Hair Transplant without taking finasteride.

[Hdog31]

Hi all, first time poster here.

28M, I started receding at the temples approx 7 years ago. I initially took finasteride for around a year, but didn't notice it doing much and ended up stopping it.

The receding was very slow and my hairline hasn't changed much at all for the past 5 years, now sitting at NW2-3. No balding at the crown at all, just high temples. The interesting thing is that my grandfather has a high hairline like my current one, and it stayed that way his whole life without progressing. At this point i think my hair has stopped receding and maybe this is my permanent hair line.

In light of this, I am seriously considering a hair transplant without ever taking finasteride. I'm feeling pretty confident going down this path due to the stable hair situation, and very dense donor area. 

Anyone have any counter points / hard earned lessons to share that this is not a good idea?

Edited May 12 by Hdog31

[Shadman]

@Hdog31 can you share some photos ?

[mr_peanutbutter]

it really depends on the individual and the individual end norwood that everyone is genetical destinied to become to

some people are destinied to not lose any hair at all, some are destinied to lose some but it stops at norwood 2, 3, 4, 5 … and some are destinied to to go full norwood 6 or 7

family history can give a hint where you personally journey might go but of course you often cant predict exactly which norwood status yours will be and when you will reach it.

a bit more reliable would it be if the doctor would look for miniaturization patterns with a microscope, id say with 35 its mostly clear at this point when your journey goes to.

a buzzcut would also be very revealing at that point and age (after 30) many people seem to have a full head of hair but are already heavily balding. a thinning pattern can reveal itself often years if not decades before the baldness completely hits. and that pattern gets exposed the best with a buzzcut 

noteworthy to say the donor can thin out with time, meaning almost no 70 year old has the same donor density as he had it with 25. this means that also your ht will most likely thin out with time. finasteride can delay and prevent that

the degree and heaviness is also individual

 

 

long story short:

 

its definitely more risky to get an ht without fin because you cant tell without absolutely certainty if you will or will not continue balding after ht. everyone is genetically destinied to reach a certain norwood level. family history and looking out for balding patterns (after 30) with microscope or buzzcut can give you a hint.

you also need to take future donor thinning into account which is also hard to predict, especially the younger you are at the ht

 

[Gatsby]

6 hours ago, Hdog31 said:

Hi all, first time poster here.

28M, I started receding at the temples approx 7 years ago. I initially took finasteride for around a year, but didn't notice it doing much and ended up stopping it.

The receding was very slow and my hairline hasn't changed much at all for the past 5 years, now sitting at NW2-3. No balding at the crown at all, just high temples. The interesting thing is that my grandfather has a high hairline like my current one, and it stayed that way his whole life without progressing. At this point i think my hair has stopped receding and maybe this is my permanent hair line.

In light of this, I am seriously considering a hair transplant without ever taking finasteride. I'm feeling pretty confident going down this path due to the stable hair situation, and very dense donor area. 

Anyone have any counter points / hard earned lessons to share that this is not a good idea?

I’ve read many posts where people wish that they had started Finasteride years ago. At your age and unless you had side effects I would strongly recommend that you continue with the drug (I’m not a doctor). MPB can wax and wane over the lifespan and if you are considering surgery, being able to stabilize your hair loss is a massive advantage. At Norwood 2-3 you have a lot of hair to keep. All the best.