Is a hair transplant for me? (Pics included)

[beak]

Hi guys,

I got turned down a few years ago for a HT based on my hair loss being too severe, however having been browsing this forum for a few weeks it seems that either there have been some medical advances or the surgeon was overly cautious (or I took terrible pictures!). Since then I have been on fin and min and my hair has improved a little bit.

Do you think I am a candidate for a HT now? If so, how many grafts would you think I should need? Any advice on the strategy I should take if my budget is $15k?

Thanks ❤️

 

 

[davidn]

Re candidacy: I have seen severe cases having had amazing comebacks. You appear to have high sides (and nice temples), but your crown is falling very deep. Best to get an in-person consultation with one of the recommended docs on this forum, in particular Dr Sethi, Dr Muresanu, Dr Hasson, Dr Wong, Dr Barghouti.

Look up the case of@Bandit90

Re strategy: I guess the strategy is always to fix the front first cause aesthetically it is the most important.

Edited January 9, 2023 by davidn

[BurnieBurns]

Totally agree, 

When a HT Doc turns a patient away, sometimes it's because 'they' can't help them, not 'nobody' can help them. The mentioned names are great and I'll throw Dr Felipe Pitella to that mix. If your hair loss is stable and doesn't get worse from the pictures shown, I'm confident there are surgeons who could give you a fantastic improvement if not appearance of fullness

FYI Drs Muresanu and Wong would be likely to recommend FUT first to maximise available grafts.

Drs Sethi and Pitella do FUE only and would likely want to use a good amount of beard grants. Fortunately your face looks well supplied!

[beak]

Thanks for the replies @BurnieBurns and @davidn. Makes me feel a lot more positive. Any guesstimates on the number of grafts I would need? 

[BurnieBurns]

You're welcome @beak, it all revolves around your expectations/goals. Either way you're looking a few thousand at least.

I'm also thinking that 15k is a bit low considering you have fairly advanced baldness. Eugenix (which Dr Sethi founded) does have cheaper packages but you wouldn't be operated on by him. Personally, I'd save up more or take out a loan as you'd want to go to an elite surgeon.

You've also got two options of going about it. Doing multiple smaller sugeries or one big megasession. Different doctors often fall in to one of those schools of thought

[Melvin- Admin]

Whats your age? Are you on medication? And what your expectations. Currently, your hair loss isn’t that bad, you have a large crown. But the actual hairline and midscalp is fairly intact. 

If you’re not on medication I would start there. I was much balder than you, my journey has taken me 10 years+tens of thousands of dollars. But that may not be the case with you. 
 

 

[TorontoMan]

Personally I believe medication would help your cause more than a hair transplant. Your crown line has fallen deeper towards your donor which may be a concern for the amount of grafts you’ll get, but at the same time, your hair loss isnt that bad, you’re not entirely too far gone. Would be interested as well to hear your age and medical history. 

[chief10]

It's great you're already on fin and min. You have a lot of miniaturized hairs on top which are potentially salvageable and maybe reversible. It also slows any further donor dipping. You're definitely a candidate but the important thing for higher NWs like yourself to realize is that a) you're probably going to spend more than you think, b) need more procedures than you think, and c) have realistic expectations going into it about coverage and density. Also make sure you go to a surgeon/clinic that specializes in higher NWs such as yourself.

[beak]

Thanks for the replies guys!

@Melvin- Moderator I am 36, I have been on fin for about a year, and min off and on for a little longer and have seen some modest but noticeable improvement. Just started oral min a week ago! My goal (although I don't know how realistic this is) would be to improve crown density enough to where I could comfortably disguise the thinning and reduce recession at the temples and re-enforce my current hairline.

@TorontoMan 36 and on fin/min. Started noticing recession and crown issues at approx 28. Been on medication for the last 1 year approx and have seen some small improvements so far.

@chief10Thanks for the advice and positivity!

[Gatsby]

@beak if you could grow your hair out a little more it might help in analyzing your situation. You may find that you have more terminal hair than the short hair buzzed pics show. I think you are a candidate but I wouldn't focus on just budget and really research here on the doctors recommended and take your time doing it. Wishing you all the best.

[Fue3361]

Do you want to wear your hair long, or do you like the buzz cut?  If you like the Buzz cut, personally, I'd not get a hair transplant.  But yeah, if you want it long, there are doctors that can do very good work.  But due to the very low dip of your crown, you should be very careful with your donor management, so make sure the Dr. you choose is a highly skilled one that will not waste grafts.

[TorontoMan]

6 hours ago, beak said:

Thanks for the replies guys!

@Melvin- Moderator I am 36, I have been on fin for about a year, and min off and on for a little longer and have seen some modest but noticeable improvement. Just started oral min a week ago! My goal (although I don't know how realistic this is) would be to improve crown density enough to where I could comfortably disguise the thinning and reduce recession at the temples and re-enforce my current hairline.

@TorontoMan 36 and on fin/min. Started noticing recession and crown issues at approx 28. Been on medication for the last 1 year approx and have seen some small improvements so far.

@chief10Thanks for the advice and positivity!

I think you need to give the meds more time to see how much of that crown you'll recover, my hunch is that you can recover quite a bit there in the back. I would not consider a ht at this time, I'm not sure you'll get the result you think you will with your current donor capacity. Hair transplants are a rather illogical process where you harvest donor grafts from an area smaller than the area you intend to cover. 

[Melvin- Admin]

7 hours ago, beak said:

Thanks for the replies guys!

@Melvin- Moderator I am 36, I have been on fin for about a year, and min off and on for a little longer and have seen some modest but noticeable improvement. Just started oral min a week ago! My goal (although I don't know how realistic this is) would be to improve crown density enough to where I could comfortably disguise the thinning and reduce recession at the temples and re-enforce my current hairline.

@TorontoMan 36 and on fin/min. Started noticing recession and crown issues at approx 28. Been on medication for the last 1 year approx and have seen some small improvements so far.

@chief10Thanks for the advice and positivity!

Since the crown is your goal. It might be a better option to try smp. 

[beak]

@Gatsby interesting. I will see if I can stomach growing it out for a month or two and report back. Thanks!

@Fue3361 I would definitely like the option to wear my hair longer, but I take your point. I will start putting some thought into what I would actually do with more hair if I got it,

@TorontoMan Ok, well that is very positive, appreciate your input, that has given me some food for thought and makes me a little less eager to rush into a HT!

@Melvin- Moderator Hmmm, that might be a good option, in the short term at least. Will do some research, thank you.