Tons of Questions :(

[dan2to]

Hey guys, im 28, thinning on top, and its always bothered me, but now its getting to the point where i cant stop thinking about it. For the last year and a half, Toppik has been a savior for me. I'm not completely bad, so its always covered up my thin areas. But recently the thinning seems to have gotten worst. I currently use rogaine twice a day, and take those hair/nail vitamins. I do not take propecia, and will not. I've seen it do wonders and miracles for others, but anything that can affect me "down there," I refuse to take. Please dont bash me about it, thats just how I feel.

So i'm thinking about the next step, a transplant. But I have tons of questions, and would love your help.

1) Is it pointless at this point, for me to do a transplant, because (1) I'm not completely bald, so I risk losing the thin remaining hair that I have now, in the future. And (2), I guess this is kinda related to number 1, but unless im wrong, I would guess 90% or more of the people who get transplants either are on propecia, or start on it, after their transplant, which is why their hair can look so good. Where as I see myself in a hole because I won't be taking propecia, before, or after, so I always think that the transplanted hair are going to be weak and may fall off (versus someone who gets an HT and takes propecia).

2) As luck would have it, I have an extremely hairy chest, which I hate. I know, the good Lord couldn't have them reversed for me huh?? Lol. In the past I always heard negative things about body hair to head transplants, but, is it still seen very negative today? Just curious if there have been any advances? Do you guys know of anyone whose done it and it actually looked good? I don't even care if its not "perfect", just want my thin areas covered.

3) Sorry this is so long, so I'll make this the last question. And its probably a very stupid question, but I'll ask anyways. How come some patients have GREAT results with a doctor, and then I see/hear about other patients, whose hair transplant has been a complete disaster, with the same exact doctor? I'm sure you've read posts, where 1 person praises a doctor or clinic, while another 1 goes off about how bad they now look...?

Thanks guy.

[Havok]

1) if you're completely bald (norwood 6-7) THEN it would be pointless to do a hair transplant, unless you have high hair density on back of your scalp.

2) haven't seen any beard transplant that didn't grow out looking like pubic hair lol but not sure about chest hair.

3) results often depend on the doctor but it's also important that the patient is the right HT candidate. if you have low hair density on the back of your head then you'll get less coverage in the balding area.

most HT pics you see online where someone who is norwood 6/7 before HT come out with dense hairline only look great from the front (at that EXACT angle and hair groomed with perfect precision). their hair look sparse and horrible from the top and side.

HT has so much limitations it's not even funny.

[AgainstThis]

Hair transplants are only worth it if you get them at around age 35-40, when your loss has pretty much stabilized and if you are a NW3-3V TOPS. Otherwise you look like a funny man who got a bad transplant and has doll hair and never mind their "revolutionary undetectable" techniques of "tomorrow".

The doctor has to be good, your body has to accept the grafts (The best doctor cannot predict that) and you need to be lucky as to experience minimal shock loss. A lot of dudes who go for a transplant without propecia end up losing all the transplanted hair as well, or even worse, they never see it actually grow.

We can only suck it and cope, unfortunately.

[dan2to]

Thanks guys. This is exactly what I feared... I guess its not a good idea at 28, to get an HT, if im not completely bald, and im not taking propecia. This sucks, leaves me with no choice really, ughhh. My back and sides are very thick, but I guess what good would that do, if im not gonna take propecia and the new hair wont grow.

And I know u guys said how beard or chest hair can look funny, but, and i know im in the minority, but im on the side where if it covers up my thinning areas, then i'll take it, and I'll deal with how to style it after. So i guess my next question is, what do i have to lose, if for the time being, i dont touch my donor hair, let them be, and try the chest hair transplant? Once again unfortunately, i have a lot of chest hair, and its very thick. Once again Lord, if you can hear me, you really couldn't have the situation the other way around, could You?? Haha. Trying to have a sense of humor about it, but man, i'm getting sick of having no other option

[AgainstThis]

You do realize though, chest hair retains all it's properties, so even if you were to achieve full and perfect coverage, the hair would never grow beyond the couple of kinky inches chest hair does, leaving a buzz cut your only effective notion, pretty much.

[dan2to]

You do realize though, chest hair retains all it's properties, so even if you were to achieve full and perfect coverage, the hair would never grow beyond the couple of kinky inches chest hair does, leaving a buzz cut your only effective notion, pretty much.

No I did not know that, thanks. I'll even take that. Anything. I'm just sick of seeing my thin hair on top. Another dumb question for you. If I used donor hair right now from the back of my head, and they fall off, or never grow, then I have essentially "wasted" them. Is the reverse true in the reverse? Let me explain what I mean by reverse. If I used chest hair, to have transplanted on top of my head, and lets say things take a turn for the worst, have I just "wasted space" (if we can call it that), where if in the future I want to use donor hair in the back of my head? Hope you understood the question. And thanks for you replies, I really appreciate it.

