Thinking about getting a HT FUE

[ryan-str]

Hi everyone,

 

This is my first post in this forum, I have just signed up.

I am a 26-year-old based in Brussels. Been experiencing alopecia since I was 23-24 and I started Minoxidil (2% at first, then moved on to 5% that I now apply twice daily) around 2016 and finasteride 1mg in mid-2018. My hair loss seems to have slowed down significantly but I feel my frontal area has lost a lot of density over the past 2-3 years. I have started getting PRP injections but I only got my first session last June so too early to say if it is going to help me regrow any hair. In the meantime, I have noticed some thin blond hair popping through, which makes me hope these treatments are somehow helping me maintain my scalp active and productive.

I am now starting to consider getting a HT to lower my hairline and restore density in the top/front of my head. I am wondering if that would damage the new hair that's slowly coming out... I read about FUE and it seems a great option, when performed by an expert. I am not sure if the FUT technique has any advantage, but from what I have read it seems negligible. Some people say the implanted hair stays there forever and isn't going to be affected by alopecia, not sure I believe that (any opinions on this?)...

Ideally, I would like to get thicker denser hair that I can grow long - is that something I can do after a HT or do I risk seeing my implants fall off?

Anyway, considering I am in Brussels I have looked up several doctors who seem to be great at the FUE technique and are not too far, should I need to go see them to follow up. In Belgium, I have seen Dr Bisanga, Lupanzula and Feriduni have a very good reputation. I have also read great things about Dr Reddy in London.

I would like to get your opinion on whether I should go for a FUE HT or wait longer and your views on these doctors - what makes any of them stand out and what are the main differences? From what I have read, they all seem equally competent and use the same methods. If you would like to suggest other doctors, I would be more than glad to look into them as well. I think I will consult 2-3 doctos before making a final choice. I can keep you up-to-date!

Below some pictures of my hair.

Thank you for your opinions!

Cheers!

AUGUST 2020:

OCTOBER 2020:

 

TWO SECONDS AGO:

 

Edited October 10, 2020 by ryan-str

[ryan-str]

I’m sorry if I posted in the wrong section of the forum!

[1978matt]

I think you're probably good to go.

I would choose Bisanga, for his hairlines, and Ferdiuni second.  I'm thinking 2500-3000 grafts.

You don't want to be dropping the hairline at all.  Better to go conservative and have a good hairline with a natural looking recession which works with existing hair.

[jolly]

41 minutes ago, 1978matt said:

I think you're probably good to go.

I would choose Bisanga, for his hairlines, and Ferdiuni second.  I'm thinking 2500-3000 grafts.

You don't want to be dropping the hairline at all.  Better to go conservative and have a good hairline with a natural looking recession which works with existing hair.

I do not agree,  at age 26 your hair loss is not stable in the first place , secondly at this young age it is impossible for any doctor to accurately predict your safe donor area as donor thinning with age is a reality and in FUE that grafts are taken from all over the donor that itself is a risk that the doctor might over shoot the safe area and that hair wont last long. in my opinion wait till you are 35 as by then even your hair loss will establish a pattern which can be easily predicted by the doctor and your donor hair will be much stable .... and avoid messing with your hormones ... life is too precious too play with fire and then repent for a handful of hair so i would avoid propecia  ... anyways in my opinion transplanted hair anyways do not last forever .... i do not buy that theory ... as i believe the Recipient area does have an effect on the transplanted hair and DHT does thin them too  over time .

 

[ryan-str]

Hi guys,

thanks for your feedback! I'd like to address your comments:

1 hour ago, 1978matt said:

I think you're probably good to go.

I would choose Bisanga, for his hairlines, and Ferdiuni second.  I'm thinking 2500-3000 grafts.

You don't want to be dropping the hairline at all.  Better to go conservative and have a good hairline with a natural looking recession which works with existing hair.

Thanks for the recommendation. I see Bisanga is worshipped in this forum and I would like to schedule a consultation with him I'd like to know what he has to say. I really do not like my empty temples, they make it hard to have longer hairstyles. Do you think if I get a lower hairline it will not blend with my native hair?

8 minutes ago, jolly said:

I do not agree,  at age 26 your hair loss is not stable in the first place , secondly at this young age it is impossible for any doctor to accurately predict your safe donor area as donor thinning with age is a reality and in FUE that grafts are taken from all over the donor that itself is a risk that the doctor might over shoot the safe area and that hair wont last long. in my opinion wait till you are 35 as by then even your hair loss will establish a pattern which can be easily predicted by the doctor and your donor hair will be much stable .... and avoid messing with your hormones ... life is too precious too play with fire and then repent for a handful of hair so i would avoid propecia  ... anyways in my opinion transplanted hair anyways do not last forever .... i do not buy that theory ... as i believe the Recipient area does have an effect on the transplanted hair and DHT does thin them too  over time .

