2nd HT at age 21..Good or Bad idea?

[Brav989]

I'm 21 years old. Had my first HT 1 year ago of 2205 grafts mainly focused in the frontal area, but spread throughout the front/bridge area. I've been losing hair since approx age 16 and by age 20 basically had 0 hair in the frontal/hairline area. I've been on propecia for the last 2 years approx. So far it seems to have stopped (or at least slowed down) the hair loss in my crown/bridge area. Right now I basically want to bring the density of my hairline and frontal region to the 45 grafts per/cm area. Conceiling the thinning of my bridge/crown is fairly easy (using toppik), so the front is my main concern/what i distress over mostly.

 

 

I'm basically just looking for some insight/opinions on this sort of decision at my age. Here is a link to some pictures of my hairloss/first procedure..

 

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f...6060861/m/7541089281

 

And thank you in advance for the replies

[Brav989]

I'm 21 years old. Had my first HT 1 year ago of 2205 grafts mainly focused in the frontal area, but spread throughout the front/bridge area. I've been losing hair since approx age 16 and by age 20 basically had 0 hair in the frontal/hairline area. I've been on propecia for the last 2 years approx. So far it seems to have stopped (or at least slowed down) the hair loss in my crown/bridge area. Right now I basically want to bring the density of my hairline and frontal region to the 45 grafts per/cm area. Conceiling the thinning of my bridge/crown is fairly easy (using toppik), so the front is my main concern/what i distress over mostly.

 

 

I'm basically just looking for some insight/opinions on this sort of decision at my age. Here is a link to some pictures of my hairloss/first procedure..

 

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f...6060861/m/7541089281

 

And thank you in advance for the replies

[damo]

Brav i have had 2 procedures now.My 2nd procedure was only 7 months ago where i had 1400 grafts put in to give me more density from my 1st procedure.I also got them at 45cm/2.Its only early days for me at 7 months its only 20% through.If you would like some pics check out my website.

 

Damo

[Robert_]

Brav989,

 

The main two concerns that I have for you when you speak of getting a second procedure at 21 are shock loss and remaining donor area hair.

 

I realize that you want the front to be thicker, but you are going to have to be prepared to compromise some density to an extent as well as how low your hairline should be placed. I think that if your physician carefully placed the grafts to give you a nice, mature hair line complete with appropriate temporal recession, you should be ok. I know that you don't expect a wall of hair up front, but you are going to have to consider that your hairline is going to remain pretty high.

 

If you take a look at my own photos, my own hair line was restored with fairly significant temporal recession remaining. Now that I am 27, it looks totally natural and (dare I say) even flattering. A mature hairline goes a long way, and those temples really "eat" up a lot of grafts. In my opinion, this will go a long way with you.

 

I would definitely stay away from having any work done in the crown right now, but this is my opinion. You have had some pretty severe loss and Propecia can go a long way in staving off future loss. I think with the addition of minoxidil you can thicken up what you have back there pretty considerably.

 

Remember, these are just my opinions. I think that with some great planning you can come off with a hairline that will be age-appropriate and still not totally deplete your donor area but you are going to have to keep your expectations realistic.

 

-Robert

[Brav989]

When I had the first HT, the doc did place individual 1 hair grafts in the front (to start a hairline). it's approx 3 cm above where my natural hairline is. It doesn't look too high, but doesn't look too low. At least in my opinion.

[trepidation]

This raises an interesting point, one that I believe many hair transplant recipients don't or didn't initially understand. A hair transplant ultimately doesn't cure hairloss, it merely buys you a little time then you have to go through this again and again and again.

 

A combination of a hair transplant and meds is obviously the best course of action but don't you guys who have gone through this fear for the future? Fear for when you'll have to go through this again? Fear of not knowing what lies around the corner?

 

There's just so many variables that one cannot predict and I have to say I'm currently petrified for the future. Hopefully this will subside!

[troy]

trepidation , Yes I believe one should make there coarse with the future in mind, but once a person does all the research and feels comfortable its time to make a decision, And being afraid is not a fun way to live. Way to many people are extact about there ht and how it has impacted there life in a positive way. And with the compitent doctors, why wouldnt you? because your afraid? that is not a reason to not move forward in life in any catagoy, would you also never date because of fear or have kids? Fear is only a precautionary to do research, after extensive research fear should subside, and you will have anxioty, but feel confident with whta results to expect. I think it is quite possible to fear the change more than the actual proceedure, or fear the uknown. my 2 cents

[Brav989]

Yes, of course I have fear for my future hair loss. Will propecia and minoxidil work? Possibly, but for how long? Couldn't really say. Either way I'm not going to let fear get in my way of doing something I want to accomplish. If everybody gave up on something because they were scared, where would we all be today?

