New To The World Of Hair Transplants

[MAW99]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm very curious about the world of hair transplants. I'm in my late 40s and have been reading up on transplants. My story in a nutshell:

 

1. Stared losing my hair in my mid-late 20's

2. I have little to no hair on top but have plenty of hair on the sides and on the back of my head. I keep it cut short because if I let it grow out it gets poofy and I look like a mad scientist from a 40s monster movie. :eek:

3. I don't want to go "nuts" with hair on the top because it will be obvious I have a transplant. Having said that, it is my head and I would welcome some more on top.

 

I can't say I've been bothered by my lack of hair since it's been that way almost half of my life. Yet lately I've been thinking about having the procedure. I am getting tired of feeling like the oldest guy in the room (looks wise) on job interviews.

 

I guess my general questions are...Has your life and self esteem changed in the way you thought it would after your transplant? Any regrets? Any advice on the best procedure to ask a doctor about? (I'm not looking for the names of good doctors but your opinion on the different procedure options)

 

I appreciate your time in reading this post. Any comments are greatly appreciated!

 

Mark

[TakingThePlunge]

MAW99,

 

Welcome! As I'm sure you can imagine, there is a lot to know about hair transplant surgery. Without photos, it will be difficult to give you any valuable feedback.

 

"Little to no hair on top" and "plenty of hair on the back and sides" are very subjective statements. Where do you think you fall on Norwood Scale? This can give you a general idea of how many grafts you may need to achieve your hair restoration goals, but other factors such as hair caliber, hair texture and contrast between hair and scalp color will all affect that number.

 

Factors such as your healing characteristics, scalp laxity and density of donor hair will affect how many grafts you can safely harvest in a single session and how many you have available in total.

 

With photos we can give you a ballpark estimate but the best thing to do is to consult with one or more recommended hair transplant surgeons. You can view our recommendation criteria by clicking here. If you like you can schedule free online consultations with the physicians of your choice.

 

I guess my general questions are...Has your life and self esteem changed in the way you thought it would after your transplant? Any regrets? Any advice on the best procedure to ask a doctor about? (I'm not looking for the names of good doctors but your opinion on the different procedure options)

There are really only two procedures that you need to be aware of. I won't go into details here because volumes can and have been written about the pros and cons of each, but you can find plenty of information on this forum and elsewhere if you search.

 

 

1. Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS) - also commonly referred to as FUT.
   
2. Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)
   

 

My only regret is not having surgery years earlier and not starting Propecia (finasteride) when I still had a full head of hair. I've been very pleased with the outcome of my first two surgeries and have high hopes for my latest procedure.

 

Hope this helps.

[MalteseHairlines62]

Hi Mark, I only started to notice my hair loss in my very late 40s. and I just could not accept it although a lot of my friends and family told me it shouldn't really matter at my age. To be honest it was really getting to me and I was lucky enough to find this forum and with the help of some very well informed people on here I felt confident enough to go ahead and look for a doctor to work on me. Having gone through it I can say without question it has made such a difference to my life and my confidence it was worth every penny of my hard earned money. Not had one regret over doing it. And as I learnt from the guys on this forum, don't rush into it , do lots of research and always remember you only get what you pay for in most cases.

[1978matt]

I am getting tired of feeling like the oldest guy in the room (looks wise) on job interviews.

 

 

You just reminded me of an incident yesterday.

 

I got on a London bus and the driver was unusually chirpy and greeting all the passengers who got on. He was probably a NW6 buzzed to a grade 1.

 

As we drove off his driving was a bit jerky and one woman next to me said to another:

 

"When you get on a bus driven by a man in his 60s and expect much better ride than this!"

 

When I got off the bus I looked back at the driver.

 

He was in his late 30s...

[CaliHairGuy]

I guess my general questions are...Has your life and self esteem changed in the way you thought it would after your transplant? Any regrets? Any advice on the best procedure to ask a doctor about? (I'm not looking for the names of good doctors but your opinion on the different procedure options)

 

I appreciate your time in reading this post. Any comments are greatly appreciated!

 

Mark

 

A few things to someone who is new:

 

1) I just had a HT last week. I already feel better, and at this point could care less about the "ugly duckling" stage because I went to arguably one of the best docs in the world for FUT.

