Hair trasplant questions

[Baldnessfalls]

Hey guys,

So I have some questions about hair transplants after reading several threads on this site about them. From what I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong),if one were to have a HT from an IAHRS certified surgeon, then they can pretty much expect results that are completely undetectable. Not to mention that the hair that is transplanted will grow and shed exactly like the hair that was originally there. And the hair is permenant this time. And IAHRS surgeons today use methods that leave minimal scarring and produce an impressive amount of coverage from minimal donor hair. Am I correct so far?

However, it seems like some people on this forum do not see HTs as a good option. Why is this? Some go as far as to say it is one of the worst alternatives. I just don't see how it could be bad at all compared to**
other hair loss treatments such as finasteride and minoxidil. From what I can see, HTs can restore large amounts of permenant hair, and can do it in a fraction of the time the other treatments can. They seem like a great Idea to me. But I could be incorrect.

I ask because I'm a 21 year old hair loss sufferer. Currently I'm almost a NW 3. I have been putting off getting a HT for quite some time. But now I'm highly considering having it done. You see, I'm looking to pursue a music career and having thinning or balding hair is just not an option for me. I want to have a HT procedure done to restore my hairline and have a thick head of hair again. I think my level of hairloss has sort of stabilized and the hair on the back of my head is extremely thick. I know I will have plenty of donor hair. I think one procedure will restore me to a full head of hair. And I don't think it will require many grafts or much money to be honest. Do you think this is a good idea for me? I've heard a procedure usually costs around $10,000. But I don't think my level of hair loss will cost that much. I think thats just an average and mostly for men who are completely bald.

Now, I know the usual precautions about having a HT too early in life. The main one is that you hair will continue to bald behind the transplanted hair. My answer to that is simply "I don't care". I'm not going to wait until I go completely bald and then have it done. That makes absolutely 0 sense IMO for so many reasons. For one, I want my full head of hair now when I'm young. For two, I want the transition to be undetectable. I'm at a phase now where it wouldn't be a dramatic transition to get a HT. and for three, I'll cross that bridge when it gets here. If my untransplanted hair continues to fall out, I'll deal with it then. And since I'm only only a NW 3, I doubt that hair will be gone any time soon. And even if it is, like I said I'll deal with it then.

So my last question is. How much money do you think it will cost for a HT on a NW 3? All I really need to do is restore my hairline? Do you think it could be as low as 2-3k? Because I couldn't see it being much more than that for the amount I need.

Thanks.

[mlao]

Go to a IAHRS surgeon and have him asses your future loss with a density or miniaturization exam.
I've seen plenty of people who are NW3 in there early 20s and stay that way for fifteen years.
On the other hand if you are an NW3 at 21 and have a strong history of hair loss in your family and it progresses you will spend the rest of your life chasing it. Good luck with what ever you decide.

[Baldnessfalls]

Go to a IAHRS surgeon and have him asses your future loss with a density or miniaturization exam.
I've seen plenty of people who are NW3 in there early 20s and stay that way for fifteen years.
On the other hand if you are an NW3 at 21 and have a strong history of hair loss in your family and it progresses you will spend the rest of your life chasing it. Good luck with what ever you decide.

Ok thank you for the info. One more question. Lets say the doc sees that my hair will continue to bald. Will he still perform the HT, or will he refuse? Is the decision up to me or him? I don't see any indications in my family of any dramatic hair loss. My dad is 67 and is probably a NW 4. And my 80 something grandfather and my 50+ y/0 uncles on both sides have full heads of hair. I think I'd be aleight. I started losing my hair at around 17 or 18 and my level of hair loss doesn't seem to have increased since that time.

[mlao]

Ok thank you for the info. One more question. Lets say the doc sees that my hair will continue to bald. Will he still perform the HT, or will he refuse? Is the decision up to me or him? I don't see any indications in my family of any dramatic hair loss. My dad is 67 and is probably a NW 4. And my 80 something grandfather and my 50+ y/o uncles on both sides have full heads of hair. I think I'd be all right. I started losing my hair at around 17 or 18 and my level of hair loss doesn't seem to have increased since that time.

