What Can Norwood 5.5-6's realistically expect?

[NorwoodSix]

After going to great lengths to cosmetically conceal my hair loss, I've began to seriously look at HT's. I wanted to consult with the forum here to see what is realistically possible for high Norwood cases. I've been letting hair loss really get me down and I would be happy with even moderate coverage to use hair fibers with. 

 

NW6 - Pics included in a prior thread. Standard NW6 pattern but I have many miniaturized hairs on my crown. I'm managing my expectations of what I could realistically expect even with maxing out my donor.

My donor hair is somewhere between thick and fine and hard to categorize. It is curly when grown out.

I have never taken medication for hair loss. I'm not entirely sure what Fin, Min, etc. could even do for me as I have been bald for 6+ years. I would of course be open to starting Fin, Min, etc. prior / following a HT at the request of the Dr and would include supplemental things like Dermarolling and Nizirol Shampoo, etc. as well.

It appears that for advanced hair loss, that FUT is the preferred method for the initial transplant, followed by FUE down the line. With that being said, I am looking primarily at clinics in Turkey due to my budget. It appears that all perform only FUE. 

The FUT scar doesn't bother me as I've never cut my hair short. On the opposite end, I would be open to having a large FUE to achieve moderate density all over, and have SMP after for a density fill in.

Questions:

Could I achieve identical results with a large session FUE? (5,000+ grafts) as opposed to FUT? Ideally, I'd love to have a large FUT performed by Hasson & Wong for optimal results, but they are a bit outside of my budget!

What clinics in Turkey are the best for transformative cases? I've seen some promising results from Erdogan, Eugenix, and Dr. Cinik on the forum, but wasn't sure if there was a general consensus. 

 

 

[hairlossPA]

Cinik and Erdogan can definitely maximize your FUE procedures as the regularly do 4-5k FUEs, however Erdogans results have taken a beating the last year or so. It’s definitly worth looking into though if you have realistic expectations. I’ve seen them give very good results for what they’re working with.

 

can you post pictures in this thread? 

[NorwoodSix]

@hairlossPA thanks for the reply. My pics are below. 

 

Note: I have more hair on my crown but it is regularly shaved down as I've gone the hair system route lately. They look and feel undetectable but involve too much maintenance so getting ready to shave and call it a day or actually do something about this in the next 6 months or so.

 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

This is the ideal scenario for a Norwood V-VI with 4 FUT procedures

 

[NorwoodSix]

@Melvin-Moderator That's quite the transformation, although I can imagine that would cost upwards of $20,000 and a decent amount of time hiding under a hat while recovering after each procedure. I was hoping an FUT to fill in the hairline and midscalp and an FUE some time after to cover the scalp would be sufficient.

[Melvin- Admin]

15 minutes ago, NorwoodSix said:

@Melvin-Moderator That's quite the transformation, although I can imagine that would cost upwards of $20,000 and a decent amount of time hiding under a hat while recovering after each procedure. I was hoping an FUT to fill in the hairline and midscalp and an FUE some time after to cover the scalp would be sufficient.

Having a hair transplant and being a norwood 6 is going to cost some money regardless. What are your expectations can you post examples of what you’d be happy with? 

[hairlossPA]

I respect and understand the budget. Your donor looks fine/great and I’m sure Erdogan can get 4-5k FUE easily to give you decent coverage “in one shot”, however if you really want to perfect the hair on your head you may want to do FUT first with as many as possible, like H&W you mentioned. then FUE to fix/add density one more procedure after if needed. However, H&W usually knocks it outta the park so not sure if you want with them you’d need another?

[NorwoodSix]

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Having a hair transplant and being a norwood 6 is going to cost some money regardless. What are your expectations can you post examples of what you’d be happy with? 

Hi Melvin,

 

Realistically, I would be over the moon with comparable results to the below. I do understand that barring a miracle megasession (not likely), that a result like this would likely take more than one session. Can you confirm that? Basically if I can achieve enough density to apply hair fibers or SMP to give myself the appearance of moderate density, that would be sufficient considering my current state.

I think my next course of action is to schedule a consultation with a HT surgeon in my area for purposes of getting a graft count so I know what I'm working with. Any idea of how many grafts you estimate I'm working with?

BTW my hair loss appears to have stabilized as of 5-6 years ago. 

 

 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

You have reasonable expectations and the fact that you’re willing to use concealers makes me think you’re an excellent candidate. You have high sides which is a plus. 

[harry_potter1]

My best advice will be look at the result section -both posted by clinics and patients here- and then look for the results posted by the clinics.

Also do the math, many clinics will post the best results only, so don't make those your "minimum" expectations. 

[BjornBorg]

What a Norwood 6 can expect depends entirely on the donor quality. If you have a great donor and go to the elite in Spain you can look like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lq_CjZiWRE

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by BjornBorg

[LaserCap]

A proper consultation would help you.  And, if the doctor is ethical and honest, he would probably recommend adding density to the front and top and leave medical therapy for the back.  Do as many grafts as you can afford.  Keep the current hairline you have.  Do you know what takes grafts? Bringing the hairline down.  No need for that, you are not getting any younger, plus people already know you for who you are.  Why make drastic changes?  The only drastic change is going to be that of density. At which point, you can just say that you are using Rogaine.

