Fed up with being a bald teenager

[NorwoodsBane]

Hey guys, I'm looking for help on this. I've consulted hair transplant clinics and the majority are bottom dollar quacks. I'm 18. I've been balding since 14. My grandfather stabilized at late stage Norwood 6, which is where I am. Wigs are tedious and hats are itchy. I used rogaine for almost a year and had no results. When should I consider HT? And who is the best I can go to? And what is the best that can be done for a Norwood 6.

[abcd0000]

Welcome! Looks like a strong donor... Look at some of the recommended physicians on this site, or consider some of the cheaper, but very good Turkish clinics (Maral, Estepera, Demirsoy, and there's more).

 

Whatever you do, think it through very carefully and do a lot of research. Explore all the options (micropigmentation, concealers etc.) before you decide to get a HT. This forum is an excellent place to start.

[Cant decide]

I was a NW 6. Check out my link below to my web page as well as the following link to my second op.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/173722-cant-decide-5-5-month-post-op-pics-crown-procedure.html

 

Provided you have good donor, I suggest Rahal or H&W who routinely handle such large cases.

 

In most cases, a doc would not touch an 18 year old but your advanced enough that they likely would but again, as long as you have a good donor.

[hsrp10]

H&W for sure and maybe some temporary SMP in the meantime.

[Traction]

I vote for SMP for now.

[JayWalker]

When was that 3rd picture taken? from the other pictures I find it very hard to see if you do have adequate donor hair or not. Looks very fine on the first 2 pictures.

[TommyLucchese]

I'd go and see Hasson and Wong in person. That will allow you to know for sure firstly IF you are even a candidate, then what they could aim to do for you.

 

This is one of those ironic situations where actually, you could be better off for having such an advanced balding pattern. I'm almost 25 and wondering whether propecia will stop working and I'll advance to an NW25 (exaggerating of course) and live to regret my HT. But you, as you're already advanced, you know exactly where you are and wont be playing the "what if" game that many of us do.

 

As an aside, you might feel better if you hit the gym and get yourself in shape. That alone will do wonders for your confidence and maybe you'll be fine with the Statham/Willis look.

 

Definitely consult in person if you can (as they can assess your donor which is very important) with as many doctors as possible, but particularly those experienced in the very large cases.

[hairthere]

That's a very advanced pattern, especially for such a young guy. I would not go the strip route if I were you as those sides could very well drop even more and you're going to need a very long strip. The good news is I think the shaved head look suits you well. I agree that getting into shape, doing something a little more stylized with the facial hair, cool wardrobe, etc. could vastly improve your confidence. Of course it doesn't hurt to consult with some HT docs, but I would think long and hard before going the strip route.

[TommyLucchese]

What doctors do the large FUE cases?

[Spanker]

My opinion is to keep shaving your head and move on. You have a very nice head and the shaved look suits you. If you were over 50, you could probably get enough hair to make you happy, but being such a young guy, you would be fighting an expensive uphill battle. The best advice I think I could give you is to seek support on forums that promote head shaving and acceptance. Spend your money on school, clothes, a gym membership, etc. I believe that you would be happier in the long run. There is a small portion of people that transplantation is not a good option for and you appear to be in it, at least at this time. At 18, your sides could drop considerably and retrograde alopecia is a possibility. You may want to consider finasteride so that you have more options available to you as technology progresses. This is just my opinion and not medical advice. If you insist, make sure that you are consulting only top doctors, as this industry, along with any elective procedures, are filled with predatory clinics. Good luck.

[1978matt]

Someone in your family will have similar hairloss so have a look to see what their donor hair is looking like, but even then I would try to wait as long as possible.

 

Let your hair grow out for a couple of months so doctors can see what kind of coverage it might give.

 

Maybe when you are mid to late 20s you might be able to get enough donor hair to create a natural hairline, done artistically to reflect a natural balding pattern (probably done by FUE).

 

I would definately not get a strip scar now. An old fella in my office must be a norwood '8' and his 'donor hair' is absolutely shocking. That has to be your worst case scenario.

