What age would you say your hair loss was the worst?

[AlexMeister21]

My hairline started receding when I was like 15 or 16 and so I started doing combovers after that. It became more difficult for me to comb my hair over when I reached 26 or 27, and this is also when I started thinning on my crown.

[HairEnthusiast101]

1 hour ago, AlexMeister21 said:

My hairline started receding when I was like 15 or 16 and so I started doing combovers after that. It became more difficult for me to comb my hair over when I reached 26 or 27, and this is also when I started thinning on my crown.

Interesting. So hairline pretty much stayed the same since youth in terms of aggressiveness but then at 26 crown started to go? Where you ever in meds in that time?

[HairEnthusiast101]

1 hour ago, NARMAK said:

I'm going to say mine wasn't classed as very aggressive per se but definitely a more unique sort of hair loss. My temple points had almost entirely eroded by my late teens and were going further back than the sideburns that even people who have lost their temple points seem to keep. The hair became weak and thinner but somehow always seemed to hold on for 10% years giving some coverage. 

I guess that's another reason why the HT journey has been harder for me so far because the temple points are there but they aren't like the rest of the hair just yet. I'm hoping this continues to improve over the next 8 months and then they truly look like what i hoped. 

The other somewhat unique thing about the hair loss was despite the aggressive temple point loss, my hairline was generally still solid at the front for quite a while. I think in my mid 20s to early 30s is when it receded more and i wish i had started on medication a lot earlier to prevent that. Probably would have saved me 1k grafts in terms of where they were used. 

Following your journey it is for sure an interesting one but since you went to Dr Das I’m certain your results will continue to thicken and in 6-8 months I am very eager to see your results. They are going to be incredible. But yes temple points going first is different than the norm 

[AlexMeister21]

11 hours ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

Interesting. So hairline pretty much stayed the same since youth in terms of aggressiveness but then at 26 crown started to go? Where you ever in meds in that time?

After puberty, my hairline regressed and I had a five-head, even though I wasn't born with a high hairline. After that, the hairline receded at the temples bit by bit.

I was able to do combovers decently until 26 or 27, but the quality of my hair wasn't as good to cover the areas of scalp and so it became more difficult. Ironically, I still have to do combovers to cover up the poor work done by my surgeon.

I never had issues with the crown until after I tested going vegan. A couple of weeks of being vegan, I had some intense itching at the crown, and when I checked my crown in the mirror, I noticed some thinning. I would check my crown from time to time before I tried a vegan diet and didn't notice any thinning prior to it.

I only started taking medication last year, after I got my first transplant.

[Al - Moderator]

Would you like the complete history?

 

13, 14 (1980, 1981) - Started losing hair around this time

15 (1982)- Noticeable thinning crown. Front half still has no noticeable thinning.

16 (1983) - After being teased about my bald crown I started combing my hair back to try to cover my crown

17 (1984) - Temples receding and loss in the midscalp, so I have to start doing a combover to cover it which makes the crown more visible.

18 (1985) - Diffuse NW 6 pattern clearly visible, but I'd say I was NW 5 as the sides went up high with still some midscalp hair (somewhat of a thinning midscalp hair bridge). I'm keeping my hair long and doing a combover to attempt to look like I still have a lot of hair. I'm able to get the front half looking OK, but the midscalp to crown is very thin.

19 (1986) - Combover is now obvious from all sides as the thinning increases. However I have a small frontal center area that is still somewhat thick which really helps the combover look from the front.  The crown has a completely bald spot about 2 inches in diameter with the rest of the top of my head at NW5 due to a bit thicker sides going high up, but showing a NW 6 pattern.

20 (1987) - NW 6 area widening. Not enough hair in the part line to get any kind of coverage even with a combover. Temples have receded too far back so that I don't have a hairline anymore either.