You seem to have a lot of miniaturized hair.  Doing as many modalities as you can, this may just contribute to the overall impact.

Now, let's say you do no meds and go on to be a wide 6.  You may have enough donor to do the front and the middle and have an empty back. This is a normal pattern - so you will still look natural.  A shame if you decide this course of action given your current situation.  I honestly think everything is in your favor.

Have you done any research as to the doctor you would choose?

[VicTNYC]

Hey man, just my opinion but in your high NWcase, i would opt to do SMP first with a conservative hairline and coverage on top and then do an HT sometime after, either FUE or fut. I’ve seen some cases of guys who’ve gotten SMP then after some time went the HT route and it seems to have helped them achieve a better “illusion”, I would be concerned about an SMP in a post-Ht recipient area damaging the new hairs if not done meticulously, might just be a slight concern but something to think about.

 

Good luck!

[NorwoodSix]

10 hours ago, LaserCap said:

A proper consultation would help you.  And, if the doctor is ethical and honest, he would probably recommend adding density to the front and top and leave medical therapy for the back.  Do as many grafts as you can afford.  Keep the current hairline you have.  Do you know what takes grafts? Bringing the hairline down.  No need for that, you are not getting any younger, plus people already know you for who you are.  Why make drastic changes?  The only drastic change is going to be that of density. At which point, you can just say that you are using Rogaine.

You seem to have a lot of miniaturized hair.  Doing as many modalities as you can, this may just contribute to the overall impact.

Now, let's say you do no meds and go on to be a wide 6.  You may have enough donor to do the front and the middle and have an empty back. This is a normal pattern - so you will still look natural.  A shame if you decide this course of action given your current situation.  I honestly think everything is in your favor.

Have you done any research as to the doctor you would choose?

Thank you very much for the reply. 

 

A proper consultation would help you.  And, if the doctor is ethical and honest, he would probably recommend adding density to the front and top and leave medical therapy for the back. 

There appears to be several IHRS surgeons in my area. I'm going to call today to schedule a consultation. I'm hoping he can provide a graft count so I know what I'm working with. I wouldn't be able to have a HT performed in the US, however. I'd likely be looking into Turkey or India!

 

Why make drastic changes?  The only drastic change is going to be that of density. At which point, you can just say that you are using Rogaine.

I currently wear a hair system, so the change would be drastic. I spend an unusual amount of time ensuring it looks natural, but it's not my hair, so it needs to go in the trash ASAP.

 

You seem to have a lot of miniaturized hair.  Doing as many modalities as you can, this may just contribute to the overall impact.

 

By modalities, do you mean regrowth treatments (Min, Fin, PRP, Etc.) ? Yes, I would throw the kitchen sink at regrowth on the crown and thickening of the transplanted areas once it is safe to do following the transplant.

 

Now, let's say you do no meds and go on to be a wide 6.  You may have enough donor to do the front and the middle and have an empty back. This is a normal pattern - so you will still look natural.  A shame if you decide this course of action given your current situation.  I honestly think everything is in your favor.

 

Can you clarify here? Are you saying a higher, age appropriate hairline with good density at the temple and midscalp areas with a gradient effect fading towards the crown would be the best move? I was thinking I could either wear a partial system on the crown or use Toppik there if possible until I'm able to receive a second HT to fill in the crown.

 

Do you think I could achieve moderate density over most of my bald area with a large FUT + regrowth treatments? Or would you recommend multiple HT's?

[NorwoodSix]

2 hours ago, VicTNYC said:

Hey man, just my opinion but in your high NWcase, i would opt to do SMP first with a conservative hairline and coverage on top and then do an HT sometime after, either FUE or fut. I’ve seen some cases of guys who’ve gotten SMP then after some time went the HT route and it seems to have helped them achieve a better “illusion”, I would be concerned about an SMP in a post-Ht recipient area damaging the new hairs if not done meticulously, might just be a slight concern but something to think about.

 

Good luck!

Thanks for letting me know. I've been looking through the site, but do you happen to have links for these examples? I would like to evaluate the SMP + FUE combo procedures to see how natural the results look. As far as I know this was a failed experiment, but I could be wrong..

[LaserCap]

20 minutes ago, NorwoodSix said:

Thank you very much for the reply. 

 

A proper consultation would help you.  And, if the doctor is ethical and honest, he would probably recommend adding density to the front and top and leave medical therapy for the back. 

There appears to be several IHRS surgeons in my area. I'm going to call today to schedule a consultation. I'm hoping he can provide a graft count so I know what I'm working with. I wouldn't be able to have a HT performed in the US, however. I'd likely be looking into Turkey or India!

 

Why make drastic changes?  The only drastic change is going to be that of density. At which point, you can just say that you are using Rogaine.

I currently wear a hair system, so the change would be drastic. I spend an unusual amount of time ensuring it looks natural, but it's not my hair, so it needs to go in the trash ASAP.

