NARMAK

That sounds incredibly unusual and way out of the norm. Certainly not the common side affects we have labelled about the medication. Hopefully you're fine but did they say whether you had anything else medically that caused this?

I have seen results from people like Dr Bisanga, Dr Couto and Dr Bloxham as well as a few other reputable doctors like Dr Konior etc. that are able to work within the areas of existing hair to add density and make the results look really good. I think a common misconception is that the "illusion of density" can mean that a hair transplants not going to look or blend as well with the native hair. The way that doctors can do this is by using multi grafts for example. A single hair graft planted 50 times for a density of 50cm/2 for example will not give as full of a look as say triple hair grafts carefully planted in even say 30cm/2 where the volume of hair is going to be 90 hairs vs 50 hairs. That's one of the beauty of hair transplants imo and we see this time again. I'd be perfectly happy with that outcome and until we can get an unlimited well of hair from like Stemson, i'm hoping my hair transplant will last me well into my 40s before i need to consider another.

That video is weird. His frontal density does look a bit lacking too. I'm a Norwood 2 myself according to the clinic i reached out to and are planning to go with for my procedure in May. I've started Dutasteride and coming up towards my 11th month almost complete. It will be almost a year by the time i go for my hair transplant but i was fortunate to have slow and stable hairloss during my 20s but my primary goals my temple points. If i wasn't getting them restored at all, i wouldn't even bother with a hair transplant. I am planning to lower my hairline a bit and reinforce the frontal hairline as well as restore the temple points, so i'm hoping that will stay for a while. I am planning to continue Microneedling with a derma pen at some point but i'm keeping Minoxodil in my back pocket. I do think though it's best to as i said to OP, definitely research and not go into any hair transplant blind. Research, Research and then Research some more.

Personally i think unlike some of the others here, if you want to go for it, are actively on medication like Finasteride etc. and fully aware of the potential risks of ant hair transplant procedure you go for, you could get a good result. Just make sure not to limit yourself to just London though imo. There's many great clinics in Europe a flight away and back. You also need to remember whether you have it in the UK or Europe, the post-op care is crucial and you will have to deal with the same situation as anybody else that undergoes a hair transplant regardless of where it's done.

It's moreso about making an informed decision imo than scaring you away lol. As a person who looks Norwood 1 aka a normal mature hairline broaching maybe signs of a Norwood 2 around the temples, you can afford to try be more aggressive in your hairline goals than say somebody that's a Norwood 4 and beyond. I would argue the real stop point is anybody who is maybe Norwood 2.5ish when you think of front loading a hairline and you should be in your 30s and beyond with very slow hair loss progression and/or been stable on medication for a good while. I don't personally like the idea of guys having to wait till like their late 40s etc. to go for a hair transplant and be more aggressive with it. You then look like a man fully in "Midlife Crisis" mode lmao. I think Mid 20s to Mid 30s are probably the prime years for a guy and your individual situation of hair loss needs to be very stable. Particularly if younger than 30. Ideally in your early 20s being on medication and losing little to bo ground. By the time you hit 25 you could hopefully prove you're a good candidate.

The "whorl" pattern is such that the hair sits much different like in a 360 degree design and this is what makes that area sometimes look thinner. It's actually an annoying quirk naturally that you can even see in kids without any hair loss. I personally have it myself but i do think i also have some thinning in that area and hopefully the Dutasteride i am taking atm will thicken it up as i have seen shown in some studies of Finasteride over like a 10 year period. It literally can be like a cat and mouse game with hair loss or a complete Turtle and the Hare style marathon.

Thank you for replying Doctor. I think the community is waiting to see your findings using the drug and how effective it is for hair transplants. I'm a bit hesitant to call it a game changer just yet but it could prove to be a very valuable tool in the procedure.

It only works now if people are willing to use it though. So far in terms of clinical studies for its application where hair transplants are concerned, there's nothing really available so it would be an area that needs somebody to take those steps to document and empirically show it works and the method. I believe the Dr here has agreed to do it but cited a shortage of the Vertoporfin which would be an issue if more decided to try also use it.

Honestly, doesn't look that bad at all to me, but under direct lighting, i can imagine how it could be more visible and bother you potentially. If that is the case, SMP should definitely set you right.

Hopefully the Doctor here will get their supply soon of the treatment to be able to conduct a trial with patients that sign up for it Personally i think there's a few exciting potential options on the line and Stemson manage to create a well of unlimited grafts and Vertoporfin etc. might not be necessary at all. I think within the next 10-15 years hopefully we can once again move the needle of progress forward again for hair loss and restoration.

What's done is done OP. Don't worry about grafts or density right now but healing and following post-op instructions to get to the 12 month mark and see how things shake out. The only thing i personally would recommend is to also take high quality up close pictures where you can clearly see the grafts and placement. The pictures you attached personally for me when zooming in on my mobile blur and make it more difficult to count. Also, clarify with the clinic how many grafts they actually are saying they placed and ask them to send any pre-op and post-op pictures in higher quality that they took. That's probably gonna help you more imo to confirm things too if there's now scabbing etc. Ultimately it's a sit tight and wait situation. I wish you well in hopefully having it grow out and hopefully giving you a result you wanted but there's hopefully some options for you too in the future if needed. The donor picture makes it still look quite healthy for any future need.

