How long does transplanted hair last?

[wtrailer]

W/o the use of Fin can we expect the transplanted hairs to be relatively permanent? I understand that if a patient undergoes chemo or they have other health issues that arise this could influence the life of the hair follicles. I was just curious what you all have to say about this. I've been told different things by different people. Thanks.

 

[gillenator]

Even without the use of finasteride, transplanted hair should last as long as the grafts were harvested from terminal hair, meaning the grafts are DHT resistant.

I had advanced terminal stage lung cancer in 2009 and underwent many chemo treatments.  I shed all of my hair from my entire body and I do mean the entire body.

Still, my hair eventually grew back including my grafts and native hair.  It did not grow back as robust but it did grow back and I am very grateful for that.

There have been a small percent of patients who have lost their transplants over the years for a variety of reasons however the majority of patients do not....that's been my observation over the past 40 years.

[Al - Moderator]

Transplanted hair will last as long as it would have lasted in the area where it was taken from. So if the hair in the donor area starts thinning, then the transplanted hair will be thinning at the same rate. Some people's donor hair will remain thick until relatively old age and the bald area will not expand very much, so their transplanted hair will last that long as well. Some people, such as myself, will end up at NW 7 with only a very small "horseshoe" rim of hair left around the side and back of the head with very thin hair even in the area of hair remaining and thus, most of the transplanted hair will (and has in my case) fall out.

What you need to try to figure out is where you will end up. Take a look at older relatives and try to find pictures of them when they were younger and see if you find anyone who seems to have your hair loss pattern and progression. That can be a good indicator. If you don't have any relatives that have very advanced hair loss then you are probably pretty safe as far as whether the transplanted hair will last or not.

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by BeHappy

[bonkling]

2 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

Some really good answers here.

I wonder, happy and Gil, do you think if a person was headed to a NW 6/7, being on finasteride would be enough to keep the donor hairs strong enough?

As I understand they are relatively resistant to DHT, so a reduction in DHT production may facilitate enough donor for a transplant?

[Al - Moderator]

3 hours ago, bonkling said:

do you think if a person was headed to a NW 6/7, being on finasteride would be enough to keep the donor hairs strong enough?

As I understand they are relatively resistant to DHT, so a reduction in DHT production may facilitate enough donor for a transplant?

 

I was on finisteride for about 11 years, but stopped taking it long ago. I'm sure it slowed my hair loss down and possibly stopped it for a while, but I eventually continued thinning anyway which is why I decided to stop taking it. If it had kept working, especially if it was growing some hair back, I probably would have stayed on it longer.

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by BeHappy

[gillenator]

Almost all of us have strong donor hair in our young years...the toughest thing to predict is what our hair will be like as we age especially beyond age 50.

So there is really no way of knowing for sure and BeHappy makes a good point in considering what older relatives hair situations are, especially those with more advanced hair loss.  If any of them have thinning donors, then chances are the donor hair will not be permanently resistant to DHT.

Finasteride inhibits DHT but does not necessarily lower DHT production or make the hair stronger...it just helps us to hold onto our native hair for a longer period of time.

[bonkling]

It's posts like this that make me glad I found this site.

Both my older brother, and father, who are late 30's and 50's, both have a thin donor that would not facilitate a transplant.

If I was to get one, as many surgeon's have suggested I can, then I wouldn't be surprised if within the next 5-10 years it starts falling out. 

I feel like younger patients need to be told details like above, as a lot of doctors simply state that the donor hair which is transplanted will last forever. I've seen many people on forums express the same as BeHappy, and some wish they never bothered with a HT.