Hair Transplant at 21

[lebaneseguy]

Alright, after 3 years of research and questions and doubts and even asked about some opinions here (I did not want to rush into this matter at all), here's what came to my decision: 

 

I was born with a high receded hairline since birth. Only experienced minor recession (more like minor thinning in front area) over my puberty years. I know that due to my age now (21), I am still young to do hair transplants and it is still early. However, knowing that fixing this issue concerns me most at this age rather than any other age later, I still needed a fix.

 

Some things I tried to avoid:

- Most HT clinics in Turkey (we don't even need explanation for that part)

- Aggressively lowering my hairline

- Over-harvesting my donor area

- Not using Finasteride due to rumors of side effects

 

What I did: 

- Consulted with over 20 clinics (some of which were Dr. Koray Erdogan, Cosmedica, HLC Clinic, and a Lebanese clinic) 

- Started with Finasteride already a year ago (3 times a week, just in case) 

- Made sure the Dr. uses microscope, does the procedure himself and use single hair grafts at the front

- Made sure the doctor is ethical with dealing with my donor area for future HT procedures to follow in case I need some later

 

I decided to do the operation at a Lebanese clinic and not a Turkish one, as this one seemed way more ethical and professional. Unlike Turkish clinics, this one DID NOT want to use too many grafts, and was very careful with dealing with my donor area. Most Turkish clinics offered 2600-2800 grafts, some up to 3000. This one said they will limit it to 2000 grafts, and will not attempt to do more until after a few years pass to assess my condition. The operation will be done only on the condition that I use Minoxidil and Finasteride (which I already use). 

 

Hoping this will be the beginning to gradually solving the issue that has been haunting me for 21 years. The clinic said I have around 7000 grafts worth of reserve in my donor area, which is hopefully good news should I need further hair transplants, or if I want to lower my hairline furthermore later on. I will accept the subtle lowering for now, as I know it is for the best at my age. The operation is next week. 

Edited June 1, 2020 by lebaneseguy

[TorontoMan]

You have done a great job breaking this down for yourself and I commend you for being so mature at your age. I don't know enough about doctor's in Lebanon, but I am hoping you have chosen correctly for your needs and I hope it comes out well. This is a marathon not a sprint and it sounds like you're safeguarding for the future. Pretty large donor area as well, which is a positive for you moving forward. Best of luck and post your updates!

[Nounours]

Hey Lebaneseguy,

First of all, I can understand why you want to hair transplant now. It is not easy dealing with hair loss at a young age, I can relate to that. However, given what you have described, am I right in presuming your hair loss is only in the temples? If so, I am sure I will not be the only one on this forum that will advise you not to go ahead with this hair transplant. You are still way too young for one and you hair loss doesn't sound too extensive either. Even if the surgeon is saying they will only use a limited amount of grafts because of your age, and that they will only operate if you are on finasteride and minoxidil, no ethical surgeon would operate on a patient that young. A lot of hair transplant surgeons won't operate on any patient younger than 25.

I'm not sure what you wanted to get out of the replies for this post but I'd advise you to consider cancelling the operation and waiting a few years whilst carrying on with finasteride and minoxidil. Sorry for putting a downer on your post, but I hope you take what I say into consideration. Good luck either way!

Edited June 1, 2020 by Nounours

[lebaneseguy]

33 minutes ago, TorontoMan said:

You have done a great job breaking this down for yourself and I commend you for being so mature at your age. I don't know enough about doctor's in Lebanon, but I am hoping you have chosen correctly for your needs and I hope it comes out well. This is a marathon not a sprint and it sounds like you're safeguarding for the future. Pretty large donor area as well, which is a positive for you moving forward. Best of luck and post your updates!

Thank you, I definitely will. I didn't know about the surgeon I found either until recently. I've been so focused on looking abroad, I forgot to look locally. Turns out this clinic really is good and fits all the criteria I was looking for. Hoping for the best! 

[lebaneseguy]

24 minutes ago, Nounours said:

Hey Lebaneseguy,

First of all, I can understand why you want to hair transplant now. It is not easy dealing with hair loss at a young age, I can relate to that. However, given what you have described, am I right in presuming your hair loss is only in the temples? If so, I am sure I will not be the only one on this forum that will advise you not to go ahead with this hair transplant. You are still way too young for one and you hair loss doesn't sound too extensive either. Even if the surgeon is saying they will only use a limited amount of grafts because of your age, and that they will only operate if you are on finasteride and minoxidil, no ethical surgeon would operate on a patient that young. A lot of hair transplant surgeons won't operate on any patient younger than 25.

I'm not sure what you wanted to get out of the replies for this post but I'd advise you to consider cancelling the operation and waiting a few years whilst carrying on with finasteride and minoxidil. Sorry for putting a downer on your post, but I hope you take what I say into consideration. Good luck either way!

I completely get what you mean. In my case, it's different, however.

 

My hairloss was not in my temples no, my temples were empty since birth. That was the point. My hairline does/did not fit my age ever, the only hairloss I had was minor thinning in the front. However, My forehead and temples were very receded since birth. If I can't fix them now, there's no point caring for them in the future. I'd rather go with a clean shave than wait till later years and do this procedure, cause it defies the whole point of why I want the procedure in the first place. 

