23 African American looking for advice and potential surgeons

[roxas]

Hey all I’m 23 and since I was 17 the temples of my hairline have receded and I have very minimal crown loss . I’ve been using minoxidil with dermarolling for the last 3 months on my hairline but all I can see are very tiny vellus hairs along my hairline. However for the past couple days I’ve been having day long migraines and I suspect it might be the minoxidil so I’m stopping use until around next week. 

 

This is Me

Side Angles

 

As you can see my temples are fairly receded and if I were to fill them out straight across I would have a relatively normal hairline for a black man

 

Now the general consensus for getting hair transplants at this age is to not do it because they can look worse as you age. Everyone recommends fin however I don’t want to live my life in fear of side or of the crash so I’ve decided against it. And also, my family on my mothers side has a history of balding primarily on the hairline. Not sure about my fathers side , my dad is bald however .

 

Now these are my uncles on my mothers side , all of these pictures are taken between the ages of 30-50ish 

 

Uncle 1

 

Uncle 2

 

Uncle 3

 

 

And this is the only uncle I could find on my fathers side, here is his hairline

 

Now as you can see the guys on my mothers side have fairly receded temples with their widows peak stop being pretty far out. They’re not slick bald but they’ve chosen the bald look which is cool for them but not something I want to do. 

 

Looking at their hairlines and mine would you advise getting a transplant at my age? I don’t mind getting a couple throughout my lifetime and I’m actually scheduled for a consultation with Dr. Diep next month. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by roxas
Images

[Melvin- Admin]

I would not advise you to have a hair transplant yet. To be honest your hairline isn’t that bad, I know there is more pressure for black men to have square straight hairlines like Drake or Usher. But not many men keep their juvenile hairlines like them.

 I would wait a few years to see how things progress. One of your uncles looks to be similar to Stephen A Smith. If you end up at that level, it will be difficult to cover such an aggressive hairline. Have you tried fibers? A good barber and some fibers could give you a really good hairline.

 

[Phillyman1996]

6 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I would not advise you to have a hair transplant yet. To be honest your hairline isn’t that bad, I know there is more pressure for black men to have square straight hairlines like Drake or Usher. But not many men keep their juvenile hairlines like them.

 I would wait a few years to see how things progress. One of your uncles looks to be similar to Stephen A Smith. If you end up at that level, it will be difficult to cover such an aggressive hairline. Have you tried fibers? A good barber and some fibers could give you a really good hairline.

 

Do you consider a mature hairline male pattern baldness. Since most men will have different hairlines at 30 compared to when they were 13. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Mature hairline at 35 is normal it’s technically male pattern baldness, but mild. Now mature hairline at 23 could be mild or could be aggressive, we just don’t know at that age. 

[Phillyman1996]

Just now, Melvin-Moderator said:

Mature hairline at 35 is normal it’s technically male pattern baldness, but mild. Now mature hairline at 23 could be mild or could be aggressive, we just don’t know at that age. 

From what i seen. Most guys who are in their 20s. Will not have a super low hairline as what you see with litttle boys.

[BjornBorg]

I think you have a decent looking hairline, if you go to the barber often and do the lines. I'd wait atleast 5 years before considering a transplant.

 

[roxas]

6 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I would not advise you to have a hair transplant yet. To be honest your hairline isn’t that bad, I know there is more pressure for black men to have square straight hairlines like Drake or Usher. But not many men keep their juvenile hairlines like them.

 I would wait a few years to see how things progress. One of your uncles looks to be similar to Stephen A Smith. If you end up at that level, it will be difficult to cover such an aggressive hairline. Have you tried fibers? A good barber and some fibers could give you a really good hairline.

 

I actually just ordered some fibers to use while I work with minoxidil and dermarolling. Hmmm that’s true he does kind of look like Stephen A, on a rough estimate how many transplants do you think I’d be in for if he was my worst case 

[roxas]

1 hour ago, BjornBorg said:

I think you have a decent looking hairline, if you go to the barber often and do the lines. I'd wait atleast 5 years before considering a transplant.

 

I mean yeah it’s okay but those temple corners piss me off so much, not even sure what to do besides a transplant. And I don’t want sides from fin 

[Melvin- Admin]

15 minutes ago, roxas said:

I actually just ordered some fibers to use while I work with minoxidil and dermarolling. Hmmm that’s true he does kind of look like Stephen A, on a rough estimate how many transplants do you think I’d be in for if he was my worst case 

Depends on how much you bald. Worst case scenario, let's say your destined for the Stephen A hairline, I would say you would need at least 3 hair transplants to maintain the results. The thing you don't want to do is start playing catch-up with your hair loss.

[BjornBorg]

Well, should the loss escalate atleast your head shape and beard are both optimal to pull off the bald look.

I know this is not what you came here to hear. And I wouldn't advice against a HT when you're approaching your 30's. I'll just throw it in hoping it gives a little bit of comfort atleast.

[roxas]

On 3/17/2019 at 7:59 AM, BjornBorg said:

Well, should the loss escalate atleast your head shape and beard are both optimal to pull off the bald look.

I know this is not what you came here to hear. And I wouldn't advice against a HT when you're approaching your 30's. I'll just throw it in hoping it gives a little bit of comfort atleast.

Thanks for that however I’d never want to be bald, I really enjoy the sharp hairline look. Might use toppik and dermaroll for a couple years 

[curlyq52]

Don't use a derma roller, get a derma stamp.  Derma rollers are usually made out of cheap metals and dull blades that are like running tiny knives across your skin. I actually experienced pretty bad shock loss from using a cheap roller once. Also, I'm pretty sure Drake uses a hair unit lol.

 

Also, I think dermmatch might be better than fibers since you keep your hair short. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by curlyq52

[Melvin- Admin]

6 hours ago, curlyq52 said:

Don't use a derma roller, get a derma stamp.  Derma rollers are usually made out of cheap metals and dull blades that are like running tiny knives across your skin. I actually experienced pretty bad shock loss from using a cheap roller once. Also, I'm pretty sure Drake uses a hair unit lol.

 

Also, I think dermmatch might be better than fibers since you keep your hair short. 

Where do you get this derma stamp? I stopped using the derma roller because my doctor told me that it could potentially cause shock loss.

[curlyq52]

1 minute ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Where do you get this derma stamp? I stopped using the derma roller because my doctor told me that it could potentially cause shock loss.

I got this cheap derma stamp although there's derma pens that are way higher quality that go for around $80..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Derma-Stamp-140-Microneedle-Anti-Ageing-Scar-Acne-Eye-Wrinkle-0-3-3-0MM-USA/152749242401?hash=item2390907821:m:miXFMJIewHnumFecI0cjkqQ

ones like these you should use for a couple months then toss out 

[Dr. Patrick Mwamba]

Hi Roxas , 

Your hair line is not bad but you can do a small surgery to make it the way you like .

Hair loss is indeed progressive but if you commit to take medication or follow a treatment , you will slow down the process .

I usually recommend treatment that is not too aggressive  to begin with as we know you have to commit for your entire life .

( prp, Help hair whey protein, laser cap and other local treatment ) .

And if in the future , you loose a lot of hairs , you can do SMP .

I just opened a practice in Atlanta (GA ) and you can book an in person consultation to really understand all the different options you have .

I will post some results for black patient in this forum to broaden your perspectives .