How young is too young

[Shifty]

Today I noticed my 18 yr old nephew is clearly losing his hair. His dad is as bald as a cue ball. 

 

Should I get him on the big 3 now if he wants? 

[Melvin- Admin]

This is something I worry about, I never want my nephew to have to go through what I did. In my opinion, should my nephew show signs of hair loss at a young age, id sit him down and talk about the treatments available, the pros and cons and ask him what he wants to do. I would definitely suggest the big 3. The earlier he catches hair loss the better he will be in the long run.

[Shifty]

Thanks guys, ill sit him down this weekend. He hasn't mentioned anyone me but I can almost be sure he will welcome the info. 

[PGDMMB]

Looking bald at a very young age is more damaging than looking bald at 30+

whether you have a transplant at 20 or 35 you will still continue to lose hair so I never really understood the difference? 

They say your hair loss stabilises at around 30 so that is an age where most surgeons will be happy to perform the procedure but this really isn’t true as most people will still continue to bald.

So really, what difference will it make if you are younger or older?

That’s just my opinion anyway maybe someone can chime in here and explain the difference   

[PGDMMB]

Let’s say an 18 year old has a Norwood 3 and the vertex is just starting to thin, and then let’s say we have a 35 year old who’s only started to lose their hair and have a Norwood 2

Judging by the 18 year olds advanced hair loss we can determine the pattern in which he is losing his hair and surgeons can plan accordingly.

Judging by the 35 year old, who is just now starting to lose his hair, we are still unable to determine the pattern in which he will lose more hair.

however the 18 year old is way more likely to be rejected by surgeons for being too young and the 35 year old will be accepted by many surgeons 

This has never made sense to me

[PGDMMB]

41 minutes ago, spex said:

At 35 the donor region will be much more stable. At 18 years old with already aggressive loss likelihood is the donor supply too could be poor weak and unable to sustain long term progressive on top.

18 and aggressive hair loss doesn’t make for a good candidate and any surgeon who takes a patient in at this age is rolling the dice !!!!!

at 35 it is a much safer call.

 

regards

spsx 

 

 

What if the 18 year olds donor region is good?

Let’s say the 18 year old is also committed to the hair loss medications also but the 35 year old does not wish to take any preventative medication, which would be more ethical?

Let’s also say both the 18 year old and the 35 year old both have a family history of complete baldness, and this is where their hair loss pattern is taking them. The only difference I see is that the 18 year old will be balder sooner than the 35 year old, but both are going to be bald in the end anyway.

Rolling the dice how? Are 18 year olds donor areas poorer than middle age guys? This is something I have never heard

 

[PGDMMB]

57 minutes ago, spex said:

At 35 the donor region will be much more stable. At 18 years old with already aggressive loss likelihood is the donor supply too could be poor weak and unable to sustain long term progressive on top.

18 and aggressive hair loss doesn’t make for a good candidate and any surgeon who takes a patient in at this age is rolling the dice !!!!!

at 35 it is a much safer call.

 

regards

spsx 

 

 

An 18 year old and a 35 year old walk into a clinic and both have the exact same hair loss (Norwood 3 vertex), they are also both at the same stages of their mpb. They are also losing their hair at the same rate and will both be bald in the next 5 years. The only difference is the 35 year old started losing his hair a little later in life than the 18 year old.

Why should the 18 year old be rejected and the 35 year old is accpted?

[PGDMMB]

14 minutes ago, spex said:

Chances are the 18 year old who has same loss as the 35 year old will potentially have weak donor region due to aggressive MPB at 18... by the time he is 35. Aggressive MPB can affect the donor region too. 

Potentially have a weak donor region, this doesn’t sound like the rule, what if the donor region is fine?

Also, are you saying that this means that the 18 year old can never have a HT?

[Melvin- Admin]

I agree with Spex, the safe zone is impossible to calculate at 18. The “what if it’s fine” sure it may be fine for a year or two before it begins to thin. I’ve seen this happen.

please take a look @BeHappy his sides were high in his early 20’s when he had a hair transplant and by 30 they dropped to a norwood 7 level. This would’ve been impossible to predict at that age. Yes his donor was fine at that age as well. 

Had I gotten a hair transplant at 18 I’d be a botch job today. Hell even at 23 my hair looked decent and my crown thick, it wasnt until I was 30 that the full extent of my baldness was evident. Much easier to plan and strategize knowing what hair is safe to transplant and what isnt. 

[Shifty]

I would never suggest an HT at his age, I am more interested in the usage of the meds and such at 18. Is it even worth it?

 

Hopefully by the time he's my age they will have already found the non surgical cure.

