21 years old, very bad hairline, wanting HT within the next year.

[ali1991]

What do you guys think of my hairline?

 

I think it's so bad that even at the age of 21, I think the doctor will be able to tell where my hairline is going because I have lost so much hair, I'm practically bald, so Im under the impression that it won't be hard for a doctor to see where my hair will end up.

 

Do you think even at 21, im ready to have a HT or FUE within the next year or so? As you can see my hair is not of many 21 year old who are balding, mine is much worse!

[Mickey85]

I wouldn't rush into a hair transplant at 21 man... I have heard mostly horror stories from guys in their early 20s who have procedures. Many of them end up losing alot of native hair later as their natural hairloss progresses and regret the whole thing many years later regardless of if they went FUE or FUT.

 

Do not despair. You are lucky to have found a forum with members that will give you honest and unbiased advice. There are a number of avenues you could try including:

 

1) Topical solutions like Rogaine would certainly help to an extent

2) Medical therapy like Proprecia can also assist but be educated on the potential sexual and mental side effects. If you cannot accept the chance of those effects occurring, stay away.

3) Shave your head(looks like you have a nicely shaped head and can get away with the Jason Statham look), hit the gym, dress nicely. Anyone that will care that you do not have Elvis hair won't be worth your time anyway.

4) Spend ALOT(I mean years) of time researching the advantages, disadvantages, pitfalls, complications etc of hair transplantation. to go through a procedure at the moment could certainly lead to a depleted donor zone, inadequate coverage, exacerbated anxiety, regret etc. I strongly urge you to try the suggestions listed above before even thinking about surgery. I had my surgery at 26 and I regret it so much and wish I was just content with how I was. What I'm telling you now is what I wish I was hearing when I was researching. Be cautious.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Mickey85

[socates123]

My take is see a doctor and let him determine what is the condition, if it is male pattern balding - he will start you on propecia if he deems it.

 

@Mickey - could you share what is your greatest regret from HT surgery please?

[1978matt]

What do you guys think of my hairline?

 

I think it's so bad that even at the age of 21, I think the doctor will be able to tell where my hairline is going because I have lost so much hair, I'm practically bald, so Im under the impression that it won't be hard for a doctor to see where my hair will end up.

 

Do you think even at 21, im ready to have a HT or FUE within the next year or so? As you can see my hair is not of many 21 year old who are balding, mine is much worse!

 

That's a b*mmer but listen to Mickey85, he speaks sense.

 

Hairloss is progressive so at this stage there is little point in transplanting into receeding areas that are only likely to thin out even more.

 

My plan of action would be:

 

1) Investigate medical therapies.

2) Consider Nanogen/Toppik/Fibond/Dermatch to hide loss.

3) Save for a top quality HT in 9-10 years.

4) Go to the gym.

5) Research everything about HTs for at least 12 months.

6) Go and see a top hairloss doc, but only a quality one as some dubious clinics are just after your money.

[Mickey85]

My take is see a doctor and let him determine what is the condition, if it is male pattern balding - he will start you on propecia if he deems it.

 

@Mickey - could you share what is your greatest regret from HT surgery please?

 

The biggest regret of mine was believing that surgeons and reps had my best interests at heart. They did not. Instead they chose to mitigate and underplay the complexities of FUT simply because it is more beneficial for them to perform(better yield and less work). I was the perfect candidate for FUE and was duped into thinking otherwise BY A SURGEON. I then went to a renowned(world) surgeon who was and still is both unethical and incompetent who was so careless with his donor density estimation that he extracted a superfluous amount of grafts that he was then left to implant in an area fit for 20% less. This resulted in permanent shockloss of native hair, lack of yield due to a compromise in blood flow and a heap of regret. His donor closure was and still is average at best and the scar did also stretch, exacerbating the whole situation.

 

The surgeon was not cautious with my donor quantity because more grafts equated to more finances for him. His reps and patient advocates were basically spin doctors who never admitted there were issues even when it was abundantly evident. Absolute incompetence from the surgeon all the way down to the techs who were constantly conversing whilst the surgeon was out of the room having consults with more guys in the 20s whom he would dense pack 3,000 grafts into the frontal third via FUT...

 

I don't even have a word for the total lack of care, professionalism, thought etc that I witnessed and subsequently experienced. There is no word strong enough to describe it. It was more like I was an automobile being serviced and told to come back after 10,000kms.

 

Sorry if this seems bombastic, it really is how I feel about my whole experience. What was best for me was totally evaded, disregarded and ignored by an industry(several Doctors) that is supposed to be about patient care and well being. Instead I was handled in a manner that was set up for profit, with the best possible result discarded and negated...

