Is this diffuse thinning/future hairloss pattern?

[Joocee]

Hi, I've recently had an fue hair transplant, which I shall document soon. 

I had the procedure as I had temple recession, but I believed the hair I did have was still thick and healthy.

At the consultation prior to surgery, the surgeon examined my hair and scalp and said there were no signs of miniturisation yet in the mid scalp or crown. 

However, having had my head shaved for the transplant and seeing my hair as I've not seen it (shaved/short), I've noticed the hair on the top of my head looks different to the sides. 

Does this look like thinning/diffuse and potentially my future Norwood pattern if I don't stabilise medically?

Ive attached pictures taken in the month before the op to show how my hair was thick/no thinning on top and then taken today.

Thanks

[mister_25]

I'm not a expert on this, but I do believe it looks like your going into a Norwood 4 visible pattern. You will likely develop into a Norwood 3 Vertex first due to the difference in your midscalp and crown. Then follow into a Norwood 4.

If this is the case and your final pattern is Norwood 4. You should be fine and get something you are satisfied with if you choose the correct surgeons and harvest/implant appropriately. 

[GoliGoliGoli]

How old are you

[Joocee]

9 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

How old are you

I'm 30 this year. Here is a topdown picture taken last month before the transplant. 

I obviously have temple recession but I didn't think my hair was thinning until I've seen it shaved this week?

[GoliGoliGoli]

I think some people are naturally a little more thin in the crown/vertex area as opposed to the sides. So you may be thinning or you may just naturally have less density in that area. Only a dermatologist could say, and even they may not be able to say conclusively 

[JDEE0]

Its really hard to say from just pictures, but if the doctor was reputable and used the correct magnification, then It’s likely to just be the camera angle.

Your hair is short in the pictures and you’re taking a photo from directly above. Your hair on top is going to be seen from an angle pointing more straight upwards in relation to the hair on the sides from this position, with that hair growing more straight out from the sides of your head obviously. 
 

As a result, from this point of view, the hair on the sides is going to be seen as layered on top of each other a little, with the hair on top analogous to looking down on a forest of trees from above - you can see the gaps a lot more clearly from directly above.

 It’s pretty common I would say for the top to look kinda thin when people shave their heads, to some degree at least. But as I say, if the surgeon who said he can see no notable miniaturisation is reputable and used the proper tools to inform that statement, then it’s unlikely you’re thinning to any major extent. It’s very easy to see even slight miniaturisation under proper magnification and he’d notice. 
 

if he just used his eyes, however, then it means next to nothing and he really had no idea if your hair was thinning or not in the midscalp and crown. 

[Joocee]

2 hours ago, JDEE0 said:

Its really hard to say from just pictures, but if the doctor was reputable and used the correct magnification, then It’s likely to just be the camera angle.

Your hair is short in the pictures and you’re taking a photo from directly above. Your hair on top is going to be seen from an angle pointing more straight upwards in relation to the hair on the sides from this position, with that hair growing more straight out from the sides of your head obviously. 
 

As a result, from this point of view, the hair on the sides is going to be seen as layered on top of each other a little, with the hair on top analogous to looking down on a forest of trees from above - you can see the gaps a lot more clearly from directly above.

 It’s pretty common I would say for the top to look kinda thin when people shave their heads, to some degree at least. But as I say, if the surgeon who said he can see no notable miniaturisation is reputable and used the proper tools to inform that statement, then it’s unlikely you’re thinning to any major extent. It’s very easy to see even slight miniaturisation under proper magnification and he’d notice. 
 

if he just used his eyes, however, then it means next to nothing and he really had no idea if your hair was thinning or not in the midscalp and crown. 

Ok great, thanks for your help. I didn't even think of the hair angles, as all of the hair in that area do stand up straight. 

Getting a little bit paranoid after having the transplant I think. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by Joocee

[Legend007]

Norwood 7 .. possibly by next year…

[StillAlive]

Dude I think that you have super thick hair and nothing to worry about, particularly if you are not seeing any heavy shedding.  Don't drive yourself crazy over this, enjoy your transplant, let it grow and don't rush to any conclusions. 

[Legend007]

well if u want to ask strangers about ur norwood level .. then expect random answers .. but honestly no one here knows .. but looks good to me when grown out ..  but if u already needed a hairtransplant this early , who knows what the future holds .. 

[GoliGoliGoli]

10 hours ago, Legend007 said:

well if u want to ask strangers about ur norwood level .. then expect random answers .. but honestly no one here knows .. but looks good to me when grown out ..  but if u already needed a hairtransplant this early , who knows what the future holds .. 

Then why are you telling him hes going to be NW7 possibly by next year? Stop scaring people when the truth is you have no idea what his hair loss pattern will be 

[Legend007]

It’s a joke durr .. why would u be stupid enough believe he would be a norwood 7 .. 

[GoliGoliGoli]

31 minutes ago, Legend007 said:

It’s a joke durr .. why would u be stupid enough believe he would be a norwood 7 .. 

Maybe try making better jokes

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Jocee,

While photos can be misleading, I’m inclined to agree with you that the hair on top of your scalp looks thinner when shaved then it does on the side of the back of your scout. That most likely means that you have started experiencing maniaization and thinning all over the top of your scalp. Otherwise, the hair in the mid scalp section and Crown would appear as thick when shaved as the hair on the side in the back of your head.

Now, I don’t know whoever evaluated your scalp and if they only sifted through your hair when it was longer when drawing conclusions however, checking for signs of thinning or miniaturization cannot be performed visually without magnification because typically, one has to lose 50% of their hair in a given area before visually seeing any signs of thinning. So you could’ve lost 25 to 35% of your hair in a given area and when styled and brushed normally, you wouldn’t appear like you’ve lost any hair at all in those areas.

Frankly, the above principle is why hair transplant surgery is effective and why we refer to what’s called the “illusion of density” rather than true density.  The illusion of density can be accomplished by transplanting 50% of your original hair density and sometimes even less whereas true density would require a lot more transplanted hair and wouldn’t be possible for most individuals.

getting back to your situation, I’m inclined to believe that you are thinning all over the top of the scalp and that you are likely headed towards I nor would 5 plus without any medical treatment.

no that’s not to say that you can’t re-create a nice, natural head of thick looking hair using the principle of the illusion of density (depending on your donor of course) however, subsequent procedures are going to need to address these areas where I can see the first one really only addressed lowering the hairline on the right and the left side due to some recession. 

The good news is it doesn’t look like your surgeon used a lot of graphs and it looks like you have a pretty healthy looking donor as far as I can tell in the one photo that shows the one side. Again, this is my opinion strictly based on the photos you’ve posted and many of them are a little unclear.

if you are not currently on finasteride or minoxidil, I strongest just considering them which means researching them first, talking to Dr. and then using them if the doctor feels it’s appropriate.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[BaldDude]

1 hour ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Maybe try making better jokes

and get fired...best to leave the job if they're not willing to discipline her

[GoliGoliGoli]

16 minutes ago, BaldBobby said:

and get fired...best to leave the job if they're not willing to discipline her

lol waaat?

[BaldDude]

Just now, GoliGoliGoli said:

lol waaat?

oops wrong thread lol