What's the right time to do a Hair Transplant ? Please help

[Andrew Page]

Hello,

First of all, I would like to thank you for all of the people here in this forum, I have been read it for a month now, and you guys saved me from a "hair mill"

I decided if I have to go for Hair Transplant, will do with real surgeon, 

I have some questions regarding medication and hair transplant, I apologized before, I'm a beginner and I really don't have any clue about this, pardon my stupid question,

I'm 30 years old, I think I have had at least a slight recession on my temples, but I'm not sure, since I was born with "M"-Shaped Hair Line,

- Never been on medication like Minoxidil, Finasteride, etc.

 

I'm planning to fill my temples with Hair Transplant, and if possible lowering my hairline a little bit. I have some question about it,

1. What is the best time to do a Hair Transplant ? Do We have to wait for hair loss ? 

2. Do we have to take Finasteride / other oral medicine that relate with hormones after doing Hair Transplant ? ( I have so many oral medicine allergy , I will avoid it if possible ) 

3. Is it possible to do "Unshaven FUE" ? since when I was looking for references, all of the hair have to be shaved

4. Can we use a cap/hoodie after Hair Transplant? 

5. Can we do Hair Transplant when our hair have already been colored, permed, or smoothing ? and how many days after Hair Transplant we can do those treatments ?

6. About the Anesthesia in Hair Transplant process , is it does have any side effect beside swelling? I mean a headache or other things

7. Is it possible for Donor Area to grow back ? 

8. How many graft you guys would think for my case? ( I know it's depend on, but I just want to know approximately how many graft is the best )

Thank you for your kind response and time, I greatly appreciate for any kind of response.

I attach some of my current hair condition below :

 

 

[NARMAK]

Welcome to the forum. I can't go through every point but want to help a bit. 

Your age isn't really young and your hair loss seems really steady for the age but i would strongly recommend you try Finasteride and give it 12+ months. You could actually recover ground around the temple points and might not look as receded/thin which is what i think is bothering you the most at present. 

You have pretty defined temple points and so you could if you wanted to consider lowering the hairline a little but it would be strongly recommended to ensure you use Finasteride and control the progression of any further hair loss or you'll end up chasing the hair loss.

If i was in your situation, i would use Finasteride for 12 to 24 months and then re-evaluate but put money aside for any potential hair transplant. Reputable clinics will sometimes have a wait list so good to do your research. Glad you saved yourself from a hair mill. Unfortunately we live in an image obsessed social media age where hair is manipulated with photoshop to look even better than people have it in real life. 

I would personally say don't rush. There's nothing in your case that should be causing you massive anxiety and a proper hair style cannot help assist with for now. 

[StillAlive]

Dude, welcome to the forum and do NOT get a hair transplant right now, your hair is receding slowly, but you look like a dude with an absolutely fine full head of hair to any sane (non HT psychopath/NW spotter like all of us in the Baldosphere) . As to your questions:

-The best time is when your hair loss is stable and under control and ideally, you are over 35 years of age, so you have a clear idea of where you are headed (NW4? NW5? A full on NW7?). Also, it's good to have some clearly defined areas of loss before doing an HT, so that you don't need to spend the next two decades chasing small HT after small HT to maintain this illusion of never losing hair. 

-You can do a hair transplant without any meds. The purpose of meds is to stop your hair loss from progressing any further and they are not guaranteed to work the same (or at all) on everyone. It's a gamble. You can try them, but keep in mind, once you start, you need to stay on them, otherwise you will lose whatever hair they were maintaining and revert to what you'd 'normally' look like if you'd never taken them. You may consider Saw Palmetto (herbal, less effective but no side effects alternative to finasteride) and using Nizoral 2% once a week to reduce scalp DHT. 

-Yes, you can do unshaven FUE but you are making the surgeon's work much more difficult and you pay a lot more money. In my opinion, it's not worth it. You pay more and you jeopardize the result. Plus, everyone will know you had work done, as the transplanted hair will initially look good, then shed, so you'll go through ugly duckling anyway. 

-Cap can be worn about 14 days post transplant, once the grafts are secure. 

-The anesthesia injections hurt and you will experience intermittent shooting pains, numbness, tightness and other 'weird' sensations all over your scalp in the first month post op. Nothing intolerable and nothing that ibuprofen does not take care of. Consider it a minor annoyance. 

-No. Once you take hair out of your donor area, it's gone. That's why there is a limit to how many HT's one can get. If you get desperate, you can use beard and body hair to cover your crown later on, but the hair will not look as good as scalp hair. It will work well with concealers and it is a viable approach to cover large NW's. 

