My chances? NW 6/7?

[YodaHead]

I have only recently joined this forum and quite amazed by the quality information available here. Thank you all in advance for reading.
 

About me:

South East Asian men born in India, living in the US. Currently in my mid 30s.
 

My hairloss history:

Started losing hair at the age of 16-17. The hair loss has been gradual but at this point it appears to be NW6-7.

I have never taken any medication/treatment for hairloss but happy to start if not too late now. I have always had dandruff issues ever since i was a kid and Nizoral shampoo helps. When I don’t use this shampoo it gets to point where i can feel dead skin on my scalp and as a scratch/scrub it off, it would even bleed a bit.

I have not been to a dermatologist yet but will be visiting one in next few days for the first time to better understand/confirm the cause of my haiross and if there are other things at play other than male pattern baldness. Also to see if there are any other skin conditions involved (causing dryness/dandruff etc.)

As i read more about hairloss/baldness, i am not so confident about me being a good HT candidate. Do i have diffused hairloss pattern? Is my donor area very poor? Am i even a candidate for HT? And so many more questions have come-up that I don’t have clear answer to.

Plan of action:

1. Will be seeing dermatologist in few days just to learn more. Want to see if he will recommend finesteride/minoxidil.

2. Have already researched HT surgeons  and have initiated a consultation/communication with them. Just waiting for my dermatologist appointment and work scheduling before i can decide the dates that will best work for me for HT (if that is even an option). In the meantime, i am just researching more about the clinics and surgeons.

- Eugenix : Have reached out to them and have had a positive initial feedback based on photos. They seem to have good experience with NW6/7.

- Dr. Felipe Pittella: Awaiting feedback. I have seen his resuults and i feel if no one else can do it, this guy can. 

- Dr. Bicer (Turkey): Dr Bicer was the one suggested that i first see a dermatologist since my hairloss pattern is slightly different (according to dr bicer).

- Dr. Bhatti (Darling buds): I know that this site no longer recommends his clinic but to be honest I am impressed with his knowledge. He took the time out to personally leave me a voicemail after seeing my photos and has given positive feedback. 
 

I honestly am okay to even have a road-like strip of hair at the top of my head going from front to the crown. I just want some hair/density at the top. 
 

Any thoughts/suggestions from anyone? Also, feel free to ask any questions.
 

Photo(s) attached:

[Gatsby]

Hey @YodaHead. Welcome to the forum. Seeing a dermatologist first is the best thing you can do. Before thinking about surgery, consider commencing finasteride or whatever your dermatologist believes is best. If you do, then track your hair over 12 months to see if it is improving, even if that means stabilizing. Eugenix, Dr Pittella are two names that are excellent for Norwood 7 patients so personally I would recommend that you look at these two first. I've met Dr Bhatti and I think personally he is a great guy but I wouldn't recommend him. But do not be in a rush and I think that you should see how you respond to meds. It's not just the hair on top that a potential patient needs to be concerned about but the donor even more so if surgery is warranted. All the best!

[YodaHead]

@Gatsby- thank you! What you said makes sense. Cheers!

[Z--]

Not too late to take meds - it may prevent donor from thinning. Speak to your doctors and make an informed decision for you on whether stabilization and some possible regrowth outweigh being on those medications for life and the small likelihood, albeit possible, side-effects (fogginess, sexual, gyno). Diff doctors have diff preferences, some want you to be on Minoxidil (oral esp) and others Finnasterode and some on both. 

Doctors for this case are 100% Zarev or Pitella. Don’t bother with Darling Buds — he doesn’t compare to them. Bicer isn’t known/great for higher Norwoods either, even if I think she’s generally a very decent option in Turkey. 

Eugenix is okay, but it depends on budget. If you can afford $4+ dollars per graft (keeping in mind you’ll need a minimum of 6k grafts, probably more) stick to Zarev/Pitella. If you can’t pay that amount, I’d do a lower Eugenix package, but be careful with planning, especially for the crown area. 

You can also look into H&W, if you are fine going the FUT route for a mega-session. It may yield you additional lifetime grafts (2k average if you do FUT first and then FUE), but you’ll have to deal with an FUT scar. 

Best of luck! 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Z--

[duckling]

you are using the best shampoo for hair loss so dont change that, then see dermatologist to get on meds  which will block DHT in your system like fin/dut . preferrably they start you on fin either 1mg thrice per week or 1 mg everyday. Minoxidil you can take topical as the application also seems more easy for you on that crown area and other areas it can be applied too . One more thing you may get prescribed is multi vitamins but that depends on you if you wanna take them. It helps if with diet you are not able to get the basic nutrition for your body which ultimately affects your hair.

no point using any other treatments. these are the ones which work from personal experience and also from scientific studies these are the gold standard meds for hair loss.

*Dermarolling is something people try now. (that may be the other thing which gets added to regime for higher norwood atleast as its easy to do without worry about existing hair tangled or damaged.

coming to clinics:

stick with either of pittella/eugenix. Zarev i would say go for him only if you want to wait 3-4 years for surgery and can afford him. 

give meds enough time for results. 1 year before your surgery you should start meds. 

