newbie..transplant or not?

[funkyrimpler]

hi guys
ive been considering a procedure but imnot 100% sure if i should, as the more i research, the more unethical the industry seems to become.Also, there are a number of drawbacks to strip incision (scarring in particular) and FUE.
Im 40yrs old, and about a 2 on the Norwood..essentially a receeding hairline, but starting to thin slightly at the front..Its taken a long time, but like most men, it does concern me, even though my loss is probably much less than many of you. Also, it seems to be progressing faster than it used to.

Ive seen many disaster stories and botched procedures. i was supposed to see a 'consultant' (salesman?), but it was cancelled this morning, so will be rescheduled.

ive read that the double bladed knife can damage many surrounding follicles in the donor area, can leave noticeable, unpredicatable scars, scalp numbness, tension in the scar tissue etc...essentially swapping one problem for another..Also, FUE can leave a motheaten appearance at the donor site..depending of course, on the amount of hair to be harvested.

Can anyone give me an idea/scale as to the size of the donor area and the amount of grafts that this will produce. Also, is there a general scale of the number of grafts and the area that it will cover (subkect to density of course)..

has the industry really moved on that much since the days of dolls hair plugs?
are the before and after pics to be trusted? how successful is the 'average' procedure?
questions questions questions!!!
any help would be truly appreciated guys!

[El Nino]

Donor supply depends on the individual and varies from person to person. The two main factors are donor density and scalp laxity.

The general rule is to multiply your NW scale by 1000, NW 2 x 1000 = 2000 grafts.

Yes the industry has moved on a lot since dolls plugs. Now it is ultra refined follicular grafting.

Yes, most pics are to be trusted but obviously not all of them.

The average procedure will produce an average result if done by an average Surgeon.

An Excellent Surgeon....

[Follicle Death Row]

Probably 18,000-20,000 follicles in your donor. Over multiple strips, if you have the elasticity, you can get maybe 35cm long, 3cm wide or area of 105cm2. Donor density of 85ish FU/cm2. You're looking at 8,925. I've been told that 8000-9000 is possible by 2 or 3 strips for most. After that FUE could get you maybe another 1000-1500. FUE alone is probably 5000-6000 max.

As a reference, norwood 6 has about 240cm2 of bald scalp. Native density of 85 or 90FU/cm2 prebalding. 8500 over 240cm2 is only around 35.5 FU/cm2. Of course density of transplants are higher in the frontal third and much lower in the crown.

The numbers are important. They might give you an idea of what's possible. Sounds like you like FUE may be suitable as the session size would be small for norwood 2. However, you said it's starting to progress faster now so be careful.

[DAVE52]

Buzz your head now
Get used to it
It's easier to buszz it than to deal with the stress of a bad or un realistic HT for the rest of your life.

[funkyrimpler]

Buzz your head now
Get used to it
It's easier to buszz it than to deal with the stress of a bad or un realistic HT for the rest of your life.

seems a bit extreme as im only a norwood 2.
i would assume that if i went for a HT that the donor strip would be relatively small. i need to temples filling, and possibly a slight thickening in the front of the frontal area (i have a scar on my head that is now becoming visible..it never used to be visible about 10 yrs ago.

if i had say, 2000 grafts, what size would the donor strip be?