How Young is Too Young For A Hair Transplant?

[Melvin- Admin]

I myself have been dealing with hair loss for over a decade, it's crazy but there was a time when I considered having hair transplant when I was 22. I wanted to get that low hairline and look like I did when I was 18. Thankfully, I was scared to death about shock loss and that kept me away from surgery. Had I gotten surgery at 22 who know's where I'd be today, it's a scary thought. In my opinion, you shouldn't consider having surgery until you're at least 24-25. There are exceptions, but they are far and few in between. What do you guys think? Share your stories.

How Young is Too Young For Hair Transplant Surgery

[LaserCap]

The maturity level is important.  I think 18 is too young but it all depends on family history and other factors.I think most guys should try medical therapy to start with and see first what that is going to do, 2nd - to see if the patient is going to do the meds regularly.  If both happen, why not do transplants? The writing is on the wall.  The sooner they do it, the sooner they can keep their youth etc.....So after all is said and done....early 20's.

[Steeeve]

I think your early 20’s are okay for a hair transplant as long as you go to a good doctor who asks all the right questions about your background and makes a good assessment about where your hair loss is progressing. A doctor who would also take you step by step and make you aware of what it is that you’re truly getting yourself into. It’s such an involved lifelong process and your expectations have to be kept in check.

I agree with LaserCap that medical therapy should be tried first or at the very least in conjunction with the transplant. I, like most on here I would hope, would recommend medical therapy at least a year before considering a hair transplant.

[Melvin- Admin]

I agree with the youth part believe me, as a guy who suffered for most of his 20's I understand how hard it is, but a large portion of guys in their early 20's just don't want to accept the realities with surgery. There are some young guys though that are centered and think long-term they are good candidates.

[Sean]

I voted for 25 and under—as i think the longer you wait the longer you know where you are headed.  You do not want to chase transplants and then run out of ammo.  

I know some known docs that even took 18 year old high school kids for fut.  i think that is unethical

[Raphael84]

At a recent FUE Europe conference, many top physicians seemed to agree that 25 was generally the cut off age.

Having said that, there was a particular well respected physician that told a very compelling story of an 18 year old that was extremely depressed, and visited his clinic with hairline/temple recession.

After inviting the young mans parents to his clinic and discussing not only the finer points of surgery, they discussed his state of mind, his future in education and job prospects. After forging a deeper relationship, it was decided to go ahead with surgery.

Whilst specific details escape me, some 10 years later and after many follow ups and promises of further education and application, the then young man has made a successful career and life for himself mainly to due to his self confidence gained from his hair restoration procedure, therefore it was certainly deemed the correct decision.

Whilst in no way do I suggest or support that this is the norm, this particular physician obviously went above and beyond, but it is an example that every patient is a human being, not just another patient, or another scheduled surgery. Every patient has their unique back story and whilst with many commonalities, their own battles in life due to hair loss.

I believe that this subject is also very much dependent on the stand out ethical physicians that lead this field. With their experience and personal approach and relationship with each patient, it makes sense that each decision is unique due to its circumstances. 

Whilst a physician may accept a 23 year old patient, the same physician may also deem that a 32 year old individual isn’t a good candidate. 

This is also why tech led surgeries in “specific countries”, without much if any of their Doctors presence or input, without any long term consideration for donor management or the patient in general and with their one hair line design fits all approach ruin the industry. Accepting patients that they should never accept, despite being poor candidates or being too young without any real understanding of the procedure and it’s risks.

It’s a deep and important discussion, with no one size fits all approach.

[Guano]

I agree with Raphael.

Every patient is unique and has their own set of circumstances they have to deal with. 

Granted you have taken the precautionary steps along with a conservative approach,  The more you prolonged the more it will affect your confidence and overall well-being.

[Melvin- Admin]

Great post Raphael

[Dr. Bruno Ferreira]

I mostly agree with what has been said. But I'm definitely a proponent of a case-by-case approach. I don't think there's necessarily a cut-off age.

If a teenager has a terrible scar that can be corrected with surgery, or congenital triangular alopecia, why not correct it? Why let them suffer through their teen years (which everyone knows can be pretty hard)? Of course we have to do adequate planning and bear in mind the need for further surgery in the future. But ask any teenager suffering from having this or that ailment that hinders their image-of-self, and I bet you almost all if not all of them will say they would prefer to have a couple of surgeries instead of staying the same for 5 more years, waiting for one in the future. (Unless that one in the future is considerably more beneficial, i.e. better technology, etc, of course)

I've transplanted hair into burn scars, congenital triangular alopecias, aplasia cutis congenital scars, craniotomy scars, etc, in young patients. All with good, long-lasting results.

This still means we have to be smart of what we're doing. If the scar is on an already low hairline, and you look at the patient's dad and he's a Norwood 7, then maybe you should hold back for a while.

For androgenetic alopecia patients, we have to firstly know that they have to be stabilized asap, since alopecias that are very evident at a young age, are usually pretty aggressive, and I'm not afraid of using 5alfa-reductase blockers on young patients. I've done so with very good outcomes. Then, if everything goes ok and we reach stability, we can start talking about a possible transplant. But I'd never do surgery on a young patient without proper stabilization and spending some time talking to him, making sure of his maturity and that he thoroughly understands the implications of surgery. Usually when that talk comes, I'm already pretty sure he's a candidate though.

 

There's also not a cut off point on the opposite side of the spectrum. My oldest patient was 86 at the time of the surgery. And I operated on him...twice! He must be over 90 right now. 😃 Such an enthusiastic and positive man he was.