[GiveMeSomeHairs]

so sorry to hear that Mickey ..I see that ur age is also in the late 20's like mine..So did you get ur hairs fixed by some other doc..I am 27 and also planning to go for a HT..have been researching for quite some time now.

[Mickey85]

so sorry to hear that Mickey ..I see that ur age is also in the late 20's like mine..So did you get ur hairs fixed by some other doc..I am 27 and also planning to go for a HT..have been researching for quite some time now.

 

Thank you for the sympathy buddy. I have not resolved the issue entirely as I'm still very apprehensive about what can be done. I just want some time to revert back to feeling as normal as I can. As easy as my case was(very minor recession), if a world renowned Doctor could not remedy the problem, in fact he actually caused more damage, I don't have much faith in the whole industry at the moment...

[GiveMeSomeHairs]

And Ali don't do it..just listen to the peple here ..they would advice you correctly always..I have also just joined this forum and have got tons of good advice from people here ..I see things in your situation you would need 2 much grafts to cover everything so FUE would not be very helpful here and if u go the FUT route and later loose ur native hairs you ll be in trouble because of the scar ..

[tacolinowest]

Why's the difference between him who will be a Norwood 6 getting a ht now and a 30 year old with the same hair who will also be a Norwood 6 getting it? Because he obviously is advanced for his age

[1978matt]

Why's the difference between him who will be a Norwood 6 getting a ht now and a 30 year old with the same hair who will also be a Norwood 6 getting it? Because he obviously is advanced for his age

 

There's no fixed right or wrong answer but two things come to mind:

 

1)Someone in their early 20s may be dissatisfied with what can be achieved by a HT. People in their 30s will be more realistic and usually more able to pay for the number of grafts they need to meet their goals.

 

2)Testosterone/DHT levels are highest during teens and twenties. You will probably lose most of your hair you're going to lose during this period. You could be a NW5 at 21 and a NW7 at 31!

 

...and in terms of emotions, loss of hair in your twenties can lead to bad decisions..

[ali1991]

I wouldn't rush into a hair transplant at 21 man... I have heard mostly horror stories from guys in their early 20s who have procedures. Many of them end up losing alot of native hair later as their natural hairloss progresses and regret the whole thing many years later regardless of if they went FUE or FUT.

 

Do not despair. You are lucky to have found a forum with members that will give you honest and unbiased advice. There are a number of avenues you could try including:

 

1) Topical solutions like Rogaine would certainly help to an extent

2) Medical therapy like Proprecia can also assist but be educated on the potential sexual and mental side effects. If you cannot accept the chance of those effects occurring, stay away.

3) Shave your head(looks like you have a nicely shaped head and can get away with the Jason Statham look), hit the gym, dress nicely. Anyone that will care that you do not have Elvis hair won't be worth your time anyway.

4) Spend ALOT(I mean years) of time researching the advantages, disadvantages, pitfalls, complications etc of hair transplantation. to go through a procedure at the moment could certainly lead to a depleted donor zone, inadequate coverage, exacerbated anxiety, regret etc. I strongly urge you to try the suggestions listed above before even thinking about surgery. I had my surgery at 26 and I regret it so much and wish I was just content with how I was. What I'm telling you now is what I wish I was hearing when I was researching. Be cautious.

 

Great advice, but bro I have no hair left, how can my natural hair loss progress? I just don't see it, I'm clearly already a NW6, what further hair loss is there to happen?

 

I've tried using topikk, it did wonders last year when I had lots more hair, but as your can see I pretty much have no hair right now, and topikk really won't work for me anymore, all the black fibers will just stick on to the scalp (since there is barely any hair) and i'll probably just stares, btw this is not my assumption, I've actually tried topikk about two weeks ago and it just doesn't work because I just don't have any hair.

 

I'm definetely staying away from Propecia, I had to take a medication that had similar ingredients as Propecia and I remember I could not erect for 2 days when I took that other medication, so Propecia would be even worse since the ingrediets of it would be even worse than the Medication I took.

 

Again, great advice from you, but if you can help me out with the questions I asked in this post, that would be tons of help bro.

 

That's a b*mmer but listen to Mickey85, he speaks sense.

 

Hairloss is progressive so at this stage there is little point in transplanting into receeding areas that are only likely to thin out even more.

 

Hairloss is progressive? I don't think it can progress any worse, all my family members (uncles from both sides, grandpas, and dad) all of them are NW6.

 

Even if my hair loss is to progress, what would it progress to? I have clearly lost hair everywhere, so what hair is there to lose?