Fin & Minox can't bring back hair follicles that were never there in the first place. I've been taking Fin for a year to slow down/halt further hairloss and I'm planning to get back to Minoxidil regularly as soon as next week. 

My surgeon was very hesitant, just like you, but I brought with me old pictures of when I was a child to show and explain what I meant. He understood after he saw the pictures, my hairline was exactly as it is now since birth, with only minor thinning in the front. He aims to strengthen this thinning area and cover the temples instead of lowering the hairline for now, which seems fair imo. 

 

However, I understand what your point of view is, I appreciate it! 

[Gatsby]

lebaneseguy, with the greatest of respect, please cancel your hair transplant surgery!!!!!!! I say this from personal experience and from those of so many others. I had two surgeries (and remember they are surgeries) starting at the age of only 18. What I thought would give me the answer to all of my problems only created a nightmare that continued for the rest of my life. I realise you are 21 and not 18 but it will not be until you are in your mid 20's until it can be established what pattern of baldness your hair will take on. In the world of hair transplants, 'PLANNING FOR THE LIFESPAN IS KEY.' At 21 it's far too early to have any idea of planning surgery to maximize your results over the long hall of life. Even with medications such as minoxidil and finasteride used religiously, you still don't know how long they will hold out for.  I am not anti hair transplant surgery at all. But I beg you to learn from my mistakes and not from your own in years to come (and trust me they will come quickly).

I don't know any of today's top ethical surgeons who would ethically perform surgery on you at your young age of 21 which also worries me. You therefore are even more likely not to get the 'long term' results that you wish for. As Joe Tillman always says you can always have a hair transplant 'tomorrow.' I in no way mean to belittle your efforts but I am 53 and have a lifetime of experience talking to and being involved with people who have regretted having a hair transplant/s because they were too young and/or did not 'plan' for the lifespan of hair loss and surgery. Many should never have been considered a candidate for hair transplant surgery and now still wish that they never had it performed. There are so many people who just wish they never had a hair transplant in the first place. I know these are not the words you are wanting to hear but it's for that reason I seriously urge you to cancel having a hair transplant for now. As my father who was a carpenter once said it's always best to measure twice and cut once. Not the other way around. Roughly up to 30% of work now being done is repair work by the top hair transplant surgeons today. Please don't become one of them. Feel free to pm me or look at my vlog on being 53 and considering having a hair transplant. Even at my age today it is still an issue but I have come to accept my scars and I'm still hopeful for surgery to correct my situation. And this situation started from the position you are exactly in now.

Again I am definitely NOT saying don't have hair transplant. What I am saying though is that for a myriad of reasons that are beyond the scope of a one post reply I would hold off and look and plan for having a hair transplant for the rest of your life. Take care!

[lebaneseguy]

7 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Please don't become one of them. Feel free to pm me or look at my vlog on being 53 and considering having a hair transplant. 

With all due respect, at this point in your life you're living in denial and clinging on to a lost cause. If I'm 50+ in age I'd shave it off and get on with my life. 

 

I'm about to do that too, right now, and give up on ever making my hairline better. But before I do that, I'd like to give a HT a try. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, at least I've tried, and then I'd give it a clean shave or get a MSP.

 

Any of those options are better than my current hairline that I've been born with and hated since forever. It matters to me that I try to fix it at this age, otherwise I really, really don't care about tomorrow. I don't even take tomorrow for granted. 

 

If the HT works, then great! Problem solved and we can gradually keep lowering hairline over the years. If not, big deal! I'll shave it off. Which is what I suggest you do as well in your current age. I can't keep hanging on to "restoring my hair" until I'm 50, by then, I would stop giving a damn and call myself bald and proud. I'd hit the gym instead and make the most out of it. 

 

Sorry for being harsh with the truth, but yeah, harsh truth

[Al - Moderator]

19 hours ago, lebaneseguy said:

With all due respect, at this point in your life you're living in denial and clinging on to a lost cause. If I'm 50+ in age I'd shave it off and get on with my life.

 

If you think that once you reach 50 you will no longer care what you look like then the one living in denial is you. Even the men who shave their head when they get older do it because they care what they look like. Most NW 6 and up guys don't want to look like they are doing an extreme comb  over, so they shave it all. Even the horseshoe fringe hair around the back and sides look is not in style like it was 30 years ago, so most men don't want that either. Trust me, men shave their heads because they care about what they look like. Even if they don't like the shaved head look it might be a better option in their eyes than doing a comb over or having that horseshoe hair look.

 

You also aren't thinking that men who had multiple hair transplants over the years starting when they were much younger have a lot of scars, so shaving their heads isn't exactly going to make them look better than not shaving. I am also 53 years old  just like Gatsby is and I started my hair transplants when I was 22. I have multiple strip scars, so shaving my head, while technically is an option, I will never look like an ordinary guy who simply shaved his head.

 

 

[Taken4Granted]

I considered it at 22 as well. I was distraught about losing my hair (profile pic is from back then). Now I’m 34. As much as I wanted to have my old self back, I saw enough poor SOBs on this forum to know that it was too much of a gamble. The best outcome at this age is that you waste good donor hair before you have any clue what you’re dealing with, and then you end up chasing this thing with multiple surgeries you probably can’t afford with little chance of coming out of it in one piece. The worst case? Oof. I lack the words to describe that life.