NW5.5-6 - FUE Results Possible?

[NorwoodSix]

I wanted to check in with the helpful folks here for some advice as I start my hair restoration journey. I'm 33, although my hair loss began around 21. I'm now a NW6, although my hair loss has been stable since I was 28. I've never taken any of the Big 3, but will likely start in the next 3-4 weeks once I can get a dermatologist appointment locked in. Note: My hair was grown out at the time of these pictures 3 weeks ago as I previously wore a hair system. I have a bit more density on my crown area as well, I simply had it shaved down a bit to attach the system.

I plan on starting Fin + Microneedling within 30 days, and would like to begin researching FUE options as well, in the hopes that I can connect the results with FUE. My side and back profiles can be seen in the mirror. What can I expect from FUE in my current state? I understand that I can't expect to have anything close to a NW2 again, but I would be satisfied with light-moderate density all over, at which time I could buzz it down and add SMP for additional volume. I'm also aware that I could potentially have my hairline and temple areas restored, but leave the crown alone. 

Assuming I can find someone in Turkey that will operate on me, what can I expect to achieve? Should I throw the Big 3 at it for some time to see what I can achieve in terms of regrowth before scheduling a consultation? 

Any help would be appreciated. I would like to do everything I can to restore atleast a portion of my hair.

[Melvin- Admin]

We're both the same age, I would be identical to your hair loss had I never had a hair transplant. Check out my hair transplant journey in my signature. To be honest, you're better off doing FUT first and then FUE.

 

[NorwoodSix]

3 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

We're both the same age, I would be identical to your hair loss had I never had a hair transplant. Check out my hair transplant journey in my signature. To be honest, you're better off doing FUT first and then FUE.

 

Thanks for sharing Melvin. I watched your story, it's quite the transformation. How many procedures have you had in total? With my current level of hair loss, do you think I could realistically achieve moderate density all over to supplement with SMP with a single FUE procedure? I'm apprehensive about FUT, as I don't know how I could deal with the massive scar. I'd like to know what to anticipate and if there's any hope for me. Any advice would be appreciated. I do plan on starting Fin, Min, and Microneedling, etc. to hopefully achieve some regrowth, although I fear that due to my age and the amount of time that these areas have been bald, that the follicles might be dead. 

[Melvin- Admin]

5 hours ago, NorwoodSix said:

Thanks for sharing Melvin. I watched your story, it's quite the transformation. How many procedures have you had in total? With my current level of hair loss, do you think I could realistically achieve moderate density all over to supplement with SMP with a single FUE procedure? I'm apprehensive about FUT, as I don't know how I could deal with the massive scar. I'd like to know what to anticipate and if there's any hope for me. Any advice would be appreciated. I do plan on starting Fin, Min, and Microneedling, etc. to hopefully achieve some regrowth, although I fear that due to my age and the amount of time that these areas have been bald, that the follicles might be dead. 

Unfortunately, no you wont achieve moderate density all over in one FUE procedure. I’ve had three and I don’t have full coverage. Good density in the frontal third and midscalp, but very light coverage in the crown.

[Jonboy81]

I’d say you have similar to mine. I’ve had some great advice. I’m still unsure. Having the guts to do it is the other thing..

In my job I visit a lot Asian clients and it’s amazing the stories I’ve been hearing and there understanding of HTs..

ive seen people pay £400 in Pakistan don’t think he’ll get what he wants 

£1500 from Estehair and dental practice which he said they only work on 2 clients a day. Looks very clean now post 1 month. Time will tell I suppose..

cinik is looking like my preferred option. What’s your thoughts on what you gonna do? 

[JohnCasper]

I was a Norwood VI back in 2012 prior to my mega-surgery (5,250 grafts).  I never considered FUT because of the lengthy linear scar.  I’ve never taken any of the big 3 prescriptions and was 51 when I had the surgery.  At $4-5 per graft, with every graft removed and placed by the surgeon is a great deal here in the United States.  

You can see my journey at my website posted below in my signature.  Make sure you go back to September 2012 in the archives.   Best of luck to you.

[LaserCap]

If you are a class 6, you will always be a class 6.  Adding hair does not change your pattern.  By definition, you will have more hair within the pattern.

The idea of doing transplants is to get away from baldness. More hair!  If that's the case, why wear it short?  We want to show it?  So, if the plan is to have more, and NOT to keep it short, why not keep all your options open and consider both FUT and FUE?  This would allow you full access to your entire donor area.

First thing that comes to mind is an age appropriate hairline...or a very conservative one.  You know what takes lots of grafts? Lowering a hairline. So, by staying conservative, not only will you look natural, but it will allow the doctor to work farther back into the pattern.  A year later, depending on the density achieved, you may then start lowering the hairline a cm at a time.  This will help to frame you better and, perhaps, help you look younger.

