HLC Hairtransplant NW3 ~3000 Grafts

[Charlii]

Hello everybody

I will have my hair transplanted at the HLC next Wednesday, March 11th, 2021.  I was very lucky to get such a short-term appointment, because an patient of them could not be there for his appointment because he comes from England and British people cannot enter Turkey at the moment.

According to my online offer, I will receive around 3000 grafts.
I will keep you posted as soon as I have the transplant behind me.

Until then, wish me luck that my PCR will hopefully not be positive :D

 

Here are some Key facts about me:

Male

26 Years old

Fine and straight Hairs

No medication

 

When I look back at my photos, my receding hairline has probably been slowly receding since I was 19.

When I turned 21 it started to leak in the front.  After that it was quick and the front third was relatively bald. For more than two years.  I have the feeling, however, that my hair loss has stopped and I hope that it will stay that way because I don't want to take finasteride.

 

Here some Pictures:

[MachoVato]

You'll be in great hands. Best of luck!

If you get a chance, go to Nusr-Et steakhouse. Home of Salt Bae guy. 🤓

[Gatsby]

I strongly suggest that you cancel your surgery. The reason I say this is because unless you have stabilized your hair loss with finasteride you have to assume that you will go to a Norwood 6 eventually. And eventually could be anytime. Looking at your hair wet and the fact that you are only 26 your hair less is quite aggressive. You need to form a managed plan to address your hair loss over the course of your life. Again I really am begging you not to make a decision that you may regret in the future.

[EvansLawrence]

Hey man. I read the other guy's comment. Is not that I would cancel your surgery but I would definetely start with finasteride or dutasteride as soon as posible. Also with minoxidil but that I would use it about 1 or 2 months after the surgery. Yes, for a 26 year old you really look like it will go further. 

Also, I dont know about your money limitation, if there is any, but I doubdt that 3000 grafts, specially with HLC, will be enough to cover. I think 4000 is more realistic.

Anyway, wish you luck and looking forward for your evolution.

Bless

[Charlii]

Hey thanks for your Answers

I was also worried a bit, but when i look to my family members, they have all like the same hairloss pattern. My Gradpas on both side have a similar hairloss.

I was also thinking, lets assume my hairliss will continue, that will affect more my tonsur area.

Since the hair in the front area has already fallen off, it has to be done anyway and maybe in a few years the back part will have to be done.

Thats what i wm thinking, but maybe i am completly wrong 😅

[Yiddo]

I agree with @Gatsby.. for 26 your hair loss is extremely aggressive and the fact that you arnt on any medication to halt your hair loss makes it extremely worrying for you to go ahead with a ht.. 

I know you want your hair back now , I know you will do whatever it takes but going ahead with a ht now , ( we’ve all been there ) will not stand you in good stead by the time you hit your 30’s . 
 

please do not go ahead with the procedure . Wait at the very least untill you are 30.. with you not being on medication the odds are highly stacked that by the time you are 30 everything will be gone on top ... then all you will have is a hairline and nothing behind it . 
obviously this is just my opinion but I implore you not to go ahead with this . 
any clinic willing to operate on a 26 year old is completely unethical in my opinion , and the fact they are even willing to do it is extremely disappointing 

if you do go ahead , please go for the highest hairline you can . 

 

all the best mate 

Edited March 4, 2021 by Yiddo

[deeznuts]

46 minutes ago, Charlii said:

Hey thanks for your Answers

I was also worried a bit, but when i look to my family members, they have all like the same hairloss pattern. My Gradpas on both side have a similar hairloss.

I was also thinking, lets assume my hairliss will continue, that will affect more my tonsur area.

Since the hair in the front area has already fallen off, it has to be done anyway and maybe in a few years the back part will have to be done.

Thats what i wm thinking, but maybe i am completly wrong 😅

With higher norwoods, every graft counts. Prolly best to try and keep as much as possible rather than letting it fall off. 

 

[Huncholini]

4 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I strongly suggest that you cancel your surgery. The reason I say this is because unless you have stabilized your hair loss with finasteride you have to assume that you will go to a Norwood 6 eventually. And eventually could be anytime. Looking at your hair wet and the fact that you are only 26 your hair less is quite aggressive. You need to form a managed plan to address your hair loss over the course of your life. Again I really am begging you not to make a decision that you may regret in the future.