[GoForIt]

Sorry to hear about your hair loss - it's not easy at any age for some of us, and at 18 . . .

 

The problem with a HT is that you are not going to get a thick head of hair. Given your level of hair loss, the best a HT would likely do is put a bit of hair on top and keep your crown bald. This is perfectly acceptable for a 40 year-old, but not an 18 year-old :cool:.

 

If you haven't, and you feel ok with it, get on finasteride to preserve what you have and maybe grow a bit more. This may keep options open in the future. The shaved look looks good on you - to create the illusion of more hair you could consider temporary scalp pigmentation, and see what a few years brings.

 

The beard looks good (frames your face well), and think about hitting the gym (adding to my list of things to do)!

[NorwoodsBane]

I will never, ever go the strip route. I've walked out of hair clinics simply because they suggested it. Strip method is barbaric, outdated and dangerous in many cases.. I would either go FUE or shaved. I can personally deal with a receded or high transplant hairline, as long as I no longer look like my biological grandfather. I have personal reasons for trying not to look like him, and his hairline is what really makes him look like him.

[Cant decide]

I will never, ever go the strip route. I've walked out of hair clinics simply because they suggested it. Strip method is barbaric, outdated and dangerous in many cases.. I would either go FUE or shaved. I can personally deal with a receded or high transplant hairline, as long as I no longer look like my biological grandfather. I have personal reasons for trying not to look like him, and his hairline is what really makes him look like him.

 

Strip is far from outdated but I get your apprehension to not wanting to go strip. Sounds to me like you need to do some FUE and SMP as others have suggested.

 

Best of luck.

[NorwoodsBane]

To be quite honest, a perfect teenage hairline is the last thing I want. I like my high hairline. I would ideally thicken it and simply clean it up so it's less messy. High hairline works well with beards, and I always like it when people can tell I'm Irish at a first glance... So it all filters in quite well.. I'm simply trying to avoid looking like my biological grandfather, but I inherited most of his genes. A mature hairline with density far outweighs having a thin low hairline in my opinion. @Spanky, you're right though. I'm certainly going to keep it shaved until I can get a better idea of what it's going to do.

[hsrp10]

If you are opposed to FUT I would highly recommend going the SMP route.

I think a megasession or two from one of the best clinics (H&W or Rahal) could work and have seen it on this forum but seems this is not want you want.

 

Though they may be out there and most likely highly expensive, I have yet to hear of FUE megasessions, so I don't think you are going to be able to achieve any significant density change with FUE.

However, FUE and SMP combination may give an improvement.

[hairthere]

There are clinics doing 3k and up FUE megasessions. The most affordable ones are in Turkey. Looking at your donor, it's tough to tell if you're a suitable candidate for FUE. I agree with hsrp; if you're just looking for a hairline and not full restoration, SMP/FUE combo is the way to go.

[JimmyNeutron]

My opinion is to keep shaving your head and move on. You have a very nice head and the shaved look suits you. If you were over 50, you could probably get enough hair to make you happy, but being such a young guy, you would be fighting an expensive uphill battle. The best advice I think I could give you is to seek support on forums that promote head shaving and acceptance. Spend your money on school, clothes, a gym membership, etc. I believe that you would be happier in the long run. There is a small portion of people that transplantation is not a good option for and you appear to be in it, at least at this time. At 18, your sides could drop considerably and retrograde alopecia is a possibility. You may want to consider finasteride so that you have more options available to you as technology progresses. This is just my opinion and not medical advice. If you insist, make sure that you are consulting only top doctors, as this industry, along with any elective procedures, are filled with predatory clinics. Good luck.

 

I started losing hair very aggressively around his age, 15, but it got very visible at 16. I am now 25 and a stabilized NW3-4 because of using finasteride and minoxidil, not even religiously. I was on and off the stuff for 6 months at a time until 22 when I started using it every day. I would use it for half a year and then not use it for the next half, which is why I am not in a better NW pattern now, but also why i'm not NW6-7.

