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Hi everyone,

I am 26 years old and considering a hair transplant (FUT, recommended 2500 grafts by Dr Cooley in Charlotte, NC). I am receding in front hair line and also thinning slighty in crown area, althought the worst is definitely the front third of my head. I wear my hair relatively long so I am able to hide the receding temples pretty well at this point. But when my hair gets wet or is not fixed, it bothers me very much. I wear a hat most days as I am very self-conscious about my hairline appearance.

I have been on Propecia (1mg 3x per week) for about 9 months and rogaine once a day. It has certainly helped stop and thicken slightly. But, of course, this is not going to grow hair in the receeded hairline area. Luckily, I have experienced no side effects. Now, I am considering a transplant.

Does anyone have any experience/advice to offer with regards to the below?

- What is it like to get a transplant in 20s? Pros and cons?

- Should I worry about hair looking patchy in future if I continue to lose hair after transplant?
 

-Will having to stay on Propecia for the future cause issues longterm? 

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing people’s thoughts!

 

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  • Senior Member

I've heard a lot of docs say 25 is probably the minimum age when you would get a hair transplant because 25 is when your final pattern starts to become discernable. So 26 is okay but still probably quite a bit on the young side. 

I haven't got a transplant yet but here's what I've seen from other posters.

At 26, you're still young so you're in a position where your looks matter a bit more. So getting to have (more) hair in your 20s is obviously the big pro.

At 26, you might not be able to drop 10k+ for a hair transplant. You might then find yourself in a position where you're choosing between Turkey or having to make up that money elsewhere. Maybe if you're more established you might drop the cash for a guy like Konior. 

Other posters have mentioned that you'd be chasing hair loss as well with a transplant at 26. For sure you might have to get 2 or 3. But imo that's because at 26, you might get a NW1 hairline from a transplant but at 46, you might get a NW3. So basically it's more of a tradeoff in this regard imo. If you're 46 and you wanted the same hair line I'd imagine it would take the same number of grafts. Someone can correct me on this but that's how I speculate this is like. 

You will most definitely lose hair in the future. So you're gonna be chasing that for sure with more transplants. 

 

As for whether propecia will cause issues in the future... I have no idea. Possibly a controversial subject lol. I've seen some debates about the long term implications of fin/dut.

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I think you can do it (I was 23) but you need to have these things going for you

  • The loss needs to be bad enough justify surgery
  • The loss needs to be stable (meds or otherwise)
  • You choose a good doctor (which you have)
  • You think of the long-term and keep lots of grafts in the bank for the future - meaning your new hairline should be conservative
  • You leave the crown and accept you'll have to come back to it in 10 years

I ticked all these boxes and 9 years later it has worked out really well for me. I'm hoping to get my crown sorted in the next few years and tweak my conservative hairline. I think transplants in your 20s should be to get you through the next decade looking a lot better, rather than trying to solve the entire situation. Maybe a less ethical doctor would have put an extra 1,000 grafts in my hairline and 1,000 in my crown 9 years ago (instead of just 2,000 on the midscalp and hairline) but that's a lot of grafts to use on someone in their early 20s when you don't know how the loss will progress. Luckily for now the meds have held up well so I'm in a good position to add to my existing HT.

Not trying to make this about myself but hopefully you can see what I mean and relate it to you. 

Regarding propecia - just keep the dose and frequency as low as you can get away with. Maybe try topical. If you have got through 9 months without sides then that's a good sign.  

  • Like 1

 2,000 grafts FUT Dr. Feller, July 27th 2012. 23 years old at the time. Excellent result. Need crown sorted eventually but concealer works well for now.

Propecia and minoxidil since 2010. Fine for 8 years - bad sides after switching to Aindeem in 2018.

Switched to topical fin/minox combo from Minoxidil Max in October 2020, along with dermarolling 1x a week.

Wrote a book for newbies called Beating Hair Loss, available on Amazon

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