[Havok]

are you trying to ask whether recipient hair site will allow another hair follicle to be transplanted again in the exact same location?

if few transplanted hair fail to grow then why does it matter whether you can transplant another hair follicle in there? there are so many places to transplant hair these small percentages that fail to grow hair are pretty much negligible. but i'm not sure if that's your question.

[dan2to]

are you trying to ask whether recipient hair site will allow another hair follicle to be transplanted again in the exact same location?

if few transplanted hair fail to grow then why does it matter whether you can transplant another hair follicle in there? there are so many places to transplant hair these small percentages that fail to grow hair are pretty much negligible. but i'm not sure if that's your question.

Yes Havok that's exactly what I was asking, thank you. I was worried if I did a body to head hair transplant, and it went wrong, I might have no more "space" in the hair site for other hair follicle to be transplanted in the future.

Really appreciate your replies. For the 1st time, I am going to sleep knowing for a fact I am not a good candidate for a hair transplant because of the fact im not going to take propecia and im not completely bald yet. I guess Toppik will have to do for now...Now I need to do more research on chest hair to head transplant. Another dumb question, but please keep in mind I'm not as educated as you guys, I'm assuming I will have a nasty looking scar on my chest?

[VictimOfDHT]

Hair removed from areas other than the head -the chest for example- isn't taken out in strips like the head. They're removed individually as far as I know. So, no scar. Probably small dots the size of pen head will be left but shouldn't be too noticeable.

[Havok]

you should wait for the Acell hair plucking (hair cloning) findings that will presumably be presented by dr. cooley sometime in october before you consider chest hair to head transplant. if you get chest hair transplant now you'll just be a guinea pig for a procedure that's not really in demand.

[mattj]

Hair transplants are only worth it if you get them at around age 35-40, when your loss has pretty much stabilized and if you are a NW3-3V TOPS. Otherwise you look like a funny man who got a bad transplant and has doll hair and never mind their "revolutionary undetectable" techniques of "tomorrow".

I have to disagree with this. There are many examples out there of men who started at a higher Norwood level and ended up with a fantastic, natural-looking result. I'm also unsure why you have decided on this narrow, 5-year age range as being the only time a man should get a HT.

The doctor has to be good, your body has to accept the grafts (The best doctor cannot predict that) and you need to be lucky as to experience minimal shock loss. A lot of dudes who go for a transplant without propecia end up losing all the transplanted hair as well, or even worse, they never see it actually grow.

We can only suck it and cope, unfortunately.

I think you'll find it very difficult to point to an example of someone who has lost all his grafts due to continued hairloss, and in those cases where grafts fail to grow (which are rare with the best surgeons) this is unrelated to Propecia usage.
The other potential problems you mentioned are real, but you're overstating them and portraying hair transplants as being a much bigger risk than they are.

You might reply that I would say this because I work for a surgeon, but I've always been in the habit of advising people as openly as my knowledge will allow. The pros and cons should each be given as much weight as they merit for the sake of presenting an accurate picture, and you've loaded up the negatives to the point of being misleading. I know I can't be the only one who noticed this.

[VictimOfDHT]

I have to disagree with this. There are many examples out there of men who started at a higher Norwood level and ended up with a fantastic, natural-looking result. I'm also unsure why you have decided on this narrow, 5-year age range as being the only time a man should get a HT.



I think you'll find it very difficult to point to an example of someone who has lost all his grafts due to continued hairloss, and in those cases where grafts fail to grow (which are rare with the best surgeons) this is unrelated to Propecia usage.
The other potential problems you mentioned are real, but you're overstating them and portraying hair transplants as being a much bigger risk than they are.

You might reply that I would say this because I work for a surgeon, but I've always been in the habit of advising people as openly as my knowledge will allow. The pros and cons should each be given as much weight as they merit for the sake of presenting an accurate picture, and you've loaded up the negatives to the point of being misleading. I know I can't be the only one who noticed this.

Yup. Some people want us to think that HT is the worst thing in the world. They want us to believe it's a very risky procedure. That it doesn't work and only mutilate you. That transplanted hair eventually die like the original hair......
Hhhhhhhh. I don't know where they come up with these things. Yes, there are butchers out there who think they're performing HTs, and the poor men who do fall for these sons of bitches do end up suffering, but at the hands of a real doctor, an HT can be a very good thing. It can be a life changing procedure.
I say this and I'm a person who's lost a lot of my transplanted hairs. Still, I would NOT say HT is a bad thing. Because it's not. I have bad luck but I know most people do keep their transplanted hairs. I have no other problems. No complications. No big scars. No change in the shape of my forhead, ears or whatever.
The bottom line, find a good doctor and not a butcher claiming to be one. Find a GOOD well-known doctor and not just a doctor. Because just like in everything else, there are doctors who just do HTs, and there are doctors who do them RIGHT. And yeah, there is a difference between the two. And if you are a good candidate for HT, chances are you'll be very happy with the results.
If HTs weren't as expensive as they are and I weren't worried about depleting my native hair, I would do another HT in a heart beat.