Is HT an option for me? Where to start research

[GGPR]

Hey guys,

I'm 25, I started losing my hair around 22. I took finasteride and applied liquid minoxidil for a year but didn't see a noticeable slowing of my hair loss. I stopped taking finasteride and shaved my head around 23. Now that I've tried baldness for 2+ years and actually have some money, I'm considering HT and I could really use your help.

Here's me Oct 2017 right before I shaved.

 

Here's the present:

 

And here's a month or so ago when I grew my hair out for a week to get a sense of the current pattern:

 

It's hard to get a sense with a shaved head, but I'm guessing I'm NW6, at the time of shaving maybe NW5. I see many successful results here, but they seem to mainly be for those that are addressing a receding hairline or temples, not a full Costanza landing strip. Do I have any hope whatsoever? And how do I start finding the doc that can get me the best result?

I'm pretty frugal in general but I don't want to cheap out on this. I'm willing to pay what will get me a result I'm happy with. I'm US East Coast but willing to travel if, like I said, it gets me the best result.

Edited February 22, 2020 by GGPR

[Tbcruz]

Where on the east coast ?

I think the first step is letting your hair grow and getting an in person consult with a very good doctor to determine what your options are.

[CosmoKramer]

Hey man,

Firstly, I think you pull off the shaved head look really well and have a good shaped head and it looks good....I would say grow a good beard and rock that look but I totally understand wanting your hair back. 

I think it important to let your hair grow out a few inches in order for you and any ht doc to asses your exact current hair situation and how advanced the loss has been, then I would look at the Patient posted results on this forum for similar Norwood cases to yours then have a friend or family member take many clear photos from all angles and send them to surgeons for opinions and if possible go to any reputable HT surgeons in your area for an in person consultation.

I would suggest you give microneedling a try and get back on the medication as the combination could surprise you with some results, as I, had used Minoxidil on and off for 15 years and barely saw any results until I combined it with microneedling...and an HT, and I would say I was close to a NW 5 before anything.

Also, take your time doing plenty of research, you want to get it right the 1st time.

 

[Raphael84]

@GGPR

Considering the extensive amount of hair loss you have experienced, one of the main and most influential factors if considering hair restoration surgery is the density and follicular groupings of your donor area. If you have loss in your lower crown, and if you have experienced any retrograde alopecia (thinning from the nape of the neck upwards)?

If no to both, you will therefore have a larger safe donor zone to potentially use. Again, donor density will still be hugely influential in regards to what could potentially be achieved. If yes to both, then your safe donor zone will therefore be quite limited and the amount of grafts that can be safely harvested will be restricted. If you would like to share photos of your donor area and current crown pattern, that would be useful.

Considering your age and the fact that you are not using any hair loss preventative medicine, the hair that you have retained on top will most likely be lost in the not too distant future, and your lateral humps and lower crown could further regress. This is something that must be taken into account if moving forward with a procedure. Also, without medication moving forward and again considering your age, your may already have miniaturised hairs in your donor area, which would affect your candidacy.

I hope that Im not misunderstood or that  you dont think that I sound harsh, but its very important that you educate yourself on all factors of surgery and what could realistically be achieved considering your starting point. Selecting the right surgeon will be essential.

Have you considered SMP?

[Medina]

You look better with no hair 

[Rolandas]

I am in a somewhat similar situation. My father is NW17teen. I'm currently on NW5A only because I've been using Minoxidil+dermarolling, Finasteride and longer time ago I used to do some intense scalp massages. I was able to hold my progression and I had a Hair Transplant done in the end of January.

If you are considering having a Hair Transplant, start off by growing your hair out for at least 1 month or better more, so you can actually tell whether or not you are an actual candidate. Like Raphael mentioned, if your donor will allow, you could get a great transformation.

Visit a couple of Hair Restoration doctors to assess you (don't rely completely on online consultations!). Get on finasteride and see how well you can tolerate it.

I myself just done frontal part of the scalp where I have maximum loss and left the rest to the medical therapy. Currently extremely happy with how it looks.

If you interested you can look me up on my thread here or on my YouTube channel.

 

Best of luck!

[GGPR]

Hey all,

Thank you for your kind responses. I got cold feet but I'm looking at the idea again and I want to fully research and be done with it this time. Whether I go forward or not, I don't want to be thinking about "what if"; going to get a good answer on if it would work for me or not.

Growing out a beard as some of you suggested; jury is still out on whether I'll keep it.

Especially in lockdown, I'm gonna grow my hair out to get a sense of it. I assume in-person consultations are out of the picture for the time being, but going to at least do some online ones. I'm in Western PA and I'm not sure how many great options I have for local consultations; I may have to fly out once this all subsides. For those of you that have had HT, how did you narrow down from my stage (research) to picking surgeons and scheduling consultations?

@Raphael84

I don't notice any thinning on my neck or the sides of my head. It's definitely a "rough sandpaper" feel if I run my hands over it. Whereas the top is noticeably sparser.

And on the topic of medications, for those that brought them up; I have 0 problem getting on fin and minox again if I go with HT. I only stopped because I didn't notice much effect and was shaving my head anyway.

 

Edited July 2, 2020 by GGPR

[Rolandas]

I've done a good video for people like yourself. How to "narrow down" Dr's after doing some research and what & where to look for.
Have a look and let me know!

 

[baldbandito]

You look great with the beard my man!