Don't hair surgeons consider this when performing surgery though? They might decide to give him a conservative hair line, or just use 3000 grafts to reinforce the existing thinning areas. IMO having hair is most important in your 20s when men are still in their youth and want to look young, if this gentlemen gets 3000 grafts with a conservative hair line he could end up with a good looking mature hair line for the next few years. What's the point in delaying it until one is 35?

[Gatsby]

31 minutes ago, Huncholini said:

Don't hair surgeons consider this when performing surgery though? They might decide to give him a conservative hair line, or just use 3000 grafts to reinforce the existing thinning areas. IMO having hair is most important in your 20s when men are still in their youth and want to look young, if this gentlemen gets 3000 grafts with a conservative hair line he could end up with a good looking mature hair line for the next few years. What's the point in delaying it until one is 35?

The point isn’t to delay it. The point is to stabilize it so an ethical surgeon will know exactly how many grafts will be needed over the lifespan and how many grafts are actually available? You will find that the subject of Finasteride will come up with any of the best surgeons as well as supply/demand and donor quality. I’m not saying don’t get a hair transplant/s. What I am saying is get it it done right from the beginning so that you don’t end up regretting an unnatural result and having to spend a lot more money ahead in trying to undo what could have been avoided. If the surgeon hasn’t discussed any of this with you then that’s a huge red flag to begin with. There’s no need to rush while you do your research having consultations with several of the top recommend surgeons. 

[BLE123]

I have a slightly different opinion to most on this.

First of all OP, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the likelihood that your loss has magically stopped and will stay that way is very, very low. I don't think guys get to that level of hair loss by 26 and don't go bald, when that will be I don't know but my guess would be in the not too distant future. So let's just assume the worst and that you are destined to be a bald/NW6. The way I see it is that if you're going to get a hair transplant then you're going to start with the hairline anyway, whether that's in your current condition hair-wise or if you wait until you're bald. As long as you don't get some silly low, straight hairline(and I don't think HLC would do this anyway as they are a very reputable clinic) then you should be left with enough grafts in the bank to fill in the rest behind at some point when you need it. Given your obvious hair loss and the fact that this will be your first procedure then they will only extract from the safest part of the donor so you can be reasonably confident that those are lifetime grafts. 

Obviously we then get onto the topic of finasteride. Everyone will have their views on this but even the clinical trials themselves only show an efficacy up to 15 years, now I'm not saying that it's not possible for the drug to continue working past this point and I'm sure some have been on it longer than that and still maintaining well but there are also cases where its effectiveness has diminished with time. Just a few days ago someone posted on here that it halted their hair loss for two years but then it stopped working so clearly that's no guarantee either. 

Anyway, that's just my opinion. As I said, I don't think that having the procedure is out of the question but you need to plan for the worst eventuality so you need to think conservatively when it comes to hairline placement. Good luck.

[Melvin- Admin]

Why no medication? At your age you definitely need to consider medication. 

[Huncholini]

8 hours ago, Gatsby said:

If the surgeon hasn’t discussed any of this with you then that’s a huge red flag to begin with.

I understand this in a general sense, but all he's told you is that he's getting 3000 grafts, the surgeon might well have considered his future pattern and already given him an ethical consultation. Your advice in general is good advice, but going as far as to tell him to cancel his appointment without understanding whether he's had an ethical consultation or whether the surgeon already has a plan for him which considers his age and current pattern seems a little hasty.

Edited March 4, 2021 by Huncholini

[Coady]

Give the lad a beak lads for goodness sake. If he wants to go for surgery let him go it’s his life and his head, He obviously does not want to spend his twenties bald. HLC are not cowboys they wouldn’t work on him unless they knew he would be ok for the future. I’m 25 and I’ve had 2 hair transplants Already best decisions I ever made. Will I be ok in 20 years? maybe not I dunno il jump that hurdle when it comes. My advice is defo get the surgery done but go on finasteride and minoxidil aswell. 

