Suggestions for a 23 year old considering a transplant!

[rdawg1234]

Hi there, I'm a 23 year old(well ill be 23 when I get one!) diffuse thinner and I've been considering a transplant for well over a year, especially recently.

 

Im currently a NW3V, however I've been on Finasteride_Rogaine for over two years and it has considerably slowed my loss as I was a NW3 back when I first started. The loss has continued slightly, however my hair is still pretty much the same as it was back then! Plus I may add DUT to my regime to further maintain if that may be an issue.

 

moving on, I've been losing my hair since abotu 17-18 years old, at first it wasnt bad as I shaved my head and the hairline was fine, but as it thinned out it really start to hurt my confidence!

 

Ultimately, now that I have some money to work with to afford one, I was looking for general recommendations from the forum here.

 

1. What are the best doctors based on credibility AND price? Im in the Toronto area, and have so far read a lot of good things about Dr. Rahal(but he's the most expensive), Shapiro and Konier, any more in the Eastern Region of US/Canada would be very appreciated. I can afford it, however I would of course like good value, i.e Shapiro is probably about 3-4000 cheaper than Rahal although rahal is supposed to be one of the best!

 

2. I'll post some pictures but how many grafts do you think I would need? I'm looking for a realistic slightly receded hairline, I dont want super thick hair, I just want a solid hairline and some thickness added throughout, 1500-2000? or more?

 

3. any other general recommendations would be very appreciated, I'm looking to get this done in February 2015.

 

34thsinchhair3weeks.jpg Photo by Rdawg1234 | Photobucket

 

halfinchhair3weeks.jpg Photo by Rdawg1234 | Photobucket

 

halfinchhair3weeksside-1.jpg Photo by Rdawg1234 | Photobucket

 

Note: this is from a year and a half ago and my hair is slightly thinner.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

[BUSA]

go to Europe. cheaper and better.

[hunting4bison]

only speaking from experience, Dr Feriduni in Belgium was brilliant

[el guapo]

As a 23 year old I would advice you to hold off.

I have been on this forum for 10 years now and from my limited experience you are not a good candidate.

Diffuse thinning is hard to fix with a HT and you may even loose more hair than you gain due to shock loss. Getting a HT that young is very likely to make you disappointed down the line as your hair loss continues and you run out of donor hair.

 

I know I sound negative and someone else here may have a different perspective on things. If you don't mind a shaved head perhaps its worth looking into SMP. Seems to do wonders with diffuse thinners but of course it limits you to a shaved head which for some defeats the purpose of doing anything in the first place.

[rdawg1234]

As a 23 year old I would advice you to hold off.

I have been on this forum for 10 years now and from my limited experience you are not a good candidate.

Diffuse thinning is hard to fix with a HT and you may even loose more hair than you gain due to shock loss. Getting a HT that young is very likely to make you disappointed down the line as your hair loss continues and you run out of donor hair.

 

I know I sound negative and someone else here may have a different perspective on things. If you don't mind a shaved head perhaps its worth looking into SMP. Seems to do wonders with diffuse thinners but of course it limits you to a shaved head which for some defeats the purpose of doing anything in the first place.

 

I find SMP's look ridiculous, might as well colour your head with a black marker.

 

Is it really that bad to do even if I Stabalize the loss? I plan to add dutasteride to my regime in the next couple weeks to see if it will further help.

 

essentially I'm saying i've definitely slowed the loss a lot already, is it really that bad of an idea to get an HT now? I'd rather have some hair then zero hair down the line.

[el guapo]

Meds do not work long term. They slow down the loss for a few years before it picks up again. They will very rarely help you grow back any hair.

 

If you have a HT now in your hairline for example you will end up with a very odd looking fringe of weirdly placed hairs growing in front of a large bald spot.

HTs can look OK on some patients with very thick donor hair and non diffuse thinning. Most fail over time. Just look through the diaries on this for and you will see what I mean.

 

I get your point with SMP. It can look awful. But it is the only treatment currently available that can look completely natural if done by a top practitioner. ( if you don't mind a very closely shaved head) I've seen many HTs and several SMPs. I think most HT patients wish they can go back in time and just live with the hairloss.

 

The SMP patients are happier but I can't imagine the shame of being called out one day of having tattooed your head...

[KO]

^Not a word of this is true.

[el guapo]

^Not a word of this is true.

 

Please elaborate. You are not being very helpful.

[KO]

I'll just point out the first wrong sentence - "Meds do not work long term". This is patently false.

[BUSA]

a HT can look ridiculous too if done by someone who doesn't know wat they r doin? SMP is no different.

 

I find SMP's look ridiculous, might as well colour your head with a black marker.

 

Is it really that bad to do even if I Stabalize the loss? I plan to add dutasteride to my regime in the next couple weeks to see if it will further help.

