22 Year Old Seeking Hair Transplant Advice

[JoeTillman]

Completely ridiculous comment. No one cares about being bald or having a grafts at the front along with a bald top and crown when they're 45 years old.

Over 1/4 of all hair transplant surgeries performed are on men between the ages of 40 and 49. I've had patients in their 70's and even their 80's come in for surgery. One never stops caring about how they look and this really is a naive statement.

If you're a 20 year old balding guy, why not go for a transplant every few years and look like a guy with a beautiful mane?

Because if he were to start off with your original suggestion of "4000 to 5000 grafts" to the front then he won't have enough hair to follow your plan.

You shouldn't be sitting there suffering in your 20s because of hairloss, DO something about it and who cares about the future, in a decade there will probably be a cure.

This has been said every year for the past thirty years. Doing anything on this level based on the assumption that something specific will happen to warrant and justify a glutenous approach regarding such a limited resource is extremely irresponsible and short sighted.

In the mean time, saying someone should live their 20s as a balding man is outright stupid. Shame on you, the amount of mens mental health issues that could be solved with decent transplants are huge.

Another naive statement. Dealing with hair loss is nothing compared to dealing with a bad hair transplant. Until you've had one you had no idea what you're talking about.

And I say Turkey is better than the US because their procedures, densities, aesthetics and graft survival rate is much higher. A quarter of the price of the US, and twice as good quality wise. Anyone who says the US is a good place for a transplant is conning people.

This is your opinion, but you are insulting the hundreds of thousands of patients that have had and will have surgery in the United States by saying their happiness is the result of being conned. It doesn't really make any sense.

[JoeTillman]

In general, what is the ideal age for a hair transplant?

What is the age which ethical surgeons would unanimously agree it is "safe" to get a transplant assuming no donor thinning or any other abnormal occurences? I.e. a good transplant candidate.

Just looking for maybe an average age for strip as everyone is different. I am guessing it is around 35 as Spencer Kobren said he doesnt recommend any guy get FUT under 35 on the radio show before. Thoughts?

Obviously it is not 22. I am 33 and still concerned about the future loss.

These are very tough questions to answer. In my experience, I think most doctors will at least say that 25 is a general threshold to consider but, as with anything, caveats exist. The idea is that FUE is "safer" so younger patients can be accepted but I've got mixed feelings about that. A bad result is still a bad result, regardless of the technique. One thing that I've learned is that the technique is irrelevant when you're talking to a patient that feels "butchered" and that includes FUE patients. The bad FUE results of today are no different, psychologically, than the bad plug patients of thirty years ago. I'm currently in regular contact with multiple patients that have had FUE and are in various states of depression due to unnatural results, over harvested donor zones, or a combination of effects.

For strip, I think 30 is the threshold, especially now with the negative image it has in the market. Most patients considering strip now, in 2016/2017 are doing so only because they've really thought long and hard about what it involves and the side effects that are unique to strip alone.

[JeanlucBergman]

I would also recommend to look solely at IAHRS surgeons.

[JeanlucBergman]

Terrible advice. Anyone who starts getting transplants at the age of 20 will be chasing his hair loss for decades to come. Anyone who is balding at 20 will more than likely be a NW6 or 7. There are only so many grafts a NW6 or 7 can have harvested, to just start filling in areas that are thinning at the age of 20 can prove to be disastrous. There are many victims on this site and elsewhere around the world to prove that very case.. There probably isn't one IAHRS recommended doctor that would ever preform a HT on a 20 year old without a good reason (burn, accident, etc...). Try consulting with one of them and you will get the same reasoning I am offering here. Waiting for a cure? Really? I remember 20 years ago claims that a cure was right around the corner (it always is). A cure has been a threaded topic on this and other sites for decades. Someday maybe. Could be 30 years out could be 100. Who knows. I do know billions of dollars has been spent on the research to no avail. If the possibility of finding a cure is part of your plan to counter hair loss good luck. Not to mention the price of a cure. Funny comment about why not go for hair transplants at 20 and keep a beautiful mane. First transplants can not ever give back original density even for for somebody with limitless donor and I can promise you a balding 20 year old will never have limitless donor. Be careful who you listen to. Don't take my advice or especially the advice of anyone ever telling you to have a transplant. Talk to multiple recommended HT surgeons and get the advice you deserve. Make you decisions carefully and with time. Even then there are no guarantees but at least your odds become much better.

I also noticed Joe recommended to someone else that 3000 grafts for the front of the hairline is a reasonable number, despite making fun of me and criticising me for suggest EXACTLY THE SAME THING. You guys have your idiotic little in club and criticise anyone who doesn't just reaffirm what you say, it's laughable. And there are plenty of IAHRS doctors such as Koray Erdogan who have done FUEs on 20 year olds.

