Recommendations for surgeons in my specific case

[heldy]

Little backstory,

Just to get the basics out of the way. I am 25 and have been on finasteride/minoxidil for 2+ years. My father's side of hairloss is that himself, his brother and his father are all a Norwood 3 with relatively dense hair but pronounced widow's peaks. However, I look much more like my mother and her brother's have little to no hairloss. Her father died young, so I am not sure about him. My hairline has always been in this widow's peak form even since grade school. I noticed at about 21-22 that I had receded a bit further in the temple region and my temporal peaks had thinned as well. Immediately, got on finasteride and minoxidil, and while no regrowth has occurred, my hairloss has completely stabilized.

I am looking for a FUT or FUE procedure of im guessing around 1500-2000 grafts to restore my hairline not quite to a Norwood 0, but less than a Norwood 1. I realize that this community warns heavily against aggressive hairlines at a young age, but I have no reason to suspect that my hair will recede much further, and in any case, my donor area is as thick as can be and i would be willing to undergo procedures in the future if necessary. Some people will say that a transplant is not necessary or they would love to my hair as is. I understand this, however, this is what I want and in my case, a lower hairline frames my long face much better and is what I want.

I've included pictures below.

This forum has plenty of recommended surgeons (Cooley, Wesley, and Rahal, namely) that do the kind of hairline work I am looking for. I have submitted applications to all 3, but was wondering if anyone here could suggest other surgeons to look into (US area, preferably midwest but not necessary) that match their quality of work, but are not quite in the $10,000 price range. I do not want to sacrifice quality. Other options I considered were Nader and the Cortez brothers, but neither had densely packed hairline results that I was looking for. I should say that FUT is my preference considering I would prefer not to shave my head as I am in sales and am constantly meeting people face to face. Although, should the right surgeon require it, I am not totally opposed. 

TLDR, looking for surgeons in US (midwest preferred) that can give high quality, densely packed hairline results. Hoping to achieve this for $7,000 or less, but if this is not feasible, will just bite the bullet and go with Jerry Cooley or Carlos Wesley for the $10,000-$12,000 quotes.

[Melvin- Admin]

25 is young, what are your goals?

[Goat]

2 hours ago, heldy said:

I am 25 and have been on finasteride/minoxidil for 2+ years.

Has your hair loss stabilized since you're taking finasteride?

[deeznuts]

2 hours ago, heldy said:

to restore my hairline not quite to a Norwood 0, but less than a Norwood 1.

 

 

What does that mean?

Norwood 0 = juvenile hair line. It's rounded and even looks like something women would have. No doctor will give this to you. NW1 is a straight line

[Melvin- Admin]

4 hours ago, deeznuts said:

What does that mean?

Norwood 0 = juvenile hair line. It's rounded and even looks like something women would have. No doctor will give this to you. NW1 is a straight line

Norwood 0 at 25, BAD idea!

[Britanium]

Yes you do have excellent hair, what I see is a mature hairline. The issue would be even do you get a high density transplant it’s never going to match the density of your native hair. We all have different goals, if you really want to go ahead then just realise that no transplant is guaranteed, and it’s possible it won’t give you the result your looking for. But you are making good choices In terms of Drs/Clinics. 

[heldy]

12 hours ago, deeznuts said:

What does that mean?

Norwood 0 = juvenile hair line. It's rounded and even looks like something women would have. No doctor will give this to you. NW1 is a straight line

perhaps, I misread the chart. I would like the ever slightest bit of temporal recession. Not quite a straight line, but close.

[heldy]

7 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Norwood 0 at 25, BAD idea!

i think i misremembered the Norwood chart. I do not want it to be juvenile, and am fine with even slight temporal recession. I simply just want to give my temporal peaks density and fill in some of the area where it has receded. Also, these pictures make it look a bit fuller than it actually is in that area. 

[heldy]

14 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

25 is young, what are your goals?

I plan on taking finasteride for life, so ideally, I would like a smaller transplant as of now to bring my peaks down to allow me to rock shorter hairstyle or even a buzzcut and have it look good. 

[heldy]

12 hours ago, Goat said:

Has your hair loss stabilized since you're taking finasteride?

Yes, there has been no further recession, but no regrowth

[heldy]

7 hours ago, JC71 said:

Yes you do have excellent hair, what I see is a mature hairline. The issue would be even do you get a high density transplant it’s never going to match the density of your native hair. We all have different goals, if you really want to go ahead then just realise that no transplant is guaranteed, and it’s possible it won’t give you the result your looking for. But you are making good choices In terms of Drs/Clinics. 

Im fully aware of that possibility. I am simply looking for other doctors that have excellent hairline results, but not quite as expensive as the biggest name guys. I appreciate your comment and concerns though

[Britanium]

Just now, heldy said:

Im fully aware of that possibility. I am simply looking for other doctors that have excellent hairline results, but not quite as expensive as the biggest name guys. I appreciate your comment and concerns though

Dr Freitas is perhaps doing some of the best hairlines anywhere worldwide. Some really good Euro options but his stand out. 

[George Clooney]

Maybe give it a few years on meds to see how you evolve, you have some recession at a young age. If it progresses despite medication you might end up with a complicated patch work of transplants with underlying recession.