Looking to Create a Long-Term Plan

[Stil86]

Hi everybody,

 

I've browsed this forum from time to time for years, but now have finally signed up. Here's a little about me:

 

- 29 years old

 

- Started noticing my hairline receding at age 18. At that point I figured I'd be pretty well bald by age 22, but my loss has been very slow and gradual.

 

- I thought about wearing a hair piece, but even with the thinnest density available it was just too thick for my comfort and just felt too weird.

 

- At this point, I'm trying to create a hair transplant plan that meets my goals and concerns.

 

Here are two shots of my hair, one with it fully clean and dry, the other on the weekend after having not washed it for a while, so it's looking thin and oily.

 

 

 

I'm basically a Norwood 5 or so, but with my balding areas all just thinning; only my front corners are completely bald. My front center has thinned a lot as well, and this is what I want to address the most.

 

Essentially, I just want a moderate amount of density in the front and to fill in my front corners only slightly. I'm fine with the thinning at the back.

 

Pros:

 

- I only want a small adjustment and don't need a fully thick head of hair all over the top.

 

- I'm blonde, which I've heard helps because there's less contrast between my hair color and skin color.

 

- I like concealers and don't have a problem using them with a transplant.

 

Cons:

 

- I could end up a fully bald Norwood 7.

 

- I will not take Finasteride.

 

- I like to keep my sides and back clipper short, so I'm moreso looking at FUE over FUT, but could be persuaded otherwise.

 

 

 

 

 

Any thoughts? I think the fact that I'm looking for a very light adjustment and don't mind being thin in the back and central top, especially the older I get, gives me room to work with, even if I end up a full-blown Norwood 7. You can't have Elvis hair from a transplant with a Norwood 7, but you can at least get moderate frontal coverage.

 

How viable is it to just do small transplants on an as-needed basis? Are there problems with surgical continuity there?

 

With modern transplants, would transplanted hair look odd or "pluggy" if the surrounding natural hair eventually went bald and I just let the transplanted hair form a "thinning hair" look? I.e, if each transplanted hair had a fair amount of bald skin around it, would it look natural?

[TR3B]

I'm similar to you with dark hair, possibly a bit thicker. Making the trip to Turkey after new year to have my first HT done by Dr. Ekrem Civas, some of the work he has done on higher norwoods is just awesome and one of the reasons I chose him.

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

Hi and welcome.

 

I have had 5 smallish hair transplants and am at 9 weeks post ht for the most recent which will be my last.

 

So id say yes your plan for smaller multi ops is viable.

 

But from personal experience id say try and have a sizeable one the first time.and avoid multi multi ops if u can .

 

In reality i should have only ever had 2 but doing it the way i have each has added something

 

My first was a pathetic 250grafts fut with rogers in one temple.than 750 grafts at the much maligned nobel clinic. Thing is i had success with both.my expectations were reasonable

The third was a cheap but very semi succesfull 2200 graft fue in pakistan which is the one i regret most

 

The other two have been with a different doc mohmand in pakistan who has a first class luxury set up in the very glamorous city of islamabad but who is a fairly quiet presence but has a great friendly support staff and technicians so i would recommend him.he is inexpensive and i had a result with him the first time and hope to again.

 

My point is do your research here and if u can see a feller or some of the other recommended doctors on here.but there are some great doctors in places like india,pakistan and turkey too that are cheaper but have high quality work and results

 

In a nutshell the best of luck .your head looks fine as it is now but if u wish to proceed best of luck theres some great members on here who can answer and advise better than me

[Stil86]

Thanks for the info. If I could use a transplant to keep my density looking relatively like it is now into my 30s and 40s, I'd be fully happy with that. I know everyone is going to say that I should just take finasteride if that's my goal, but the idea of affecting my testosterone isn't acceptable to me.

 

Everyone seems to go for 1,000s of grafts, but it would seem to me that just several hundred would create the appearance of thin hair in areas like the temples?

[Spanker]

So, I'm going to give you my standard answer for someone at your age, NW level, and with a lack of drug usage. I'd skip it. I think with meds you really do have a chance to be stable for a very extended amount of time, however, off meds and with your loss, your looking at a sizable investment of cost and grafts in the near future. Say you got 1k grafts in your corners. Now you're stuck with little islands on your head and even with fue, shaving would be less optimal.

 

My advice is to enjoy what you have for the next few years and either shave it or consider a system.

 

I don't mean to be doom and gloom buy that would be my long term plan if I couldn't take meds.

[Stil86]

Thanks; I actually just shaved it the other day. It was very different to look at at first, but I'm starting to get used to it. I'm lucky to have a well-shaped head. Due to this, I've kept my sides and back at a 1 guard for quite some time and, funny as it sounds, that's one of my biggest concerns with a transplant is not being able to show my skin at the back! So perhaps just taking the buzz all the way around my head as I've just done is just the logical conclusion

 

I'm not about to jump into anything, I figure I'll wait and see if my thinning areas spread in the next several years. Like I said, my temples started receding at 18, so my loss has been very slow, but steady. Then again, I might not even care in several years, so we'll see.