"Funny comment about why not go for hair transplants at 20 and keep a beautiful mane. First transplants can not ever give back original density"

You only say this because you're obsessed with useless American doctors who don't do particularly good jobs. You're also focusing on your own experience and Joe's who had transplants over a decade ago. This isn't the 1980s, HAVE A LOOK and you'll see that people are getting natural, and full density results at 3500 grafts with strong NW1.5 temples and still leaving half their donor area in tact. Hair transplant surgeons particularly in the states are mostly idiots who charge 5 times the amount of typical transplant destinations at 2/3rds the density and graft survival rate, then go onto say "well at least you'll know you're safe with me!"

If you're worried about your hair at 22, try out minoxidil, nizoral and fin or DHT blockers, and if you can stabilize comfortable then GET THE TRANSPLANT! Don't sit in silence suffering throughout your 20s, it will be the worst decision you ever make.

PLEASE don't listen to Hairbrain and Joe who got badly done transplants decades ago and wasted their donor area, and now want to stop anyone else from getting better results and living a happy youth. Save your life, get the transplant! In saying that, try to stabilise your losses and spend a year looking around globally for your best option for a great transplant, but then GET IT DONE! Don't waste your 20s being bald.

[Hairbrain]

Completely ridiculous comment. No one cares about being bald or having a grafts at the front along with a bald top and crown when they're 45 years old. If you're a 20 year old balding guy, why not go for a transplant every few years and look like a guy with a beautiful mane? You shouldn't be sitting there suffering in your 20s because of hairloss, DO something about it and who cares about the future, in a decade there will probably be a cure.

Terrible advice. Anyone who starts getting transplants at the age of 20 will be chasing his hair loss for decades to come. Anyone who is balding at 20 will more than likely be a NW6 or 7. There are only so many grafts a NW6 or 7 can have harvested, to just start filling in areas that are thinning at the age of 20 can prove to be disastrous. There are many victims on this site and elsewhere around the world to prove that very case.. There probably isn't one IAHRS recommended doctor that would ever preform a HT on a 20 year old without a good reason (burn, accident, etc...). Try consulting with one of them and you will get the same reasoning I am offering here. Waiting for a cure? Really? I remember 20 years ago claims that a cure was right around the corner (it always is). A cure has been a threaded topic on this and other sites for decades. Someday maybe. Could be 30 years out could be 100. Who knows. I do know billions of dollars has been spent on the research to no avail. If the possibility of finding a cure is part of your plan to counter hair loss good luck. Not to mention the price of a cure. Funny comment about why not go for hair transplants at 20 and keep a beautiful mane. First transplants can not ever give back original density even for for somebody with limitless donor and I can promise you a balding 20 year old will never have limitless donor. Be careful who you listen to. Don't take my advice or especially the advice of anyone ever telling you to have a transplant. Talk to multiple recommended HT surgeons and get the advice you deserve. Make you decisions carefully and with time. Even then there are no guarantees but at least your odds become much better.

[JeanlucBergman]

I think the best thing to consider is preparing for the worst, which is "the life of endless procedures".

That's what I'm doing and I'm fine with it because I work my ass off to get money. I rather be rich and with hair then poor and bald.

I know it sounds easier than it is, but the truth is you can market a product for someone and if you work hard and research non-stop on google you'll have the money. Otherwise, I don't see how going in for an FUE surgery every 4-5 years is a pain. I love the feeling, it's like I'm telling my destiny FU !

Richter101 is a former patient of Dr. Parsa Mohebi

Born Oct ’89
Began Seeing Gradual Hair Loss Oct ’09
Began Seeing Gradual Hair Gain June ’15

My regimen includes:
HT #1 2200 (ARTAS- FUE) grafts at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration in Los Angeles in 2016
Finasteride daily, since 2014
Rogaine experimenter from 2012- ’13 RIP

Planning HT #2 By End of This Year

Well said, why live and suffer in silence because some idiots on a forum who went to dodgy, idiotic American surgeons at $10 grand for 1000 grafts in a back alley in Chicago didn't like their results? Find a good surgeon like Koray Erdogan in Turkey (who is also very competitively priced) and change your life for the better. Very happy for you.

[JeanlucBergman]

Good debatable question. Lots of variables to consider. certainly one needs to have stabalized their hair loss, preferably naturally and minimally with finasteride. Even then there are no guarantees. I think anyone under 30 is risking it. Just my opinion. I think finding at least two reputable HT surgeons and getting candid advice from them and/or other knowledgeable souces is a great starter. Ultimately the decision comes down to you the patient. If surgery is something one truley desires I'm not sure waiting so late in life makes sense either. I would think wanting to enjoy it during ones more active years is also a consideration. Your 33 and worried about future loss. Im sure you will be 53 and worried about future loss. Thats one we all share. Its why some of us continue the drugs indefinitely.

