Is it too late for me (Norwood 7)

[loganclaws]

Hello,

 

I am 37 and thinking of getting a FUE transplant from Turkey. Did quite a bit of research. You can see my current hair here: https://imgur.com/a/7BnXfiB

 

So I've contacted almost all the reputable doctors. Some questions:

- Cinik has two options: First one he just supervises and all work is done by technicians, including the incisions. Second option, he does the incisions. Problem is the timing doesn't work for me for the second option. Is it bad idea to go with the first option? They suggested 3500 - 4000 grafts, 90% coverage and said the back/crown will be thin.

- Tayfun is saying I need to do two operations. Second after waiting for 1 year for donor area to heal. Very expensive. First session is 3800 graphs and he said crown will be untouched until second operation with 1500 grafts.

- Erdogan didn't even want to give me a consultation because they want my hair to be 3cm long... I never grow my hair that long, it will look horrible.

- Vera Clinic, are they even good? They suggested 4300 grafts and said it is 70% coverage.

- Civas: Didn't get back to me yet.

- Yaman: Suggested 4500 grafts, healthy looking density in all areas, but density on crown will be less dense. Heard bad things lately about this doctor.

- Mehmet Demircioglu, is he even a real doctor? His evaluation stated he is a member of ishrs but his name wasn't on the site and I contacted them to confirm if he is a member, they said no and confirmed this his ishrs certificate is fake. They sent me a word file with their evaluation, 4500 grafts and 1000 from beard, total 5500. Should I avoid?

So what do you guys think? I'm torn and worried that the operation won't even meet my expectations. Here are photos of what my hair looks like now: https://imgur.com/a/7BnXfiB

Will FUE hair transplant even make my hair look good and dense or is it pointless?

 

Can you guys give me your honest opinion, at this point is there any chance of getting "thick" looking hair? Attached photo shows what I looked like a couple of years ago.

[Gasthoerer]

9 minutes ago, loganclaws said:

 

 

Can you guys give me your honest opinion, at this point is there any chance of getting "thick" looking hair? 

 

 

No. There isn't. YOu are a NW 6 with retrograde currently. You might have a chance for improvement but "thick" is out of your ballpark. Sorry, to be that honest but I do not want that this clinics steal your money with false promises.

What about SMP? Or a combination of FUE and SMP? 

[loganclaws]

Thanks for your honesty. I wish there was a way to actually see what my hair will look like post operation since all these terms are so subjective. Is there any chance to get normal looking hair? As in full coverage and similar but slightly less dense than the above pictures?

 

This thread's last response leads to a youtube video which shows great results for a NW6:

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by loganclaws

[Melvin- Admin]

I disagree wholeheartedly with Gas, there is hope if you’re realistic and not opposed to using concealers.

Take a look at my hair transplant journey. i was also a Norwood 6 with retrograde alopecia. 5 1/2 years later I walk around with the “appearance” of a full head of hair. 
 

As for the doctors, don’t limit yourself to Turkey. Also, if there is a doctor faking his ISHRS membership, what wouldn’t he fake? Definitely a red flag. Take some time on the forum. Take a look at real reviews and find out who is doing good work. Go by results, nothing else!

[loganclaws]

Hi Melvin, yes I was referring to your story in my previous post. So the idea for me is that I don't want to use concealers or any kind of product to create the "illusion" of full hair. I don't mind having less than "thick" hair as long as it doesn't look like crap. For example in your video, your hair looks amazing, is this achievable for me without using any concealers? Is 4000 grafts enough to achieve this? Appreciate any feedback.

Edited October 26, 2019 by loganclaws

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, loganclaws said:

Hi Melvin, yes I was referring to your story in my previous post. So the idea for me is that I don't want to use concealers or any kind of product to create the "illusion" of full hair. I don't mind having less than "thick" hair as long as it doesn't look like crap. For example in your video, your hair looks amazing, is this achievable for me without using any concealers? Is 4000 grafts enough to achieve this? Appreciate any feedback.

No, sorry. It’s not. Not with your level of hair loss. I had more hair than you and I still use concealer, and I’ve had 5,300 grafts. You’re not being realistic. I have to agree with Gas assessment now.

[loganclaws]

Thanks Melvin. Can you give me examples of good hair loss concealer products? I'm not too familiar with them. Does it rub off if someone touches your hair? Does it leave residue?

Edit: Also, I don't care as much about the crown area, so you do you think it's possible to have quite thick hair at the front and mid-section with thin/bald crown?

Edited October 26, 2019 by loganclaws

[Gasthoerer]

4 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

 I have to agree with Gas assessment now.

That was a quick 180° turnaround 😉

Jokes aside, I did not say that this situation is hopeless, but that the goals are unrealistic. And: Visit a top clinic and let them have a look at your donor. If you are thinning from the neck area, than this has a huge effect on you future plan.

[Melvin- Admin]

10 hours ago, loganclaws said:

Thanks Melvin. Can you give me examples of good hair loss concealer products? I'm not too familiar with them. Does it rub off if someone touches your hair? Does it leave residue?

Edit: Also, I don't care as much about the crown area, so you do you think it's possible to have quite thick hair at the front and mid-section with thin/bald crown?

Check out this video. I go swimming with hair loss concealers. They don’t come off id  use them right with hair spray. 

 

[BjornBorg]

Do you have any pictures of what you look like now? Including good pics of the donor.

[loganclaws]

12 hours ago, BjornBorg said:

Do you have any pictures of what you look like now? Including good pics of the donor.