21 (1988) - hairpiece

22 (1989) - Consultation for a hair transplant. I was promised that in 1 year I'd have a full head of hair just as thick as the hairpiece and never have to worry about losing hair ever again because once they transplant the hair it grows forever. When I questioned him about it lasting forever and what happens to the sides and back because I have relatives who don't have any hair on the sides he said I can pay extra for a guarantee that there will be no scars, they would double the amount of hair I had on the sides and back, and I can never run out of donor hair. Of course I paid extra for the guarantee. I was very excited to have a full head of real hair growing.

22 to 28 (1989 to 1995)- Multiple hair transplants. The sides continue to widen and the crown dips down. I am at NW 7 by the end of this time. Hair transplants can't keep up with the continued loss as each transplant we end up adding hair around the sides and back to fill in the additional loss rather than getting any thickness/density anywhere. This also caused the hair line to never be completed. (I never got the hair line drawn on me. They started towards the midscalp and were supposed to work their way in both directions, front and back in the later procedures)

28 to 31 (1995 to 1998) - Very depleted donor with many scars visible and unable to cover. Unable to do any further hair transplants. Entire bald area still widening and donor area starting to thin.

31 (1998) - Start taking Finasteride.

32 to 35 (1999 to 2002) - Hair loss seems to have stopped or at least slowed down and possibly improved slightly in some areas. Probably a bit of both the Finasteride and a natural slowdown in hair loss.

36 to 40 (2003 to 2007) - Hair loss gets aggressive again even while still on Finasteride.

41  (2008) - Added using a laser comb along with continued Finasteride use to try to stop the hair loss again. Hair felt better and softer and to my surprise I grew back a bit of hair around some FUT scars on the back of my head where hair hadn't grown back after the FUTs, basically making a few scars thinner. I didn't notice any other hair growth, but possibly a slowdown or stoppage of loss for a little while.

42  (2009) - Hair loss continues on again, so any help the laser comb had wasn't doing anything anymore, except I think I kept a bit of hair on a few FUT scars in the back. After 11 years of Finasteride use my body hair, most notable on my chest, has thinned out a lot. At this time, body hair transplanted to the scalp is being tried by a couple of clinics, so I decide to stop Finasteride to try to regrow body hair so that I can get some body hair transplants done in the future.

43 to 47 (2010 to 2014) - Sides and back continue to thin. Bald area still increasing in size. The bald area has dipped down around my entire head past some of the FUT scars. Retrograde balding has started and I'm losing hair past the lower FUT scars. By 2014 probably half of my transplanted hair has fallen out.

47 (2014) - First test of BHT using chest hair transplanted to my part line. 610 grafts with Dr Dorin at True & Dorin.

48 to 54 (2015 to 2021) - Had 8 repair sessions (including the one above) using only beard and chest hair. Approximately 6000 grafts total split roughly evenly between chest and beard. Grafts are mixed, so there is not any area with only beard grafts or only chest grafts. I requested this, so that it would be a more even look and texture throughout. Native scalp hair on the sides and back continues to thin as well as any originally transplanted hair which makes the body hair grafts not look like it's giving much improvement (gaining body grafts and losing old grafts)

55  (2022) - Today. Retrograde baldness is so bad that I really need to get some BHT done along the bottom because I hardly have any hair past the middle of my ears in the back and I can't hide the FUT scars in the lower back anymore. This is just going to use up more BHT without getting any more density throughout the rest of the area. The sides are still widening as well and we have already done a lot of grafts over several sessions to chase that hair loss, again just trying to maintain rather than getting any improvements. I'm hopefully going back for another session soon.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by BeHappy

[Z--]

50 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

Would you like the complete history?

 

13, 14 (1980, 1981) - Started losing hair around this time

15 (1982)- Noticeable thinning crown. Front half still has no noticeable thinning.

16 (1983) - After being teased about my bald crown I started combing my hair back to try to cover my crown

17 (1984) - Temples receding and loss in the midscalp, so I have to start doing a combover to cover it which makes the crown more visible.

