Hair Transplant To 'Fix' A Cow Lick?

[juiceman]

Hi guys,

Although I'd ideally like a HT to lower my hairline and fill in thinning areas, I'd love if it could fix my 'cow lick'

Basically, on the left side of my head the hair grows straight down as most peoples does, but on the right side theres an area above the ear were the hair grows straight back. This has annoyed me all my life as it is very hard to style and ends up looking different to the other side.

Does anyone have any experience of having a HT to 'fix' this kind of thing or mask it in some way by transplanting hairs to grow downwards in that area?

Thanks

[CIT_Girl]

That's an interesting question. I imagine it could be done but it would require great technical skill and precision. The surgeon can determine directional growth based on the direction of the incision and the placement of the grafts...I'm just not sure how it would work in an area that's already dense with hair.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I agree that this would be very difficult and is probably not recommended. You would need to remove the existing hair or at least most of it, and then add transplants to the area. I think maybe you should reconsider and be happy that you have hair even though it hard to keep under control.

[juiceman]

Thanks for your comments. The cow lick is not really my main concern as my hair is showing signs of thinning and receding on top, I was just curious about it. For the hair loss, I have been recommended 200 FUE grafts into each of the peak areas by one Doctor and recommended to leave things as they are for the time being and continue on Propecia and Minox by another.

Like most guys on here, my hair is something that I am very conscious of every day and particularly the size of my forehead so if an HT could help I'd be delighted. However I am 23 and have done a lot of research and see a lot of people advising that this is too young to have a procedure done. Would such a small session still leave me with good options for the future or would an HT at this stage be a risk?

Thanks.

[CIT_Girl]

Twenty-three is definitely very young to have a hair transplant but I understand that this is the age when it feels the most important to have hair. The danger in having a procedure now is that it likely won't be the last one you'll need as your hair loss will continue to progress. You don't want to create a 'wall' of hair in the front if you are not prepared to fill-in whatever further recession you have behind it. You also don't want to deplete your donor supply too soon if there's a likelihood that you will end up at an advanced Norwood stage.

That said, an extremely small procedure, such as 200 grafts, would not have a significant impact on your donor supply. As long as you have realistic expectations and understand the possible ramifications of starting down that road, I wouldn't discourage you from doing something that could restore your confidence. Again, however, take your time to decide if it's really what you want to do because, once you take that step, you can't go back.

[juiceman]

As you mention, I think this would be something that would really boost my confidence - assuming I was able to get the desired result. As people at any early stage of hairloss may be able to relate to, there are days when I'd have a procedure done there and then, and other days when I feel more patient and willing to wait and see how Propecia and Minoxidil work out foe me.

Due to time and cost, etc I would probably have to stick with a UK-based Doctor, however I was wondering - is Dr. Cole the only Doctor to offer non-shaven FUE with his CIT procedure or do most Doctors offer the unshaven option?

[CIT_Girl]

I don't believe that there are many other doctors that offer a non-shaven option with FUE (I'm not aware of any myself) but you could certainly call around and see. You could try starting another thread with that specific question and you might get some more insight/responses.

Honestly, your best bet would be to try and wait it out at least a few more years and see what Propecia and Minoxidil can do for you. The option of having a hair transplant will always be there for you when you are ready. If you do decide to proceed, make sure you select a doctor carefully- particularly because the frontal hairline/temples require a very skilled touch to create natural-looking results.

[juiceman]

Thanks for the advice CIT_Girl. Would you have any photos of Dr. Coles patients who have undergone a CIT procedure of say, under 1000 grafts? It may be useful for me to see the results of such procedures to know what to expect

[CIT_Girl]

I collected a few examples for you:

This patient had amazing results with just 400 grafts in his temple region:


This patient had 700 grafts to improve density in the frontal third:



Here's an example of a patient who had 576 grafts. The follow-up picture was taken by the patient at home so the lighting and hair styling are different.


This is an example of 740 grafts placed in the vertex:

[JayB]

Hi. I found that a hair foam from Dr. Nettles worked well for me. You may want to try something else instead of minox and before you spend the money on a HT.