[trepidation]

I hear what your saying guys and I completely agree - I guess its just the post op blues for now, good days and bad days.....once bitten twice shy and all! Anyway cheers chaps, your thoughts are bang on.

[Brav989]

Trep..how old are you/what is the severity of your hair loss? Kinda curious how it compares to mine. As you can see from my pre-op photos (taken nov 2004, just 3 months after my 20th bday) my hair loss situation is verryyy bad.

[JohnH]

Brav989, I say go for it. If I were you, I would be moving as much hair from the back to the front as I could. It's been a year since your last procedure so you should be good to go.

[Brav989]

I'm sure I will..hopefully. Just need to find a real good doc at dense packing. Really wish I would have known about Hasson and Wong when I did my procedure last year. I would have been able to knock out 4,000 or so grafts in one sitting and not have to worry about another one . Will just hate having to hide my head again while the scalp heals/hair grows back, since im sure the doc will trim the hair down to do the transplant. For me it will just interupt quite a bit with my school/work/social life.

[Robert_]

Brav989,

 

Not all physicians shave the area, but even if you select a doctor that prefers to shave the area, a carefully worn baseball cap works wonders. At 21, noone will question why you're wearing it anyway (at least noone did when I wore mine all the time at 25). I have some tips to wearing a cap post-op without endangering the grafts I can share with you if you're interested.

 

-Robert

[DanielTaylor2]

yes robert! could you explain the proper way to wear a hat post-op. my main concern is the airport on my way home. my surgery is set for feb. 16th with Dr. Wong in Vancouver. thanks!

 

daniel

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Bump, I was wondering if Robert could share his baseball cap wearing tips??

[PCC]

Brav989,

 

I also began losing my hair in my teens and almost certainly would have been at the level you were by my early to mid 20's if not for my proceedures.

 

Judging by the information on the "dry erase board" you are holding in one of your pre-op photos, I assume you went to MHR. Care to share your perspective on your experience with the organization and the particular office and surgeon?

 

I think your results from your first proceedure look very good.

 

Phil

[Robert_]

Sure guys. I'll let you know what I did after both of my procedures.

 

Right after the procedure, I went home with a VERY loose fitting ball cap supplied by Dr. Cooley. This is nothing you'd really want to go out in, since it would make a "trucker hat" look small, but it got me home.

 

The next day I chilled out.

 

After that, I would take a strip of Saran Wrap that was large enough to cover the recipient area and spray one side with the spray that Dr. Cooley provides for all of his patients. This spray is very much like Graftcyte or similar products but Dr. Cooley makes it himself and gives it out free. You can also use water in a spray bottle, I just used his spray because I had it and it was good to keep the grafts saturated with it.

 

I then laid this plastic barrier on the recipient area being careful to completely cover any grafts. I then carefully placed my favorite ballcap on my head by placing it on my forehead first and then pulling it down in the back. This is so I could make sure that the plastic wouldnt shift around.

 

Tuck any remaining plastic that may hang out the sides into the cap.

 

As long as you are careful that the ballcap isn't TOO tight, this will work great. If it is too tight there is the chance that you could offset the angulation of the newly-placed grafts the first few days. After about 5 this will not be a concern.

 

I wore the plastic this way for about 12 days. You can probably get away with 10 or so, but I like to be more safe than sorry.

 

Hope this helps.

 

-Robert

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

What do you guys think about 4 days post-op? How safe am I to travel?? I have an almost 19 hour travel time via plane. I'll have a connection stop over where I can spray the grafts or whatever, plus the restroom breaks I guess. I'm thinking I may wear a bandana on the plane, what do you guys think? An ordinary hat without a transplant would irritate my scalp let alone with all the healing going on.

 

Thanks for your support fellas.

[hairbank]

There should be no issue with traveling for your HT as far as any damage to the grafts as long as your careful. Most travel the day after the HT. Whether you go with the bandana or the hat, just make sure it's not resting "on" the grafts. The hats supplied by most HT clinics are big enough to get the job done. A "loose fitting" bandana should get the job done as well.

 

I had a 4 1/2 hour flight for my recent HT. If I had a 19 hour flight and had the option, IMO I'd definitely pay the freight for 1st class so I could get comfortable.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Thanks hairbank,

 

The ordinary ticket is costing me around $2700+ USD, that's alot of potatoes - enough to take me all over the world, from U.S. to Europe and back home.

 

The flight back will be nasty, no doubt, but graft safety is my #1 concern.