NARMAK

Turkey isn't going to generally garner good responses for all the reasons mentioned above but it does have a few people recommend by the forum. Although there's also other International destinations too for those a bit more budget conscious. Ultimately you need to know why you need a hair transplant, what number of approximate grafts you need and then try saving up towards it. In the meantime you may wish to take medication if you already aren't and use that 12+ months time to learn and educate yourself on the procedures, set your expectations and hopefully be aware of complications. A lot of people usually who don't know much end up in Turkey and get bad results even when shown flashy Instagram results that did appear on the surface to work out.

Okay, this isn't quite the usual question about hairlines. In my early 20s, i didn't have the prominent forehead wrinkles show as much as i do now in my early 30s. I know it's not typically discussed but i kinda pushed my forehead up a little and there's a bit of elasticity there which when done kind of eliminated that wrinkle showing up as much. So, i kinda got to thinking how botox for example is used in that area to reduce the appearance of those types of wrinkles as we age. So, is it something we should account for when designing a hairline. Mine for example i would say could be pushed up maybe 1-3cm. So, if say you're at a Norwood 2/3 sorta situation, could you maybe try push for a hairline that's a smidge lower and deemed more aggressive to kind of counter that above situation if you did go down the botox route?

I think you need to differentiate between "Juvenile" and "Mature" hairlines firstly. The juvenile hairline is usually a bit more rounded off and almost feminine like in look and actually not the more masculine hairline we associate with males in their late teens onwards. I think your example of George Clooney etc. if you look at em are "perfect mature hairlines" that most might cite. Now, in terms of getting a reputable surgeon to agree to giving you an aggressive hairline, i think Curious25 hit most of the points but i'd personally diverge with that list in terms of the family history part. I think age wise, 25-35 with maybe no more than a Norwood 2 and being stable for probably 5+ years with minimal hairloss. Also, the frontalis muscles dictate a lot how low you can go with your hairline without it looking unnatural. If you also naturally have a longer face, the proportion of thirds is usually considered as part of the hairline process by most top surgeons. The overall aesthetic goals have to be matched realistically by long term donor area and what you'd do if you progress further.

Apologies, i didn't read that part it seems. Have you looked at potentially trying Topical Finasteride? Apparently some are well compounded and have been tolerated by people unable to use the oral version.

The good thing is that you have tried Finasteride, Minoxodil and adhered to them. In terms of Canada, if your budget allows. Hasson and Wong are probably the best place to approach and see how they'd recommend you approach your hair transplant. I do think they may recommend FUT and then a combination of FUE to maximise the donor area. Apparently H&W are FUT specialists but the doctors only recently felt FUE had reached the level where they could offer patients a great result. So i do think they're probably gonna be the best place in Canada for you.

It's pretty common to get anxiety about a procedure i think beforehand but even more so when connected to an emotional aspect like hair loss. OP, i always respect a persons choice to use or not use medication but you are imo doing yourself a really big disservice. You do jot look like a "true" Norwood 6. By that, i mean there's diffuse thinning in those areas and a pattern that can become like that but you could potentially save a LOT of those hairs and i know you said you're already using Minoxidil so you would have to keep using that for the hair that are now dependent on that. I actually think if you did start Finasteride alongside the Minoxodil, it might reduce the number of grafts required for any second procedure. All the best either way with whatever you decide.

The maternal side being solely responsible has been debunked by now i believe. Its a combination of both. After all, we are a combination of both sides genetics.

