25M diffuse NW5-6 starting to look into hair transplants needs advice

[hairlosssucksbigtime]

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum. I'm turning 26 years old in a few months and I'm starting to look into hair transplants because my hairloss is killing me.

I started losing hair when I was 20 years old. Back then I had recession in the temples in a NW 2 pattern. Soon my hairloss started to become more diffuse and now I'm a solid NW5-6 diffuse thinner. 

I've been on fin and minoxidil for 4 years now and I plan on continuing. The first year of treatement gave me very good regrowth (thanks to minoxidil I think) but the effects faded and I started losing hair again. 

I've attached pictures of my current situation which is pretty alarming as you can tell. I'm looking for advice on how I can tackle this problem which is simply making me sad and angry.

I'd like to add that I've been buzzing my hair short for a while now (I let my hair grow for the pictures but I usually have them shorter - 1mm or no guard buzz). I don't mind not having hair as in styling it and stuff like that. I just don't want to be bald, ever.... I do think a buzzcut suits me very very well so I'm not aiming at having a huge head of hair ever again. I want to have surgery done and keep my hair short after that (let it grow and see if I can keep it either buzzed or medium-short).

My long term plan is the following:

1) Get an FUE for the front and mid-scalp. This will help me cop with having to look in the mirror and contemplating this balding bull*** every day. I want to get my framed face back ASAP.

2) Get a second surgery done for the crown area and for density touch-ups (I'll use beard hair to get better coverage).

3) When my native hair has fallen completely, I will start buzzng everything again and have SMP done to give the illusion of a full head of hair shaved closely. 

So my plan is to have 2 transplants now so that I can get my youth back for a decade. Finasteride will help me slow down the loss and maintain my native hair as long as possible until I'll have to shave everything again like I'm doing now and have SMP done.

I know my plan sounds sketchy... it kills me to see I'm probably not a good HT candidate (high NW x bad donor?)so please don't write mean stuff I'm really... REALLY not feeling very well.

Thank you kindly 

I hope you all have a great day!

 

 

[Westview]

It looks like you're headed for a NW6 or NW7.  You also look to have bad retrograde alopecia.

Your sidebanks look pretty good though.

I think a front scalp restoration is still possible, but you're gonna have to forget about the crown because you have weak beard hair.

Or they might be able to do the crown as well if they take almost all your beard hair, and if you have strong chest hair.

Just my opinion though, I could be wrong

[Britanium]

Hi

Welcome to the forum 👋 have you seen the forums recommended list?

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN-MOB
 

Definitely worth getting some online consultations done. I’m in 2 minds about your donor area... be interesting to see what a Dr would say. 
Maybe @DrTBarghouthiwould he kind enough to comment. If your a good candidate for a ht then I would concentrate on the frontal third. And maybe SMP could feature in your plans as you prefer the buzz cut. Also I would say FUE over FUT for the same reason. 

[Britanium]

@hairlosssucksbigtimewhat country/area are you in ? Thanks 🙏 

@hairtheredoes the best SMP I have seen ! If you was to consider looking in to SMP then you should see what can be achieved. 

Edited March 21, 2021 by JohnAC71

[DrTBarghouthi]

Thanks for the mention @JohnAC71

@qui bono Don't give up. I agree your donor isn't optimal, but I dont think you have no chance of HT at all. I think if priorities are set right and realistically and you stick to your maintenance, you may be able to get a good framing and added density to your frontal and MS. I wouldn't give up, but I would encourage to wait a bit longer and maybe get the HT in few years if things are relatively stable by then. It would be ideal to see how much hair is thinning in your donor. It is not clear from the photos. 

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

Thanks for the mention @JohnAC71

@qui bono Don't give up. I agree your donor isn't optimal, but I dont think you have no chance of HT at all. I think if priorities are set right and realistically and you stick to your maintenance, you may be able to get a good framing and added density to your frontal and MS. I wouldn't give up, but I would encourage to wait a bit longer and maybe get the HT in few years if things are relatively stable by then. It would be ideal to see how much hair is thinning in your donor. It is not clear from the photos. 

Thanks for responding @DrTBarghouthiits actually @hairlosssucksbigtimethats the OP. Not qui Bono 

[hairlosssucksbigtime]

I just hope SMP doesn't look fake... i'd love to have a framed face again. Sure, hair would be better... but i do think i look good without it... its just the horseshoe pattern.. ugh i hate it

[Westview]

If you do have the dreaded DUPA then you're only chance is either a toupee or  SMP.

What you need to do is grow your hair a few weeks longer on the back and sides so we can give you a better answer

[DrTBarghouthi]

7 hours ago, hairlosssucksbigtime said:

I just hope SMP doesn't look fake... i'd love to have a framed face again. Sure, hair would be better... but i do think i look good without it... its just the horseshoe pattern.. ugh i hate it

Yes grow it a bit and repost photos of the donor. You might be able to have the frontal part framed well and then adding other options like SMP with it. 

[hairthere]

Thanks for the shout out John! 

Hairlosssucks...., Hair transplant scars are PERMANENT. Let me say that again. Hair transplant scars are PERMANENT. SMP, even really badly done SMP, is reversible. I don't mean to be overly negative on the surgery. I've had several successful HTs myself. But you will not be able to shave your hair close anymore (And yes despite what some HT clinics will lead you to believe, even FUE causes scarring and they are visible when you shave). I also concur with the others on this thread who noted that after looking at your donor conditions you are a poor candidate. I'm guessing most top HT surgeons will agree. 

Edited March 23, 2021 by hairthere

[Melvin- Admin]

Have you tried finasteride? Take a look at my hair transplant journey I was similar at age 29. Grow your donor and take new pictures. Where do you live?

[hairthere]

2 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Have you tried finasteride? Take a look at my hair transplant journey I was similar at age 29. Grow your donor and take new pictures. Where do you live?

He's been on both Finasteride and Minoxidyl for 4 years. At 26 that's a very aggressive Norwood pattern especially since he's been on the meds. His donor shows signs of thinning and retrograde alopecia. I think surgery would be a disaster in this young man's case. 

[Westview]

@hairlosssucksbigtime

Do you cut the nape of your scalp with the same clipper length, or do you cut it shorter??