-Your surgeon will give you a graft estimate. I don't recommend an HT right now. Use Nizoral, try Saw Palmetto, try a shorter haircut. Re-evaluate at 35. Or you know, go on meds but STAY on them, be committed. 

Ultimately, it's all about you choosing what you are comfortable and what you are not comfortable with. 

[champybaby]

Get on fin, oral minox. Start consulting w/ tier 1 surgeons now. You will have a much better picture of when. I don't believe you need to do anything right now but take meds and speak with a tier 1 surgeon. 

If you do opt to do a HT now keep in mind that it's more than likely you will need another one, or two, in the future. HT, the majority of times, is not a one and done thing. If you were like 50 with some hair loss, sure, that could be a one and done. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@Andrew Page,

In addition to the photos that you presented, it would be very helpful if you could post a picture of the top of your head. By the photos you did present, it doesn’t appear that you are experiencing that much hair loss which is a good thing at 30 years old. Now, I believe you said that you have never used finasteride or minoxidil, do you have any plans to do so? Finasteride in particular may help orevent the progression of Male Pattern Baldness.

There really is no best time to get a hair transplant other than ensuring that you are a good candidate for surgery. You appear to be based on what I see in the photos.

You have a lot of very specific questions, some of which vary from clinic to clinic.  If you are interested in an information session with Dr. Rahal, please feel free to send me a private message and I’ll be happy to set this up for you.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[Mike10]

In my opinion, early 40s is the best age. Because you can evaluate the donor best at this age. 

[Curious25]

1. What is the best time to do a Hair Transplant ? Do We have to wait for hair loss ? 
 

A multitude of factors can be at play here, but in terms of a hair loss perspective, ‘when your hair loss has been stabilised’ is the ideal time. 

2. Do we have to take Finasteride / other oral medicine that relate with hormones after doing Hair Transplant ? ( I have so many oral medicine allergy , I will avoid it if possible ) 

You don’t have to no, but if you are predisposed to lose further native hair due to androgenic alopecia, not using such medication will mean you will continue to bald in the non transplant areas, and possibly even the transplanted areas should your donor be susceptible. 

3. Is it possible to do "Unshaven FUE" ? since when I was looking for references, all of the hair have to be shaved

Yes 

4. Can we use a cap/hoodie after Hair Transplant? 
 

Different clinics advise different post op instructions. I would recommend asking your potential surgeons this question whilst you are consulting with them. 

5. Can we do Hair Transplant when our hair have already been colored, permed, or smoothing ? and how many days after Hair Transplant we can do those treatments ?

Same answer as above, different clinics have different requirements - ask during consults. Usually hair should be in a natural state where possible. If you go for FUE, then either all, or a small part of your donor will need to be shaved down. You won’t be able to dye your newly transplanted grafts either until they have grown and entered into their mature phase, which to give a time frame depends on how fast a grower you would be. 

6. About the Anesthesia in Hair Transplant process , is it does have any side effect beside swelling? I mean a headache or other things

There are a whole host of potential side effects with the anaesthesia, headaches are more associated with when the anaesthesia wears off, and the head is recovering from the trauma - however OTC painkillers will help relieve this. 

7. Is it possible for Donor Area to grow back ? 
 

The hairs grafted from your donor area will grow back in the area to which they are transplanted. They will not regrow from their initial sites in your donor region, and instead a scar will form. 

8. How many graft you guys would think for my case? ( I know it's depend on, but I just want to know approximately how many graft is the best )

Assuming you are just looking at addressing your frontal loss that you have shown in your last photo, depending on the hairline design, it could be anywhere between 2000-4000 grafts.  
 

Keep researching, reading and learning as much as you can, you will thank yourself so much for it years down the line. 
 

All the best! 

[LaserCaps]

A couple of generalities which apply to the hair industry,

Donor limitation.  There's typically not enough hair available to allow for fullness in the front, top and back, particularly when dealing with an advanced pattern.  It's for this reason most ethical doctors will concentrate their efforts towards the front.  It's the area you see when looking at yourself.  It's also the area others see when they interact with you.  And, while this may not apply to you at this time, it's just something to keep in mind.  Why?

If you've lost, you'll continue losing.  Seems at this time your loss is minimal.  A lot of miniaturized hairs noted towards the frontal area.  The other thing that does not help you is the color contrast between the color of the hair and the scalp.  It makes it seem worse than what it truly is.

There are engineering principles that apply to hairline design.  Research the rule of thirds.  Since you've blocked your face, it is difficult to tell if lowering your hairline would be appropriate. Visit with a couple of surgeons and see what they recommend.  