Both maternal and paternal side. Genetics are often cited as a ballpark guess. However do not take it as gospel, just a very educated guess as to what hair loss ball park you should expect. So if your family members tend to lose hair in their early teens, 20s and 30s quite a bit. Chances are you end up in a similar situation. Medication and generational hair loss are not currently studied on a long term clinical basis. Although it's been out for circa 20+ years now, as far as i can tell, no clinical studies are scheduled or ongoing to compare say a person who did use it VS their father, uncles etc. who didn't use it. There will be however users on this very forum though old enough to have started it 15+ years ago and might be able to offer anecdotal evidence on how their male relatives fared versus their own situation. Hair loss is overall multi factorial and genetics are probably a big part of the puzzle but not the only part. Hormone imbalance, Vitamin deficiencies, Immune disorders etc. can all contribute. The general recommended long term advice and clinical data suggests for the vast majority of males; inhibition of scalp DHT to be the best defence against hair loss that's Androgenetic Alopecia based. Hopefully other users can chime in.

I gotta say, he's definitely got one of the best Hollywood hairlines but i do see what you mean. It could be a combination of the lighting more than anything tbh but also possible it does have some diffuse thinning. I would be surprised if he isn't on medication. That said, i feel like he's still rocking something incredibly impressive for his age.

Beat way to think about it is that they're simply an exception not the rule. The sort of results here are great to see and often showcased but they're also not the rule, rather the exception imo. You have to evaluate around 12 months imo and Melvin has a YouTube video and probably a thread here showing people who don't grow earlier not to worry. You just have to be a bit more patient.

I think a general rule of thumb is not to take medication without food but these also say to have it with food. I've used them for my last 9 months worth of Dutasteride and reordered 6 months worth again. Although i got a different brand this time than the first 9 months worth.

Man, that result even at near 6 months is really solid. The most remarkable thing is how unremarkable it looks. Nobody would even notice you had anything done it looks that natural. The temple points 100% add to that framing of the face. Can't wait to see a full on 12 month result.

Honestly really good i think. I took some progress pictures/video monthly for a while, maybe for around 6 months. Then stopped and recently took again around the 9 month mark a video. Overall i would say i've stopped my hair loss around the frontal temporal area from progressing and maybe even had a noticeable regrowth in that area. Although i think it's not just down to Dutasteride but improving the overall scalp by reducing inflammation and the dry itchy flakiness my dandruff/seb derm seemed to give. T-Gel probably helped the most as my recent addition over the last month or so. Vitamin D pills also helping to keep that side of things in check. I know Dutasteride will continue working past the 12 months period and so, if anything, i'm encouraged by the results seen so far as i come towards the end of Year 1. I think i will hopefully see some more progress around the crown and back of the midscalp where i feel my hair is thinning more. I could also be paranoid about it tbh because i do know there's a whorl pattern there and the way the hair sits naturally makes it appear more sparse/thin than the other areas. That could be feeding into my paranoia a little that i can't confirm without a full proper trichologist report. That said, even in the shower, using shampoo like Nizoral etc. i have what i would call "normal" hair which look healthy shedding but i also saw a bunch of thinner hairs too which potentially look like they were miniaturised and still a decent length. So i'm hoping Dutasteride has a chance to save those and as the hair cycles go along, they'll get stronger and back to normal healthy hair.

I totally forgot to add OP, in the UK i used Oxford Online Pharmacy and got their doctor to do me an online consultation and prescription. It's easy and Finasteride for 28 generic pills is like £14 + £3 delivery if you don't order like £40 worth but you can more than likely find a free delivery code or something. Others in the UK apparently use Dr Fox.

Yes. I went Scorched Earth and nuclear in my attempt to save my hair by going straight to Dutasteride and taking 0.5mg every day. In terms of making the switch, the usual advice i come across seems to be to replacing a day here and there from Fin to Dut and see how you get on slowly. I think Finasteride blocks like 60-70% of body serum DHT, and around 41% scalp DHT. Dutasteride blocks like 90%+ body DHT and then 51% of scalp DHT as well as Type 1 & 2 of 5AR. I don't think the effects are fully studied as Finasteride but that's the reason why the sides are usually more likely and high with Dutasteride. I would say for most people, starting Finasteride at 1mg 3x a week as a preventative and then switching to more times per week till you hit a full week depending on your hair loss is more encouraged. Then introducing Dutasteride into the mix. It just helps your body level out in the reduction of DHT.

