Need help determining if FUE is worth it

[Neurd]

I'm 30 years old and have been losing my hair since my early 20s. I use Nizoral everyday, 1%. I dont do any DHT blockers. I'm looking at getting a transplant but I don't know if my hair loss is too advanced to be worth it. How many grafts do you think I will need to have the illusion of full coverage with the recessions filled in?

 

I was told I have excellent donor hair with 8000 + available before any noticeable thinning in donor region.

 

I have fine light blonde hair which makers it even harder to see. Ive attached photos

[Melvin- Admin]

Whether surgery is worth it is very subjective, it all depends on your expectations, you want full coverage with the recessions filled in, your expectations seem a bit high to be honest, I don't think you'll be able to achieve this with only FUE and this is coming from a guy who's done 5'300 grafts via FUE, with such high expectations you'd want to get at least a few large strips out and then go in to FUE, because you have thin hair it takes far more grafts to achieve visual density than it would someone with thick hair, i don't know that you have enough grafts to be honest to achieve full coverage with acceptable density, I think you'll have to sacrifice the crown if this acceptable to you then I would say proceed with a few consultations, if this is unacceptable then I would say forget about transplants and perhaps look in to hair systems.

[Spidey]

If it were me I wouldn't bother with a ht. Your hair doesn't seem to contrast your skin much so it would look decent buzzed down to a zero guard or even 1 guard without too much of a horse shoe effect.

[Speegs]

If I were a surgeon, I'd steer you toward considering FUT. Your hair loss is advanced and you need to maximize your donor hair to get any worthwhile coverage or density for a restoration.

 

FUE is typically good for less advanced cases or if FUT is simply not possible for physiological reasons.

[Neurd]

Thanks for all the responses! I realized the pics look a little worse than it actually is since it is in the worst possible lighting. I would say I have more hair than when HTsoon before his first transplant. I have considered getting about 3500 FUE grafts for the hairline and mid head then consealing the crown area with Toppix like I have done in the past, until I can do a second operation of perhaps another 3500 session.

 

The doc I did a consult with said it would take 2 days to do 3500 FUE.

 

So, unless I am lacking perspective it seems 7000 FUE would work to get results similar to HTsoon's which I would be satisfied with. I attached a better pic in more neutral lighting.

[Speegs]

Thanks for all the responses! I realized the pics look a little worse than it actually is since it is in the worst possible lighting. I would say I have more hair than when HTsoon before his first transplant. I have considered getting about 3500 FUE grafts for the hairline and mid head then consealing the crown area with Toppix like I have done in the past, until I can do a second operation of perhaps another 3500 session.

 

The doc I did a consult with said it would take 2 days to do 3500 FUE.

 

So, unless I am lacking perspective it seems 7000 FUE would work to get results similar to HTsoon's which I would be satisfied with. I attached a better pic in more neutral lighting.

Your hair and skin are very light, and your frontal loss advanced, it may take the lion's share of those 7k to restore the front in a cosmetically satisfying density.

 

And crown's are notoriously black holes for grafts, it take a lot of them to get the density most want.

 

Is the doctor you're consulting capable of doing FUE and FUT or just FUE?

 

I always advise patients to go to practices that are apt at both, otherwise you're limiting your options about what is best on a case by case basis.

 

If your clinic will only perform FUE (and with a robot at that, something I personally discourage) then your doctor may be the proverbial hammer that sees everything as a nail.

 

Keep consulting and get many opinions.

[Neurd]

He only does FUE I believe. I don't know if he has the capability of doing FUT but they never mention it. He did Brian Urlacher's hair transplant.

[Speegs]

He only does FUE I believe. I don't know if he has the capability of doing FUT but they never mention it. He did Brian Urlacher's hair transplant.

I'm also weary of clinics that rely on celebrity endorsements.

 

I tell people to avoid chains like Bosely, Ziering, ad anything that resembles their cookie cutter business practices.

 

To me celebrity endorsements and only performing FUE are red flags, is the clinic also using a robot such as the NeoGraft?

[Neurd]

No, he does everything by hand. It isn't a clinic, just one doc who does all the operations

[mattj]

Your hair and skin are very light, and your frontal loss advanced, it may take the lion's share of those 7k to restore the front in a cosmetically satisfying density.

 

And crown's are notoriously black holes for grafts, it take a lot of them to get the density most want.

 

Is the doctor you're consulting capable of doing FUE and FUT or just FUE?

 

I always advise patients to go to practices that are apt at both, otherwise you're limiting your options about what is best on a case by case basis.

 

If your clinic will only perform FUE (and with a robot at that, something I personally discourage) then your doctor may be the proverbial hammer that sees everything as a nail.

 

Keep consulting and get many opinions.

 

I agree with most of what you say, but I think Neurd's fair skin and light hair will work in his favour should he go ahead with an HT procedure.. The contrast in colour between his hair and scalp is very low - in fact that makes his hairloss more difficult to judge in his photos.