New to FUE Advanced Balding Seeks Advice

[brodie1782]

Hello everyone. This is my first post and let me start by saying thank you all for your contributions. I just started researching HT and I was recommended by a few well known doctors some decent advice but I have a massive question that I think you guys with the collective years of experience can help me answer this question. I also created a very detailed document that I'm sending to Doctors similar to this post just so I can figure out if this is the right thing for me to do.

 

So a little bit about myself. I'm one of those Metal/Punk Rocker types. Appearances matter a lot when it comes to whether a HT is a good idea. I currently shave my head and have a nice thick beard. Looks great. I got mistaken jokingly for being Tim Armstrong from Rancid lol. Scott Russo from Unwritten Law said that. Was funny at the time. Anyways. I like how I look skin bald but I always knew that a head of hair would definitely raise my self esteem when it comes to wearing hats. A head of hair has always been a dream. I'm not really that insecure about being bald anymore. You will see me often out without a bald shaved head but that's usually only to grocery stores. If a group of friends asked me to go out lets say to a record release party or something where you have to look your absolute best. I would rather shave my head to the skin, wear a bandanna or beanie or something vs having a 3-4 week old head shave. You can probably read between the lines and see where my limits stand when it comes to being ok with my bald pattern. It's either to the skin when I have to be at my best or it's covered.

 

With that being said I'm assuming a lot of people get hair transplants because they feel there is no other option and take what ever they can get. I don't personally have that problem. I look really good with a shaved head. Getting a HT would not be out of insecurity. It's mainly a life long dream and I know for a fact if I had hair my look would be way better than a boring bald head.

 

Now I'm very realistic and know that I won't have a super thick head of hair. Perhaps even some scalp showing but how much scalp? I can't look like one of those rocker guys holding onto hair they should get rid of. Now the kicker here is if I ended up paying $5-20K just to look like a thinning balding rocker dude, I would absolutely keel over. That's the main thing keeping me from pulling the trigger. This is a huge piece of real estate that needs to be covered and it ABSOLUTELY can not look like Pickles from Metalocalypse. If you don't know what he looks like please google that.

 

I apologize for coming across as vain. 90% of my waking moments are the furthest from vain. I've just never opened to anyone or even considered HT's, never even completely opened up to my Girlfriend of many years about this topic so you guys including a few doctors have finally heard what's in my head when it comes to HT.

 

If you guys think it's a horrible idea please let me know. I would rather you sever my dreams than go into a nightmare situation. I've only been thinking about a HT for a little less than a week so I promise I don't have any attachment to the concept especially if it's a horrible idea.

 

On the other hand if you do think it's possible to at least achieve a desired look I'll attach(a typical undercut) then you guys might just help me achieve a dream that has been dormant for a long time.

 

So to condense my concerns... with people who have balding like me, will they most likely have a HT more on the thin side or can I actually have a somewhat full transplant?

 

The shot with the guy and the undercut is a desired look. He had a gnarly hair transplant and then got it fixed with a density treatment. That's his final result.

 

The other picture is of a result that I can absolutely never have. I can not have that type of density. That's a huge deal breaker. The doctor did a great job but I just have no desire to have that. Bald is absolutely better compared to.

 

The last 2 images are me showing off my totally awesome unshaved head.

 

 

Sorry so long and look forward to hearing what you have to say.

 

 

ps.

 

I'm not sure if I'm a NW5 or 6 but the hair that is in my balding spots only grow about 3 inches maximum at this point. The side or thicker parts grow as a normal thickness. If the Bozo the Clown look was in I would definitely have a great set of locks for that. Meaning it's relatively thick wavy and when kept can be healthy. I don't have problems growing it at all.

 

I do have a doctor in mind(Dr. Demirsoy) and if it's somehow possible to achieve the density in the 1st pic, I do understand that it will take a few procedures spaced at the minimum of 12 months between surgery's.

Edited March 13, 2017 by brodie1782

[hsrp10]

I didn't see if you mentioned if you had tried Propecia (Finsasteride) or not, but I'm sure most responders to your post will ask you that.

 

With your advanced hairloss and limited amount of donor left I would go with an elite FUT surgeon first to maximize what you have left especially if you want to achieve the dense look in the leftmost photo.

Small FUE procedures with the doctor you mention who is known for decent but modest results (not necessarily a density "king") won't get you there.

 

Though there are some doctors who do aggressive FUE such as Dr. Erdogan in Turkey and Dr. Diep in California.

 

If it were me I would look at maximizing out your limited donor with a respected FUT surgeon known for density such as Dr. Hasson or Dr. Rahal.

You already seem comfortable with your look and there are no guarantees with HT's, so research it carefully and don't rush into anything.

 

good luck

[E39]

Try a consult with a top surgeon for an opinion and to check your donor density. Have you looked into smp? If you like how you look shaved you'd look even better

[brodie1782]

I didn't see if you mentioned if you had tried Propecia (Finsasteride) or not, but I'm sure most responders to your post will ask you that.

 

With your advanced hairloss and limited amount of donor left I would go with an elite FUT surgeon first to maximize what you have left especially if you want to achieve the dense look in the leftmost photo.

Small FUE procedures with the doctor you mention who is known for decent but modest results (not necessarily a density "king") won't get you there.

 

Though there are some doctors who do aggressive FUE such as Dr. Erdogan in Turkey and Dr. Diep in California.

 

If it were me I would look at maximizing out your limited donor with a respected FUT surgeon known for density such as Dr. Hasson or Dr. Rahal.

You already seem comfortable with your look and there are no guarantees with HT's, so research it carefully and don't rush into anything.