 

essentially I'm saying i've definitely slowed the loss a lot already, is it really that bad of an idea to get an HT now? I'd rather have some hair then zero hair down the line.

[el guapo]

How is that "patently false"?

 

Besides speaking from my own experience all you have to do is read on this forum for long enough...

I doubt anyone who have used mess for 10 years or more have completely halted their hairloss. It generally works got a few years before the hairloss picks up again.

[KO]

I've uploaded a 10 year study for Fin, and a 4 year study for Dut.

GSK Clinical Study Register - Study 113797

 

 

Medications do not suddenly stop working after a few years, that's ridiculous. Regarding the rest of your post, a lot of the best clinics have posted many good results with diffuse thinners.

Fin 10 year study.pdf

[el guapo]

I can tell you first hand how the meds stop working after about 5-8 years but then again you will find out on your own eventually. Ive been there - done that...

 

In regards to diffuse thinners - yes of course they produce great results. Most of them do. The problem is that as a diffuse thinner you will keep on loosing hair. A lot of it .And that is absolutely guaranteed, unless it is not genetically induced hair loss. And the only thing that looks worse than a bald head is a bald head with a few rows of transplanted hair at the front.

 

You can argue with me all you want - I don't really care. All I can do is pass on information which is what this forum is for. If you choose to use that information or ignore it is completely up to you.

[scar5]

I joined this site in Dec 2008 and have posted 817 times...that is (math dumb ass speaking here) one every three days /two days? I'm sure you don't wanna be doing that anytime soon, let alone at my age.

 

I have cheated balding. strip - FUE - SMP - meds all combined, and if I am patient and grow to the right length, 'the sweet spot' as Jotronic called it, I look grand, even if, and only if, you know what I have been through. But even if you don't, you would think I look good for my age, even though I am ugly, or shall I say, not 'good looking'

 

I started losing before I was 18. At 23 I was fully NW 3 and I went for surgery at 24. Of course, strip.

 

I lost a bit of myself that day...why? I still don't know. It is not as simple as interfering with 'God's work' because if I took a pill (there was no fin in those days) I could have bypassed that check point with flying colors.

 

So here is a thing I ponder for the 23 year old balder of 2014. What ever you say you are proud of, you probably feel the opposite. You shave your head and tell the world, look at me you judgmental fuckers, you simple robots, you slaves of some force you cannot even contemplate; I shave my head, yeah, for real, and I don't givva fuck. Subconsiously , you show them that you know hair IS important, and yet you fight like a mother fucker anyway.

Nevermind that rock stars ALL have hair, and plenty of it.

 

If I had kids it would not be to tell them to win the punch-out at the bar or OK corale, but to show the other guy you got something inside, and are willing to fight.

 

I can't tell you how many ugly shaved guys have owned me over the years in public situations, and yet, I know, they take meds and are mindful and deeply aware of the price they pay for their baldness. Some had even confided in me for advice (courtesy of my obvious (at times) HT. And yet they know, by asking humbly, I won't tell. Here they know a rule in the book of social dynamics.

 

I would suggest meds and a low density FUE plus SMP approach only, and only after you have not felt the winning feeling you get when you are among a group of people who have identified a hair transplanted guy standing hopefully a a bar. Now this is not to say plenty of guys get away with HTs without grief and speculation but you get my drift. A pure shiny bald scalp is sexy in a way a FIE/SMP scalp can never be, notwithstanding.

 

Obviously, don't talk to any HT surgeon that suggests strip for you.

[bismarck]

I don't think we know about the long term outcome of medications yet (ie. 15-30 years), which is what makes everyone so hesitant about using fin/dut response to make surgical decisions that are essentially irreversible.

 

Generations down the road will look back on us and say, "How did they do it? How did they put up with so much uncertainty?" just like we look back at guys in the 80s getting massive hair plugs and trying all sorts of crazy medical maneuvers to fix their issues.

 

I think what scar5 is speaking to is that you shouldn't be making many decisions in life in your early 20s that are permanent. They are almost impossible to make correctly. Tattoos, marriage, permanent cosmetic surgery, etc. You can reverse them to a degree later on, but everything comes at a cost.

 

Try and stabilize your loss first, get on the big 3, draw a 'line in the sand' as the Romans used to say, and once you feel comfortable that you're on some sort of rock shelf instead of sliding down the side of the mountain, then start trying to climb back up. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for disappointment and regret.

[KO]

^ That in a nutshell is one reason why FUE is so attractive to many. You can throw in the towel, buzz your hair down, and move on with your life. Especially if you see some of the posts by the guys who have strip scars and are still losing hair on meds.

[BUSA]

well put. agree 100%. fin didn't work for me. but, it works for millions of others. there is no reason to think that a medication will suddenly stop working after a few years. unless, its some sort of virus ur treating and the virus is now adapting.