I hate to quote Dr. Rassman but you need to develop a "Master Plan" for future loss making sure that you have enough donor hair left for 20 years down the road in case some sort of hair regeneration therapy never happens. You wouldn't want a full hairline and a bald vertex 15 years from now.
All HT doctors have different views some suggest a conservative surgical approach, some will also suggest that you take Propecia for a year before having surgery.
You should do a lot of research and visit numerous doctors and not limit yourself to location also ask to meet their patients. If I were you I would do at least a years worth of research instead of impulsively getting it done.

[Baldnessfalls]

I hate to quote Dr. Rassman but you need to develop a "Master Plan" for future loss making sure that you have enough donor hair left for 20 years down the road in case some sort of hair regeneration therapy never happens. You wouldn't want a full hairline and a bald vertex 15 years from now.
All HT doctors have different views some suggest a conservative surgical approach, some will also suggest that you take Propecia for a year before having surgery.
You should do a lot of research and visit numerous doctors and not limit yourself to location also ask to meet their patients. If I were you I would do at least a years worth of research instead of impulsively getting it done.

I've already done about 3 years worth of research, I've just never talked over this forum. Can you answer my question about the probable price?

[mlao]

I've already done about 3 years worth of research, I've just never talked over this forum. Can you answer my question about the probable price?

Where do you live. In NYC FUT is five to seven dollars/graft FUE is seven to eleven/graft (depending on the doctor). If you travel to some clinics they do a travel discount and if you go over a certain number of grafts there is usually a discount for that as well.

For example; The Shapiro Medical Group (In Minnesota) charge 5.50/graft for FUT under 2000 grafts and over 2000 grafts the price drops to 3.00/graft
For FUE a standard 7.00/graft. Every clinic is different.

[aim4hair]

The thing is, look matters no matter how old you are, we as human beings always wanna look our besteven when we age, actually the older we get the younger we try to look.
We have a limited donor supply, so let's say you have 6000 graft available, amd you went for an HT and used 2000 or 3000 now to fix your hairlime, then you lost alot more hair in couple of years, you will look really weird with patches of hair on top of your head and you might not have enough donor supply to fix things up, what would be your options then ? You would not even be able to shave your head and movemon because of the scars on the back of your head, i read about those cases all the time in support groups where ppl spend their life trying to get back to normal or just be able to shave their head and move on.
This is why many ppl vote against HTs for young guys. Anyways, it's up to you to make your mind, but my advice to you will be the following:
1) stay away from FUT no matter how much some ppl or doctors try to convince you to it, since you won't be able even to have your hair short if tnings go bad.
2) do some research abou Dr. Gho and his technique, IMHO he's the best option for young ppl and advanced cases, since there is no scars and there is at least 80-85% donor re-growth, so your donor won't be depleted and you won't run out of donor supply. Now there are some beleivers in his technique and some skeptics. So it's up to you to do your search and see which side you wanna take.

[Maradona]

The thing is, look matters no matter how old you are, we as human beings always wanna look our besteven when we age, actually the older we get the younger we try to look.
We have a limited donor supply, so let's say you have 6000 graft available, amd you went for an HT and used 2000 or 3000 now to fix your hairlime, then you lost alot more hair in couple of years, you will look really weird with patches of hair on top of your head and you might not have enough donor supply to fix things up, what would be your options then ? You would not even be able to shave your head and movemon because of the scars on the back of your head, i read about those cases all the time in support groups where ppl spend their life trying to get back to normal or just be able to shave their head and move on.
This is why many ppl vote against HTs for young guys. Anyways, it's up to you to make your mind, but my advice to you will be the following:
1) stay away from FUT no matter how much some ppl or doctors try to convince you to it, since you won't be able even to have your hair short if tnings go bad.
2) do some research abou Dr. Gho and his technique, IMHO he's the best option for young ppl and advanced cases, since there is no scars and there is at least 80-85% donor re-growth, so your donor won't be depleted and you won't run out of donor supply. Now there are some beleivers in his technique and some skeptics. So it's up to you to do your search and see which side you wanna take.

This Gho thing is coming up like Propecia.