 

Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely keep it in mind. I feel I might have to wait a little longer and just wait to see if PRP + my therapy can regrow something and stabilize it before I can go for a HT. I too believe the recipient area has an effect on the implanted hair, that's part of why I want the effect of my therapy to be stable before I undergo such stressful (and pricey) procedure. I wanna hear what Bisanga has to say, I will keep you posted.

As for finasteride, tbh sex is good and I read if I should get any side effects it would be from the start, not two years into the treatment...

 

BTW, what do you think is the difference between BHS in Brussels and Athens (apart from the price being allegedly half as much in Athens...)?

[ShadowMoon]

2 hours ago, ryan-str said:

Hi guys,

 for your feedback! I'd like to address your comments:

Thanks for the recommendation. I see Bisanga is worshipped in this forum and I would like to schedule a consultation with him I'd like to know what he has to say. I really do not like my empty temples, they make it hard to have longer hairstyles. Do you think if I get a lower hairline it will not blend with my

Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely keep it in mind. I feel I might have to wait a little longer and just wait to see if PRP + my therapy can regrow something and stabilize it before I can go for a HT. I too believe the recipient area has an effect on the implanted hair, that's part of why I want the effect of my therapy to be stable before I undergo such stressful (and pricey) procedure. I wanna hear what Bisanga has to say, I will keep you posted.

As for finasteride, tbh sex is good and I read if I should get any side effects it would be from the start, not two years into the treatment...

 

BTW, what do you think is the difference between BHS in Brussels and Athens (apart from the price being allegedly half as much in Athens...

Don't worry about finasteride, it's not messing with your hormones to the degree that your body can't compensate. Women taking birth control is much more significant and that is prescribed to the majority of women in America, at least. 

At 26 I'd say you can get a hair transplant IF you are willing to settle for a mature, conservative hairline. The second thing is you should strongly consider FUT if you want to future-proof your transplant. 

[Curious25]

3 minutes ago, ShadowMoon said:

Don't worry about finasteride, it's not messing with your hormones to the degree that your body can't compensate. Women taking birth control is much more significant and that is prescribed to the majority of women in America, at least. 

At 26 I'd say you can get a hair transplant IF you are willing to settle for a mature, conservative hairline. The second thing is you should strongly consider FUT if you want to future-proof your transplant. 

I’d argue that using women on birth control as reassurance to be a bit out of touch.

In Europe and many other areas/cultures around the world, there is huge apprehension and caution surrounding prescribing this, due to the controversy over the damage it is causing or has caused for hundreds and thousands of females. 

In my own personal experience with ex partners and friends, I have seen adverse side affects range from mood swings, anxiety, depression, low sex drive, high sex drive, acne, hair thinning, irregular periods, bouts of months without periods, PID and fertility problems. 

Like it or not, the US is dominated by a pharma led culture, and what has became the societal norm over there with regards to the perception of medication, it is far from the case in other parts of the world. 
 

$$$$$

[ShadowMoon]

17 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

In my own personal experience with ex partners and friends, I have seen adverse side affects range from mood swings, anxiety, depression, low sex drive, high sex drive, acne, hair thinning, irregular periods, bouts of months without periods, PID and fertility problems

You're mostly describing a normal menstrual cycle there. 

Birth control is also free.

[Curious25]

10 hours ago, ShadowMoon said:

You're mostly describing a normal menstrual cycle there. 

Birth control is also free.

The body’s subject to a fluctuation in hormones during menstruation, of which the temporary hormonal imbalance causes the side effects . . The same principle stands for introducing something that interrupts the body’s regulation of balancing hormones on a daily basis. 
 

I didn’t realise birth control grew on trees in the US. 

[ryan-str]

11 hours ago, ShadowMoon said:

Don't worry about finasteride, it's not messing with your hormones to the degree that your body can't compensate. Women taking birth control is much more significant and that is prescribed to the majority of women in America, at least. 

At 26 I'd say you can get a hair transplant IF you are willing to settle for a mature, conservative hairline. The second thing is you should strongly consider FUT if you want to future-proof your transplant. 

What do you mean by “conservative hairline”? And can you elaborate on why FUT would last for longer? I thought FUE and FUT were equivalent. Thanks!

[jolly]

12 hours ago, ShadowMoon said:

Don't worry about finasteride, it's not messing with your hormones to the degree that your body can't compensate. Women taking birth control is much more significant and that is prescribed to the majority of women in America, at least. 

At 26 I'd say you can get a hair transplant IF you are willing to settle for a mature, conservative hairline. The second thing is you should strongly consider FUT if you want to future-proof your transplant. 

you are out of touch with reality , finasteride disrupts the endocrine system .... as estrogen raises on supression of dht .... do not blindly follow the pharma research .

they have a motive .... watery semen , ED and mood swings , Depression , suicidal thoughts... and most lethal PFS   just do not happen without messing the hormonal balance ,and there is NO smoke without fire ... why do you think so many men complain ? ... who doesn't  want more hair ?  , yet there are so many who dont wanna touch that shit .... WHY? 

 when i started propecia  2 years back i also thought all this is BS and only a small percentage of men have sides , and I was also ware of the nocebo effect ... yet  it took life out of me just after 5  months , but luckily I recovered after 1 year , 

but  I do not want to debate ,as  i know this will get endless . in the end ... its your life ...... its your Problem 

12 hours ago, ShadowMoon said:

it's not messing with your hormones to the degree that your body can't compensate.

the hormonal balance is very delicate even a minor tampering throws the body out of wack ,,,,,  what are you talking of man ? do you have any knowledge on the subject ?

