Is my donor area thick enough? European clinic suggestions welcome

[UnknownDeath2002]

I'm 26 and have been taking finasteride since I was 23. I was diffuse thinning and had recession in temples for about two years prior. Finasteride has thankfully halted this, but now I'm in a position where I want to get a transplant to recover the ground I lost before then. However, I naturally have thin, straight hair so I was wondering if this would be a negative in terms of harvesting from a donor area for FUE?

I must add that although my hairline is terrible, it actually hadn't receeded that much from its natural state before I got on finasteride. The last two photos are of me aged 15 or 16 before I ever started balding. I was born with an awful hairline. Don't think this would have any impact on getting a transplant but felt it would be worth adding. I certainly would not be looking for a straight, low hairline to be transplanted because it would look very weird on me bit I want something that would give a natural impression, similar to what my hairline was like back then. 

My budget would be about €6k bur willing to go a bit above if a clinic is highly recommended. I have seen some excellent results from Turkish clinics on r/hairtransplants but whenever I search the same clinics here they are labelled as hair Mills so it's all a bit confusing. I have a lot of travel plans next summer so I dually I would like to get a transplant in the next 3-4 months but I'm willing to wait if any of the highly recommended clinics have a longer waiting list. Any suggestions appreciated.

[Doron Harati]

Hellob @UnknownDeath2002, seems your good candidate at NW3A class.

Straight hair is easier for the clinic to punch and extract.

HDC clinic highly recommend in this forum over a decade, we also fit your budget, you can read many reviews about both our MDs, Dr. Maras and Dr. Christina work.

Your case seems pretty straight forward to cover your frontal area, you welcome to contact me on WhatApp for consultation with the clinic.

[jjalay]

14 hours ago, UnknownDeath2002 said:

I'm 26 and have been taking finasteride since I was 23. I was diffuse thinning and had recession in temples for about two years prior. Finasteride has thankfully halted this, but now I'm in a position where I want to get a transplant to recover the ground I lost before then. However, I naturally have thin, straight hair so I was wondering if this would be a negative in terms of harvesting from a donor area for FUE?

I must add that although my hairline is terrible, it actually hadn't receeded that much from its natural state before I got on finasteride. The last two photos are of me aged 15 or 16 before I ever started balding. I was born with an awful hairline. Don't think this would have any impact on getting a transplant but felt it would be worth adding. I certainly would not be looking for a straight, low hairline to be transplanted because it would look very weird on me bit I want something that would give a natural impression, similar to what my hairline was like back then. 

My budget would be about €6k bur willing to go a bit above if a clinic is highly recommended. I have seen some excellent results from Turkish clinics on r/hairtransplants but whenever I search the same clinics here they are labelled as hair Mills so it's all a bit confusing. I have a lot of travel plans next summer so I dually I would like to get a transplant in the next 3-4 months but I'm willing to wait if any of the highly recommended clinics have a longer waiting list. Any suggestions appreciated.

In your plase i would wait a couple years more before proceeding with surgery. Your donor looks sparse and you have thin hair. Your hairloss at this age isnt finilised. You might need these grafts later on to cover more ground.

[Vann]

Depending on your family history and future potential to lose hair. I would suggest getting on oral minox if you are able to tolerate the medication at 2.5mg you can switch to 5mg. 

You can also try swapping to dutasteride 0.5mg but of course speak to your physician and see if you  are a good fit for the meds.

Your donor looks so so from the photos its hard to say given the length and photo resolution. But with your hair characteristics I think you would need a ton of grafts and many future operations (3-4) to get something over the next 10-20-30 years. 

With that being said I think you should consider FUT... perhaps wait a bit longer and save some money and see how the other two meds I mentioned do over the next 12-18 months. Hopefully, by that point youll have a couple of dollars saved to do whichever procedure you find would best fit you.

Additionally, there is a drug trial for verteporfin that you should follow and see if that could potentially reduce any type of scarring you would have from either FUT/FUE and potentially be another way for you to get some grafts back.

Just remember, surgery should be your last resort because whether it is successful or not. You are stuck with whatever happens.

Edited October 23, 2023 by Vann

[UnknownDeath2002]

6 hours ago, jjalay said:

In your plase i would wait a couple years more before proceeding with surgery. Your donor looks sparse and you have thin hair. Your hairloss at this age isnt finilised. You might need these grafts later on to cover more ground.