I'm gonna be straight with you. I tanked my body DHT levels and that's by taking 0.5mg/day of Dutasteride. For maybe the first 2 months i did push through sides because they were imo acceptable. Weaker erections are definitely something that can happen during that phase because your body is trying to recalibrate. I also would say my libido was lower too. Again, something that equalised and imo has rebounded just like the former. As you age, and you said you're in your 30s. These things naturally will become affected. To mitigate them a good diet and being in shape probably help. Personally i need to drop some weight and improve my diet, but i can 100% say that my side affects reduced. I did i would say also have a slight case of brain fog but after a couple months, i was imo through the rough patch of my body rebalancing itself. If you can push through the sides sometimes, your body should equalise but that's why people also say to start at like 1mg for 3x a week to begin. Get your body slowly used to reduced DHT, and then reducing it further by going to 4x, 5x, 6x and 7x a week. I actually decided to get 3 months worth of Dutasteride to start with. Best decision i made imo and wish i had started 5+ years ago. Hell, wish i started around 21.

Firstly, i'm really glad you have considered it and are giving it a go. That's literally the most important thing and believe me, i was in your very shoes like even say 10+ years ago when i came across Finasteride and all these BS exaggerated horror stories that your penis would stop functioning and you'd have hair, but good luck with a relationship and all this other fearmongering. The best decision i made was starting the medication and i think i definitely have seen an improvement in my own situation but you need to understand. Hair loss slowing/stopping is the main goal of Finasteride. Regrowth is actually a rare and massive bonus from it. That's why the combination treatments recommended are Finasteride and Minoxidil but personally i don't think you should mix the two the first 12 months. You should start with Finasteride and see what your results end up like, then re-evaluate about what Minoxidil might do for you and whether it might be worth the effort. Just bear in mind, there's a 3rd option or 2nd depending on how you look at it you can safely do alongside Finasteride in that 12 months. Microneedling 1x a week at 1-1.5mm. This is probably not the most recommended method at all, and i wanna share a bit of my own story. I was visiting my brother during those weird times of restrictions and because barbers weren't open i let him cut my hair. He commented how it looked like it was thinning and looked a mess because i had a bad case of dandruff/seb derm going on i think. After that because i had a feeling my hair had been thinning out near the crown over the last year or so, comments from family members that saw that whorl area, it made me step up my research. Get the facts. The research i did showing that like 98% of guys do perfectly fine on Finasteride, 2% experience side affects that once they stop, the sides go away. Now, my brother actually had been using Dutasteride and i didn't have a clue about that. I looked into it, and realise it's literally the Scorched Earth method of DHT blocking. So, i basically went nuclear off the bat. Never tried Finasteride but figured because my brother was on it for like a year without issue and had a decent result, i would respond similar. I would say getting my blood tests done and identifying issues with my Vitamin D levels, which have now been addressed and are managed actively by taking a pill every few days. I also started Nizoral and for a bit i think it semi helped but the biggest game changer for my dandruff was combining with T-Gel. My heads significantly less flaky, inflamed and i think i've stopped further hair loss and managed to even probably claw some ground back by addressing the issues that were affecting me. That said, the crown area and midscalp feel a little different in density but visually probably has it where it needs to be and that's probably the most important. I'm also only at present 9 months into my Dutasteride. Unlike a hair transplant, long term Finasteride studies show improvement continues for many more years after too even if the results taper off.

I think it's kinda like how Joe Rogan did his podcast. Do it on Spotify or similar and then also YouTube video based stuff. I genuinely think you need to hit as many people as possible and particularly younger guys. Whilst i love you old soldiers lol, i think we need to actually focus a lot more right now on these young guys who are being groomed and exploited via social media into Horror Mills (TM :p). I think if we can have something also split into a series for people to listen/watch by categories and topics as the podcast goes along, then it might hit that wide reach.