 

I would not tell him to give up, I would tell him get on fin and minoxidil and then think of an HT. I could have given up too since my hair started falling as far back as 13 years old, but I don't count it because I was an NW0, I count it really starting at 16 when I am sure I had lost 50% already. I didn't give up. Sure my hair loss is bad, but I halted/slowed it down to the point that an HT would get me where I want to be.

 

Giving up should not be an option for a young guy like him. I remember seeking advice from my dad, mom, and family members, "shave you head", useless advice, primitive. Thanks to the information I found around 3-4 hair loss forums, I found a way to battle hair loss.

[Melvin- Admin]

At age 18 I would def do something about it, even if you need to get more HT's down the line, that's ok as long as you can have some hair in your 20's once your 50 then u can rock the crown and receded hairline with pride.

[orangehair]

based on the photos, your donor area, age, advanced pattern do not bode well for a meaningful result with hair transplantation.

 

rocking the shaved head look is certainly an option and you seem to have a decent head shape for that

 

I agree that micropigmentation may be worthwhile to consider.

 

Propecia may be beneficial as well.

 

-P

[Spanker]

I started losing hair very aggressively around his age, 15, but it got very visible at 16. I am now 25 and a stabilized NW3-4 because of using finasteride and minoxidil, not even religiously. I was on and off the stuff for 6 months at a time until 22 when I started using it every day. I would use it for half a year and then not use it for the next half, which is why I am not in a better NW pattern now, but also why i'm not NW6-7.

 

I would not tell him to give up, I would tell him get on fin and minoxidil and then think of an HT. I could have given up too since my hair started falling as far back as 13 years old, but I don't count it because I was an NW0, I count it really starting at 16 when I am sure I had lost 50% already. I didn't give up. Sure my hair loss is bad, but I halted/slowed it down to the point that an HT would get me where I want to be.

 

Giving up should not be an option for a young guy like him. I remember seeking advice from my dad, mom, and family members, "shave you head", useless advice, primitive. Thanks to the information I found around 3-4 hair loss forums, I found a way to battle hair loss.

 

I did advise him to get on fin and we never know what the future has in store for us, but whatever it brings us, it will be better to have more hair to start with. I still stand by my post. Your situation is unique, as is everyone's, but my experience tells me that an HT at this time is not a good option for this fellow. Of course, not everyone will follow good advice and there is a great example on the board now of this and it does not look like it is working out for the pt. It is easy to say "don't give up", which I agree with which is why I recommend finasteride, but to say "screw it, go for it" would be bad advice. While it only takes a moment to type a comment like that, the pt will have to live a lifetime should he follow that advice. His donor and pattern are just not stable enough for strip or FUE to be a good idea at this time. I am not writing these things to be discouraging, I am writing them because he needs to hear it.

[TommyLucchese]

Very good post Spanker.

[lorenzo]

SMP or nothing. Any doctor that would consider giving an 18 year old with advances hairloss any form of hair transplant in my opinion is plain wrong. No doctor in my opinion can predict or see if they are actually harvesting hair from the safe zone on an 18 year old.

[Mickey85]

Need better pictures as the ones posted are either blurry or don't show the full extent of your hairloss. I do feel for you in regards to losing hair at such a young age and I can certainly understand that you want to remedy your situation. However I feel that without stabilizing your hairloss, you should not even consider a hair transplant of any sort as it could be basically setting up a recipe for disaster. Let us say you went in for 3,000 grafts tomorrow and received decent coverage(at the expense of density) but that native hair continues to miniaturize you then have circa 3,000-4,000(average) scalp-hair grafts left before needing to resort to body hair and/or SMP. Given that a naturally non-balding individual has 30,000 grafts on the top of their head, you can see how paramount it is to make those 7,000 eligible donor grafts at the back and sides of your head count. It is just too difficult to predict where your hairloss will end up at this stage and too easy to inaccurately assess. I would hold it off for now.... I know you don't want to hear this and I am sorry as I hate giving out bad news, but you DO NOT want to end up having to undergo a massive body-hair transplant session because you depleted your scalp hair grafts.