[MachoVato]

2 hours ago, Coady said:

Give the lad a beak lads for goodness sake. If he wants to go for surgery let him go it’s his life and his head, He obviously does not want to spend his twenties bald. HLC are not cowboys they wouldn’t work on him unless they knew he would be ok for the future. I’m 25 and I’ve had 2 hair transplants Already best decisions I ever made. Will I be ok in 20 years? maybe not I dunno il jump that hurdle when it comes. My advice is defo get the surgery done but go on finasteride and minoxidil aswell. 

Completely agree! I hope he goes through with it. HLC will guide him right. In fact, if the patient asks for a "too aggressive" hairline against the doctor's advice, the patient has to sign a document stating so. 

Cheers to new hair!

[champybaby]

18 hours ago, MachoVato said:

You'll be in great hands. Best of luck!

If you get a chance, go to Nusr-Et steakhouse. Home of Salt Bae guy. 🤓

Didnt you say the place wasn't any good? lol

[MachoVato]

1 hour ago, champybaby said:

Didnt you say the place wasn't any good? lol

Haha! No, I said it was overrated. Big time. I'm in Texas, I can get brilliant steaks anywhere. Of course, I bought the $100 gold-leaf-covered steak. So it was more flashy than it was delicious. It was good, but not $100 good.

That said, I'm glad I went and bought a commemorative hoodie. But if I ever go back, I'll buy the burger.

 

[Yiddo]

10 hours ago, Coady said:

Give the lad a beak lads for goodness sake. If he wants to go for surgery let him go it’s his life and his head, He obviously does not want to spend his twenties bald. HLC are not cowboys they wouldn’t work on him unless they knew he would be ok for the future. I’m 25 and I’ve had 2 hair transplants Already best decisions I ever made. Will I be ok in 20 years? maybe not I dunno il jump that hurdle when it comes. My advice is defo get the surgery done but go on finasteride and minoxidil aswell. 

No ones getting on at him , we are all here for the same reason . It’s horrible to lose hair at an early age . You feel your youth has been stolen and you will do anything to get it back as quick as possible . 
But life doesn’t end at 30... he has got his whole life ahead of him , and at his age careful planning is involved . 
 

say he goes ahead , he gets his front third done , and gets a nice hairline and enjoys a couple of years of having the illusion of a full head of hair . Fantastic , he feels great . Confidence is back , all is right with the world . 
 

Then he hits 30 ( or probably even earlier ) the problems start.. he starts to thin , recede even further back behind the hairline ? He is then playing catch up , with a limited amount of grafts , probably around 3000 grafts . Having to play catch up with 3000 grafts with 2/3rds of coverage to make up . Not a nice place to be in . He will be feeling even worse than he does now , all for what ? A couple of years in his late 20’s to feel better . 
 

It makes  no difference to anyone’s life on in here if he goes ahead , it his life , he can do what he wants, it just some of us on here can see a lot of potential problems down the road that can affect him for the rest of his life . He is 26 , not 46.. he has his whole life ahead of him to deal with this . 
The problem with lads around the 25 /26 year old mark , is that they think life ends at 30.. and it’s all about looking good now .. I totally understand , lots of people on this forum have been in that exact situation . But you only have a limited amount of donor , and once that is gone that is it . It needs to be used sparingly , strategically planned so you can enjoy the rest of your life with an illusion of a nice head of hair , not pumping 3-4000 grafts into a front 3rd to enjoy your late 20’s.. 

look I could be wrong , he might never lose another hair on his head, have the op , and enjoy his late 20’s and the rest of his life with a full head of hair , without any problems , and I would love that to happen . Fingers crossed for him. But some of us on here are worried about the problems that lay ahead for him, and are just giving him our opinion from life experience.,

I look forward to seeing what he decides and hope he continues to show us his journey . We are all here to help and support on another , that’s what this place is all about . 👍

 

[champybaby]

Yiddo makes solid points. idk if you have to wait until you're 30, though 26 is about as early as I would recommend getting work done. Click on my link in the signature. At about 26 I was like you; at 30 I lost a hell of a lot more hair. I didn't start meds till I was 30 because I thought they didn't work. I was wrong. Sides are overstated on this forum. Take fin at night before you go to bed and it's outta your head when you wake up next day.

