Go for HT before before or after minoxidil start working?

[Rickard_c]

Hello everybody!

 

Long time lurker, occasional poster, with no more than basic knowledge about HT/hair loss etc, here. Would be very grateful for this eminent forum’s opinion on my thought.

 

So I did not only 1, but 2, bad HTs with ”no-name” surgeons (Life time clinic and Nordic hair clinic, 2017 and 2018) at young age. I moved my natural high hair line about 1 cm lower. The result doesnt look terrible but by no means good either.

 

I’m planing to do at repair surgery. My donor area is partly over harvested and I’m pretty young, 38. I have decided what surgeon I’m going with and hoping to fill in cancelation on short notice since I’m flexible. I have limited grafts and the clinic I’m in contact with suspect that I have some thinning in donor area, even though its hard to tell because of earlier surgeries (I havent seen them IRL, they have just seen photos).

 

I have been eating finasteride since 2018 and have been using topical minoxidil from time to time. After not been using minoxidil for about 2-3 years, I started using it again for about 1,5 months ago.

 

My question: Should I wait with surgery for minoxidil to start work? Is it better to do surgery before it starts working? Or doesnt make much of a difference?

 

As I understand, the up side to not let it work is that the surgeon can spot the hairs that is most resistent, which potentialy could be good for the longevity of the overall result.

 

However, I suppose letting minoxidil work could potentialy give me more graft in donor area to work with, which especially is good in my case with limited grafts? Or does minoxidil not work on donor area?

 

I have been reading as much as I can about this, but cant find any good information about it. The clinic I’m in contact with says it should be fine to undergo surgery with out waiting for minoxidil to work (even though they usually think my age is quite young for surgery in generall).

 

What do you guys think. Wait a couple of months, or go before minoxidil start working?