 

hair shafts are not viruses therefore if a medication is stoping or blocking somthn that will cause ur hair to die then it will do the same as long as you take it.

 

I've uploaded a 10 year study for Fin, and a 4 year study for Dut.

GSK Clinical Study Register - Study 113797

 

 

Medications do not suddenly stop working after a few years, that's ridiculous. Regarding the rest of your post, a lot of the best clinics have posted many good results with diffuse thinners.

[KO]

^Why do you say it didn't work for you? For most people the typical result is maintenance rather than regrwoth.

[BUSA]

side effects. I'm sure it wud hav worked great to stop my hairless but strong side effects outweighed any benefit

[Ali Emre Karadeniz]

Hi there.

If you have decided upon a hair transplant, my recommendation is to do 2500 grafts to the front, with a high hairline design (almost unchanged hairline level), preferably FUT to keep more grafts for the future.

Regards.

[BUSA]

Hi there.

If you have decided upon a hair transplant, my recommendation is to do 2500 grafts to the front, with a high hairline design (almost unchanged hairline level), preferably FUT to keep more grafts for the future.

Regards.

a high hairline? why wud anyone want a high hairline? kinda defeats the purpose of a HT when one has plenty of donor hair.

 

let me guess.... you perform FUT not FUE right? lol what makes u think going FUT will result in more grafts for the future? FUE takes what you need and thats it. unlike FUT it does NOT damage surrounding grafts when carving a huge chunk of flesh from the scalp.

[Ali Emre Karadeniz]

Well I guess I will have to step out of this after this post.

I was warned not to post as a doctor due to this danger of being exposed to attacks by an unknown person while I am known.

Why are you so angry? In the end it is just an opinion, never mind I am a doctor.

Why should a high hairline defeat the purpose of a hair transplant?

I think one of the worst results to end up with in hair restoration is a low hairline at middle-age and no donor to cover the balding area behind it.

Practically no one has plenty of donor hair if they have started balding in their early twenties.

I will not go into a FUT vs. FUE discussion at this level, but just to let you know, I do 80% FUE and 20%FUT due to patient preference.

[BUSA]

no one is attacking you. if u wanna come up here and give poor advice thats on you but don't expect ppl to go along with it.

 

yes a HAIRLINE is what everyone sees and a high hairline doesn't make anyone look youthful which is the point of a HT. if they don't have donor hair then yes they are restricted to how low their hairline will be.

 

the patient has plenty of donor hair so what makes you think he won't have donor hair to address any future loss? do you perform BHT? thats adds another 3000-5000 grafts on average and some plenty more. 2000 grafts from the beard alone for most ppl if other body hair isn't present.

 

no one has plenty of donor hair if balding in their 20's? what an ignorant statement. plenty of ppl simply start losing their hair early but that doesn't mean they don't have donor hair to address their hairloss when they get older.

 

there has been plenty of patients in their 40. 50 and even 60's that have never had a HT yet started losing their hair when they were in their 20 yet have plenty of donor hair to utilize.

 

I started losing my hair at 21 and I'm now 43. my hairless stabilized 5 years ago and I have over 6000 grafts available to use so stop giving out poor advice!

 

again, started losing hair at 21. I'm a NW5. but according to you its impossible for me to have adequate donor supply cause I started losing hair in my 20's....:rolleyes: and that doesn't include the 10,000+ body hairs I have.

 

Well I guess I will have to step out of this after this post.

I was warned not to post as a doctor due to this danger of being exposed to attacks by an unknown person while I am known.

Why are you so angry? In the end it is just an opinion, never mind I am a doctor.

Why should a high hairline defeat the purpose of a hair transplant?

I think one of the worst results to end up with in hair restoration is a low hairline at middle-age and no donor to cover the balding area behind it.

Practically no one has plenty of donor hair if they have started balding in their early twenties.

I will not go into a FUT vs. FUE discussion at this level, but just to let you know, I do 80% FUE and 20%FUT due to patient preference.

Edited October 3, 2014 by BUSA

[1978matt]

BUSA,

 

I've never been clear on what you would consider an appropriate hairline height. Can you have a look at the following 3 cases (I picked them randomly) and tell me what you think of the hairline height?

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/176913-dr-cooley-3-000-grafts-prp.html

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/176862-dr-bisanga-bhr-clinic-2477-fue-0-6-5-months-progression.html

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/176905-michael-vories-md-fue-2000-grafts-frontal-forelock.html

 

Would you be satisfied with any of these hairlines?

[Ali Emre Karadeniz]

Dear Matt,

 

The high hairline examples from three respected surgeons are excellent!

I also love your 4312 grafts FUT procedure.

 

Regards.