Advice and insight needed please...

[grdadwithquestions]

I am 35 years old and have been losing my hair since I was about 19. I had my hair chemically relaxed twice in my late teens and it expedited my hair loss process. If not for having thick hair and being able to do some smoke and mirrors over the years, I would have had to shave it a while back.

I actually started propecia when i was 19 right when it came out but it didn't work well, or a doctor told me that my hair loss was more so from the straightening so it wouldn't work for me so I stopped it (probably shouldn't have).

So I reverted to using a scam spray of retin-a and minoxodil for years, until I decided to go back to a dr who recommended i go back on propecia and start using rogaine foam.

I couldnt stand using the rogaine foam and didn't see any improvement after a year or so of once a day use. I continue to take the propecia, but i continue to thin out and haven't seen any regrowth.

I am now at a place where I have a very clear bald spot, I'd say a Norwood 4, and I am deciding if a hair transplant is right for me.

My question is what is the actual process of getting a hair transplant in easy steps... As I understand it, it goes like this...

1) They shave your head and replant grafts taken from strip in back of head across the whole scalp from crown to vertex.

2) These scab within a week or so as the incision in the back heals as well.

Then, I get a little lost. Can someone help fill in the rest of the blanks, like...

When do they take the stitches/staples out in the back?
What happens after that first week? Do the hairs start to come back in or do you lose everything again and then they start?
Do you still take propecia forever thereafter? If you seem resistant to propecia is a hair transplant right in the first place?
Is rogaine necessary as well?

Sorry...ton of questions, hoping you guys can help!


I thank you in advance for your insights!

[ChrisM]

I am 35 years old and have been losing my hair since I was about 19. I had my hair chemically relaxed twice in my late teens and it expedited my hair loss process. If not for having thick hair and being able to do some smoke and mirrors over the years, I would have had to shave it a while back.

I actually started propecia when i was 19 right when it came out but it didn't work well, or a doctor told me that my hair loss was more so from the straightening so it wouldn't work for me so I stopped it (probably shouldn't have).

So I reverted to using a scam spray of retin-a and minoxodil for years, until I decided to go back to a dr who recommended i go back on propecia and start using rogaine foam.

I couldnt stand using the rogaine foam and didn't see any improvement after a year or so of once a day use. I continue to take the propecia, but i continue to thin out and haven't seen any regrowth.

I am now at a place where I have a very clear bald spot, I'd say a Norwood 4, and I am deciding if a hair transplant is right for me.

My question is what is the actual process of getting a hair transplant in easy steps... As I understand it, it goes like this...

1) They shave your head and replant grafts taken from strip in back of head across the whole scalp from crown to vertex.

2) These scab within a week or so as the incision in the back heals as well.

Then, I get a little lost. Can someone help fill in the rest of the blanks, like...

When do they take the stitches/staples out in the back?
What happens after that first week? Do the hairs start to come back in or do you lose everything again and then they start?
Do you still take propecia forever thereafter? If you seem resistant to propecia is a hair transplant right in the first place?
Is rogaine necessary as well?

Sorry...ton of questions, hoping you guys can help!


I thank you in advance for your insights!

From my understanding after a hair transplant you would still need to take propecia because the DHT process is still going on inside your body so any hair that you would grow from the transplant although fuller and now back to a Norwood 2 for example it would still only be a matter of time before that hair went through the miniaturization process of DHT. You are only buying yourself maybe another 10 to 15 years tops maybe less on the outside of that.

How long have you been on propecia/finasteride from your past uses of it ?

If Finasteride did not work after a year or more then getting a hair transplant that would be well over 2000 dollars to then go back to resetting the inevitable decline back to the beginning again does not make sense from a cost effective sense or putting yourself through the surgical process. If had a marginal response to Finasteride without side effects then I would have recommended Dutasteride the stronger cousin of Finasteride but I don't think that will help. Your best bet if Finasteride does not work over the long term would be buzz it down and accept what is happening brother.

[Shan]

A hair transplant will not stop future hair loss if you are prone to it.
Propecia can halt it but if it is not working for you, then you can try Dut.