Anyway ... all of this essentially comes down to your crown/vertex. If you end up keeping it for most of your adult life, you will be fine with this move, though you will no doubt need another procedure in 5-8 years, imo. I'm sure it's too late to change your mind, but the right play is taking fin daily and applying minox 2x/day + doing FUT for your first procedure to max out your donor supply.

This advice will make sense when you're 35. I'm sure you're going to look great after this procedure. Good luck.

[Charlii]

Hi everyone

First of all, thanks for your honest opinion! That was also a reason why i posted it before my surgery to got your judgment.

Its really hard to read the comments, but so its life. The truth hurts!

What i for sure know its, that i will not take finasterid. A family member took this and got gynecomastia.  And other side effects.  There is a high risk that I will also have similar side effects. So i will defenitly not use finasterid.

I'm really undecided now what to do.  Is waiting a solution?  If they fall off, a Norwood 6 is usually not treated at once anyway, but mostly in two sessions.  Wouldn't that ultimately lead to the same result if I now do the front third of my head?
 

Yesterday I looked at old family photos again.  When it comes to hair, I definitely come after my father.  until 35 he had exactly the same situation as me.  Since he left us early, I cannot judge how the hair loss would have continued ..

What do you think should i do?

HLC told me, that they will anyway first check my hair situation. Based on this analysis, they will surely tell me what to do.

Again, thanks to all of you!

Greetings

[BLE123]

2 hours ago, Yiddo said:

No ones getting on at him , we are all here for the same reason . It’s horrible to lose hair at an early age . You feel your youth has been stolen and you will do anything to get it back as quick as possible . 
But life doesn’t end at 30... he has got his whole life ahead of him , and at his age careful planning is involved . 
 

say he goes ahead , he gets his front third done , and gets a nice hairline and enjoys a couple of years of having the illusion of a full head of hair . Fantastic , he feels great . Confidence is back , all is right with the world . 
 

Then he hits 30 ( or probably even earlier ) the problems start.. he starts to thin , recede even further back behind the hairline ? He is then playing catch up , with a limited amount of grafts , probably around 3000 grafts . Having to play catch up with 3000 grafts with 2/3rds of coverage to make up . Not a nice place to be in . He will be feeling even worse than he does now , all for what ? A couple of years in his late 20’s to feel better . 
 

It makes  no difference to anyone’s life on in here if he goes ahead , it his life , he can do what he wants, it just some of us on here can see a lot of potential problems down the road that can affect him for the rest of his life . He is 26 , not 46.. he has his whole life ahead of him to deal with this . 
The problem with lads around the 25 /26 year old mark , is that they think life ends at 30.. and it’s all about looking good now .. I totally understand , lots of people on this forum have been in that exact situation . But you only have a limited amount of donor , and once that is gone that is it . It needs to be used sparingly , strategically planned so you can enjoy the rest of your life with an illusion of a nice head of hair , not pumping 3-4000 grafts into a front 3rd to enjoy your late 20’s.. 

look I could be wrong , he might never lose another hair on his head, have the op , and enjoy his late 20’s and the rest of his life with a full head of hair , without any problems , and I would love that to happen . Fingers crossed for him. But some of us on here are worried about the problems that lay ahead for him, and are just giving him our opinion from life experience.,

I look forward to seeing what he decides and hope he continues to show us his journey . We are all here to help and support on another , that’s what this place is all about . 👍

 

I guess it comes down to priorities. Would you rather be thinned out at the front but with the crown intact or a nice hairline and mid-scalp but with a thinning crown. The latter is essentially where the OP will be if he loses the hair behind the transplant(which is likely), personally I would take that over his current situation but then everyone is different. At that point he will still have say 2-3000 grafts left to stagger throughout the back and bulk up the crown. He could also make use of concealers or even SMP to further disguise it. Having a thin crown isn't ideal, especially in your 30s but in 20 years' time it will pretty much be par for the course, he won't look out of the ordinary - unless he were to progress to an NW7 but then you could say that for everyone.

[BLE123]

5 minutes ago, Charlii said:

Hi everyone

First of all, thanks for your honest opinion! That was also a reason why i posted it before my surgery to got your judgment.

