Donor Quality (Advice needed)

[BaldBadger]

Hi Guys,

When a Dr is looking at your donor area what are they looking for in terms of quality. What would you expect a Dr/surgeon to do at a consultation to ascertain the quality of the hair? Do they just look with their eyes, or use some magnifying glass? what are they looking for specifically?

I am a NW6 or 7 and have gone bald through the typical phases of Male Pattern Baldness.

Although I have heard that the back and sides of your hair are immune to DHT I assume this isn't strictly true? 

I remember when I was first going balled I was so annoyed I had a habit of pulling at the hair at the back of my head and pulling a lot of hair out with ease. I could take my finger and thumb and grab a clump of hair pull gradually on it and 3, 4, or 5 hairs  would come out into my hand. So no doubt these 'DHT resistant' hairs on the back and sides of the head can get affected by the balding process?

I still have hair on the back and sides like is normal with Male Pattern Baldness, but based on photos I have taken in the past the hair has thinned out a bit, I don't believe it's the same thickness as it was before I started balding all them years ago. So again MPB must affect the back and sides to an extent in a lot of men suffering with it?

 

Because of the ease at which hairs could be pulled out from the back and sides of my head and the slight thinning of my donor area it just makes me question the quality of the hair there and I am curious to know if this is pretty normal and curious as to what a surgeon looks for when assessing the donor quality.

Thanks.

[sl]

Good question and the approach varies greatly from doctor to doctor but essentially you want to be looked at with both naked eye and under magnification. The doctor will look at donor densities, I say that in plural because it will change in the donor as you from above the ears around to the rear occipital area where there are then the coarser and larger groups. So, essentially densities, hair to follicular make up, i.e single haired, double, treble etc, coarseness and curl, characteristics of the hair, colour, miniaturisation levels in the donor, check for DUPA or retrograde alopecia.

If your donor has thinned significantly (previous photos will help to compare) then it is possible you have DUPA or miniaturisation due to other reasons. Donor hair should be harder to pull out and with more pain than where the hair is weaker and miniaturising but a good doctor will be able to assess and under magnification and a display really be able to assess well and give you the empirical data as well as visual representation.

 

As said, I have seen many doctors just tell a patient "you are a good candidate" but no real data given, so it is very subjective and nothing really concrete, but today you should be able to be thoroughly assessed and if I were you I would ask the clinic/doctor, what exactly will they do during the consultation. 

 

Best. 

 

 

 

[Fozzie]

2 hours ago, BaldBadger said:

Although I have heard that the back and sides of your hair are immune to DHT I assume this isn't strictly true? 

I don't really buy into the idea it is totally 'immune'. I believe the hair in the donor zone is more resistant compared to hair on top but over time I do think miniaturisation, albeit in a lot of cases very slowly, can start to take place, even more so in guys who are heading towards a higher norwood. 

[BaldBadger]

I have taken photos of the back and sides of my head and the hair looks thin, 'bitten', and there are the odd darker/thicker hairs....

I did decide to look for photos online of people with full heads of hair that have there hair on the back and sides at approx 2 or 3mm in length and with hair at that length it does seem quite normal to have the odd 'bitten' areas, the odd thicker/darker hairs, and also see through to the scalp.

Still, my back and sides look far worse than the photos I found online.

I have attached one of the random photos I found and have highlighted what I mean. This bloke has not had a hair transplant, he's just some random dude who has a full head of hair and just got a nice fresh haircut.

Does anyone know why these 'bitten' areas are quite common. Are these just areas where hair doesn't grow, maybe never grew? are follicles in these areas in a different phase to others and the hair has fallen out to start a new cycle? or something else? 

[sl]

Donor looks fine, the odd area that could be scars from something but at this length the donor looks fine. They have blended the cut going upwards and I don't see anything here to worry about on this person's donor.  

[LaserCap]

You've hit on something that's important for all cases.  This is a forum where we get to discuss, give opinions, share experience and all that goes with it.  Unfortunately we are not there to assess. That is, it is imperative you visit with a doctor so he can "manually" evaluate you.  He can "comb" through your hair and perhaps see things we can't.  Can't tell you how many times I've seen patients with lengthy hair only to find out they were poor transplant candidates.

With your hair shaven it is difficult to ascertain your case.  I would suggest you let it grow a couple of weeks and post again.  

With regards to evaluating your donor.  Much consideration goes into that.  First, skin conditions as these can transfer at the time of the transplant.  Self immune systems is another.  How about scalp burns from coloring?  The list goes on and on.  Lastly, density.  The separation in between strands is also taken into consideration.

The areas you've marked seem to be childhood related that healed with time.  Were you accident prone? They mean nothing.

[Melvin- Admin]

Honestly, it’s impossible to say without actual pictures. You’ve posted pictures of someone else, which doesn’t help us in evaluating your situation.

[BaldBadger]

1 hour ago, LaserCap said:

You've hit on something that's important for all cases.  This is a forum where we get to discuss, give opinions, share experience and all that goes with it.  Unfortunately we are not there to assess. That is, it is imperative you visit with a doctor so he can "manually" evaluate you.  He can "comb" through your hair and perhaps see things we can't.  Can't tell you how many times I've seen patients with lengthy hair only to find out they were poor transplant candidates.

With your hair shaven it is difficult to ascertain your case.  I would suggest you let it grow a couple of weeks and post again.  

With regards to evaluating your donor.  Much consideration goes into that.  First, skin conditions as these can transfer at the time of the transplant.  Self immune systems is another.  How about scalp burns from coloring?  The list goes on and on.  Lastly, density.  The separation in between strands is also taken into consideration.

The areas you've marked seem to be childhood related that healed with time.  Were you accident prone? They mean nothing.

 

That isn't me. I wish I had that much hair, lol. I wouldn't be on here if I had that much hair.

I am just giving an example of a guy's 'donor area' who has a full head of hair. It shows imperfections, bitten areas, scalp can be seen.

I was looking at my photos of my donor and it looks thin and bitten, but I have realised by looking at photos of men with shaved down full heads of hair that seeing the scalp through the hair and seeing bitten areas is normal.