[LaserCap]

Nothing wrong with being young.  In the hair restoration world, however, it is somewhat of an issue.  Typically, at that age, there is little to no notion as to what the pattern is going to do.  Let me explain.  Say an 18 YO comes with a very juvenile hairline, (in the middle of his forehead).  The patient is freaking out about the slight recession he is experiencing in the corners, (maturing hairline). The doctor agrees to move forward with a procedure and fills in the corners.  10 years later he has two horns, (the two tufts of hair that the doctor placed years ago). The patient is now a class 5 with a well receded hairline. 

The best approach in this case is to educate the patient and explain the various options including all medical therapies.  The fact that he is young and just starting to lose, will help him.  Therapies can help with retention and enhancement of miniaturized hair. A yearly visit with the doctor is advisable to see what changes, if any, the patient has experienced.  And, while realize this is a long term decision, of course it is worth it.

Most agree that when you are born there are about 100,000 hairs in the head.  By the time you are a teenager, you lose about 1/2.  At that point the patient does not realize he has hair loss.  It is truly an optical illusion.  Say the patient has 7-8K hair follicles available in the donor.  You are asking this number to do the job of 50,000.  If your goal is to have a full set of hair, it is imperative you keep as much as you can of the native hair.  If losing hair is not important, shave.

[PGDMMB]

2 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I agree with Spex, the safe zone is impossible to calculate at 18. The “what if it’s fine” sure it may be fine for a year or two before it begins to thin. I’ve seen this happen.

please take a look @BeHappy his sides were high in his early 20’s when he had a hair transplant and by 30 they dropped to a norwood 7 level. This would’ve been impossible to predict at that age. Yes his donor was fine at that age as well. 

Had I gotten a hair transplant at 18 I’d be a botch job today. Hell even at 23 my hair looked decent and my crown thick, it wasnt until I was 30 that the full extent of my baldness was evident. Much easier to plan and strategize knowing what hair is safe to transplant and what isnt. 

I always thought DHT never really effected the back and side of the head, that’s why you always see bald dudes with hair still on the side.

I’m a bit confused

I understand that this may be a problem for a young patient who has an FUT procedure, the donor hair will thin and the scar might show, but does the same risk still apply to someone getting an FUE?

[Melvin- Admin]

3 hours ago, PGDMMB said:

I always thought DHT never really effected the back and side of the head, that’s why you always see bald dudes with hair still on the side.

I’m a bit confused

I understand that this may be a problem for a young patient who has an FUT procedure, the donor hair will thin and the scar might show, but does the same risk still apply to someone getting an FUE?

No, in fact the donor area can be compromised by DHT. In addition, FUE relies on a much larger donor area to get adequate grafts. If those grafts are removed from an area that is not “safe” the grafts will be eventually fall out and reveal circular scars. FUE is not scarless. The scars are harder to detect, but make no mistake they are there. 

An individual who is 18 has no idea where they will end up and how fast they will get there, as Spex said no ethical surgeon would operate on an 18 year old who shows signs of aggressive hair loss.

[PGDMMB]

8 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

No, in fact the donor area can be compromised by DHT. In addition, FUE relies on a much larger donor area to get adequate grafts. If those grafts are removed from an area that is not “safe” the grafts will be eventually fall out and reveal circular scars. FUE is not scarless. The scars are harder to detect, but make no mistake they are there. 

An individual who is 18 has no idea where they will end up and how fast they will get there, as Spex said no ethical surgeon would operate on an 18 year old who shows signs of aggressive hair loss.

I’m 24 in March and many top surgeons I have consulted with are happy to go forward with the procedure

am I too young? 

[Melvin- Admin]

6 hours ago, PGDMMB said:

I’m 24 in March and many top surgeons I have consulted with are happy to go forward with the procedure

am I too young? 

 There is no exact rule, but generally surgeons want patient's to be at least 25. Are you on the big 3? how aggressive is your hair loss? Have you tried to buzz your head? I always recommend guys buzz their head, because it generally reveals their true hair loss pattern.

[PGDMMB]

54 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

 There is no exact rule, but generally surgeons want patient's to be at least 25. Are you on the big 3? how aggressive is your hair loss? Have you tried to buzz your head? I always recommend guys buzz their head, because it generally reveals their true hair loss pattern.

I’m nw 3 I’ve been taken propecia for 10 months now but I’m having second thoughts on whether I want to keep on taking this for life.

 ive not buzzed my head but my hair loss is quite obviously in the hairline and the rest of my hair is super thick. It appears that my hairline is in the very very early stages of coming across and creating that island look, but there is evidence of that pattern and it is predictable.

i know the 2 of the 3 are propecia and minoxidl what is the 3rd is it that shampoo? 

[Melvin- Admin]

It’s a good idea to buzz your head, you may think your hair is thick when it’s long, but you could see a difference when it’s buzzed. The third treatment is nizoral shampoo.