It's definitely bizarre to say the least that it seems to be so highly synchronised. I would say maybe give topical Minoxodil a try for maybe 3 months or so. It might have a chance to knock things out of cycle and change it up if possible. I know ciaus mentioned Minoxodil too.

Everybody seems to see Turkey as the go to place for hair transplants yet its hair mill central. I would actually love to see Dr Bicer make an appearance if possible and just kind of go through how they try to differentiate and educate people away from those unscrupulous places. I would also love to see a few guys from the forum like Karl (Zoomster), Adrian (Gatsby), Armen (Maz) & even you just sharing your journeys and being part of this community. The lessons you learned. How you think things have changed over time and if you had a do over but right now what you'd do differently.

Here's the thing. Finsateride/Dutasteride is basically like a dam. It holds hair loss for the most part at bay. How well depends entirely on your genetics and how aggressive your hair loss is. Usually the rules of thumb are the younger you are and the more aggressive the hair loss, and as you get older it slows down. Never stopping in most. Medication however helps most people that are in the usual middle areas and prevents hair loss as much as possible and holding it back. So you hold onto more hair and thus need less grafts over time. A very important factor considering the donor area is finite. As mentioned, you can roll the dice, just remember it costs you money for a hair transplant, takes 12 months for results and there's not a 100% survival rate guarantee.

You can definitely roll the dice and get a hair transplant if you want. Just realise this. If you concentrate your first procedure on the frontal hairline, then crown. If the midscalp then thins out, you could be left with this wonky looking patch slap bang in the middle of your head. Not even attempting to try medication imo even at a low dose is folly. But hey, you do whatever you want to. Nobody else has the right to try force you etc. but as mentioned, you're not helping to deal with the primary form of your hair loss and tbh, you probably already are like at a Norwood 4/5. You will have to be realistic in your expectations and settle for a pretty high hairline. Especially without medication in order to not burn through grafts that are lowering the hairline and later would be needed behind.

Disclaimer firstly. i'm not a GP or anything and no medical background to give anything constituting medical advice. What you are describing sounds like Anagen and Telogen synchronised hair loss. Just that it's 100% in tune almost with the transplanted hair now. Usually the hair that's transplanted ends up having phases like the natural hair that some sheds, some regrows and its more or less a cycle. Its why even when hair goes through the regular cycle, our heads don't go slick bald and regrow hair all at the same time naturally. We lose about 50-150 hairs a day. Your situations very unusual and the above is the only explanation i could think of even if it sounds far fetched.

PRP as mentioned isn't seemingly done to the same standards and how it should be done isn't the way in the majority of places it seems. However, the biggest problem i personally see is that for the cost, it isn't effective enough. PRP alone won't imo help treat the underlying caus of MPB. You need to be on Finasteride or Dutasteride firstly to block DHT. I would even argue Microneedling for the price gives a better bang for your buck even if you need to do it as many as 2-3x a week. Personally 1x a week at 1-1.5mm is easiest. PRP can run thousands of dollars. So to me, it's nothing more than a spin at making money. It's the higher end of almost snake oil imo. Albeit it probably gets spun as being more science backed.

Just on this point. A hypothetical more than anything. If a person's natural density was circa 80cm/2, would it be then possible to do a single procedure for 40cm/2 density and 12 months later another 40cm/2 or do we then run into the issues of possible permanent shock loss due to trauma of the scalp? Unlike hair transplants, the native density almost seems so high and possible because there's no trauma being caused to the hair. Another aspect, and i know this isn't really mentioned too much. Apparently the hair we "lose" even in slick bald areas isn't apparently completely removed. The DHT has apparently affected the dermal papilla to such an extent that apparently they never recover and regrow. That said, transgender cases have shown male to female examples where slick bald areas and individuals have practically regrown all their hair. Now, i don't think that's obviously a viable route for the majority, but it does indicate a scientific based situation that could with the right treatment allow significant regrowth in male hair loss sufferers if they manage to find the right mechanisms of action to cause such greatly weakened follicles to be revived. A literal holy grail for hair loss lol