 

There's no fixed right or wrong answer but two things come to mind:

 

1)Someone in their early 20s may be dissatisfied with what can be achieved by a HT. People in their 30s will be more realistic and usually more able to pay for the number of grafts they need to meet their goals.

 

2)Testosterone/DHT levels are highest during teens and twenties. You will probably lose most of your hair you're going to lose during this period. You could be a NW5 at 21 and a NW7 at 31!

 

...and in terms of emotions, loss of hair in your twenties can lead to bad decisions..

 

 

Money is really not an issue, I will be graduating as an IT Technician in 2 weeks, by next year I will have easily saved up around 50 k, I have great parents who don't require much from me financially so out of the 50 k, even if I spent 20 k, I would still have more than enough to go with the HT.

 

But all my family members who are balding are all NW6, from my uncles from both sides to grandpas and my dad, ALL of them are NW6, so I just find it hard to believe why I would turn out to be a NW7, when 8 of my other family members who are balding are all NW6, after all hair loss is all genetics, no?

Edited March 30, 2013 by ali1991

[tacolinowest]

man i feel ur pain,, luckily u r in canada id go see hasson and wong , there good at what they do, yes u r 21, but ur hairloss is of someone in there 30s so maybe its ok to do a ht,, but im no doc,, go see one and let us know

[1978matt]

Ali, you're a NW5A and believe me you could still lose more hair. There are guys who eventually thin out in their donor areas too.

 

I see you're in Canada. Go visit Hasson & Wong or the Seager Medical Group so they can take a look at your hair.

[Mickey85]

Ali, you're a NW5A and believe me you could still lose more hair. There are guys who eventually thin out in their donor areas too.

 

I see you're in Canada. Go visit Hasson & Wong or the Seager Medical Group so they can take a look at your hair.

 

Thank you. Ali, simply because the males in your family are not NW7s does not mean you yourself will not progress to that. My grandfather was a NW1 until he passed away(80 years old) and he has one son(who has maintained his juvenile hairline into his late 40s) whilst the other is a Norwood 4 and progressively thinning in his 40s. Nothing is set in stone.

 

The reason I caution you not to go ahead with a procedure so soon is so you do not make any rash decisions that you will regret. 21 is crazy young in general, let alone to add a life altering procedure(good or bad) into the mix. You have to really REALLY contemplate whether you want to get committed into a procedure and possibly more down the road. If your procedure does not bloom you will be left with an unnatural look and a strip scar in which FUE and body hair will be your only options.I'm just trying to get you to rationalize everything and to step back a bit. That's all. But it is your choice...

[tacolinowest]

maybe hts should be determined more by norwood class rather than age, i am also new here and im sure there is a reason it goes by age

[ali1991]

Ali, you're a NW5A and believe me you could still lose more hair. There are guys who eventually thin out in their donor areas too.

 

I see you're in Canada. Go visit Hasson & Wong or the Seager Medical Group so they can take a look at your hair.

 

Thanks but as I mentioned all my 8 family members who are balding/bald (uncles, dad, grandpas) are all NW6, none of them have thinned further down to where it comes NW7, not a single one of them, all of their crown baldness ends at the NW6 scale, so why would I break the genetics case and become a NW7, I find that hard to believe, what would you think?

 

afterall this is all a genetics game right? why would I not follow the genetics NW scale than?

[GiveMeSomeHairs]

Did you read Mickey's reply..It's very clear that as far as Hair Thinning is concerned you cannot assume.My uncles have very nice hair at age 55 also but my father has started to thin out at 60..He had great head of hair till his 50's..so if ur prediction is true I should not be here commenting on ur post in the first place...People here are making you realize that HT is not a joke and whatever you do u make a informed decision..so plz think about it very carefully and visit a Doc to get some good opinion on ur condition..

 

I know Hair loss sucks man as do everybody here but HT is permanent and don't do something that will make u regret it down the road.

[KO]

Ali, I know you feel bad, it's tough going through young adulthood while losing hair (I know). But your goal right now is to first STOP what hair loss is occurring. The only way to do that is taking medications like Proscar or Avodart. Once you stabilize your loss, then you should start considering surgical procedures. Further, keep in mind these surgeries are extremely expensive. Get a good job before you go down this road!

 

I have the same pattern, perhaps worse, and I know its depressing, but you need to start with the meds.

[ali1991]

when do i know i should go for the hair transplant than?

 

i can wait till my 30s, but even than how would i know my hair loss isnt gonna continue?

 

if i just keep waiting for hair loss to end, ill just end up waiting till my 70s than.

