Your opinion on crown coverage

[Joe HT]

Nearly a dupe post of the thread I made in another forum, but I'd like regular posters' opinions as well.

 

I want crown coverage, and feel that's the priority for my next HT. Educated guesswork, what kind of craft count would you say would constitute a worthwhile improvement in this crown area, considering the area's size, and possible shock loss involved with pre-existing hairs.

 

I wouldn't want to invest more than 1500-2000 or so FU's on it, because I do in fact want to address the front again *if* it's a realistic possibility later on. But if it comes down to one or the other, I want thr crown coverage.

 

This is assuming I'm satisfied that rogaine and finasteride have stablized loss enough to go forward with it.

 

Here's a pic I'd taken before for another thread, of the workspace. (Btw I do not intend on letting the hair grow out, even though it does in fact add a dense look to the little I already have )

 

 

Big area, but I'm not looking for 'perfect', just 'improved noticeably'.

[Joe HT]

Nearly a dupe post of the thread I made in another forum, but I'd like regular posters' opinions as well.

 

I want crown coverage, and feel that's the priority for my next HT. Educated guesswork, what kind of craft count would you say would constitute a worthwhile improvement in this crown area, considering the area's size, and possible shock loss involved with pre-existing hairs.

 

I wouldn't want to invest more than 1500-2000 or so FU's on it, because I do in fact want to address the front again *if* it's a realistic possibility later on. But if it comes down to one or the other, I want thr crown coverage.

 

This is assuming I'm satisfied that rogaine and finasteride have stablized loss enough to go forward with it.

 

Here's a pic I'd taken before for another thread, of the workspace. (Btw I do not intend on letting the hair grow out, even though it does in fact add a dense look to the little I already have )

 

 

Big area, but I'm not looking for 'perfect', just 'improved noticeably'.

[gillenator]

Hi Joe HT,

 

Well it looks like you're coming up on your one year anniversary of joining this forum! Hope you have found the HTN as informative as I and many others have found it.

 

How old are you? How long have you been on Propecia (finasteride) and minoxidil and do you feel it has been working efficiently for you, specifically the crown area? I am glad to read that you are waiting for the stabilization in your crown before you move forward.

 

Like mine, your color contrast is wide so the diffused thinning is more noticeable. You also appear younger in your pic (under thirty) and by your established pattern, you appear to be headed for a Norwood 7 especially if you were to stop the meds or if they were not proven efficient for your case. I certainly wish you the best with your medicinal regimen.

 

Did your prior HT procedure place all of the grafts in the front and how many were done? You also mentioned a desire to add to the front again even though your "present" concerns are for the crown. From your one pic, your crown area will demand alot of donor unless your meds keep the loss where it is right now. But that's only part of my concerns for you.

 

My apparent concerns are two-fold. The first is potential shock-loss to the area. If you do permanently lose the diffused natural hair from a procedure, more demand will be placed on your finite donor that is left and there may not be enough for the future, especially the front, where finasteride and minoxidil are not efficient. Though hard to tell from your pic, I presume a fair amount of the hair in the front is still natural but subject to future loss. So if you do lose more in the front in the future, your present concerns could shift dramatically as you get older. Only you can decide for Joe where your ultimate donor reserves will be dedicated and you are correct in not getting too aggressive in the crown. I would just not want to see the shockloss and then have matters worse in your crown area and then having to chase it.

 

My second concern is the thinning in your donor area I observed from the neckline going upwards into the donor zone on the right side. Is this shockloss from your last procedure? I hope it is because it should grow back. I am hoping it is not "retro-alopecia". Retro-alopecia is hairloss that affects the donor zone but commences from the neckline and moves into the donor area. I have observed this on approximately 3% of men, higher in women. Some of the older men (50 and above) that have this condition see it impede above the ears as well.

 

Did you have this thinning before your transplant or did your HT doctor comment on it at all? Again maybe it is shockloss thinning, but either way you want to know for sure before you decide on doing any more procedures, and you will want several opinions which you can probably accomplish by pics. I am hoping for the best in your situation.

[Joe HT]

You've covered more or less all my thought processes in that response.

 

My first HT was one of them mix-grafts. Found this place after the fact, but I can't say I'm unhappy with the results at all. It was a full coverage session, with the exception of the back/crown area for the sake of seeing how finasteride handles that.

 

About a year now, two weeks or so away, marks the anniversary. The Rogaine started one year before the operation, so I been on that nearly two years, and finasteride (assuming it's legit stuff, only proscar pills from now on) has been a year, with the HT.

 

The doctor did in fact bring up concern of thinning from the neck up, it's not gotten worse in a few years so far that I've noticed I have thin hair there, hopefully it's not going to go away anytime soon.

 

Basically it's gonna be a balancing act, of what I want and what I can do. "Improvement" is all my goal is for the crown area for the time being. Guess you know all that, just wanna make sure I don't come across as "greedy" or unrealistic with my expectactions as compared to reality.

 

On the other hand, I also have no problems with several future FUE surgeries, including body hair.

Make nature give something back.

 

Edit: BTW I'm 31, been pretty dang bald since early 20's, I went from sparse peachfuzz to things that qualify as real hairs on my head.

[gillenator]

Joe HT,

 

Now that's what I call "prudent planning". You obviously have done your homework very well.

 

You know your limitations and also your resources including BH.

 

Have you ever given thought to doing a "trial" procedure of BH into the crown? And I am referring to a small test session. Since your goals are realistic, and you want to simply add some level of density to the crown, BH may be your best answer and that way you can preserve the scalp donor for the front in the future.

 

Your research surely is paying off for you Joe and best wishes to you. Keep us in the loop!