Planning for FUE & beyond..

[Morrelis]

Hi folks, newbie here and looking to get a transplant up in Leeds as early as September. However, my line of work is presenting events, so I'm conscious of how "presentable" I will be for the weeks and months after - Do you have any tips on the time it will take to look fairly normal and if not, the rules on what certain headwear can be used?

I've added some pics of where I am right now; I've been receding for a while but the crown loss is new and I'm keen to get this done sooner rather than later as both my Dad and uncle are completely bald.

Looking forward to seeing your answers.

[BackFromTheBrink]

Are you currently on any medication - it'd be a good place to start.

In terms of recovery, wearing hats is only really possible after 2 weeks. 

Shaveless FUE is generally the fastest surgery to recover from but is frowned upon by many.

[Morrelis]

4 minutes ago, BackFromTheBrink said:

Are you currently on any medication - it'd be a good place to start.

In terms of recovery, wearing hats is only really possible after 2 weeks. 

Shaveless FUE is generally the fastest surgery to recover from but is frowned upon by many.

I'm not on any medication, Saw Palmetto is the only thing I'm taking. 

[AhmadChaudhry]

59 minutes ago, Morrelis said:

I'm not on any medication, Saw Palmetto is the only thing I'm taking. 

  Hi, does Saw Palmetto work in your case? What is your personal experience in terms of improvement after its use?  I read somewhere in this forum that Saw palmetto does not work. 

[Morrelis]

4 minutes ago, AhmadChaudhry said:

  Hi, does Saw Palmetto work in your case? What is your personal experience in terms of improvement after its use?  I read somewhere in this forum that Saw palmetto does not work. 

To be honest, I've been taking it for other reasons so I wasn't aware it was something that would help with hair loss? 

[AhmadChaudhry]

sir, you need 2000 to 25oo grafts for your frontal baldness and 1500 grafts for your crown area. You may spread your procedure in two days. However, you have a tendency to get more baldness in future so to prevent future hair loss , Minoxidil and Finasteride is recommended. 

[AhmadChaudhry]

2 minutes ago, Morrelis said:

To be honest, I've been taking it for other reasons so I wasn't aware it was something that would help with hair loss? 

It works for prostate and hair as well. Its DHT blocker ( 5  alpha reductase inhibitor). 

[BackFromTheBrink]

Have you considered finesteride and minoxidyl? 

They may be able to help slow down your loss, or even regrow some hair. 

There are plenty of threads on here about the pros and cons, but id personally suggest going into it with an open mind knowing the alternative is chasing losses through multiple surgeries.

[Morrelis]

3 minutes ago, BackFromTheBrink said:

Have you considered finesteride and minoxidyl? 

They may be able to help slow down your loss, or even regrow some hair. 

There are plenty of threads on here about the pros and cons, but id personally suggest going into it with an open mind knowing the alternative is chasing losses through multiple surgeries.

I think I do need to look into F & M before I go for broke and book a procedure - how soon do the results start to show? I guess it varies for each person depending on age, metabolism, health, etc.

 

[BackFromTheBrink]

4 minutes ago, Morrelis said:

I think I do need to look into F & M before I go for broke and book a procedure - how soon do the results start to show? I guess it varies for each person depending on age, metabolism, health, etc.

 

Ideally you'd do both - take the medication to give the surgeon more options when planning and to strengthen miniatured hair to ensure its not lost during the trauma of surgery.

In terms of timescale I would suggest 6 months at least to show you can tolerate the medication and to see if there are an green shoots of recovery. They say finesteride can improve hair for up to 2 years (but will obviously continue loss prevention after that).

I would say there's an extremely low probability of regrowth on your hairline, but the crown often can benefit.

Edited July 24, 2023 by BackFromTheBrink

[A_4_Archan]

@Morrelis Doing Hair Transplant will not solve your issue..You will do HT and implant new hairs but you will keep on loosing your native hairs and you will be in the same situation again in near future and thats how your will keep on chasing your hairs...The core issue is you are loosing hairs and HT cannot prevent it...so you have to fist target that and fix that...so as the other posters suggested ,you should get on medication which will help you to slow down/stabilise your hairloss progression...

Generally it is advised to be on medication for 10-12 months prior to surgery as it takes this many months to show its full potential ....but in your particular case there is no chance that a medication can improve you hairline so i would say you can plan your surgery a bit early...consult a doctor and start medication and be on it for 6 months which will help your donor and make it strong which is important and than can plan surgery to fix your hairline first which will frame your face well and leave your mid scalp and crown as it is and continue being on medication to improve your mid scalp and crown...

You can wear cap after 10 days...the best thing you can do to somewhat hide(less noticeable) a HT is by keeping your hairs very short and keep a fade look till evrythng starts growing which can take upto 4 months..i hope this helps you ..best of luck...

[mr_peanutbutter]

i can already see your norwood 6 pattern forming, the hairs there already miniature resulting in a difference of density. not only will you lose all the hairs on top but the crown will also dip. so you will follow the footsteps of your dad and uncle in the next years

 

so if you dont take medication you need to take this into account (follow up procedures which will cost time and money, conservative planning when it comes to hairline and density etc)

Edited July 25, 2023 by mr_peanutbutter

[Morrelis]

1 hour ago, A_4_Archan said:

@Morrelis Doing Hair Transplant will not solve your issue..You will do HT and implant new hairs but you will keep on loosing your native hairs and you will be in the same situation again in near future and thats how your will keep on chasing your hairs...The core issue is you are loosing hairs and HT cannot prevent it...so you have to fist target that and fix that...so as the other posters suggested ,you should get on medication which will help you to slow down/stabilise your hairloss progression...

Generally it is advised to be on medication for 10-12 months prior to surgery as it takes this many months to show its full potential ....but in your particular case there is no chance that a medication can improve you hairline so i would say you can plan your surgery a bit early...consult a doctor and start medication and be on it for 6 months which will help your donor and make it strong which is important and than can plan surgery to fix your hairline first which will frame your face well and leave your mid scalp and crown as it is and continue being on medication to improve your mid scalp and crown...

You can wear cap after 10 days...the best thing you can do to somewhat hide(less noticeable) a HT is by keeping your hairs very short and keep a fade look till evrythng starts growing which can take upto 4 months..i hope this helps you ..best of luck...

Thanks for the advice, really helpful - I think I will delay any plans for HT and see what the medication does