18 (1985) - Diffuse NW 6 pattern clearly visible, but I'd say I was NW 5 as the sides went up high with still some midscalp hair (somewhat of a thinning midscalp hair bridge). I'm keeping my hair long and doing a combover to attempt to look like I still have a lot of hair. I'm able to get the front half looking OK, but the midscalp to crown is very thin.

19 (1986) - Combover is now obvious from all sides as the thinning increases. However I have a small frontal center area that is still somewhat thick which really helps the combover look from the front.  The crown has a completely bald spot about 2 inches in diameter with the rest of the top of my head at NW5 due to a bit thicker sides going high up, but showing a NW 6 pattern.

20 (1987) - NW 6 area widening. Not enough hair in the part line to get any kind of coverage even with a combover. Temples have receded too far back so that I don't have a hairline anymore either.

21 (1988) - hairpiece

22 (1989) - Consultation for a hair transplant. I was promised that in 1 year I'd have a full head of hair just as thick as the hairpiece and never have to worry about losing hair ever again because once they transplant the hair it grows forever. When I questioned him about it lasting forever and what happens to the sides and back because I have relatives who don't have any hair on the sides he said I can pay extra for a guarantee that there will be no scars, they would double the amount of hair I had on the sides and back, and I can never run out of donor hair. Of course I paid extra for the guarantee. I was very excited to have a full head of real hair growing.

22 to 28 (1989 to 1995)- Multiple hair transplants. The sides continue to widen and the crown dips down. I am at NW 7 by the end of this time. Hair transplants can't keep up with the continued loss as each transplant we end up adding hair around the sides and back to fill in the additional loss rather than getting any thickness/density anywhere. This also caused the hair line to never be completed. (I never got the hair line drawn on me. They started towards the midscalp and were supposed to work their way in both directions, front and back in the later procedures)

28 to 31 (1995 to 1998) - Very depleted donor with many scars visible and unable to cover. Unable to do any further hair transplants. Entire bald area still widening and donor area starting to thin.

31 (1998) - Start taking Finasteride.

32 to 35 (1999 to 2002) - Hair loss seems to have stopped or at least slowed down and possibly improved slightly in some areas. Probably a bit of both the Finasteride and a natural slowdown in hair loss.

36 to 40 (2003 to 2007) - Hair loss gets aggressive again even while still on Finasteride.

41  (2008) - Added using a laser comb along with continued Finasteride use to try to stop the hair loss again. Hair felt better and softer and to my surprise I grew back a bit of hair around some FUT scars on the back of my head where hair hadn't grown back after the FUTs, basically making a few scars thinner. I didn't notice any other hair growth, but possibly a slowdown or stoppage of loss for a little while.

42  (2009) - Hair loss continues on again, so any help the laser comb had wasn't doing anything anymore, except I think I kept a bit of hair on a few FUT scars in the back. After 11 years of Finasteride use my body hair, most notable on my chest, has thinned out a lot. At this time, body hair transplanted to the scalp is being tried by a couple of clinics, so I decide to stop Finasteride to try to regrow body hair so that I can get some body hair transplants done in the future.

43 to 47 (2010 to 2014) - Sides and back continue to thin. Bald area still increasing in size. The bald area has dipped down around my entire head past some of the FUT scars. Retrograde balding has started and I'm losing hair past the lower FUT scars. By 2014 probably half of my transplanted hair has fallen out.

47 (2014) - First test of BHT using chest hair transplanted to my part line. 610 grafts with Dr Dorin at True & Dorin.

48 to 54 (2015 to 2021) - Had 8 repair sessions (including the one above) using only beard and chest hair. Approximately 6000 grafts total split roughly evenly between chest and beard. Grafts are mixed, so there is not any area with only beard grafts or only chest grafts. I requested this, so that it would be a more even look and texture throughout. Native scalp hair on the sides and back continues to thin as well as any originally transplanted hair which makes the body hair grafts not look like it's giving much improvement (gaining body grafts and losing old grafts)

55  (2022) - Today. Retrograde baldness is so bad that I really need to get some BHT done along the bottom because I hardly have any hair past the middle of my ears in the back and I can't hide the FUT scars in the lower back anymore. This is just going to use up more BHT without getting any more density throughout the rest of the area. The sides are still widening as well and we have already done a lot of grafts over several sessions to chase that hair loss, again just trying to maintain rather than getting any improvements. I'm hopefully going back for another session soon.

