transplanted hair quality change

[HarryHonolulu]

hey all, hope you're well.

I had a FUE transplant approx. 4 years ago - I'm a NW 5. 

I switched from oral finasteride to topical finasteride a few months ago.

I noticed that the density/quality of my transplanted hair has changed quite a lot over the past 4 years since having the procedure.

For the first 2 years, it was thick, easy to style for maximum coverage, and generally gave me the appearance of a full hairline.

However, over the past 2 years I am noticing the hair is noticeably thinner, stringier and it grows unevenly: in other words, some parts grow more than others.

I am still happy with the result and with some careful shampooing, combing etc. I look like I have hair.

But I am curious if my experience is "normal"- if it's a cycle that will re-set at some point, if I need to be taking hair supplements, etc.

thank you!

 

[StillAlive]

It's possible that if some hair was taken from an 'unsafe' part of the donor area, now that you are off fin, you are experiencing miniaturization of that hair, hence its weaker appearance. I'd add Nizoral 2% once a week along with a good multivit to my regime and see what'd happen. 

[HarryHonolulu]

30 minutes ago, StillAlive said:

It's possible that if some hair was taken from an 'unsafe' part of the donor area, now that you are off fin, you are experiencing miniaturization of that hair, hence its weaker appearance. I'd add Nizoral 2% once a week along with a good multivit to my regime and see what'd happen. 

will do. any multivitamin? or something specifically with biotin? or just biotin?

[StillAlive]

I'm taking this one : and I'm quite pleased, supplementing with pure saw palmetto to get up to 320mg per day. Saw palmetto is the main kicker here, the rest of the mix has varying degrees of anecdotal efficacy but it definitely does not hurt anything. 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Melvin- Moderator
Removed link

[HarryHonolulu]

great. btw is Nizoral 2% hard to find?? I only see 1% 

[GoliGoliGoli]

This may be a bit of a dirty secret in the HT industry. It seems this type of result does happen to a certain % of HT patients 4-5 years after the procedure. 

It comes down to the debate between donor vs recipient dominance. IMO the transplanted hairs are neither 100% donor dominant nor 100% recipient dominant. I don't think it's realistic to expect to take hair from the donor, put it in a balding area, and expect it to behave just as it would have if you had left it in the donor. I have no science or data to back this up, just going off what I've seen. Maybe their is more DHT in the balding areas than the donor areas? 

[SeanT1]

I don't suppose you have any pictures 4 years ago compared to now?

[NARMAK]

I believe this could be a combination of DHT related affect on the hair loss and the progressive nature of DHT on the follicles despite being on Finasteride. After all, we only ever get told Finasteride slows hair loss down as much as possible, it doesn't stop it except for a very few lucky people. 

Perhaps switching from oral to topical Finasteride could exacerbate this issue. You may also need to consider that you may be at a point where Minoxodil may become more effective for you to also use. That said, has there been perhaps a general change in your life such as stress, perhaps a change in diet etc. as all these things could combine to impact you as well. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@HarryHonolulu,

I haven’t read anybody’s responses so I apologize if I’m repeating someone here. But since transplanted hair Is as permanent as the hair on the side and back of your scalp, unless you’re also losing hair in those areas, I’m wondering if perhaps the Transplant Aid hairher appears dinner because you’ve lost more natural hair.  for instance, if The hair you have on top of your scalp as a combination of both transplanted hair and natural hair, Transplanted hair will seem thinner if you lose natural hair.

also, unless you were experiencing side effects from using oral finasteride, I think it was a bad move to switch to top it off an astroid. In my opinion, oral finasteride is far more effective than topical which in my opinion seems more experimental.  also, if Oral finasteride was working for you and you don’t have any side effects then it’s something you should stick with. If it wasn’t working for you, topical finasteride would likely also not work because it’s not as effective as Oral. The next level up would be using dutasteride orally rather than switching to topical finasteride.

ultimately, without seeing any photos of what your hair looks like before and what it looks like now before and after surgery and also photos today, I can’t really say for sure what’s happening.  but the above would be my best guess based on the information I have.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[MisterBreakfast]

(Not medical advice)

From my anecdotal experience, topical finasteride didn't do anything for me.  When I swapped to oral medication my hair growth exploded. 

 

Sounds like your transplanted hair might be sensitive to DHT.  Maybe consider talking to a doctor about DHT, and maybe consider asking if bloodwork is appropriate to measure your DHT levels.

Edited November 16, 2022 by MisterBreakfast