Do you have family history of hair loss? It's imperative you get on some sort of regimen to help you halt the loss.  Propecia and Rogaine are considered to be the best meds for retention towards the crown.  The problem is that of expectations.  Most people get frustrated and stop a year later when they see no visual change.  The meds are not intended for you to grow anything.  They're to keep you from losing more.  If a year later you look the same, the meds did what they were intended to do.  Research PRP and Laser.  These two can help reverse miniaturized hair.  

Lastly, you're closer to 20 than you're to 85.  Everybody reminisces about the hairline they used to have.  Always consider being both age and pattern appropriate.  It would not be natural to be in a happy home, 85 years old with a hairline of a 20-year-old.  

[Andrew Page]

16 hours ago, NARMAK said:

Welcome to the forum. I can't go through every point but want to help a bit. 

Your age isn't really young and your hair loss seems really steady for the age but i would strongly recommend you try Finasteride and give it 12+ months. You could actually recover ground around the temple points and might not look as receded/thin which is what i think is bothering you the most at present. 

You have pretty defined temple points and so you could if you wanted to consider lowering the hairline a little but it would be strongly recommended to ensure you use Finasteride and control the progression of any further hair loss or you'll end up chasing the hair loss.

If i was in your situation, i would use Finasteride for 12 to 24 months and then re-evaluate but put money aside for any potential hair transplant. Reputable clinics will sometimes have a wait list so good to do your research. Glad you saved yourself from a hair mill. Unfortunately we live in an image obsessed social media age where hair is manipulated with photoshop to look even better than people have it in real life. 

I would personally say don't rush. There's nothing in your case that should be causing you massive anxiety and a proper hair style cannot help assist with for now. 

Hey, Thank you for the warm welcome,

I'm really grateful to find this fourm, I really appreciate your kind and detailed response regarding to my case and questions,

Yes, i thought the same, I started to realize that my hair start to recede slowly yet steady, and i think i have to start preparing what i can do for now,

i would gladly to think about your advice about taking Finasteride, 

Yeah, I almost book for HT with some "hair mills" before, fortunately, i found this forum,

I'm just wondering, it's really hard to find the real Hair Transplant Clinic nowadays, since all of the hair mills bombing me with ads in their Instagram and other platform, and one of them really do have many positive reviews and many verified account went there, that's why i'm sure about that place.

Yes I won't rush about this, to be honest i do have some anxiety before i found this forum, glad i find you guys, once again, thank you for kind response, i will try to learn many things about my hair through this forum first !  

[Andrew Page]

16 hours ago, StillAlive said:

Dude, welcome to the forum and do NOT get a hair transplant right now, your hair is receding slowly, but you look like a dude with an absolutely fine full head of hair to any sane (non HT psychopath/NW spotter like all of us in the Baldosphere) . As to your questions:

-The best time is when your hair loss is stable and under control and ideally, you are over 35 years of age, so you have a clear idea of where you are headed (NW4? NW5? A full on NW7?). Also, it's good to have some clearly defined areas of loss before doing an HT, so that you don't need to spend the next two decades chasing small HT after small HT to maintain this illusion of never losing hair. 

-You can do a hair transplant without any meds. The purpose of meds is to stop your hair loss from progressing any further and they are not guaranteed to work the same (or at all) on everyone. It's a gamble. You can try them, but keep in mind, once you start, you need to stay on them, otherwise you will lose whatever hair they were maintaining and revert to what you'd 'normally' look like if you'd never taken them. You may consider Saw Palmetto (herbal, less effective but no side effects alternative to finasteride) and using Nizoral 2% once a week to reduce scalp DHT. 

-Yes, you can do unshaven FUE but you are making the surgeon's work much more difficult and you pay a lot more money. In my opinion, it's not worth it. You pay more and you jeopardize the result. Plus, everyone will know you had work done, as the transplanted hair will initially look good, then shed, so you'll go through ugly duckling anyway. 

-Cap can be worn about 14 days post transplant, once the grafts are secure. 

-The anesthesia injections hurt and you will experience intermittent shooting pains, numbness, tightness and other 'weird' sensations all over your scalp in the first month post op. Nothing intolerable and nothing that ibuprofen does not take care of. Consider it a minor annoyance. 

-No. Once you take hair out of your donor area, it's gone. That's why there is a limit to how many HT's one can get. If you get desperate, you can use beard and body hair to cover your crown later on, but the hair will not look as good as scalp hair. It will work well with concealers and it is a viable approach to cover large NW's. 

-Your surgeon will give you a graft estimate. I don't recommend an HT right now. Use Nizoral, try Saw Palmetto, try a shorter haircut. Re-evaluate at 35. Or you know, go on meds but STAY on them, be committed. 