 

 

Damn. This was a really tough read. Sorry you're going through this mess... The hair transplant industry is truly awful. Good luck with future surgeries.

[Antlor]

That's really rough, BeHappy. That is quite a detailed chronology. Have you considered SMP? Quick fix and you don't have to be on the hair transplant journey anymore.

If you buzz your hair everyday or so and with SMP, it can look good. Some people are content with SMP.

[Vann]

1 hour ago, BeHappy said:

Would you like the complete history?

 

13, 14 (1980, 1981) - Started losing hair around this time

15 (1982)- Noticeable thinning crown. Front half still has no noticeable thinning.

16 (1983) - After being teased about my bald crown I started combing my hair back to try to cover my crown

17 (1984) - Temples receding and loss in the midscalp, so I have to start doing a combover to cover it which makes the crown more visible.

18 (1985) - Diffuse NW 6 pattern clearly visible, but I'd say I was NW 5 as the sides went up high with still some midscalp hair (somewhat of a thinning midscalp hair bridge). I'm keeping my hair long and doing a combover to attempt to look like I still have a lot of hair. I'm able to get the front half looking OK, but the midscalp to crown is very thin.

19 (1986) - Combover is now obvious from all sides as the thinning increases. However I have a small frontal center area that is still somewhat thick which really helps the combover look from the front.  The crown has a completely bald spot about 2 inches in diameter with the rest of the top of my head at NW5 due to a bit thicker sides going high up, but showing a NW 6 pattern.

20 (1987) - NW 6 area widening. Not enough hair in the part line to get any kind of coverage even with a combover. Temples have receded too far back so that I don't have a hairline anymore either.

21 (1988) - hairpiece

22 (1989) - Consultation for a hair transplant. I was promised that in 1 year I'd have a full head of hair just as thick as the hairpiece and never have to worry about losing hair ever again because once they transplant the hair it grows forever. When I questioned him about it lasting forever and what happens to the sides and back because I have relatives who don't have any hair on the sides he said I can pay extra for a guarantee that there will be no scars, they would double the amount of hair I had on the sides and back, and I can never run out of donor hair. Of course I paid extra for the guarantee. I was very excited to have a full head of real hair growing.

22 to 28 (1989 to 1995)- Multiple hair transplants. The sides continue to widen and the crown dips down. I am at NW 7 by the end of this time. Hair transplants can't keep up with the continued loss as each transplant we end up adding hair around the sides and back to fill in the additional loss rather than getting any thickness/density anywhere. This also caused the hair line to never be completed. (I never got the hair line drawn on me. They started towards the midscalp and were supposed to work their way in both directions, front and back in the later procedures)

28 to 31 (1995 to 1998) - Very depleted donor with many scars visible and unable to cover. Unable to do any further hair transplants. Entire bald area still widening and donor area starting to thin.

31 (1998) - Start taking Finasteride.

32 to 35 (1999 to 2002) - Hair loss seems to have stopped or at least slowed down and possibly improved slightly in some areas. Probably a bit of both the Finasteride and a natural slowdown in hair loss.

36 to 40 (2003 to 2007) - Hair loss gets aggressive again even while still on Finasteride.

41  (2008) - Added using a laser comb along with continued Finasteride use to try to stop the hair loss again. Hair felt better and softer and to my surprise I grew back a bit of hair around some FUT scars on the back of my head where hair hadn't grown back after the FUTs, basically making a few scars thinner. I didn't notice any other hair growth, but possibly a slowdown or stoppage of loss for a little while.

