If you had to do it over…

[Rafael Manelli]

What would you do differently? If you could go back to the start of your hair loss ‘journey’? A seemingly simple question but I think we all have regrets, whether it’s taking too long to act, trying a bunch of quack treatments, being in denial, taking too long to get on finasteride, going to the wrong doctor or getting a badly placed hairline…

[Gatsby]

If I could go back knowing then what I know now I would never have had surgery. I would have shaved my head and waited ten years to have been the first Bruce Willis or Jason Statham. 

[Fox243]

5 hours ago, Rafael Manelli said:

What would you do differently? If you could go back to the start of your hair loss ‘journey’? A seemingly simple question but I think we all have regrets, whether it’s taking too long to act, trying a bunch of quack treatments, being in denial, taking too long to get on finasteride, going to the wrong doctor or getting a badly placed hairline…

I'd either go on finasteride while I had enough hair worth saving or would go for a hair system such that people wouldn't know that I transitioned.

[Rafael Manelli]

I sometimes wish I'd started dutasteride at 14. Can't say there's any other realistic way I'd have kept my hair. But I doubt it would be healthy at that age anyway. 

[Hair4Days]

8 hours ago, Gatsby said:

If I could go back knowing then what I know now I would never have had surgery. I would have shaved my head and waited ten years to have been the first Bruce Willis or Jason Statham. 

Why?

[TheGreatPretender]

I would have defo started meds early and spare myself the headache of having surgery. The "just shave it bro" is simply just not an option in my book. 

[ScottishGuy21]

14 minutes ago, TheGreatPretender said:

I would have defo started meds early and spare myself the headache of having surgery. The "just shave it bro" is simply just not an option in my book. 

This. If I’d have started meds around 28 I’d have saved myself a lot of hassle.

[TheGreatPretender]

Just now, ScottishGuy21 said:

This. If I’d have started meds around 28 I’d have saved myself a lot of hassle.

You're lucky to need to have started by then because I was already thinning in my 18s and by the time I was in my 21 already agressively diffused to a NW5. It sucks to have passed my 20s away from the crowds because of this curse. 

I intend to end this suffering by the end of this year when I go to surgery. 

As Kino from "Andor" would say, "there is only one way out". 

[ScottishGuy21]

Ah man that’s not good. I was a Norwood 2 to 3 by 18 but it stabilised for a decade, foolishly thought no meds were required. Between 28-31 my hairloss rapidly accelerated. 

Best of luck to you. You’ll feel like a new person when it’s done. The newfound confidence you regain makes it all worthwhile!

[Gatsby]

1 hour ago, Hair4Days said:

Why?

Because I get sides from finasteride firstly. Secondly, back when I had my first hair transplant, punch grafts were the main form of surgery (and there were others like Juri flaps, scalp reductions that were equally barbaric) and the results looked terrible. Thirdly, MPB is progressive and I had no idea back in 1985 that eventually having a good body and a shaved head would look not only ok but also great unless you were ugly to begin with (sorry 😬). Finally, the amount of anxiety, depression and not to mention a small fortune that I would have now would be huge.

[TheGreatPretender]

1 hour ago, ScottishGuy21 said:

Ah man that’s not good. I was a Norwood 2 to 3 by 18 but it stabilised for a decade, foolishly thought no meds were required. Between 28-31 my hairloss rapidly accelerated. 

Best of luck to you. You’ll feel like a new person when it’s done. The newfound confidence you regain makes it all worthwhile!

Thanks. 

I am planning to rock out a Eddie Munson hairstyle in a year if everything goes well.😆

[Z--]

I’d have worried less when I was a lesser Norwood now that I know what true loss looks like. 

[GeneralNorwood]

 i would brew potion with dutasteride as main ingredient. Then i would jump into cauldron full of it, Obelix style, and i would become fully immune to baldness. 

 

[WoundedWolf]

should have started minoxidil atleast early but once started it cannot be stopped as well, unfortunately allergic to finasteride so cant take it for more time , I also heard ketoconazole works not sure about it will try it soon, also shud have not done transplant without researching deep enough

Edited March 26, 2023 by WoundedWolf

[Hair4Days]

5 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Because I get sides from finasteride firstly. Secondly, back when I had my first hair transplant, punch grafts were the main form of surgery (and there were others like Juri flaps, scalp reductions that were equally barbaric) and the results looked terrible. Thirdly, MPB is progressive and I had no idea back in 1985 that eventually having a good body and a shaved head would look not only ok but also great unless you were ugly to begin with (sorry 😬). Finally, the amount of anxiety, depression and not to mention a small fortune that I would have now would be huge.