Its really hard to read the comments, but so its life. The truth hurts!

What i for sure know its, that i will not take finasterid. A family member took this and got gynecomastia.  And other side effects.  There is a high risk that I will also have similar side effects. So i will defenitly not use finasterid.

I'm really undecided now what to do.  Is waiting a solution?  If they fall off, a Norwood 6 is usually not treated at once anyway, but mostly in two sessions.  Wouldn't that ultimately lead to the same result if I now do the front third of my head?
 

Yesterday I looked at old family photos again.  When it comes to hair, I definitely come after my father.  until 35 he had exactly the same situation as me.  Since he left us early, I cannot judge how the hair loss would have continued ..

What do you think should i do?

HLC told me, that they will anyway first check my hair situation. Based on this analysis, they will surely tell me what to do.

Again, thanks to all of you!

Greetings

Everyone will have their opinion but mine is as follows.

You are clearly not happy with your hair situation and it's not going to get any better, you can wait but I don't see what good that will really do. HLC are a very reputable clinic and will see you right. Go with the highest/most conservative hairline that you feel comfortable with, it doesn't need to be on the top of your head but you can't go all Zayn Malik either. The same goes for the density as well, of course you'd love a super thick and dense hairline but you need to be realistic and compromise a little. You will need another procedure, maybe two in the future so plan for that eventuality.

As I said that's just my opinion, only you can decide what's best for you. Good luck.

[Charlii]

On 3/5/2021 at 10:22 AM, qui bono said:

Currently it looks like OP's pattern is a NW5

I don‘t think i am a NW5.

Seeing the NW Scale, i think i am a NW 3a. My Crown is full of Hair, no Hairloss there.

I have to say, that i have really thin hairs, since i was a child. On the photos with the wet hairs, it looks like maybe i have a low density, but its not really so. I dont have there any change. The Hairloss only affected my front area.

I checked again all my family members that i have. No one has hairloss on the crown. Its clearly to see, that family member from the Mother ans Father side have all maximum the NW4a pattern.

[BDK081522]

You have to realize that family history doesn't signify how you will progress with your own hair loss. Sure, it can be used as a loose guide for planning but in no way is it guaranteed that you will not lose more than your family members. You just can't think like that. With such aggressive loss so early you should just assume NW6 is your pattern and plan accordingly. That doesn't mean don't get a transplant at this age. It means know what to expect and try medication to halt or reverse some of your loss. Also, why do you state that it's a high risk that you will get the same side effects as your family member? There's no science stating this to be true. Just as with hair loss you shouldn't assume your experience will be similar because you're related. Don't let the internet scare you into not at least trying medication. If you can't tolerate it just discontinue use but at least you can say you tried everything. 

Edited March 8, 2021 by BDK081522

[Charlii]

Hello everybody

Despite your advice, I still decided on HT and according to the diagnosis of the HLC clinic, it wasn't a mistake!

As already described before, I am NW 3A that was also confirmed to me.
And not NW5, as some have suggested here.
Your diagnosis is probably because I showed my hair loss with really aggressive pictures.
With wet or oily hair :D.

The following points from the diagnosis gave me the most pleasure:
 - No hair thinning on the back of the head (stable at the moment)
 - About 8-9000 grafts in the donation area (~ 85Grafts cm2)
 - If necessary, enough beard and body hair as a donation

 I think you can do something positive with this information: D

 Now to the HT:

There were more grafts than initially assumed because I wanted the temples and a bit deeper hairline.
The HLC doctors were also satisfied with the line and think that it is still more on the conservative side.
This results in ~ 4600 grafts

When it comes to hairline design, I just have to say one thing:
World class!
All doctors in the clinic are involved in this step and give their opinion. Patient requests are also catered for.

At the moment I only have the first day behind me with about 2200 grafts.
I will document the rest as soon as I get around.

 Greeting
 Charlii

[Britanium]

HLC do some superb work. Yours is looking like excellent work so far. Very refined ! Always like the hairlines they create.

From your starting position this is going to frame your face again and give you back a natural looking hairline.

Look forward to following your journey ! 🙏