lot of people on here don't understand what it's like to really never live any period of your life with a decent head of hair, probably the only time I had good hair was in elementary school and junior high. I don't have any concrete answers on what you should do, however I wonder if you have ever shaved your head? I really never gave that a try and I wish I would have. I know the anxiety that you can feel thinking about shaving your head, but maybe give it a try when you have a period of a few months where if you can't stand it you wont be too visible for a few months while it grows back.

I really don't think anyone should have a HT until about 25 in the most extreme cases for a couple reasons, one so that the overall balding pattern becomes clear and two because most people under 25 are immature and don't have much concept of the future and usually want to restore their hair back to a NW 0 which is rarely a wise move. I think, like I said before, you should stay on propecia and try to document your progression with monthly pics to see if your loss is slowing or stopping on propecia.

Hair2d2 · July 25, 2013

Way too young. You are not a candidate, at least not by any ethical doctor. Try meds and see what you look like at 35.

Nick153452 · July 26, 2013

I really don't think anyone should have a HT until about 25 in the most extreme cases for a couple reasons, one so that the overall balding pattern becomes clear and two because most people under 25 are immature and don't have much concept of the future and usually want to restore their hair back to a NW 0 which is rarely a wise move. I think, like I said before, you should stay on propecia and try to document your progression with monthly pics to see if your loss is slowing or stopping on propecia.

No truer words have ever been spoken. I first went to talk with Matt Zupan at Shapiro Medical Group when I was 21, and at this point I was seriously considering a hair transplant. He told me no, because he realized I hadn't really done as much research as I should have, and had unrealistic expectations given my age. Two years later, when he realized my expectations had changed when I went in for a chat and updated photos (where it was revealed that my balding had progressed). So I opted to do whatever the doctor wanted to do with me, as long as I would have pretty good density. So I opted for SMG's specialty; conservative hairline. Obviously, it's not what anybody dreams of having in the best case scenario, but I do think that it was the best choice for me in hind-sight.

If your whole family is bald, the genetics are highly against you. Unfortunately, genetics Does not change in accordance with your friends. That being said, plan for the worst and hope for the best. In my case, None of my family is bald, yet I'm on my way to being a NW5...

Jotronic · July 27, 2013

I'm surprised that no one caught this. If you look at this pic it tells us everything we need to know.

Your donor zone is strong with regards to density and my suspicion is that your donor laxity is average at worst but most likely it is above average (call it a gut feeling). However, the image above CLEARLY shows that you are going to be a NW7 without meds. I guarantee it.

What I'm not clear about is that you said your loss continued after you started Propecia. Two questions:

1. Is it name brand Propecia or Proscar or some other variant? If you have access to it you should get the name brand Propecia or Proscar (and cut it into quarters, take one quarter per day).

2. When you say you kept losing your hair was it in the front or the back or both? Propecia does not work nearly as well in the front as it does in the back so if you are referring to the front then this does not mean the medication is not working.

greatjob · July 27, 2013

Good catch Joe, the master of photo analyst strikes again!

TonyStark83 · July 27, 2013

Matt, I did understand what you wrote and thanks a lot for explanning, when you said my donor is avg

Attention: Matt was just giving hsi own opinion based on your pictures.

Only a doctor after seeing you can say if your donor area is poor, average or good. I actually think it's good but it's just an opinion.

How many grafts is possible to take out of my donor? (Pictures)

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