42  (2009) - Hair loss continues on again, so any help the laser comb had wasn't doing anything anymore, except I think I kept a bit of hair on a few FUT scars in the back. After 11 years of Finasteride use my body hair, most notable on my chest, has thinned out a lot. At this time, body hair transplanted to the scalp is being tried by a couple of clinics, so I decide to stop Finasteride to try to regrow body hair so that I can get some body hair transplants done in the future.

43 to 47 (2010 to 2014) - Sides and back continue to thin. Bald area still increasing in size. The bald area has dipped down around my entire head past some of the FUT scars. Retrograde balding has started and I'm losing hair past the lower FUT scars. By 2014 probably half of my transplanted hair has fallen out.

47 (2014) - First test of BHT using chest hair transplanted to my part line. 610 grafts with Dr Dorin at True & Dorin.

48 to 54 (2015 to 2021) - Had 8 repair sessions (including the one above) using only beard and chest hair. Approximately 6000 grafts total split roughly evenly between chest and beard. Grafts are mixed, so there is not any area with only beard grafts or only chest grafts. I requested this, so that it would be a more even look and texture throughout. Native scalp hair on the sides and back continues to thin as well as any originally transplanted hair which makes the body hair grafts not look like it's giving much improvement (gaining body grafts and losing old grafts)

55  (2022) - Today. Retrograde baldness is so bad that I really need to get some BHT done along the bottom because I hardly have any hair past the middle of my ears in the back and I can't hide the FUT scars in the lower back anymore. This is just going to use up more BHT without getting any more density throughout the rest of the area. The sides are still widening as well and we have already done a lot of grafts over several sessions to chase that hair loss, again just trying to maintain rather than getting any improvements. I'm hopefully going back for another session soon.

 

 

Stay strong man. 

[pkipling]

Mid-late 20s for me. It was primarily in the hairline, which had really started receding by the time I was 28 or so - and the panic immediately set in. Lol. Fortunately for me, my hair loss seemed to stabilize soon after that and I haven't had any noticeable further loss since getting my hairline restored. I'm 38 now and things still seem to be in great shape! 

[NARMAK]

19 hours ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

Following your journey it is for sure an interesting one but since you went to Dr Das I’m certain your results will continue to thicken and in 6-8 months I am very eager to see your results. They are going to be incredible. But yes temple points going first is different than the norm 

Thanks and i can only hope that results continue to come in and improve over the next 8 months as i'm now pretty much 4 months post-op and will be posting an update tomorrow. 

[Vann]

8 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Thanks and i can only hope that results continue to come in and improve over the next 8 months as i'm now pretty much 4 months post-op and will be posting an update tomorrow. 

wow time flies post ugly ducking phase lol. Your new hairs are now becoming young adults.

[deeznuts]

Probably 28 for me. I was killing myself with wfh and got no sleep. I am also extremely not neurotic but definitely f'ed myself over a bit with how i neglected my health

I didn't really think much of my hair loss since at 27 i had receded temples but thought that was totally normal

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by deeznuts

[HHH]

9 hours ago, BeHappy said:

 

Christ thats one hell of a journey bud, hair loss is tough,  no getting around that.

Have you looked into SMP as a few others have suggested? Or go back to wearing a hair system?

[Gatsby]

My hair loss was probably the worst at around age 40. However I was wearing a hair piece at the time. On a slightly different topic the worst hair loss was for 'me' was at 17. This is when I first noticed it in the mirror of my bedroom. I can still remember that day! That day was the worst hair loss has been for me (despite what lied ahead of me for many years to come). I'm sure many people here can relate to this moment.

[HairEnthusiast101]

2 hours ago, Gatsby said:

My hair loss was probably the worst at around age 40. However I was wearing a hair piece at the time. On a slightly different topic the worst hair loss was for 'me' was at 17. This is when I first noticed it in the mirror of my bedroom. I can still remember that day! That day was the worst hair loss has been for me (despite what lied ahead of me for many years to come). I'm sure many people here can relate to this moment.

Very much so Gatsby and one of the best journeys we have also seen in this industry comes from you. Truly an inspiration to young men trying to navigate their way in the hair restoration industry. 