Well understood Gatsby. I’m glad someone like you who’s been in the game for a while can provide feedback. With that being said, if the question was changed slightly and someone asks you with everything you know today, and if you had a virgin scalp and could start from scratch with a good surgeon, would you still pass on surgery considering the industry advancements since your first surgery?

Edited March 26, 2023 by Hair4Days

[Berba11]

I'd have jumped on finasteride around 20 years old and been in a better position hair-wise (I'd have hoped at least, anyway!)

[A_4_Archan]

As most of the people who posted here..i regret the same thing..i should have started the medication earlier...and should have tacked this issue properly and sincerely when i started noticing excessive hair fall...

As @Gatsby mentioned its better to shave off...i evn shaved off and kept the bald look for around 2 years and i looked good in that...but again as most of the people have the thng called "hair greed" which pushed me for a transplant and here i am one month away from my surgery ...

[coolbreeze]

38 minutes ago, Archan said:

As most of the people who posted here..i regret the same thing..i should have started the medication earlier...and should have tacked this issue properly and sincerely when i started noticing excessive hair fall...

As @Gatsby mentioned its better to shave off...i evn shaved off and kept the bald look for around 2 years and i looked good in that...but again as most of the people have the thng called "hair greed" which pushed me for a transplant and here i am one month away from my surgery ...

Have you post pics of your head in the forum as it is now, before the impending transplant?

[A_4_Archan]

8 hours ago, coolbreeze said:

Have you post pics of your head in the forum as it is now, before the impending transplant?

Yeh i did

[Hair4Days]

17 hours ago, Archan said:

As most of the people who posted here..i regret the same thing..i should have started the medication earlier...and should have tacked this issue properly and sincerely when i started noticing excessive hair fall...

As @Gatsby mentioned its better to shave off...i evn shaved off and kept the bald look for around 2 years and i looked good in that...but again as most of the people have the thng called "hair greed" which pushed me for a transplant and here i am one month away from my surgery ...

Same question i asked @Gatsby 

Would you still pass on surgery in 2023 if you’ve never gotten a poor surgery during a time that HTs weren’t done well? I can assume one would opt to shave it off if you’re comparing it to going through a rough experience and needing repairs. I could also understand the mental effects it could have on someone. But if you were someone who has an untouched scalp in todays era of Hair Transplantation, would you still have the same opinion to just shave it off? I

[A_4_Archan]

41 minutes ago, Hair4Days said:

Same question i asked @Gatsby 

Would you still pass on surgery in 2023 if you’ve never gotten a poor surgery during a time that HTs weren’t done well? I can assume one would opt to shave it off if you’re comparing it to going through a rough experience and needing repairs. I could also understand the mental effects it could have on someone. But if you were someone who has an untouched scalp in todays era of Hair Transplantation, would you still have the same opinion to just shave it off? I

No i am already booked for my surgery ....i thought i can try it once and i wish i get the success 

[Hair4Days]

1 hour ago, Archan said:

No i am already booked for my surgery ....i thought i can try it once and i wish i get the success 

Gotcha, so it’s not better to shave it off. Lol.. Best of luck to you on your surgery. 

[A_4_Archan]

15 minutes ago, Hair4Days said:

Gotcha, so it’s not better to shave it off. Lol.. Best of luck to you on your surgery. 

Thnks...

Yeh thats what i said in my first post but i guess you didnt get it...i said i shaved it for 2 years and i was looking good bt thn again that typical hair greed changed my mind and i booked my surgery ...

[GoliGoliGoli]

On 3/26/2023 at 6:24 AM, Z-- said:

I’d have worried less when I was a lesser Norwood now that I know what true loss looks like. 

This comment speaks to me. What NW would you say you currently are? 

Before my HT I was a NW2.5 on the hairline. But I had a big bald spot on my crown so was arguably NW4 overall depending on how you look at it. I decided to only get crown work done, and just accept the recession in the hairline for now because I can still live with it and style it. I didn't want to add a small amount of grafts now to the hairline, and then have to chase it if and when I recede further. 

Eventually, once the crown loss continues to expand, I'll go back for a 2nd HT and probably do the hairline at that time too.  But for now I'm pretty happy living with a NW2.5 hairline. Not saying this is right for everyone, but I think it's right for me, even if I'd love to have a NW1 hairline. 

Edited March 27, 2023 by GoliGoliGoli

[needhair]

On 3/25/2023 at 10:10 PM, Fox243 said:

I'd either go on finasteride while I had enough hair worth saving or would go for a hair system such that people wouldn't know that I transitioned.

I have been using hair systems for the last 20 years.  I look very nice with a full head of hair.  But hair system need to be cleaned and maintained.   It can't be secured enough not for most of the sports.  And it is awful to wear the hair system in a steam room, or swimming pool.

I plan to continue wearing my hair system while going through the ugly duckling process after my HT.  But my final goal is to get rid of the hair system.