I find it laughable when people talk about the "scar" with an FUT.  There a true masters out there.  I've seen scars so minute that it is hard to detect them even with a very short haircut.  How you heal, however, is not a function of the doctor.  This has to do more with wound healing.  If the doctor is any good, this should not be an issue.  Once you run out of elasticity, you can then move to FUE and can actually put FUE grafts into the scar.

Lastly, there is scarring with an FUE.  Different kind of scarring, but scarring non the less.  How many times have I seen depleted donor areas because the doctor got a bit too greedy?  Talk to the doctor about all of these subjects and then make a decision.

Medical therapy!! Seems you still have a lot of miniaturized hair that perhaps can be reversed.  Have you done any research about PRP?  Something to consider.

[NorwoodSix]

On 4/27/2019 at 4:33 PM, Jonboy81 said:

I’d say you have similar to mine. I’ve had some great advice. I’m still unsure. Having the guts to do it is the other thing..

In my job I visit a lot Asian clients and it’s amazing the stories I’ve been hearing and there understanding of HTs..

ive seen people pay £400 in Pakistan don’t think he’ll get what he wants 

£1500 from Estehair and dental practice which he said they only work on 2 clients a day. Looks very clean now post 1 month. Time will tell I suppose..

cinik is looking like my preferred option. What’s your thoughts on what you gonna do? 

Thanks for the response Jon. May I ask why you'd like to go with Dr. Cinik. Is it because he operates with body hair as well to maximize your graft count? I'm just starting my research, but Dr. Korey Erdogan is a name I'm seeing quite a bit, and I do like the results I've been seeing, although I need to continue my research. 

I will likely get shave down, get SMP and aim for regrowth via Fin, etc and connect the results with FUT/FUE in a year's time (or when it becomes an option financially), or jump right into an FUT/FUE once I find a doctor (and one that would be willing to operate considering my advanced hair loss).

Your hair loss pattern does look identical to mine!

 

[Al - Moderator]

On 4/28/2019 at 10:02 AM, LaserCap said:

If you are a class 6, you will always be a class 6. 

 

Nonsense. Why would anyone think that? Everyone starts out at a class 0. None of them stay that way. The scale goes to 7. For those who are a 7, how do you think they got there? They weren't always a 7 when they were younger.

 

[LaserCap]

Go to a Norwood chart or better yet, print it.  Now get a pencil and lightly, cover the top of the head so that you can still see the pattern underneath.  This means that a patient can have hair.  The amount is of no consequence.  It is the pattern that a patient is thinning into that is important.  This will dictate what the recommendation from the doctor will be.

[Melvin- Admin]

5 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

Nonsense. Why would anyone think that? Everyone starts out at a class 0. None of them stay that way. The scale goes to 7. For those who are a 7, how do you think they got there? They weren't always a 7 when they were younger.

 

I'm going to disagree. Not everyone with hair loss will progress to a Norwood 7 level of loss. In fact, the Norwood 7 level hair loss is not as common. Most men are likely to progress to a Norwood 5 and 6 level of hair loss. Take for example Bruce Willis who's been a Norwood 6 for over 20 years.

[Wendell]

Interesting conversation!!!!

 

The same happens to me

I am wondering if someone can tell me whats the normal everage size (wide) of the STRIP scar in milimeters and how long in milimeters o centimeters should I wear my hair in that area for the camouflage of the linear scar.

[Al - Moderator]

10 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I'm going to disagree. Not everyone with hair loss will progress to a Norwood 7 level of loss. In fact, the Norwood 7 level hair loss is not as common. Most men are likely to progress to a Norwood 5 and 6 level of hair loss. Take for example Bruce Willis who's been a Norwood 6 for over 20 years.

 

I think you are misunderstanding me, Melvin. I wasn't saying everyone will become a NW 7. I was responding to LaserCap who said if you are a class 6 you will always be a class 6. If that were true, then there would be no class 7s. Some of the NW 6s will become NW 7s, so just because you have a NW 6 pattern today doesn't mean you will stay there. Even if many do stay at a NW 6, not everyone will. I'm a NW 7. I was a NW 6 before being a 7 and I was a NW 5 before being a 6. That's how the stages progress.

 

[JohnCasper]

I’m with Melvin on this one.  I began losing my hair in my mid 20s but... my recession of hair decreased and visually leveled out in my mid-to late 30s.  I had my first transplant many years later at age 50.  I was consistently a Norwood VI for many years.

[Melvin- Admin]

7 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

I think you are misunderstanding me, Melvin. I wasn't saying everyone will become a NW 7. I was responding to LaserCap who said if you are a class 6 you will always be a class 6. If that were true, then there would be no class 7s. Some of the NW 6s will become NW 7s, so just because you have a NW 6 pattern today doesn't mean you will stay there. Even if many do stay at a NW 6, not everyone will. I'm a NW 7. I was a NW 6 before being a 7 and I was a NW 5 before being a 6. That's how the stages progress.