 

good luck

 

Thank you so much for the extremely valuable advice. It means ton's. I am not currently on Fin but if I do end up with a HT I'll be giving it a bit of consideration. The only thing that bothers me is the sexual side effects and having to take it for life.

 

Thank you for the Dr. Recommendations. Like finding an extremely talented tattoo artist, I've come to realize that finding a talented Dr. is just as hard. Maybe harder

I already have 2 that you mentioned open in another tab as I type. Again thank you for the advice. Any light in the dark tunnel is extremely welcomed. Cheers.

[Speegs]

If you like the cropped look, have you considered micropigmentation?

[Bill - Seemiller]

FUE has been long hyped and while it has advanced quite nicely over the years thanks to top hair transplant surgeons revolutionizing the donor excision procedure, FUT is still highly viable and unless you plan on shaving the sides and back of your scalp almost bare, you may want to maximize your donor hair supply by first undergoing FUT until you can no longer obtain any more hair and then going for FUE.

 

Both donor excision procedures have their place, but to maximize done her hair supply and hair available for transplanting, we recommend a combination of both.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Spanker]

I think it is hard ti get an edgy look for a NW5. If you went with a high enough hairline and you donor was great, you may, but you will still have a thinning look to the crown. If that is a no-go, I would probably skip it.

 

You may also consider getting SMP (temporary) but you'll need to do a lot of research on that too.

 

You should do a lot of research either way. I am sure Dr. Demorsy is a good dock, but you really shouldn't have a doc picked out after a week of research. Do more research than that.

 

Here are a bunch of picks of NW5s, I see very few that have a look that I believe that you are looking for. Keep in mind that photography has a lot to do with how it looks in pics, for instance, when there is a flash front pic, you'll want to see a flash pic from the top of the head too.

[brodie1782]

@Spanker. I've actually been talking with Dr. Konior. His office is about 30 min from where I live. Thank you all for the incredibly valuable advice.

 

So I talked to a really great doctor yesterday and he suggested to get on Fin and Minox and he actually came up with a game plan to where I focus mainly on the crown with the meds leaving most of the front part for transplant. I'll post pics if you like. I started day 1 yesterday with plenty of before photos. I also noticed online that finding personal accounts of before and after pics for meds is kind of tough to locate. If you guys have a good source from non business related sites please let me know. I'm still learning how to navigate this website too so if there's a good source here, apologies for my ignorance.

 

He went over realistically what kind of density I can be looking at which is about 40-45 FU/cm2 dense packing-ish from front then middle section of top scalp at approx 30-35 FU/cm2 and fingers crossed we're hoping that the meds thicken the crown. So essentially creating a gradient. He believes that since I still have plenty of miniaturized hair left that the meds can reverse the process. My expectations have changed a bit realistically now that I had it explained to me in mathematical terms.

 

So what my game plan now is to not get a HT at all. I'm going to stick with Fin and Minox. I know for a fact Minox works. I use it in my beard and there is a HUGE difference in density so I'm hoping my body will react well to using it on my head hair. I'm going to hold off on the HT mainly because I want to see where the Meds will get me. I thought about it a lot and I told myself that the best idea right now is to get as much coverage as possible where my thinning spots are be it transplant or meds. I don't want to go with a transplant right now since the meds seem to be a decent route to non surgically getting a decent result. Fingers crossed. Plus like Spanker said, it's too early to have a Doc and not to mention even considering a dedication like that at this stage. Meds seem like a no brainer.

 

After further research too with looking at NW5's, I find that the most satisfactory hairstyles for my personal taste would be about a 1 razor short buzz being ok with some bald/thinning spots which I'm totally ok with. I've been sporting that shaved look for many years with what I currently have. It makes the most sense to make sure things stay as natural looking as possible so try this out with Meds seems to be the best approach for now. If things look decent enough I might just keep what ever I gain with the meds and drop the whole HT idea and just continue shaving or if things get decent in the crown I'll use the Doctor's suggestion and mainly attack the front after about a year on meds and leaving the meds to take care of most of the crown.

 

So there's 2 approaches boiled down...

 

1. Just stay on meds. Regrow as much and prevent further balding because my crown will bald lower in the back the more years pass without the meds. So prevention of further balding is pretty important at this time. I should have done this when I was 18. Oh well lesson learned. Continue with the shaved look till the end of my time. Hope that meds at least thicken up my crown a bit and reverse minimization a bit. I will have to give Fin about a week to see if the sides appear or not. So far I notice my heart races a bit like I had too much caffeine. I also notice a slight popping in my ears like when you're on a plane. Other than that if that diminishes in the next week or so I believe I'll continue Fin and Minox.

 

2. Stay on meds for a while. About 6 months to a year. Hopefully crown has more hair than scalp and target the front of scalp with HT aiming for a density of 40-45 FU/cm2 and creating a gradient to the crown with donor all while on Fin and Minox to help prevent further thinning and possibly increasing density of existing hair. Keep hair short if new hair density is not what I feel is a good look and enjoy my new hairline.

 

See now the catch with approach 2 is that I am going to have to find the ABSOLUTE best doctor when it comes to density and hairlines. I need a true artist. I'm also willing to pay premium for this too since the hair is going to be short and having a dodgy hairline is going to be extremely noticeable and FAKE. So I'll be searching the entire year and saving money the entire time in hopes that I find the doctor who can accomplish the task.

 

So if you guys have suggestions for the best Doctor who creates amazing hairlines and they are believable when buzzed short please send them my way. So far I'm looking at Dr Shapiro's office. They seem promising so far. I am going to be speaking to Dr. Gabel in a few weeks too. I have also looked at Dr. Konior. I'm examining emails with him. Thank again everyone.

 

Either one will make me happy.

Edited March 14, 2017 by brodie1782