Ultimately, it's all about you choosing what you are comfortable and what you are not comfortable with. 

Hey mate ! thanks a lot for the greetings ! 

Thank you for your kind word about my hair, that means a lot to me, I started to have anxiety to be honest since my temples recede slowly,

Oh wow, i do really appreciate with all of your kind response regarding my question, I get so many information now about this, so I can have better understanding about Hair Transplant, 

I will try to think thoroughly about your advices, especially about Nizoral and Saw Palmetto, it's really hard for me to take oral medicine, since i have so many allergies. i have never discovered those two method before, i always find that people use Finasteride and Minoxidil, thank you , i will do some research about it after this ! 

Thank you once again for kind response !

 

 

[Andrew Page]

14 hours ago, champybaby said:

Get on fin, oral minox. Start consulting w/ tier 1 surgeons now. You will have a much better picture of when. I don't believe you need to do anything right now but take meds and speak with a tier 1 surgeon. 

If you do opt to do a HT now keep in mind that it's more than likely you will need another one, or two, in the future. HT, the majority of times, is not a one and done thing. If you were like 50 with some hair loss, sure, that could be a one and done. 

Hey !

Yes, i will try to check whether I'm allergic with Finasteride or Minoxi as soon as possible, so I can prevent early about my hair loss

Unfortunately in my country, we don't really have a Tier 1 Surgeon in Hair Transplant in my honest opinion, is it possible to have consultation only ( without doing Hair Transplant ) in the Hair Transplant Clinic  in Europe or Turkey ?

Yeah i realized that, that's why I will have to be prepared when I do Hair Transplant, 

Thank you for kind response !

[Andrew Page]

14 hours ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@Andrew Page,

In addition to the photos that you presented, it would be very helpful if you could post a picture of the top of your head. By the photos you did present, it doesn’t appear that you are experiencing that much hair loss which is a good thing at 30 years old. Now, I believe you said that you have never used finasteride or minoxidil, do you have any plans to do so? Finasteride in particular may help orevent the progression of Male Pattern Baldness.

There really is no best time to get a hair transplant other than ensuring that you are a good candidate for surgery. You appear to be based on what I see in the photos.

You have a lot of very specific questions, some of which vary from clinic to clinic.  If you are interested in an information session with Dr. Rahal, please feel free to send me a private message and I’ll be happy to set this up for you.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Hey,

Thank you for the advices, I will do take a photo top of my head later ! 

Yes, to be honest people around me didn't notice as well, but my barber told me that it seems my temples was receding a bit, 

To be honest, if i can prevent with other method, i wouldn't take Finasteride especially, since it's an oral drugs,  i'm really sensitive with oral drugs, it different with Minoxidil, I found that they have oral and topical one, 

Yes, i do have a lot of question to be honest, thank you for your time and kind response, i will do send you a message when i have more questions ! 

 

[Andrew Page]

13 hours ago, Curious25 said:

 

1. What is the best time to do a Hair Transplant ? Do We have to wait for hair loss ? 
 

A multitude of factors can be at play here, but in terms of a hair loss perspective, ‘when your hair loss has been stabilised’ is the ideal time. 

2. Do we have to take Finasteride / other oral medicine that relate with hormones after doing Hair Transplant ? ( I have so many oral medicine allergy , I will avoid it if possible ) 

You don’t have to no, but if you are predisposed to lose further native hair due to androgenic alopecia, not using such medication will mean you will continue to bald in the non transplant areas, and possibly even the transplanted areas should your donor be susceptible. 

3. Is it possible to do "Unshaven FUE" ? since when I was looking for references, all of the hair have to be shaved

Yes 

4. Can we use a cap/hoodie after Hair Transplant? 
 

Different clinics advise different post op instructions. I would recommend asking your potential surgeons this question whilst you are consulting with them. 

5. Can we do Hair Transplant when our hair have already been colored, permed, or smoothing ? and how many days after Hair Transplant we can do those treatments ?

Same answer as above, different clinics have different requirements - ask during consults. Usually hair should be in a natural state where possible. If you go for FUE, then either all, or a small part of your donor will need to be shaved down. You won’t be able to dye your newly transplanted grafts either until they have grown and entered into their mature phase, which to give a time frame depends on how fast a grower you would be. 

6. About the Anesthesia in Hair Transplant process , is it does have any side effect beside swelling? I mean a headache or other things

There are a whole host of potential side effects with the anaesthesia, headaches are more associated with when the anaesthesia wears off, and the head is recovering from the trauma - however OTC painkillers will help relieve this. 