Yes I already posted what I look like now in the first post: https://imgur.com/a/7BnXfiB

[BjornBorg]

On 10/27/2019 at 11:13 PM, loganclaws said:

Yes I already posted what I look like now in the first post: https://imgur.com/a/7BnXfiB

Thank you for that. However I and many others don't like to click external links. Care to share here?

[Al - Moderator]

Your hair goes very high up on the sides. If your pattern has stabilized that way, so that the bald area doesn't widen and spread out down the sides then I think you should be able to get a very good result.

 

[Raphael84]

@loganclaws

You have experienced a significant amount of loss. And as previously mentioned, it appears as though your are also experiencing retrograde alopecia which further limits your donor resources.

Regarding the photos that you have provided on this thread, you said this is what you looked like a coupe of years ago. A couple of years? Realistically, when were these photos taken, because to have lost that much hair over just a couple of years potentially raises other questions.

Realistic expectations are absolutely essential. Full coverage and thick is diplomatically speaking, very unlikely. If that is the only marker to call this a successful surgery, then you should forget the idea. If your expectations could be more realistic, then you may have possibilities.

The first thing that you need to do upon selecting the most honest and ethical quality surgeon that you can, is for them to evaluate your donor area. This will be a huge deciding factor. If you have high density, obviously more things are possible. If you have average or below, then I would rule out proceeding with surgery. Also, have you been taking any hair loss preventative medicine? You may well have further miniaturisation in your donor area. 

You would also need to be realistic regarding hairline placement. Be very careful in Turkey. You would need an extremely conservative hairline design and placement to achieve any kind of further coverage. Again, if you are not prepared to do so, then walk away from the idea of surgery.

You would undoubtedly need two procedures.

I would also suggest that beard hair would need to be considered to achieve any significant coverage into your crown. 4000 grafts with a very conservative hairline may barely/not even touch your crown. A second procedure of 3000+ grafts may easily be warranted.

It will be a commitment and a long journey. 

Realistic expectations and quality surgeon are essential.

[gbhscot]

I know there's a lot of negatives on this thread so far, sadly that's the reality of the situation. But there is one big positive, and that is that you've already gone bald, know how it looks and to an extent have embraced it, so anything you now do is relatively risk free (i say relatively as scars always going to be there etc etc.), assuming you can afford dropping the money on a HT without too much of an impact. 

If I were in your shoes, I'd get on Minoxidil, fin and dermarolling for a few months to see how you respond, then I'd go with a cheap yet solid clinic (I went with Yaman, was fairly happy though having a few wobbles currently - natural though at the 4 month stage I think) get 3-4k grafts done...top with up with SMP a few months later and maintain a decent buzzed look. The thick hair days are gone for pretty much all of us on here for the time being. Maybe later then look again at a 2nd OP depending on the outcome. 

[gillenator]

Any of us with the probability of reaching the upper classes of the Norwood scale need to think long and hard about setting realistic expectations that correlate with our limitations (donor reserves).

Now, we would say that to anyone with MPB however it's all the more critical when reaching class 6 and 7.

[kmgrafix]

On 10/26/2019 at 4:13 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

I disagree wholeheartedly with Gas, there is hope if you’re realistic and not opposed to using concealers.

Take a look at my hair transplant journey. i was also a Norwood 6 with retrograde alopecia. 5 1/2 years later I walk around with the “appearance” of a full head of hair. 
 

As for the doctors, don’t limit yourself to Turkey. Also, if there is a doctor faking his ISHRS membership, what wouldn’t he fake? Definitely a red flag. Take some time on the forum. Take a look at real reviews and find out who is doing good work. Go by results, nothing else!

According to one of your videos you had retrograde alopecia only in the nape area, however how does one have any hope of a hair transplant if they have retrograde alopecia not just in the nape but also on the sides above the sideburns as well as at  the back of the head just above the FUT donor zone? This is a possibility in which case   the person would be better off just  saving their money!

[Melvin- Admin]

19 hours ago, kmgrafix said:

According to one of your videos you had retrograde alopecia only in the nape area, however how does one have any hope of a hair transplant if they have retrograde alopecia not just in the nape but also on the sides above the sideburns as well as at  the back of the head just above the FUT donor zone? This is a possibility in which case   the person would be better off just  saving their money!

I had retrograde alopecia just above my ears also, you can have a hair transplant, you just can't remove any hairs from that zone. That said, most doctors don't remove hairs from that zone anyways, so it's not really a big deal.

[kmgrafix]

49 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I had retrograde alopecia just above my ears also, you can have a hair transplant, you just can't remove any hairs from that zone. That said, most doctors don't remove hairs from that zone anyways, so it's not really a big deal.

What about the area where doctors do take out hair from for an FUE which is just above the FUT donor area and hair from that area is decreasing would  their still  be hope for an FUE then? 

[ASeda]

My hair was just like yours, have a look at my posts and pictures. I have to go back for my second opp for the crown area

[gillenator]

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 2:50 PM, kmgrafix said:

What about the area where doctors do take out hair from for an FUE which is just above the FUT donor area and hair from that area is decreasing would  their still  be hope for an FUE then? 

 

This is why it is critical that every individual considering a HT procedure needs to have a thorough microscopic examination of the entire donor region(s) before having any procedure done.

The doctor can then ascertain if the donor has DHT receptive areas or if the area is fine for harvesting.

Edited November 19, 2019 by gillenator