My hair

[whynot]

Hi everyone thanks for viewing. this is my first time posting, hope i did it right.

 

I am thinking of getting a HT. i have been to 2 doctors and think I need about 4800 graphs. I am nervous to get this done because i might not be satisfied with the resluts. What do you think? Can a HT help me? Can I expect to have decent coverage. I have been shaving my head for 2 years. it looks good on me , but i Hate being bald, plain and simple. I just started growing my hair the past 2 months. I also started propecia, minoxidil, and nozoral in the past 3 weeks. hopefully these products can offer some minute help. what do you think?

I have another consultation with Dr. True this week. From what I read he is a great man in the field. thanks

 

 

 

[Gorpy]

Hi WhyNot and welcome. 4800 sounds like a reasonable start. You might feel you need more than that later. It's amazing how many grafts it takes to get a reasonably dense look. You have a large bald spot on your crown. It could easily eat up 2000 grafts. Depending on your preferences, you might consider leaving the crown with minimal coverage or even wait for a second pass to cover it.

 

Don't get me wrong. I think you could get some decent coverage with 4800. It all depends on your expectations.

[Mark H]

whynot, choose the right doctor.

 

Thats it.

 

If you choose a coalition doctor such as Dr. True, your chances of disappointment are rather small I think.

 

Choose someone else, and the subsequent months of baldness will sink you in a pool of doubt, and the result may well be second rate.

[hairbank]

Good choice starting with the meds and hair/scalp regimen. Maybe you will be a good responder or, at the least, maintain what you have.

 

I'd consult with a few of the Coalition Surgeons recommended here and see what they say. If you want reasonable density and full coverage, I'd guess you'll need more than 4800 grafts. It's more difficult to achieve the appearance of density in the crown, if I were to guess (and that's what I'm doing) I'd say you'll need more like 3000+ in the crown and 3000-4000 in front for total coverage with decent density (assuming that's what you're after).

 

How old are you?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hello whynot and welcome,

 

I agree with my comrades above. 4800 grafts is a great start. Depending on your goals, you might find yourself needing another session in the future. Your hairloss pattern looks very similar to mine. Not being a doctor myself, but from your pictures, I might consider doing 4800 grafts in the front half to 2/3rds and then going back for a second HT of about 2000-3000 (if you have it) for the crown.

 

Dr. True is an excellent doctor and I'm sure he will be able to provide some excellent results for you. Consult with Dr. True and other doctors and find out too, what they think about how many grafts they think they can get for you in a single session. Some doctors feel more comfortable harvesting more in a single session than others. It will depend on how many times you want to be in the chair. Feel free to check out the links below that show my journey to restore my hair.

 

Bill

 

Bill

[whynot]

Thanks for your responces. It is nice to speak to people besides doctors about this. I would be willing to do what ever it takes to have a decent head of hair.

 

I havent noticed the crown till i started growing my hair back recently. i guess it just kind of crept up on me. hopefully some graphs and meds can help bring it back to a half way decent look. I plan on growing my hair about 2" or more all around, this should help disguise some of my baldness, but i don't wanna look like a freak either. thats the thing I know i can shave my head and it looks good, but if i get graphs i will have a donor scar and wont be able to shave my head any more.

 

I am 32 and figure i have at least 50-60 more years left on this planet and don't want to spend them as" that bald guy over there." lol. I think if the front was filled in i would feel alot better being thats what more people see when they see you. but the crown can't be neglected. Thanks agian, if you have anything else for me please share . Whynot

[Bill - Seemiller]

Whynot,

 

I know what you mean man. I didn't want to be the bald guy over there either. That's why I started doing research like you are now. You are in the right place...this has been like a "home" to me. There are some really good people on here and there is much information to be found.

 

Just a tip btw...I think it's better to wear your hair short exposing a bald spot than it is to grow it longer and try to hide it. People notice an attempt at a "combover" and it normally doesn't go over very well. That's why for my last HT, I decided to at least tackle the crown a little bit so it at least has some hair on it...sure it will still look thin, but at least not completely bald.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Bill

[Robert_]

Whynot,

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

 

I am confident that a well-planned hair restoration surgery (or multiple surgeries) can be a successful venture for your if you are reasonable in your expectations. Reasonable as in, you will never regain a full head of hair with current hair restoration options. However, with the latest techniques in ultra-refined follicular unit hair transplantation the illusion of coverage can go a very long way.