[YodaHead]

Thanks a lot all of you for helping out. I have only just started reading/ researching HT and so glad i found this forum. 
So then, sounds like getting on a treatment first for sometime and seeing the results will better position me for the HT.

Eugenix (top two packages) or Pittella are the top choices is what i am hearing. Haven’t done much research on Zarev, but if its a long wait+higher cost than the other two, i will pass. Hopefully, Pittella’s prices don’t go too high in next 12 months (considering his results and increasing popularity). 
 

I will continue to post on my journey! Cheers!

 

[AmeliaGamble]

On 6/5/2023 at 5:43 AM, YodaHead said:

I have only recently joined this forum and quite amazed by the quality information available here. Thank you all in advance for reading.
 

About me:

South East Asian men born in India, living in the US. Currently in my mid 30s.
 

My hairloss history:

Started losing hair at the age of 16-17. The hair loss has been gradual but at this point it appears to be NW6-7.

I have never taken any medication/treatment for hairloss but happy to start if not too late now. I have always had dandruff issues ever since i was a kid and Nizoral shampoo helps. When I don’t use this shampoo it gets to point where i can feel dead skin on my scalp and as a scratch/scrub it off, it would even bleed a bit.

I have not been to a dermatologist yet but will be visiting one in next few days for the first time to better understand/confirm the cause of my haiross and if there are other things at play other than male pattern baldness. Also to see if there are any other skin conditions involved (causing dryness/dandruff etc.)

As i read more about hairloss/baldness, i am not so confident about me being a good HT candidate. Do i have diffused hairloss pattern? Is my donor area very poor? Am i even a candidate for HT? And so many more questions have come-up that I don’t have clear answer to.

Plan of action:

1. Will be seeing dermatologist in few days just to learn more. Want to see if he will recommend finesteride/minoxidil.

2. Have already researched HT surgeons  and have initiated a consultation/communication with them. Just waiting for my dermatologist appointment and work scheduling before i can decide the dates that will best work for me for HT (if that is even an option). In the meantime, i am just researching more about the clinics and surgeons.

- Eugenix : Have reached out to them and have had a positive initial feedback based on photos. They seem to have good experience with NW6/7.

- Dr. Felipe Pittella: Awaiting feedback. I have seen his resuults and i feel if no one else can do it, this guy can. 

- Dr. Bicer (Turkey): Dr Bicer was the one suggested that i first see a dermatologist since my hairloss pattern is slightly different (according to dr bicer).

- Dr. Bhatti (Darling buds): I know that this site no longer recommends his clinic but to be honest I am impressed with his knowledge. He took the time out to personally leave me a voicemail after seeing my photos and has given positive feedback. 
 

I honestly am okay to even have a road-like strip of hair at the top of my head going from front to the crown. I just want some hair/density at the top. 
 

Any thoughts/suggestions from anyone? Also, feel free to ask any questions.
 

Photo(s) attached:

It's great that you're seeking information and exploring options for addressing your hair loss concerns. I want to write an essay about Harriet Tubman, thus I'm looking for examples online to help me with writing suggestions. While looking for it, I came across this https://writinguniverse.com/free-essay-examples/rape/ website. I can acquire the best essay examples from this and see rape examples, which helps me finish my essay project on time.

Any update? :)

[YodaHead]

I visited a dermatologist last week. He checked and confirmed that my hairloss is a typical male pattern baldness and nothing else. He thinks i would be a good candidate for HT. He got me started on following meds and suggested that I wait for a few months and then go for HT.

He got me started on oral minoxidil 2.5, AND a topical compound, which is basically a single solution containing mix of minoxidil + Finesteride + Tretinoin. I never knew that there are special pharmacies that create compound mix based on doctor prescription. 

I have a call setup with Eugenix tomorrow to further discuss HT options.

Eugenix and Pittella are the two i am leaning towards based on research so far. Depending on how the conversation goes with them + the cost….I will decide. In any case, I have definitely made up my mind about getting HT.

 

[GoliGoliGoli]

The tricky thing about being at your level of hair loss in your mid 30's is that in order to fill in all the areas you need to fill, you will need to go outside of the "safe" donor zone. And even if you did fill in all or most of the areas that are bald, you would still have more loss in the future. 

So basically, you may spend a lot of money and time to get a result that only lasts 3-5 years because some of the hair that was transplanted will be susceptible to DHT. I'm not saying that will happen, but it's just a risk for guys in your situation. 

[YodaHead]

@GoliGoliGoli- Thank you. Yes, I definitely see your point. 
If i understand correctly, you are saying that hair used from outside of the safe donor areas will ultimately be affected by DHT and may require additional HT?

What if i am able to get enough grafts from the safe donor area + beard + chest? (a big IF)?.

Also, wanted to point out that although my head appears large in pictures, it really is smaller than average head size—this may/may not matter.