 

You seem to have a lot of miniaturized hair.  Doing as many modalities as you can, this may just contribute to the overall impact.

 

By modalities, do you mean regrowth treatments (Min, Fin, PRP, Etc.) ? Yes, I would throw the kitchen sink at regrowth on the crown and thickening of the transplanted areas once it is safe to do following the transplant.

 

Now, let's say you do no meds and go on to be a wide 6.  You may have enough donor to do the front and the middle and have an empty back. This is a normal pattern - so you will still look natural.  A shame if you decide this course of action given your current situation.  I honestly think everything is in your favor.

 

Can you clarify here? Are you saying a higher, age appropriate hairline with good density at the temple and midscalp areas with a gradient effect fading towards the crown would be the best move? I was thinking I could either wear a partial system on the crown or use Toppik there if possible until I'm able to receive a second HT to fill in the crown.

 

Do you think I could achieve moderate density over most of my bald area with a large FUT + regrowth treatments? Or would you recommend multiple HT's?

Draw a point on a piece of paper.  Draw a cross through the point.  That's procedure one.  move to the right and draw another cross. That's procedure 2. Continue doing that until you fill everything in.  It would take TONS of procedures.  Why? Because of the whirl in the back.  Everything stems from the point.

Honestly, you're better off doing meds, (Propecia, Rogaine, PRP, Laser), and concentrate the grafts to the front and middle.  Have the doctor go back as far as he can horizontally so as to minimize the size of the crown, but work in a circular fashion so, if you end up dipping in the donor area, the pattern will still look natural and not end up with a smiley face, (if you know what I am talking about).

Once you are happy with the front and middle, if you have an donor left and the meds are effective, you can then consider grafts to the crown - but not before.

[Raphael84]

@norwood6

As Melvin quite rightly pointed out, one of the most important aspects to you potentially moving forward with a procedure needs to be realistic expectations. This is essential.

You seem to have this.

In one of the photos, it may appear that you have retrograde alopecia. Is that accurate?

How old are you?

The suggestion of shaving down and trying SMP before committing to any potential surgery is not a bad idea. If that is something that may appeal to you. Like anything, not all SMP studios are offering the same quality of work so just like you are with a hair transplant, do your research and due diligence if you decide to explore this option.

Where are you based?

You "lateral humps" as previously mentioned have held quite high which is a positive. 

For higher Norwood cases such as your own, I have seen some great transformations with the addition of beard hair when donor hair becomes limited. Again, if you were to commit to this journey, I would suggest that it would be an initial two surgeries. 

I dont want to jump on the usual bandwagon and I want to keep this post positive, but as you know you have excessive loss, and you must be extremely efficient with each and every graft. The illusion of density in your case will play an important role. Therefore your choice in surgeon is essential. Express caution limiting yourself to only Turkey and India for purely financial motivations.

I wish you the best.

Please keep us all updated!

[NorwoodSix]

20 hours ago, Raphael84 said:

@norwood6

In one of the photos, it may appear that you have retrograde alopecia. Is that accurate?

Not that I know of. But then again, I haven't had someone examine my scalp in years, and haven't seen a dermatologist since I was a scene.

20 hours ago, Raphael84 said:

How old are you?

33

20 hours ago, Raphael84 said:

The suggestion of shaving down and trying SMP before committing to any potential surgery is not a bad idea. If that is something that may appeal to you. Like anything, not all SMP studios are offering the same quality of work so just like you are with a hair transplant, do your research and due diligence if you decide to explore this option.

Valid point. As with HT's, I've been obsessive with SMP research, and have found who I believe to be the best in the world in Milan. There's also an incredible practitioner based in NY, which is only 4-5 hours from me, but I would likely go to Milan. If I did opt for the SMP approach, I would want the best available treatment.

20 hours ago, Raphael84 said:

Where are you based?

Boston

20 hours ago, Raphael84 said:

For higher Norwood cases such as your own, I have seen some great transformations with the addition of beard hair when donor hair becomes limited. Again, if you were to commit to this journey, I would suggest that it would be an initial two surgeries. 

I have 0 objections to using body hair. Whatever can provide the most density as I have more area to cover than most! Any recs on surgeons that use body hair in high NW cases? I've been told that Eugenix is good! 

 

Thank you for the kind words Raphael! I answered above.

[Al - Moderator]

I think you look like you could be a very good candidate for a hair transplant because your donor hair goes very far up on the sides and back. It really depends on whether the bald area has been expanding or not over the past few years. If it hasn't been getting larger, then I think you can really end up with some great hair.

 

[NorwoodSix]

On 7/31/2019 at 6:18 AM, BeHappy said:

I think you look like you could be a very good candidate for a hair transplant because your donor hair goes very far up on the sides and back. It really depends on whether the bald area has been expanding or not over the past few years. If it hasn't been getting larger, then I think you can really end up with some great hair.

 

Thank you. Yes, the area has stayed the same and my hair loss seems to have stabilized as of around 2013 or so. I am going to continue researching. I appreciate your insight.