Completely ridiculous comment. No one cares about being bald or having a grafts at the front along with a bald top and crown when they're 45 years old. If you're a 20 year old balding guy, why not go for a transplant every few years and look like a guy with a beautiful mane? You shouldn't be sitting there suffering in your 20s because of hairloss, DO something about it and who cares about the future, in a decade there will probably be a cure. In the mean time, saying someone should live their 20s as a balding man is outright stupid. Shame on you, the amount of mens mental health issues that could be solved with decent transplants are huge. And I say Turkey is better than the US because their procedures, densities, aesthetics and graft survival rate is much higher. A quarter of the price of the US, and twice as good quality wise. Anyone who says the US is a good place for a transplant is conning people.

[richter101]

I think the best thing to consider is preparing for the worst, which is "the life of endless procedures".

That's what I'm doing and I'm fine with it because I work my ass off to get money. I rather be rich and with hair then poor and bald.

I know it sounds easier than it is, but the truth is you can market a product for someone and if you work hard and research non-stop on google you'll have the money. Otherwise, I don't see how going in for an FUE surgery every 4-5 years is a pain. I love the feeling, it's like I'm telling my destiny FU !

Richter101 is a former patient of Dr. Parsa Mohebi

Born Oct ’89
Began Seeing Gradual Hair Loss Oct ’09
Began Seeing Gradual Hair Gain June ’15

My regimen includes:
HT #1 2200 (ARTAS- FUE) grafts at Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration in Los Angeles in 2016
Finasteride daily, since 2014
Rogaine experimenter from 2012- ’13 RIP

Planning HT #2 By End of This Year

[KO1]

No ideal age really, you have to take a calculated risk. In hair loss, really everything below 40 is young. You'll have to balance how your hair loss will evolve, what you will do if the procedure fails vs whether you can tolerate living like this.

[Hairbrain]

In general, what is the ideal age for a hair transplant?

What is the age which ethical surgeons would unanimously agree it is "safe" to get a transplant assuming no donor thinning or any other abnormal occurences? I.e. a good transplant candidate.

Just looking for maybe an average age for strip as everyone is different. I am guessing it is around 35 as Spencer Kobren said he doesnt recommend any guy get FUT under 35 on the radio show before. Thoughts?

Obviously it is not 22. I am 33 and still concerned about the future loss.

Good debatable question. Lots of variables to consider. certainly one needs to have stabalized their hair loss, preferably naturally and minimally with finasteride. Even then there are no guarantees. I think anyone under 30 is risking it. Just my opinion. I think finding at least two reputable HT surgeons and getting candid advice from them and/or other knowledgeable souces is a great starter. Ultimately the decision comes down to you the patient. If surgery is something one truley desires I'm not sure waiting so late in life makes sense either. I would think wanting to enjoy it during ones more active years is also a consideration. Your 33 and worried about future loss. Im sure you will be 53 and worried about future loss. Thats one we all share. Its why some of us continue the drugs indefinitely.

[tedwuji]

Stop.

First off, don't listen to Jeanluc. I'm sorry, but no 22 year old should go to Turkey to get 4000 grafts into the "front". Just, no.

Second, yes, you are too young especially for strip. And while your hair may have thickened from Propecia you're still a NW3V with a thinning forelock. 1200 grafts may give you a "straight" hairline but it will have a low density as Jeanluc said. Your hairline shouldn't be straight to begin with. You should build in some temple recession like that of a NW2 at most.

I do not know Dr. Haber personally, but I have met him and I do think he's a very capable doctor based on cases I've seen but for anyone to suggest that one can "just put SMP into the donor scar" isn't giving you a valid option that has any sort of reliability or consistency.

SMP into donor scars is unpredictable. The pigment can disappear in a matter of weeks or it may stick around and spread into a confluence of color. Scar tissue is different from healthy skin tissue which is why test patches should be performed before fully committing to the procedure. In addition, I've seen several great looking results, of course, but in each one I can see the scar itself and where the SMP is done. In other words, it never makes it go away visually and in most cases it stands out and draws the eye. It would wind up being just one more thing to worry about if you ever did have to shave.

I think ultimately you should have not have a hair transplant and try to accept your current state. Look into using concealers like Dermatch to thicken the crown and forelock area and see how you like that. If you absolutely have to go with surgery then go conservative and try FUE. Don't straighten your hairline. It takes a lot of hair to get what you're talking about and it is hair you can't afford to waste.

In general, what is the ideal age for a hair transplant?