[Mickey85]

hmmm i'll be honest, from reading just the topic title i knew this was going to be an uphill battle.it is clear that you are set on a hair transplant because you think it will solve everything. it certainly may. it certainly may not. you could end up with a great result. you could end up with a great result but progress to a nw7. you could end up with a bad result and progress to a nw7. you are 21. i know it is hard to deal with hairloss at such a young age but at 21 you wont have the maturity and logical thinking as you would when you are 28 or older. right now you just want a quick solution. the fact that you even put a time frame(1year) on a procedure shows that you are not going through the proper precautions and you aren't taking in what others have said to you in this thread. others that have been where you are and have experienced the pitfalls of a hair transplant at any age, let alone 21. i wish you the very best of luck champ, i really do. please just take your time and educate yourself before handig over a deposit to whomever will be wiling to operate ..

[ali1991]

thanks a lot mickey, great advice, i really appreciate it.

 

I guess I'll stay on Rogaine and move up to using it twice a day, as for Propecia and all that crap pills, i'm not going anywhere near that.

 

hair transplant, hair transplant, how long will you be?

 

when do i know i should go for the hair transplant than? life will continue but at what age will i suddenly realize, it's time?

[1978matt]

Go see a at least 3 top docs in person (even if it means booking 2 or 3 flights). I think you are in Canada so maybe Hasson & Wong and the Seager Medical Group spring to mind.

[Mickey85]

i would not even consult just as yet. the excitement might just make you rush into a procedure even more. instead. it does seem that your hairloss is a big concern for you. if you MUST go through a procedure i recommend doing a lot of research prior to having any consulations. check out this forum and other forums. dont just take reps words for gospel. speak to people that have had good surgeries. speak to people that have had bad surgeries. you will learn alot more from them than from any rep. learn the limitations of fut and fue. for a nw6 the result is not going to give you a brad pitt hairline with high density. the crown may have to be compromised with fewer grafts. you might have to have a higher hairline than your natural one. you wont be able to just shave it all off if you dont like the look because of the fut scar etc etc. these are the things you have to seriously contemplate before even thinking about which doctors you would like to consult with.

 

i basically had very minimal loss and a high class, world renowned surgeon and his clinic could not even do the job properly and made some parts worse. imagine what they could do to a nw6 who needs every graft available. im not saying this will happen to you. hair transplants can change lives. but they are far from perfect and there are failed results from every clinic.

[socates123]

The biggest regret of mine was believing that surgeons and reps had my best interests at heart. They did not. Instead they chose to mitigate and underplay the complexities of FUT simply because it is more beneficial for them to perform(better yield and less work). I was the perfect candidate for FUE and was duped into thinking otherwise BY A SURGEON. I then went to a renowned(world) surgeon who was and still is both unethical and incompetent who was so careless with his donor density estimation that he extracted a superfluous amount of grafts that he was then left to implant in an area fit for 20% less. This resulted in permanent shockloss of native hair, lack of yield due to a compromise in blood flow and a heap of regret. His donor closure was and still is average at best and the scar did also stretch, exacerbating the whole situation.

 

The surgeon was not cautious with my donor quantity because more grafts equated to more finances for him. His reps and patient advocates were basically spin doctors who never admitted there were issues even when it was abundantly evident. Absolute incompetence from the surgeon all the way down to the techs who were constantly conversing whilst the surgeon was out of the room having consults with more guys in the 20s whom he would dense pack 3,000 grafts into the frontal third via FUT...

 

I don't even have a word for the total lack of care, professionalism, thought etc that I witnessed and subsequently experienced. There is no word strong enough to describe it. It was more like I was an automobile being serviced and told to come back after 10,000kms.

 

Sorry if this seems bombastic, it really is how I feel about my whole experience. What was best for me was totally evaded, disregarded and ignored by an industry(several Doctors) that is supposed to be about patient care and well being. Instead I was handled in a manner that was set up for profit, with the best possible result discarded and negated...

 

Hi Mickey, thank you for sharing your experience. I really appreciate your honesty. It vocalised some of my skepticism during my consultation as well.

[Mickey85]

Thank you Socates for being clever enough to question a surgeon's sentiments and methods. Too many people(myself at one time also) consider surgeons to be semi-deities in that we think they are all ethical and have our best interests at heart. This is not always the case. When surgeons give out prescriptions for Proprecia to a 24 year old hairloss sufferer, that rings a bell, especially when they know very well the potential permanent side effects. When a surgeon pushes a Norwood 2 or 1 to FUT simply because it is what he is good at, that rings a bell. When a reps reiterate their sentiments against a new method or variant only to become a big advocate of it some weeks or months later because their employer now offers it, that rings a bell... It really should not be like that... Surgeons were once in medicine for the well being, health and general care of the patient. Some of what I have seen is the polar opposite..