Is it worth it to go to hair transplant with Norwood type 6

[Marko]

I contacted few clinics and they said that I'm at Norwood type 6 even 7. I attached photo of my situation. Is it worth it to go to hair transplant at this point? I'm 29 and it seems it's getting worse

[Britanium]

With a Norwood 7 pattern before 30 ? I wouldn’t consider you a good candidate for a hair transplant. Your donor area does not look very strong either. 
You would risk thinning this out even further and either have FUT or FUE scars, maybe both. 
Even your facial/beard doesn’t even look that strong as a donor source. Sorry man, wish I could be more positive. Just trying to give you a honest evaluation. 

[Marko]

I'm looking for honesty

[Britanium]

Rocking a beard and shaven head can work well ! I do believe you could be well suited to that look 👍🏽

[deeznuts]

Thats gotta be retrograde alopecia right?

[SD1984]

That's NW6 not NW7. Bigger problem is your donor. Looks extremely weak plus a touch of retrograde alopecia. I feel for you man. Your best case scenario would be trying to pull off what Jon Cryer or Lebron did. Get as many grafts as you can to rebuild a small hairline transplant with a little bit behind that as well and work fibers and dermatch into it for an illusion of density. There's no way you could ever get any kind of solid looking result otherwise imo 

[Britanium]

Yes it does seem like it’s retrograde alopecia looking at the pics. With a dipping crown area I would say it’s a Norwood 6 heading to 7. Not the best situation at 29. Feel for you 😕 your options are pretty limited. 

[Marko]

5 minutes ago, SD1984 said:

That's NW6 not NW7. Bigger problem is your donor. Looks extremely weak plus a touch of retrograde alopecia. I feel for you man. Your best case scenario would be trying to pull off what Jon Cryer or Lebron did. Get as many grafts as you can to rebuild a small hairline transplant with a little bit behind that as well and work fibers and dermatch into it for an illusion of density. There's no way you could ever get any kind of solid looking result otherwise imo 

Thanks but in that case I'll rather be bald

[Britanium]

Nothing wrong with rocking the bald and beard look. Best part ? It’s free 😌 and pretty liberating actually. 

[BLE123]

You could consider SMP instead.

Edited June 8, 2021 by BLE123

[Marko]

19 minutes ago, BLE123 said:

You could consider SMP instead.

I don't want to tattoo my head

[bald-and-bearded]

2 hours ago, Marko said:

I don't want to tattoo my head

If by tattoo you mean permanent tattoo, you should know that there is something called tricopigmentation which is temporary. I am not vouching for it (I have my own doubts about whether it truly fades away), but you are free to research it if you like.

[Mycroft]

I agree with other posters that a transplant is probably not for you. I think a hair system is a possibility if you decide to go that route, but I'd definitely start on some medication to preserve what you've got left if you want to have that option. It's a marginal investment to get one or two to experiment with and try it out. You may like it, you may not, but you can always go back to the shaved head look.

I'm sorry I don't have better news for you, but I can't imagine any ethical doctor being willing to operate with your particular circumstances.

[gillenator]

I think most ethical doctors would not do a procedure on you based on your donor...and yes I agree with others that you also have retro-alopecia.

Have you considered a quality hair system?

Edited June 8, 2021 by gillenator

[Melvin- Admin]

My advice is keep shaving your head. Your donor is sparse, the area large. I don’t believe you’re a good candidate. Doing nothing is never a bad thing.

[gillenator]

Doing nothing is better than doing something that you will regret.

[sl]

Save your money and the trouble you will have.

You are young and your nape is raising up and your crown dipping down, you have a weak donor and a very large loss area that will expand. Realistically you will not have enough donor to get a full head of hair and you really are best to not go down that route from what I see here and from years of experience in the industry. Do not rush into surgery and for those who recommend it then ask them what your donor safe zone measurements are and what they can decrease to, your densities, your miniaturisation, your hair groups and how much could they really expect to harvest and leaving you a buffer if your lateral humps drop also. And on top of this to make sure you can still shave if you want to...

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but really in your best interest and not to make a buck or two then any self respecting doctor and clinic needs to be ethical here and put your interest and long term as the priority. 

A hair system in my opinion will just put into another straight jacket from experience of dealing with many who use them, so I would say keep it shaved and move on or see if there is a very good SMP clinic who can give you a good stubble look and no hair system maintenance. Meet patients who have had it and see how it looks and how it fades. 