What is the age which ethical surgeons would unanimously agree it is "safe" to get a transplant assuming no donor thinning or any other abnormal occurences? I.e. a good transplant candidate.

Just looking for maybe an average age for strip as everyone is different. I am guessing it is around 35 as Spencer Kobren said he doesnt recommend any guy get FUT under 35 on the radio show before. Thoughts?

Obviously it is not 22. I am 33 and still concerned about the future loss.

[KO1]

JeanLuc gave some very bad advice, I second to ignore his comments. Also consider maybe waiting till your mid-twenties (If you can).

[Hairbrain]

Joe is a walking encyclopedia of bad decisions and the difficulties of navigating the HT industry. He's certainly a worthy resource for information and worth listening to, however most people these days can get substantially better results and in one or two transplants substantially fix their problems. Turkey is a much better destination than the US for transplants too, that is just a fact.

Having 9 transplants isn't something to brag about either.

I have personally met Joe and have spent time with him. There is specific reason he had 9 transplants aside from the first two. Some were for repairing bad work from a different era and others for research and experimentation of various methods . He has helped move this field forward in multitudinous ways in which I have no time to even begin to list. I can tell you I probably have more experience picking out and critiquing transplants than just about anyone, and to have met Joe I would have never guessed that he ever had any work done. As far as I know Joe never brags about anything (well aside from maybe how hot is wife is ) To advise a 22 year old who is experiencing aggresive MPB to run to Turkey, or anywhere for that matter, to get his entire head coverd with 4000 grafts in what could very easily be a NW6 + case is just pure ignorance. I will not go through the whole litney why that is a bad idea, but let me just propose at least one. In reality 4000 grafts into a NW6 is no where near enough grafts to even give an illusion of a decent head of hair without at a minimum say leaving the crown. So what happens after possibly getting into his 40s and becoming a NW6 if not before and you have 4000 sporadically placed grats based on a prior pattern or an assumed future pattern? Chances are great you will have an unatural appearance or one seriously diffused head of hair. So many NW6 cases are fortunate to get 6000 grafts. Even if he's lucky theres a good chance an additonal 2000 grafts would not fix this type of poorly planned consequence. God forbid a retro thinning of the donor that was used for the first 4000, then it is certainly game over. Then what? This is only one of many things that could go wrong. Aside from a couple of known Turkish IAHRS recommened surgeons why do you say Turkey is a better place than the US? Price? Price may be a factor however there are so many other factors that go into getting a hair transplant that involves serious considerations and its highly advisable to talk to more than just a single doctor or advocate for that matter. Saving a potential few grand doesn't mean shit to someone who ends up f'n up his life.
With all due respect and I mean this sincerely please, do yourself and everyone on this site a favor and dont just claim someone is an encyclopedia of bad decisions when that individual has given back to this community in ways you can not begin to account for. You posted in an unrelated thread and advised another individual in order to slow down or stop his hair loss he should try pumpkin seed oil and limiting his masturbation. If you believe that works for you then that's fine but try to understand individuals come to this site primarily for proven methods, help and advice that works. That usually means searching out EMPERICAL data and getting advice from qualified doctors or from those who have been there done that. I hope in the future you will expand your knowledge by doing more reading here than advising.

[JeanlucBergman]

Joe and HTsoon are absolutely spot on. Do not listen to Jeanluc! You will not get any better advice than from Joe. To go to Turkey and get 4000 grafts would be showing all your cards and betting the farm with blinders on....... Joe has not only had 9 transplants, he has been associated and worked with some of the worlds best HT surgeons and has been in the field for longer than 15 years. Hes been on both sides of this fence and has seen it all, and because of that his advice is always from the perspective of what is right and fair to the patient. You will understand this quickly by visiting his site, Hairtransplantmentor.com or listen to him as co-host of TheBaldTruth podcast.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Joe is a walking encyclopedia of bad decisions and the difficulties of navigating the HT industry. He's certainly a worthy resource for information and worth listening to, however most people these days can get substantially better results and in one or two transplants substantially fix their problems. Turkey is a much better destination than the US for transplants too, that is just a fact.

Having 9 transplants isn't something to brag about either.

[Hairbrain]

Joe and HTsoon are absolutely spot on. Do not listen to Jeanluc! You will not get any better advice than from Joe. To go to Turkey and get 4000 grafts would be showing all your cards and betting the farm with blinders on....... Joe has not only had 9 transplants, he has been associated and worked with some of the worlds best HT surgeons and has been in the field for longer than 15 years. Hes been on both sides of this fence and has seen it all, and because of that his advice is always from the perspective of what is right and fair to the patient. You will understand this quickly by visiting his site, Hairtransplantmentor.com or listen to him as co-host of TheBaldTruth podcast.
Good luck and keep us posted.