22 year old, seeking advice

[91jmcginnes]

Good evening all

I recently joined and thought this was the best forum to sign up to.
I'll give you a lowdown, I'm 22 and have been quite paranoid at my hair getting thinner more notably at the front (il post a picture later). I started to notice this at about 20 and basically want to nip it in the bud. My father is 61, he was pretty much bald by his early 30's, I never knew my mums father but her 2 brothers are well in their 60's and seem to have held on to their hair (just about). The main areas I'm concerned about are the temples, I've always had a strange hairline but only noticed it had matured quite a bit by the time I was 20, also noticed my hair a little thinner at the front. I have looked into HT's and have been doing research into surgeons etc for a few months now, I've been putting money by each month (£160), so by the time I'm at least 26/27 I can look into getting one, is that considered too young?
My main questions are, what medications have you tried and tested? I know nothing about them to be honest and who do you feel in your experience is a good HT surgeon in the UK?

Feedback is much appreciated, looking forward to hearing from you.

John

[35YrsAfter]

So by the time I'm at least 26/27 I can look into getting one, is that considered too young?
My main questions are, what medications have you tried and tested? I know nothing about them to be honest and who do you feel in your experience is a good HT surgeon in the UK?

Feedback is much appreciated, looking forward to hearing from you.

John

26/27 may or may not be a good age to get a hair transplant. At Dr. Cole's office, a careful evaluation during consultation can help determine whether a transplant is a good idea. A strong donor area is critical to a great result. If it doesn't appear that your hair loss will progress to a Norwood 6+, you may be considered a decent candidate. Many Norwood sixes get a great result, but we're talking a lot of grafts.

You may want to consider Propecia. Rogaine (minoxidil) helps as well, but Propecia (finasteride), if you don't get sides, is often reasonably effective. Just don't buy the mystery online version available without a prescription.

Dr. Bernstein has some encouraging Propecia before and afters.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
forhair.com
Cole Hair Transplant
1070 Powers Place
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Phone 678-566-1011
email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck

[91jmcginnes]

Thanks for the reply, the hair at the back of my head is thick and has good density, I can put a pen in it and it will stay in, to give you a better perspective I will upload a few photos later on, one with product in it, i.e a bit of hairspray and a little bit of toppik, one combed, one with water on it and one with hairline pulled back.

[91jmcginnes]

Here are some photos to give you an idea.

[91jmcginnes]

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[91jmcginnes]

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[91jmcginnes]

... Apologies didn't know how to attach to all pictures to one post.

[91jmcginnes]

One last one.

[35YrsAfter]

One last one.

I recommend you research Propecia (finasteride). It's not for everyone but is reasonably effective in at least slowing hair loss. I recommend you wait to see how your hair looks when you're 29. At that age get a good evaluation of your donor area and the number of grafts needed to provide decent coverage. On the other hand, how does your head look shaved?

Hair transplantation is a medical art. Excellent surgeons with acceptable medical knowledge, void of artistic sense have been messing up men's hair and lives for decades. Neither strip or FUE is a consistent product. A bad result is worse than being a Norwood 7. Exercise caution and wisdom.

We have a patient friend visiting us for a couple of months from the Isle of Anglesey. When he did his first hair restoration surgery, he didn't feel confident with UK hair transplant doctors so he held off. While he was working in Korea, he had a strip surgery. He got a reasonably thin scar, but was not happy with the result. He came to Dr. Cole and had FUE. He has thick dense donor hair and got great coverage with only around 3600 grafts. If you want to speak with him, email me and I will set up a time for you two to talk. He's far more familiar with the HT situation in the UK than I am.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
forhair.com
Cole Hair Transplant
1070 Powers Place
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Phone 678-566-1011
email 35YrsAfter at chuck@forhair.com
The contents of my posts are my opinions and not medical advice
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions. Ask for Chuck

[Notcoolanymore]

Are you using Toppik in that first picture? Your hair looks a little "different" in that picture. Your best bet right now are using the things we know can work: fin, minox, and niz. Not guaranteed, but these can work wonders.

[91jmcginnes]

Ye I put a touch of toppik at the temple areas of my head just to give it a more thicker appearance at the front, there is a place based in glasgow (the glasgow clinic) which I was looking at, not saying it's the place I will go but I might book a consultation with one of their surgeons to see where I'm at, thanks for the reply gentlemen, appreciated, I'd rather have somewhere close to home right enough as I have become a dad recently and don't want to leave the UK for more than a few days otherwise my partner would get totally stressed.

Anyway I will maybe start off on minoxidil and see how it goes, like you say it's not for everyone but worth a shot, failing that see a dermatologist before consulting a HT surgeon. Right now I'm basically trying to just maintain what I have for a few years before being old enough for a HT. That seems to be goal just now.