 

Don't be put off by that word "illusion." For instance, a person generally is not visibly thinning until a full 50% of his native hair has already jumped ship. That means, for all areas that you would like to have good coverage regained, you can have transplant far less than what you originally had to achieve awesome results. With the impeccable artistry of Coalition hair restoration surgeons, the number needed for an aesthetically-pleasing result can be remarkably small.

 

However, here is where your expectations need to be reasonable. You have lost a lot of hair. You aren't going to get it all back. I'm sure you know this already since you seem like an intelligent guy, but if anyone has to be the bearer of bad news, it may as well be me.

 

You are doing good to start on the Propecia, the minoxidil, and the nizoral. Use them diligently. As in, NO DAYS OFF. Ok, ok. Give yourself one day off a month. But no more. We have hair to grow here.

 

Now, as you may or may not know, all of those products work best on the crown. They just do. You also have a lot of sparse real estate back there. The crown can be a virtual "black hole" for grafts. Eats them right up.

 

Now considering all of this, you may want to consider an initial procedure that concentrates on framing your face; that concentrates on your hair line and forelock. You can have a hairline back that will suit your face today and 50 years from now. Take a look at my own pics in my hair loss weblog if you want an example of this.

 

While that initial HT is growing in, you will be giving yourself time to see how you react to the Propecia, the minoxidil, and the nizoral. Don't expect miracles, but you may be surprised and see some growth back there on your crown. Some guys respond really well to it but it takes a few months to see. During that time, your first HT will be growing in. You could be sitting pretty well in a year's time with some good planning and diligence with the meds.

 

Dr. True is a fantastic physician and I have watched both he and his colleague, Dr. Dorin perform surgery myself. I would have absolutely no qualms about sitting in the chair with either of them doing surgery on me. So I recommend them both highly. You can read about and see photos from my visit to their clinic here.

 

I hope this helps and I'll be around if you have any more questions.

 

Good luck!

 

-Robert

[Bill - Seemiller]

I have one more piece of advice regarding Nizoral shampoo.

 

Be careful using the Nizoral shampoo right after an HT. It irritated my scalp pretty badly after my second HT. Dr. True was suspecting that the Nizoral shampoo may have had something to do with the extended redness and irritation I experienced as well as the level of shockloss I experienced. He's the doctor so he knows more than I do...but I'm suspecting the shockloss had more to do with it being a normalcy for me...it happened in both the first and the second surgery.

 

Additionally regarding Nizoral shampoo...I started using it at around 9 months post op 3X a week. About 10 months post op, it just appeared that my hair texture was much more dry, and it had a "thinner" appearance than before I used it. I'm not sure if everyone experiences this or if I was the unlucky one. But needless to say...give it a try, but monitor it. If it's irritating your scalp for any reason, stop using it.

 

Bill

[whynot]

Good point Bill. I don't wanna be that guy either! Either way i would like to have some length to my hair. but i will keep the whole comb over hair due in check. it a mess right now. about 1" all around a very akward stage of growth. I will post some pics a little further down the road.

 

 

Robert, I think you correct that taking care of the front will be most important at this stage. I can see what the meds can accomplish then get some HT in the crown down the road.

 

Just one more thing. when do get some graphs done how do you explain to people that all of a sudden the front of your hair started growing?

[Robert_]

I just let them wonder.

 

Seriously, though. Even though the transplants take only a few short months to start growing, it's slow enough that those that see you day-to-day aren't really going to notice. And those that don't see you every day probably won't be able to put their finger on what it is that is different about you. But you'll know.

 

Anyone that has noticed my new hair that I didn't just up and tell I had a hair restoration procedure done were content with me just telling them "Hey, they have pills for that now, don't you know?" The average person's knowledge of hair restoration treatment is surprisingly lacking and most don't care too much about it anyway. So while your question is valid and one I asked before my own procedures, you will find that it won't be as big of an issue as you may think.

 

-Robert

[Bill - Seemiller]

I'll second what Robert has to say. I've had a number of people tell me, especially after my second HT that something looks different about me, but they simply couldn't put their finger on it. People did ask me if I had a haircut and I just simply said yep...and then I received a compliment or two.