 

Ahh ok that makes sense. Although, I think most 7’s have some thinning in the lateral humps. That’s why an examination of the lateral humps through high-magnification is necessary. But yes hair loss is unpredictable sometimes.

[LaserCap]

17 hours ago, Wendell said:

Interesting conversation!!!!

 

The same happens to me

I am wondering if someone can tell me whats the normal average size (wide) of the STRIP scar in millimeters and how long in millimeters o centimeters should I wear my hair in that area for the camouflage of the linear scar.

When it' taken out, about 9mm.  There are doctors however that will take a lot more which just puts a lot of pressure and can lead to wide scars.....But I realize you are asking about the scar once it has been closed and healed.  This is a function of wound healing and it can vary.  I've seen linear scars that are hardly visible and have seen a scar as wide as  1/2 inch.  Typically this happens because the patient either slept in a certain position or he went to the gym and started lifting weights.  It is imperative the patient avoids neck-stretching exercises after a procedure.

Length will depend on what number of grafts you are discussing.  Say ear to ear, 22-24mm depending on the size of your head.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

17 hours ago, Wendell said:

Interesting conversation!!!!

 

The same happens to me

I am wondering if someone can tell me whats the normal everage size (wide) of the STRIP scar in milimeters and how long in milimeters o centimeters should I wear my hair in that area for the camouflage of the linear scar.

The average width of a strip is probably around 1.0 - 1.5cm (so 10-15mm). Sometimes you can and do go wider; other times it is more advantageous to go more narrow; and there are certain areas of the scalp where you always want to "taper" it down a little regardless of how wide you are going on the strip in general. 

Scar healing is typically good, but much of it is affected by your own physiology. Some people are simply prone to healing a little wider than others. I would say the average FUT scar is 1.5 - 2mm. Many times we get the perfect "razor blade" line or "pencil thin" scar; other times you get more of like a "marker line" (2mm or so) in patients who are just prone to a little more "stretch." I tell my patients that anything within this range is considered normal healing and can be concealed all the way down to a #3 on the buzzer -- which is around 1/4th of an inch or 6mm. 

[Wendell]

2 hours ago, Dr Blake Bloxham said:

The average width of a strip is probably around 1.0 - 1.5cm (so 10-15mm). Sometimes you can and do go wider; other times it is more advantageous to go more narrow; and there are certain areas of the scalp where you always want to "taper" it down a little regardless of how wide you are going on the strip in general. 

Scar healing is typically good, but much of it is affected by your own physiology. Some people are simply prone to healing a little wider than others. I would say the average FUT scar is 1.5 - 2mm. Many times we get the perfect "razor blade" line or "pencil thin" scar; other times you get more of like a "marker line" (2mm or so) in patients who are just prone to a little more "stretch." I tell my patients that anything within this range is considered normal healing and can be concealed all the way down to a #3 on the buzzer -- which is around 1/4th of an inch or 6mm. 

Thank you so much Dr. Blake Bloxham for your attention 

[Melvin- Admin]

4 hours ago, Dr Blake Bloxham said:

The average width of a strip is probably around 1.0 - 1.5cm (so 10-15mm). Sometimes you can and do go wider; other times it is more advantageous to go more narrow; and there are certain areas of the scalp where you always want to "taper" it down a little regardless of how wide you are going on the strip in general. 

Scar healing is typically good, but much of it is affected by your own physiology. Some people are simply prone to healing a little wider than others. I would say the average FUT scar is 1.5 - 2mm. Many times we get the perfect "razor blade" line or "pencil thin" scar; other times you get more of like a "marker line" (2mm or so) in patients who are just prone to a little more "stretch." I tell my patients that anything within this range is considered normal healing and can be concealed all the way down to a #3 on the buzzer -- which is around 1/4th of an inch or 6mm. 

Great information Dr. Bloxham, has any of your patients ever asked you if you would have a hair transplant if you started balding?

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

14 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Great information Dr. Bloxham, has any of your patients ever asked you if you would have a hair transplant if you started balding?

Thanks, Melvin. 

Yes, I get asked questions about my hair all the time. I have been lucky genetically, and there really just is not much hair loss in my family. I have 3 younger brothers and all of them AND my father basically have mops; perfect density but all with wavy, thick, coarse hairs (opposed to my much finer hair) which looks great. My dad now has a little bit of bilateral temporal recession, but very slight and hard to even appreciate with his hair type. The only real hair loss in my family was my paternal grandfather who had very unique isolated crown hair loss -- perfect hair in the front. Now, that isn't to say I don't have other genetic things in my family I would like to avoid (heart issues, dementia, etc), but I have been lucky on the hair front. 

However, I would absolutely have a hair transplant if I needed one. And not just because I am in the field; I would get one because they work and work well. I presume I would lose in the front, so I would do a dense pack frontal band via FUT aimed at pretty much keeping my hairline where it is now and allowing for some temporal recession.