[ShadowMoon]

12 hours ago, ryan-str said:

What do you mean by “conservative hairline”? And can you elaborate on why FUT would last for longer? I thought FUE and FUT were equivalent. Thanks!

You get more grafts if you start with FUT. You're able to get more grafts over the course of your life, that's what I mean by future-proofing it. Nothing is 100% of course, it's just doing everything you can to save yourself from trouble 20 years down the road.

[ShadowMoon]

12 hours ago, Curious25 said:

The body’s subject to a fluctuation in hormones during menstruation, of which the temporary hormonal imbalance causes the side effects . . The same principle stands for introducing something that interrupts the body’s regulation of balancing hormones on a daily basis. 
 

I didn’t realise birth control grew on trees in the US. 

Yes it's provided to any woman who wants it through non-profit organizations, primarily planned parenthood.

[ShadowMoon]

11 hours ago, jolly said:

you are out of touch with reality , finasteride disrupts the endocrine system .... as estrogen raises on supression of dht .... do not blindly follow the pharma research .

they have a motive .... watery semen , ED and mood swings , Depression , suicidal thoughts... and most lethal PFS   just do not happen without messing the hormonal balance ,and there is NO smoke without fire ... why do you think so many men complain ? ... who doesn't  want more hair ?  , yet there are so many who dont wanna touch that shit .... WHY? 

 when i started propecia  2 years back i also thought all this is BS and only a small percentage of men have sides , and I was also ware of the nocebo effect ... yet  it took life out of me just after 5  months , but luckily I recovered after 1 year , 

but  I do not want to debate ,as  i know this will get endless . in the end ... its your life ...... its your Problem 

the hormonal balance is very delicate even a minor tampering throws the body out of wack ,,,,,  what are you talking of man ? do you have any knowledge on the subject ?

Not going to derail this thread to debate the side effect profile of finasteride. There's enough conversation on this site to look it up if you want. Or you can read any of the large studies done on propecia. I've been taking it daily for two years and have had no side effects with great regrowth.

[ryan-str]

6 minutes ago, ShadowMoon said:

You get more grafts if you start with FUT. You're able to get more grafts over the course of your life, that's what I mean by future-proofing it. Nothing is 100% of course, it's just doing everything you can to save yourself from trouble 20 years down the road.

Sorry I still don’t get it. You mean the FUT HT would allow getting more transplants whereas the FUE would not and I would need to go for a second HT to fill my scalp even more? I’ve seen pretty dense results with FUE were posted on this forum, I thought there was no difference.

Also, when you suggest a conservative hairline, what do you mean? Many people use that expression but idk what it refers to

[ryan-str]

10 minutes ago, ShadowMoon said:

Not going to derail this thread to debate the side effect profile of finasteride. There's enough conversation on this site to look it up if you want. Or you can read any of the large studies done on propecia. I've been taking it daily for two years and have had no side effects with great regrowth.

Same for me, no side effects. I have good sex. Not really huge loads, but that’s prob bc I have sex too often and the tank takes time to refill lol When I wait a couple of days my loads are normal so I would say finasteride had no significant effect on me. 

Edited October 12, 2020 by ryan-str

[ryan-str]

UPDATE: I filled out the online form that’s in the BHS Athens website and I heard back. They asked for more pics to see the donor area and I sent the ones here below. I should get their feedback soon. The light in my bathroom is very strong that’s why I took the pics there (and that’s why the scalp is very visible - less shadows than irl)

Edited October 12, 2020 by ryan-str

[ShadowMoon]

1 hour ago, ryan-str said:

UPDATE: I filled out the online form that’s in the BHS Athens website and I heard back. They asked for more pics to see the donor area and I sent the ones here below. I should get their feedback soon. The light in my bathroom is very strong that’s why I took the pics there (and that’s why the scalp is very visible - less shadows than irl)

Here's an idea of an aggressive hairline vs a conservative hairline. That conservative hairline also gives you temple closure, which might even be a little too aggressive considering your age and amount of loss. 

[ryan-str]

Thank you all guys! I reached out to Dr Bisanga and I am going to make an appointment. He estimated I would need around 2400 grafts and he told me about BHR clinic in Athens. He offered a cheaper arrangement in Athens, the main difference consisting in everything being done by other people under his watch (except for making the recipient sites together with another doctor).

Before I go into the consultation I wanted to ask: what's your opinion about BHR in Athens and what real difference could I expect? I am particularly nervous about the extraction sites punching, which as far as I know is the most delicate part and there is a risk of damaging the follicles if not done properly.

 

Thanks for your advice!