Honestly, just go for the haircut you want and see how it looks in pictures under different lighting. If you do have a higher visibility of scars because of how many grafts were used, then you can save up and do the SMP at a reputable place to help mask them. Usually it's a really good way to hide scars if you have darker hair too imo. However if you were to go razor blade the areas completely, unlike the skin fade that leaves the "stubble" look, the SMP would stand out. Personally i have begun to like my hair longer but the lowest i used to go was a 2 Guard or Grade 2 as i call them lol

Skin tone and hair contrast ratio as well as how you actually healed play the biggest part. Also, you could use SMP to try mask the donor scars which is something a lot of people choose to do.

Hair transplants are an elective procedure and therefore people may undergo it for different reasons. Usually its to treat androgenic alopecia which is the leading cause of male hair loss but some people may do it for more aesthetic reasons. Imo, i've seen members with little to no hair loss choose to do this because they wanted a better aesthetic look where they reduced their forehead etc. You just need to be incredibly informed about the potential pitfalls of front loading the hairline in cause male pattern hair loss strikes you later. You also imo should take into account if you actually could lower your hairline where you want to if that's the goal because the Frontalis muscles in your forehead can be a limiting factor. One final thing i think is that if you are happy with the hairline where it is, and just concerned about the density in the temporal areas. I'm sure you could get a "fill in" type of procedure via FUE. It does seem like from your post itself it's just the corners you want to address and not dropping the hairline lower. I know people say your hair looks great but if it did bother you that much, you could go for it but you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls of shock loss causing hair to permanently go in that area etc. too.

If a reputable clinic has pictures of the donor area and hair from multiple angles and then also potentially a video, there's no way in hell a Norwood 3 suddenly turns into a bad candidate and they are a complete non-starter for surgery. We are probably a little cut above the average laymen and even on a regular basis we can ballpark other users and how their density etc. generally looks. There's no way a clinic worth their salt cannot tell from pictures alone that there's a serious lacking in density or that they probably should get the person in for an in person consultation or require a full Tricoshopic evaluation. I understand wanting to cover surgery costs if somebody cancelled last minute on the day, but the whole scenario sounds dubious and shady as hell.

It's just the whorl pattern as mentioned. You don't have anything to worry about just yet but keep an eye on your hair just in case so that when you are a bit older around 15+ you can pick up if anything does start slipping. You done a good thing by coming to a place like this and learning about hair loss to help you keep yours for as long as possible.

Unless you actively take pictures for progress in the sane lighting consistently with use over 12 months, it can be hard to see the way it has helped. Sometimes things are very subtle but do make a difference and that's why it's best to have the pictures and try objectively view them.

It's really hard to get a hold of legitimately in the UK and some grey market it instead. If you don't mind, try the topical version. The primary hair that will benefit is your native hairs not the transplanted area generally. Personally i don't think hopping on Minoxodil as a precaution is something i'd recommend. I'm personally trying to keep it in my back pocket for as long as i can and then only when the situation worsened will i use it.

Hey OP, I would probably consider getting onto Dutasteride at least a few times a week instead of Finasteride or completely switch over. As for Minoxodil, i would urge you to start combining that with Microneedling once a week at 1mm to 1.5mm depth with a derma pen. Also consider adding in Nizoral for mild Anti-Androgen properties that can help in a small way. I personally wouldn't wear a hair system but a partial hair system and more hair fibres etc. on the back could conceal the issue. The potential issues with a partial hair system is wearing it too low and getting a false image of where potentially you should have your hairline when you get a hair transplant. I would probably say if you monitor consistently over the next 12 months how your hair loss situation is doing and if it's stable, consider going for a hair transplant. Save up and do your research. There's many great information pieces and people willing to help here.

Nice. Best to get the travel in beforehand because its so much more crucial to follow post-op instructions and not move a lot in the first few days i think. How long did it take you to get your Visa confirmed then?

Calling it a feminine hairline is a bit far lol. Its just a receded hairline. I only say that because it's what happens to the shape when you have the temples recede.

Jeez Louise. That's a lotta moolah for a nurse to be on. I know people talk about income being linked to the relative costs in an area, but it just blows my mind sometimes reading these examples. I guess that said, it always comes back to "The market charges what the demand will pay" and it always will.

Ah, those uber Chad hairs that are still hanging on against the DHT hair loss lol.

This is what i think is sometimes ignored. The FUT method allows on the right candidate with enough laxity to have a pencil thin linear scar even after 2 sessions of FUT. Because you are also removing an entire strip of tissue and then sewing it shut means the remaining grafts can overlap too and unlike FUE where you have to more carefully spread out to avoid a look of being over harvested, the FUT usually keeps it in that linear scar zone. FUE when you extract like 3-4k grafts and add up all the extraction sites and put them together can probably take up a larger surface area if it was all combined. The spread out nature is usually why people feel its not as visible. I also like your point of being able to use grafts to then close up the linear scar. Personally this is where i'd be happy to use chest hair to stuff the linear scar because they usually have sub par growth compared to scalp and beard. If they take, then it helps cover up the scar and you don't have to worry if they don't grow as long as the rest. Personally the part that puts me off FUT is the longer recovery time with FUT and the possibility of how the scar could stretch over time and look bigger. If somehow in the future Stemson can make clone grafts and scale it up to a reasonable price, i'd think a lot of people would probably stuff their donor back full of hair and dense pack the areas over multiple procedures till they hit native density.

I think FUT has a place in hair transplants and shouldn't be ignored. Usually FUE is made popular and many myths created around it as well as lies perhaps against FUT by calling FUE methods scarless etc. If you are a high Norwood guy, then FUT is a sensible consideration imo and then you can maximise with FUE and BHT.