 

All the best but the above advice and from the others here is genuine and good. 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by sl

[Britanium]

9 minutes ago, sl said:

Save your money and the trouble you will have.

You are young and your nape is raising up and your crown dipping down, you have a weak donor and a very large loss area that will expand. Realistically you will not have enough donor to get a full head of hair and you really are best to not go down that route from what I see here and from years of experience in the industry. Do not rush into surgery and for those who recommend it then ask them what your donor safe zone measurements are and what they can decrease to, your densities, your miniaturisation, your hair groups and how much could they really expect to harvest and leaving you a buffer if your lateral humps drop also. And on top of this to make sure you can still shave if you want to...

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but really in your best interest and not to make a buck or two then any self respecting doctor and clinic needs to be ethical here and put your interest and long term as the priority. 

A hair system in my opinion will just put into another straight jacket from experience of dealing with many who use them, so I would say keep it shaved and move on or see if there is a very good SMP clinic who can give you a good stubble look and no hair system maintenance. Meet patients who have had it and see how it looks and how it fades. 

 

All the best but the above advice and from the others here is genuine and good. 

 

 

Excellent advice. From a rep/clinic that’s the very definition of ethical 🙏

[HappyMan2021]

@MarkoJust like others have said, you are not a good candidate. At best, you can get on a 6 month to 1 yr waitlist to see an elite doctor, spend 30k, and look like a balding NW3. And thats in the best case scenario. Whats more likely is a multi-year long journey, multiple surgeries, a sh*t ton of stress, to end up like a NW3 or NW4. IMO no young person should go through the tremendous stress of a HT with the goal of still looking like they are balding. If you were in your 50s or 60s it may be different, but it doesnt make sense for a young person to put themselve thru that torture. 

Looks like you are in decent shape. How tall are you? If you are tall and in shape the bald look might suit you. If your height is not impressive, maybe try the hair system route. It gets a bad rap, but can't knock it till you try it. 

Edited June 9, 2021 by SadMan2021

[Gatsby]

I too wish I had better news. Today their are a few excellent surgeons that do great work for Norwood 6/7 patients (utilizing beard grafts to augment scalp hair). Unfortunately like all hair transplant patients you have to be a candidate. So too not everyone is a candidate for Norwood 6/7 surgery either. However finding this forum first has saved you a lifetime of dealing with both scars and an unnatural result. You could look at other options like a hair system, etc. All the best.

[Marko]

7 hours ago, SadMan2021 said:

@MarkoJust like others have said, you are not a good candidate. At best, you can get on a 6 month to 1 yr waitlist to see an elite doctor, spend 30k, and look like a balding NW3. And thats in the best case scenario. Whats more likely is a multi-year long journey, multiple surgeries, a sh*t ton of stress, to end up like a NW3 or NW4. IMO no young person should go through the tremendous stress of a HT with the goal of still looking like they are balding. If you were in your 50s or 60s it may be different, but it doesnt make sense for a young person to put themselve thru that torture. 

Looks like you are in decent shape. How tall are you? If you are tall and in shape the bald look might suit you. If your height is not impressive, maybe try the hair system route. It gets a bad rap, but can't knock it till you try it. 

I'm 180cm around 80kg

Good thing is that I workout (not much but enough to look decent), so people are usually afraid of me or at least have that stereotypical opinion about bald guys, which is kinda interesting
And also baldness doesn't bother me that much, literally nobody ever mentioned it or tried to joke about it (because well I look little bit harsh), never had any love or business problems because of it

I would like to have some hair if possible, that's all, but I see it's not possible

Edited June 9, 2021 by Marko

[Marko]

9 hours ago, gillenator said:

I think most ethical doctors would not do a procedure on you based on your donor...and yes I agree with others that you also have retro-alopecia.

Have you considered a quality hair system?

Hair system? Like a wig?

[_Hairman_]

Wait 5-10 years until they can clone hair, then you can go for it. Until that happens save your money.

[Doron Harati]

Hi @Marko, 29 years old NW6 with NW7 potential isn't a suitable candidate for HT, would certainly not recommend for s procedure.

Better check SMP option, beware of cheap hair mills that may offer you broken promises.

I hope you're taking this in the good way to save you a lot of trouble, every ethical clinic will say this.

[Marko]

I'm considering SMP, if a clinic mess it up it will be awful and painful. What I realized is that SMPs are really expensive and I couldn't find many in Europe.

Of course with SMP I need to have my head shaved all the time