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

P.S. Though I agree with Robert's assessment to hit the front first...I don't think you have to rule out the crown altogether. Check out the below link to Bobman's before/after photos. You see...there is hope in restoring both the front and the crown if you have the right density and laxity in the donor area. Admittedly, his crown is thinner...but I'd certainly take that look over a bald crown any day! It was his results along with Jotronic that pushed me to hit the crown at least a little bit. I figure a completely thick front with a completely bald crown would look less natural than a thicker front, medium middle, and thinner crown. but I believe it's all personal preference.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=144948

[the B spot]

Just to chime in here----- Here again is a potential candidate for a larger first session on a virgin scalp.

 

I would consult with more doctors and discuss rebuilding the mid-scalp to the hairline (a mature hairline that is!)

 

In the hands of the right doc, I would say that you can do this with 4-5000 grafts.

Take what you have left, 1500-3000, etc... and hit the crown with what you can.

Depends on how much donor you have, scalp laxity, and the size of your wallet!

 

Just make sure you explore more than one option!

Hope this helps you out!

[Mark H]

I started using it at around 9 months post op 3X a week. About 10 months post op, it just appeared that my hair texture was much more dry, and it had a "thinner" appearance

Bill

 

Bill, I've got the 1 per cent Nizoral, and I've been using it once a week, but the rest of the time I've been using Follegen Shampoo with Copper Peptides. Little appears to have been said about Copper Peptides on this site, but it appears that it may be the next best add on after Minoxidil. I've just sent for an additional Copper Peptide spray to use in between Minoxidil applications.

 

The research looks very promising.

 

mark h

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mark H,

 

I've heard some talk of copper peptides on another forum...I haven't done too much research on it...however I'm under the impression that it will most likely not regrow any lost hair...I could be wrong. That being said...I probably won't end up using anything other than Propecia and my HTs at this point...although if you find some good information on copper peptided that could be a benefit, do post a link...I'll be happy to read about it. If it works for you...let me know

 

Bill

[Mark H]

You may be right about copper peptides not growing new hair, but there is still some controversy over whether Minoxidil is growing new hair or thckening existing, and shortening Telogen.

 

Copper Peptides too seem to be able to shorten telogen.

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

I would sitck to Minioxidil and Propeica.. These are the only two proven ..

[Glock08]

Whynot:

 

I have approx: the same balding patterns as yourself"???although, I think you are a few hairs up on me. I had 4000+ grafts w/ Dr. True on 9/20/06...still too early to show any real results.

 

I agree w/ the other posts as far as strategy (4000 range)- which was my approach. It's enough to make a significant difference while leaving enough reserve (hopefully) for the future. After a year or so, the results of the HT + Propecia etc.., should be adequate for you to consider your next course of action-if any.

 

Best of Luck

Glock08

[Mark H]

Originally posted by Mrjb:

Hi

 

I would sitck to Minioxidil and Propeica.. These are the only two proven ..

 

New studies show efficacy with Copper Peptides. So there's real science behind it, its not snake oil, although I agree its early days.

 

So I choose to _in addition_ to minoxidil and Propecia, use a copper peptide spray. If it works I'll gain from it, and if it doesn't I'm out a few bucks only.

 

mark

[whynot]

Bill - that bobman guy he looks totally different from the procedure(s) . that is unbelieveable! how many graphs did he get?

 

Glock08 Are you saying you got 4000+ graphs in one session?

 

 

you know what is so horrible the extra hairs that we may gain from using minoxidil, propecia, peptides, and what ever, probably don't even compare to the amount of hair some regular guy with a full head will lose down the drian in a week!! ( i hope I am wrong) lol .

 

whats even worse is seeing some guy with a full head of hair shaved bald.

 

thank you all for the help

[Bill - Seemiller]

whynot,

 

I think Bobman had about 7800 grafts if I'm correct....only about 300 more than me at this point....though I don't know if I'll look like a bobman by the time I'm done...but here's hoping .

 

Yes it is interesting seeing a guy who obviously has a full head of hair shave it all off. It does actually give those people balding who are not having HTs hope though...because the buzzed hair is in...even down to a zero clip. Just grow a goatee and they are in

 

Bill

[Glock08]

Whynot:

I replied to your PM. Yes..I had 4326 grafts done in one session, my first, on 9/20.

 

Glock08

[whynot]

I think thank god i have a decently small head.

 

 

glock - i didn't recieve any pm's

[Bill - Seemiller]

Yes but also remember...the smaller the circumfrance of the head, the lesser the length of the donor strip which means less grafts taken. I think big head/small head, it works out similarly in the end, depending on elasticity of the scalp of course. It's just that 6000 grafts for one might not make as much of a difference on a bigger head that might need 7000.

 

Bill