[Gatsby]

24 minutes ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

Very much so Gatsby and one of the best journeys we have also seen in this industry comes from you. Truly an inspiration to young men trying to navigate their way in the hair restoration industry. 

Many thanks for the kind words @JoDimaggio22. 🙏

[NickJ]

My hair-loss started early (around 18) but was very progressive I would say the worse was between 23 & 26

[HairEnthusiast101]

6 hours ago, NickJ said:

My hair-loss started early (around 18) but was very progressive I would say the worse was between 23 & 26

Where you on fin at all during that time?

[NickJ]

6 minutes ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

Where you on fin at all during that time?

Nope since I started fin it basically stopped

[HairEnthusiast101]

Just now, NickJ said:

Nope since I started fin it basically stopped

Awesome great to hear. I’m sure we all wish we would’ve caught the loss sooner but usually you don’t notice it until it has happened for awhile. How long have you been on fin? Stabilizing with it is a very good sign long term and if you ever want HTs

[NickJ]

14 minutes ago, JoDimaggio22 said:

Awesome great to hear. I’m sure we all wish we would’ve caught the loss sooner but usually you don’t notice it until it has happened for awhile. How long have you been on fin? Stabilizing with it is a very good sign long term and if you ever want HTs

I had an HT 6 months ago you can check the thread 

And yeah I had the prescription since years but was afraid of sides 

[Speoj]

Mine was probably the worst at 24. 

Started receding at 15/16. Stated minoxidil at 20 for a receded hairline when it was really starting to get to me but freaked out at the shed (because I hadn't researched enough and the doctor didn't mention it would happen) and stopped after a few months. Then 24 was when my hairline receded further towards a NW3 and started defuse thinning on top all over so this time started using liquid minoxidil which did stop further loss and reversed the defuse thinning after about 6 months to a year on it.

At 27 it was stabilised but started thinking about a hairline HT so started finasteride first in the hope it would fill in the windows peak a bit. Now at 29 with fin and min it's probably the thickest it's been for years but the NW3 window's peak has not changed or filled in so looking at a HT early next year. 

[HairEnthusiast101]

1 hour ago, NickJ said:

I had an HT 6 months ago you can check the thread 

And yeah I had the prescription since years but was afraid of sides 

Awesome I will check out your account 

[GoliGoliGoli]

I started losing around 25. From 25 to now (34) it's been a gradual loss so I never really went through a period that was any worse than the others. It was like watching grass grow in that I never noticed tons of hair falling out in the shower or I would wake up and look at myself and say "Damn it's going fast now".

Started with just a bald spot on the crown which has expanded over the years. For a long time my hairline was perfectly fine, maybe up until 32 before I noticed any recession in the hairline. I'm sure I started receding before then but it was never really so bad until the last few years. 

I suppose it was nice that the crown went first because it made it a lot easier to cover up with hair fibers. I'm also glad I waited until 34 for my first HT so I can knock out a large number of grafts in one swoop. I know I'll be back for a 2nd HT down the line but hoping I can space them out pretty far. 

[HairEnthusiast101]

3 hours ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

I started losing around 25. From 25 to now (34) it's been a gradual loss so I never really went through a period that was any worse than the others. It was like watching grass grow in that I never noticed tons of hair falling out in the shower or I would wake up and look at myself and say "Damn it's going fast now".

Started with just a bald spot on the crown which has expanded over the years. For a long time my hairline was perfectly fine, maybe up until 32 before I noticed any recession in the hairline. I'm sure I started receding before then but it was never really so bad until the last few years. 

I suppose it was nice that the crown went first because it made it a lot easier to cover up with hair fibers. I'm also glad I waited until 34 for my first HT so I can knock out a large number of grafts in one swoop. I know I'll be back for a 2nd HT down the line but hoping I can space them out pretty far. 

Very interesting. 34 is a great age for Ht and I’d say pretty lucky you still have hair. Are you going fue or fut route? You think there was any noticeable loss prior to 25?