7. Is it possible for Donor Area to grow back ? 
 

The hairs grafted from your donor area will grow back in the area to which they are transplanted. They will not regrow from their initial sites in your donor region, and instead a scar will form. 

8. How many graft you guys would think for my case? ( I know it's depend on, but I just want to know approximately how many graft is the best )

Assuming you are just looking at addressing your frontal loss that you have shown in your last photo, depending on the hairline design, it could be anywhere between 2000-4000 grafts.  
 

Keep researching, reading and learning as much as you can, you will thank yourself so much for it years down the line. 
 

All the best! 

Hello, 

I'm so thankful about your kind and detailed answer !

I have figured it out a lot of things from there, i will do more research about what you've answered,

I think i have made a best decision to ask in this forum first , since you guys give me a lot of information regarding my case,

Being told by people with experience and knowledge about this matter can save many people from being schemed by hair mills, 

I hope you guys don't mind people like me asking a lot of question 😊 !

Thank you once again, greatly appreciate it my friend !

[Andrew Page]

13 hours ago, LaserCaps said:

A couple of generalities which apply to the hair industry,

Donor limitation.  There's typically not enough hair available to allow for fullness in the front, top and back, particularly when dealing with an advanced pattern.  It's for this reason most ethical doctors will concentrate their efforts towards the front.  It's the area you see when looking at yourself.  It's also the area others see when they interact with you.  And, while this may not apply to you at this time, it's just something to keep in mind.  Why?

If you've lost, you'll continue losing.  Seems at this time your loss is minimal.  A lot of miniaturized hairs noted towards the frontal area.  The other thing that does not help you is the color contrast between the color of the hair and the scalp.  It makes it seem worse than what it truly is.

There are engineering principles that apply to hairline design.  Research the rule of thirds.  Since you've blocked your face, it is difficult to tell if lowering your hairline would be appropriate. Visit with a couple of surgeons and see what they recommend.  

Do you have family history of hair loss? It's imperative you get on some sort of regimen to help you halt the loss.  Propecia and Rogaine are considered to be the best meds for retention towards the crown.  The problem is that of expectations.  Most people get frustrated and stop a year later when they see no visual change.  The meds are not intended for you to grow anything.  They're to keep you from losing more.  If a year later you look the same, the meds did what they were intended to do.  Research PRP and Laser.  These two can help reverse miniaturized hair.  

Lastly, you're closer to 20 than you're to 85.  Everybody reminisces about the hairline they used to have.  Always consider being both age and pattern appropriate.  It would not be natural to be in a happy home, 85 years old with a hairline of a 20-year-old.  

Hey !

Yes, i realized that the donor area is limited and really precious after reading many things in this forum, i will not waste it then, i almost ended up paying a cheap price yet sacrifice my priceless donor area, goodness. 

Pardon my question, did you mean contrast because i have a black hair thus it shows more than people with brighter hair?

Ah yes, before i saw many Ads from hair mills that many people lowering their hair line, to be honest one of my goal is to have flat hair lines beside my M-shaped hair lines, But i saw a lot of people get awful and unnatural hairline because of "hair mills" that's why I really do want to find a good surgeon to do the HT.

Yes, My father have a quite hair loss, now he is on NW VI if i'm not mistaken, Thank you for telling me about Propecia and Rogaine, i think i will do some research about those two, yes, i get your point, we are trying to prevent hair loss, not to grow one,. i will do some research about PRP and Laser as well.

Understood, i will keep in mind about your advices, sir

 

Thank you for your kind response, i do appreciate it !

 

 

[Andrew Page]

Guys, I do really appreciate for your kind responses and time,

This is my first time posting in forum about my hair problems, and I was right, this forum have been such a life-saving for many people including me

I do hope you guys really don't mind i'm asking many and stupid questions, if I did ask repeated question in this forum, I'd like to apologize, 

 

Lastly, i have my final question

With my current hair condition, i have two options from the advices i have received from you guys :

1. I will try to take some medication like Minoxidil, Finasteride, and other alternatives like Nizoral & Saw Palmetto, or like Propecia and Rogaine, do some research about PRP and Laser, it means try to prevent for more hair loss

 

2. If I still really want to have some Hair Transplant, to fill my temples and lowering my hair line a little bit ( It means I do HT sooner than it should be ), is there any negative effect for me ? 

- I will get more hair loss in the future 

- My donor area will have some effect

- or other things

since I think all of you guys advice me not to take HT, it doesn't mean I don't understand, 

Once again pardon for my question, it's just i really want to have a flat-shaped hairlines, but any advices from you guys will be really important for me, so i can decide later whether i will do the HT or not,

I'm so thankful for you guys being here and give me some kind response, it means a lot to me, 

Thank you !