 

I think I heard somewhere that most of your hair loss happens within maybe 10 years or so of it starting, can anybody confirm this based on their own anecdotal evidence? I mean, a guy who starts thinning in his early 20s isn't going to take until he's 50 to lose all he's going to lose. I've been thinning for almost 12 years.

[MAGNUMpi]

I agree with Spanker. Without meds it might not work out too well in the long run.

 

I think I heard somewhere that most of your hair loss happens within maybe 10 years or so of it starting, can anybody confirm this based on their own anecdotal evidence? I mean, a guy who starts thinning in his early 20s isn't going to take until he's 50 to lose all he's going to lose. I've been thinning for almost 12 years.

I don't this this is true.

[iwokeuptoabaldpatch]

I suffered dramatic hairloss and thinning at age 24 to 25 after that its never got worse and im 39 now.ive had the multiple ht"s but the origional hairloss at the front never got worse it never spread into the crown.....just because u get some hairloss doesnt mean its,all going to go.the vast majority of the public who have never gone near a ht never touched propecia are like that.

 

My huge mistake was starting indiscriminate steroid and testosterone use between my first 3 hts and last 2.

 

2 years of steroid use took its toll, all it took was one bad batch of gear and one overdose cycle.

[Melvin- Admin]

You don't have to take finasteride, minoxidil works great for me, lipogaine to be exact, ever since I've been on it I rarely see hairs that are shed, I think you're a candidate for hair restoration, I also don't think you're doomed unless you take finasteride, I would take minoxidil for a year and see how you respond, you said your hairloss has been slow and gradual which is a good sign. The best thing to do is to be personally assessed by a hair restoration physician in person.

[Stil86]

Thanks for the responses guys!

 

 

 

Here's another photo of my hair when dry and clean.

 

I think I should reiterate that I'm planning for a Norwood 7 transplant and wouldn't even get one until my top is pretty much gone. I'm not trying to look like Elvis; I know that would be a mistake without taking Fin. I would just like the appearance of thin hair in the front with a big bald spot in the back when I'm older, assuming my entire natural top balds.

 

One other aspect I think is relevant is that I don't think my area of unaffected hair has grown for years. In other words, my continued thinning has been limited to areas that had already been thinning from early on. As noted in my first post, my corners started receding when I was 18, and then my crown and the rest of the top started generally thinning probably not long after that. I noticed the top thinning around 20, 21. This thinning area has slowly gotten thinner and thinner over the past 8-9 years, but the unaffected area hasn't really enlarged over all this time. My temples (the area above the sideburns) hasn't really thinned, which, when it does, is often a sign of extensive balding.

 

I figure, if I wait maybe 5 more years until I'm 34-35 and my unffected area hasn't grown, I think I might end up being one of those guys with a narrow bald top, but with strong sides and back that go up pretty high on the head.

 

I think these results are nice and would be happy with these:

 

Hair loss treatment surgery before and after images with 2816 grafts

 

Hair restoration procedure on a Norwood Class VII male with 2500 grafts

 

Hair Transplant Results: Patient CMO | Bernstein Medical

 

Hair Transplant Photos: Patient VTZ | Bernstein Medical

 

Before and After Hair Transplant Photos: Patient AJI | Bernstein Medical

 

Most of these guys used less than 3,000 grafts, which I think would mean they probably just borrowed from the genetically most balding resistant areas.

 

Remember, keratin fibers like Nanogen can be used to thicken these looks up as well. I use Nanogen sometimes, it's just that it won't continue to work if my top goes completely away.

[Melvin- Admin]

I think that's the best way to plan it, I don't think you'll be Norwood 7 Dr. Rassman states that the majority of Norwood 7 men have the pattern by age 26, is say you're prone to Norwood 6 but still best to plan for future hairloss just in case, 2,500 grafts to hairline mid scalp would make a big difference I wouldn't lower the hairline if only bring in the temples a bit.

[TR3B]

Your expectations seem reasonable,

[Stil86]

Also, I just bought some minoxidil, so we'll see how that goes. I'm not opposed to minoxidil, I just never used it in the past because I was afraid of the infamous "shedding" and figured it wouldn't do much. I'm not afraid of shedding anymore because I'm getting to the point where there's not so much top left to shed

[romperstomper29]

You don't have to take finasteride, minoxidil works great for me, lipogaine to be exact, ever since I've been on it I rarely see hairs that are shed, I think you're a candidate for hair restoration, I also don't think you're doomed unless you take finasteride, I would take minoxidil for a year and see how you respond, you said your hairloss has been slow and gradual which is a good sign. The best thing to do is to be personally assessed by a hair restoration physician in person.

HTsoon is right. dont listen to these guys who say forget a HT if ur not on FIN. not everyone is chasing these wow results with full restoration. lots of people would be happy with what I would call, improvement. Even one transplant can drastically improve appearance. Obviously you have to be realistic and consider future loss and future Ht's down the road but for someone to tell you that without Fin u should forget about it and shave ur head is just ridiculous in my opinion

[TR3B]

I also agree that Fin is not essential. I for one will not be taking it after my HT, I have a friend who has been on it for 3 years and has to take viagra to have sex with his girlfriend, No thanks!