What doctor to choose for a young diffuse patterned baldness sufferer

[john555]

Dear Fellow Baldies,

I've recently turned 23, and have been balding since the age of 18. My baldness pattern is a DPA type, pretty close to Norwood Va but with a bit more hair on the temples. My hair density seems to be quite low but my hair is relatively thick. I don't really care about aesthetics too much, I'd just prefer not to be bald.


I'm considering an FUE hair transplant. As I'm quite young, there is a possibility that I actually suffer from Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA). No male in my family started balding that young, but those who are bald do not seem to have DUPA, so I'm hopeful.

I'm considering different options and would appreciate your helping me make a decision. I'm happy to go anywhere in the world and I've been saving money since some time yet to ensure I can get the best "permanent" treatment. Also, I have decided not to take any daily medication.

Options:

1) Do my transplant soon (within a year). As I have a substantial amount of hair left (maybe 20-40%?) I need a surgeon who wild be comfortable with doing implants in areas with a lot of native hair. I have shortlisted the following: Bisanga, Lorenzo, Feriduni and Umar, but I'd consider any other doctor you will recommend.

2) Wait for the rest of my hair to die and then just select the best FUE surgeon

3) Do a body hair transplant with Dr Umar to regain some density before using scalp hair.

Thank you for your input! Any suggestion is welcome...

[HairlossAt15]

Try the full shave or number 1/2. You sound like the kind of person who could pull it off.

[john555]

Try the full shave or number 1/2. You sound like the kind of person who could pull it off.

I'm doing #2 or #3 at the moment but I'd still like to have my hair "back" if there is a possibility. I used to have very beautiful hair...

[ukcali]

Dear Fellow Baldies,

I've recently turned 23, and have been balding since the age of 18. My baldness pattern is a DPA type, pretty close to Norwood Va but with a bit more hair on the temples. My hair density seems to be quite low but my hair is relatively thick. I don't really care about aesthetics too much, I'd just prefer not to be bald.


I'm considering an FUE hair transplant. As I'm quite young, there is a possibility that I actually suffer from Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA). No male in my family started balding that young, but those who are bald do not seem to have DUPA, so I'm hopeful.

I'm considering different options and would appreciate your helping me make a decision. I'm happy to go anywhere in the world and I've been saving money since some time yet to ensure I can get the best "permanent" treatment. Also, I have decided not to take any daily medication.

Options:

1) Do my transplant soon (within a year). As I have a substantial amount of hair left (maybe 20-40%?) I need a surgeon who wild be comfortable with doing implants in areas with a lot of native hair. I have shortlisted the following: Bisanga, Lorenzo, Feriduni and Umar, but I'd consider any other doctor you will recommend.

2) Wait for the rest of my hair to die and then just select the best FUE surgeon

3) Do a body hair transplant with Dr Umar to regain some density before using scalp hair.

Thank you for your input! Any suggestion is welcome...

I'm 21 (22 this month) and have a similar situation to you. My hair has receded, not horrifically but certainly noticeably and worst of all has thinned out dramatically on top

I've been researching evey single medical treatment and every possible surgical solution for months, actually it must be almost a year now! So hopefully I can help you a little bit.

The general consensus is that is its easier to (and ultimately better) to try and save what's there rather than replace it later. So medically speaking the only two officially approved treatments are Finasteride (Propecia) and minoxidil. Minoxidil has very little potential side effects. Propecia medically speaking, is currently the only medication that can in some cases stop hair loss. It works for some people and not for others. The (potential) side effects are well documented so I won't go into to those. Some people are effected, others aren't. There are people who have been only the drug since it came out and are fine. If you ask on forums about the drug you tend to get two different answers, someone who has been on the drug and been successful will rave about it. Likewise someone who has been on the drug and had side effects will probably be very vocal about how terrible the drug is.

As I said medically speaking at the moment unfortunatly it's all we've got. My advice is read up on it and make a decision. If you're going to take it do it sooner than later and not in 5 years when your situation will be worse. If you aren't going to take it, move on and don't look back.

In regards to transplants FUE sounds like a good idea for you because of your age. It's certainly the route I'm considering.

Body hair is a tricky one. It's something I have been quite interested in and done quite a lot of homework on. I actually have a thread going at the moment just a few lines below this one which I suggest you read. The main conclusions with bht is that it works in some cases and not in others. It is NOT a perfect solution and it is generally thought of as a last resort. Some hair works better than others but generally speaking it it works for some people and not for others. Nobody seems to know why. If you are going to look into it my suggestion would be to at the very least to a test patch first to see if it grows before doing a whole procedure and finding out none of the body hair grows. Beard hair seems to be the best source however there is the possibility of scarring. Some docs say there is, others say there isn't.

My advice would be to concentrate on trying to keep your existing hair as much as possible, then look into a transplant. I would suggest doing A LOT of research on your surgeon and whatever you do please make sure you don't make your decision based entirely on cost. As someone once said to me "you can always make more money", whereas it's much harder to fix a potentially disastrous result.

Lastly there is always the option of just shaving your head and moving on with your life. Several people have advised it to me and it's not an option I wish to consider until I have gone down every other route. I'm far too vain!

Best of luck and please keep us updated on how you get on!

[john555]

In regards to transplants FUE sounds like a good idea for you because of your age. It's certainly the route I'm considering.

My advice would be to concentrate on trying to keep your existing hair as much as possible, then look into a transplant. I would suggest doing A LOT of research on your surgeon and whatever you do please make sure you don't make your decision based entirely on cost. As someone once said to me "you can always make more money", whereas it's much harder to fix a potentially disastrous result.

Thank you for you lengthy post ukcali! I really appreciate your taking time for me. At the moment, I'm seriously considering FUE with Dr Bisanga but I still have Dr Lorenzo on my mind, what's your opinion?

[topcat]

John much better to post some pictures you could very well not be a good candidate but one can't give an opinion without really seeing where you are at.