My hair has been the exact same for about three years now since I started finasteride. My hairline recession stopped and I experienced some slight thickening in areas that had thinned. I don't think there would be any difference in my hair in another two or three years time, unless I add in minoxidil to my regimen which I appreciate might be suitable in my scenario. I really would like to avoid having to apply it everyday however!

[UnknownDeath2002]

5 hours ago, Vann said:

Depending on your family history and future potential to lose hair. I would suggest getting on oral minox if you are able to tolerate the medication at 2.5mg you can switch to 5mg. 

You can also try swapping to dutasteride 0.5mg but of course speak to your physician and see if you  are a good fit for the meds.

Your donor looks so so from the photos its hard to say given the length and photo resolution. But with your hair characteristics I think you would need a ton of grafts and many future operations (3-4) to get something over the next 10-20-30 years. 

With that being said I think you should consider FUT... perhaps wait a bit longer and save some money and see how the other two meds I mentioned do over the next 12-18 months. Hopefully, by that point youll have a couple of dollars saved to do whichever procedure you find would best fit you.

Additionally, there is a drug trial for verteporfin that you should follow and see if that could potentially reduce any type of scarring you would have from either FUT/FUE and potentially be another way for you to get some grafts back.

Just remember, surgery should be your last resort because whether it is successful or not. You are stuck with whatever happens.

Thanks for all the interesting info. My family heart history isn't great which is why I have been reluctant to try oral minoxidil but probably no harm in giving it a trial and seeing how it goes. Would you recommend switching to dutasteride as it would give an extra chance for regrowth?

I'm not sure if my donor area appears worse because I got a skin fade a couple of weeks back. I definitely don't have naturally thick hair, but it's the same thickness in the potential donor areas as it is on the top of my head which have not experienced thinning. However there is a big difference in the length of the hair.

[Gatsby]

On 10/22/2023 at 9:04 PM, UnknownDeath2002 said:

I have seen some excellent results from Turkish clinics on r/hairtransplants but whenever I search the same clinics here they are labelled as hair Mills so it's all a bit confusing. I have a lot of travel plans next summer so I dually I would like to get a transplant in the next 3-4 months but I'm willing to wait if any of the highly recommended clinics have a longer waiting list.

Take your time. Do not rush. I recommend that you spend at least a year researching before getting cut. Surgery is a lifelong commitment. Look at patient results posted here and look for patients with a similar hair loss and with results that you are looking for. You really need a surgeon who is excellent in donor management and at only 26 your donor is going to change so the longer you stay on meds and wait before having surgery the better. All the best!

[UnknownDeath2002]

10 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

Take your time. Do not rush. I recommend that you spend at least a year researching before getting cut. Surgery is a lifelong commitment. Look at patient results posted here and look for patients with a similar hair loss and with results that you are looking for. You really need a surgeon who is excellent in donor management and at only 26 your donor is going to change so the longer you stay on meds and wait before having surgery the better. All the best!

Thank you. Having read the replies here and looking into it further this morning, I think I will give oral minoxidil a go before going down any surgical route. Some people's results from it are amazing and as you say it is less 'permanent' than a not so good transplant.

[Vann]

4 hours ago, UnknownDeath2002 said:

Thanks for all the interesting info. My family heart history isn't great which is why I have been reluctant to try oral minoxidil but probably no harm in giving it a trial and seeing how it goes. Would you recommend switching to dutasteride as it would give an extra chance for regrowth?

I'm not sure if my donor area appears worse because I got a skin fade a couple of weeks back. I definitely don't have naturally thick hair, but it's the same thickness in the potential donor areas as it is on the top of my head which have not experienced thinning. However there is a big difference in the length of the hair.

Photos sometimes are hard to measure miniaturization across the board. It really depends on a factor of things that surgeons prefer to test in person.

as far as oral minox. Please consult with your physician and list all questions, concerns, and family history with them. Sometimes it’s not worth the adverse side effects.

with addition to dut… I was on fin for awhile but when I switch les to dut 0.5 mg daily I noticed a tremendous difference in my hair within the 2 years (more like 15 months) but you can always do what you tolerate best.  You may not always regrow but you could probably save a lot more grafts in the future.