 

2) You do not want to worry about saving money on a HT. I had an appointment with another "forum approved" doc, but at the end of the day, didn't feel great about going with him. My gut intuition said no.

 

3) There are only a handful of docs that truly provide stellar results. Shapiro in MN, Konior in Chicago are two of them. There are others, but you need to do your research and probably meet the docs in person. While the prospects are exciting, this is not something you want to mess around with. There are some real horror stories around here.

 

At the end of the day, I am happy with the doc I chose (Dr. Konior). He's a perfectionist, just like me. Do your research and ask questions. I saw 3 different docs in person before I settled on Konior. The people you see with regrets are the ones who maybe tried to save a buck or who didn't do their research.

 

That's my 2 cents

Edited May 7, 2015 by CaliHairGuy

[MAW99]

I appreciate all the feedback so far!

 

I had one of "those days" yesterday where I had a ball cap on the gym and had 5 or 6 people (men and women) chatting with me as went about our workouts.

 

Two hours later I'm waiting in line at a store and no one even looked my way much less talked to me. I was the only person in line without a full head of hair. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

 

For procedures, I'm not worried about the money aspect of it. (I'm not rich but I can make it work) Is there any great level of pain or discomfort from your procedures?

 

Sorry to be Captain Questions!

[CaliHairGuy]

Oh, one more thing since I have now have had a HT (not that I'm an expert, but I have spent a lot of time staring at my scalp).

 

I'm not going to mention any names, but in my opinion, I do see a decent number of guys talking about being happy with their results...however, what I see in their pics is not what they're seeing. Meaning, I think once people spend money on a HT, they don't want to deal with the consequences of a mediocre job. I've seen some weird frontal hairlines with guys saying "I love my new hair!" Which is why I will say, it's better to wait until you can afford a more expensive perfectionist-type HT doc with a long list of successful surgeries (with pictures) than it is to go to the guy who has a few pictures and is going to do it for only $X,XXX.

[Squatch]

Getting hair surgery is a gamble of sort. If you choose a top doctor you it helps your odds tremendously. I am at six months and it was the best money I have spent. I think of all the stupid stuff I wasted my money on over the years. This is something that I enjoy everyday. I Like David said above, lots of factors apply to what kind of candidate you are and what your expectations may be.

[MAW99]

I think that has always been my greatest fear. The fact that I could meet with a doctor, buy into what he is saying and still come away looking like I went to a discount shop.

 

Is there anyway to overcome that fear or do you just trust your instincts and go for it?

[CaliHairGuy]

That's why you need to choose a top doctor after doing lots of research. You don't want to go into this lightly. And top doctors are going to cost more. Then again, I am 2 weeks post op and have no worries because I know I am/was in good hands. I worried before the HT, but actually going through it I now know it's nothing to worry about (IF you have done your due diligence on the doctor front). I had a surgery scheduled for December and cancelled. THen I rescheduled with Konior. I don't regret my decision one bit even though I paid almost twice as much. Money well spent.

[Tav1]

It's an individual choice and one that should be made with a boatload of research, while layering in your individual (and personal) considerations. And you need look no further than this website for all of the information required to make the best personal choice for yourself.

 

Take CaliHairGuy and myself. I believe we both live in California. Our ages are essentially the same, as are our hair loss patterns. Cali chose to travel to Konior and did a strip procedure. I went to school in Chicago and would have been very comfortable doing the same. But I didn't. I stayed local and went to Umar, deciding on FUE. Both approved Docs on this site. We did our procedures around the same time, and we both had approximately the same number of grafts needed.

 

So let's say you wait six or more months and follow our respective progress on this forum. Should you chose the Doc that gave one or the other of us the best results? Of course not. In my opinion, it is more complex. So do the research and don't listen to anyone on this forum or any other that hasn't either had a procedure or otherwise is a Doc. Clinic advisors? Listen but remain cautious.

[CaliHairGuy]

Yes. I agree. You want to see pics and results and tales of happy patients. That's why I suggest studying hairlines, density, all that sort of stuff. Become a forum hound. Just absorb info for 6 months (at least). I waiting approximately 7 years before I got my HT. Yes, it was annoying waiting, but in the end, a good result is worth the wait.

 

And yes, I live in LA. Land of sun and fun