I remember some PFS users spend their days trying to save people from the drug. Now they Gho believers spend their day trying save people from FUT/FUE. lololol

Let the guy do his research. For some FUE is enough when they have limited baldness.

[mlao]

No one can give you an exact price without evaluating your donor and needs. Dr. Feller for example works on a lot of young guys hairlines and he seems to use about 2000 to 2500 grafts to restore a hairline. So if you are a true NW3 with good density and you want to improve your existing hairline but not return your juvenile hairline I suppose that would be a rough estimate. I would suggest you contact someone like Spex or Mattij and send them photos.
They are doctor representatives and could better assess your needs.

[Baldnessfalls]

The thing is, look matters no matter how old you are, we as human beings always wanna look our besteven when we age, actually the older we get the younger we try to look.
We have a limited donor supply, so let's say you have 6000 graft available, amd you went for an HT and used 2000 or 3000 now to fix your hairlime, then you lost alot more hair in couple of years, you will look really weird with patches of hair on top of your head and you might not have enough donor supply to fix things up, what would be your options then ? You would not even be able to shave your head and movemon because of the scars on the back of your head, i read about those cases all the time in support groups where ppl spend their life trying to get back to normal or just be able to shave their head and move on.
This is why many ppl vote against HTs for young guys. Anyways, it's up to you to make your mind, but my advice to you will be the following:
1) stay away from FUT no matter how much some ppl or doctors try to convince you to it, since you won't be able even to have your hair short if tnings go bad.
2) do some research abou Dr. Gho and his technique, IMHO he's the best option for young ppl and advanced cases, since there is no scars and there is at least 80-85% donor re-growth, so your donor won't be depleted and you won't run out of donor supply. Now there are some beleivers in his technique and some skeptics. So it's up to you to do your search and see which side you wanna take.

I thought all IAHRS surgeons used the same cutting-edge techniques. And I thought the scarring nowadays was pretty much unnoticable. Doesn't the FUE leave no scar? I live near Nashville and would probably be having it done by Dr. Jack Fisher. I don't think I would need any more than 1500 grafts. And I'll go back to my original statement. I don't care what will happen later. I want my full, thick mane right now. Not when I'm 40. It makes no sense to go thin or bald during your young vital years and then have a full head of hair during your old and slow years. My donor hair is somabundanf, and I'm willing to risk it, because I believe that we are on the brink of having breakthroughs. Even if histogen isn't what it was made out to be, I think the stem cell stuff will cure the lack of donor hair dilema. So what is this method that Dr. Gho uses that is better than the others.

[aim4hair]

This Gho thing is coming up like Propecia.

I remember some PFS users spend their days trying to save people from the drug. Now they Gho believers spend their day trying save people from FUT/FUE. lololol

Let the guy do his research. For some FUE is enough when they have limited baldness.

Exactly, that's why i just told him to do his research, it's up to him to decide. I didn't advice him against FUE, cause i beleive that FUE scars are tolerable.. Ii only adviced him to avoid FUT.

[aim4hair]

I thought all IAHRS surgeons used the same cutting-edge techniques. And I thought the scarring nowadays was pretty much unnoticable. Doesn't the FUE leave no scar? I live near Nashville and would probably be having it done by Dr. Jack Fisher. I don't think I would need any more than 1500 grafts. And I'll go back to my original statement. I don't care what will happen later. I want my full, thick mane right now. Not when I'm 40. It makes no sense to go thin or bald during your young vital years and then have a full head of hair during your old and slow years. My donor hair is somabundanf, and I'm willing to risk it, because I believe that we are on the brink of having breakthroughs. Even if histogen isn't what it was made out to be, I think the stem cell stuff will cure the lack of donor hair dilema. So what is this method that Dr. Gho uses that is better than the others.

FUE does leave white dots scars. They are still way better than the strip scar though and won't be visible with grade 2 or sometimes grade 1.
There is a complete section in this forum about dr. Gho and his HST technique, you can take a look there if you are intrested.

[Baldnessfalls]

I don't see how litte white dot scars would be visible at all.

[mlao]

I thought all IAHRS surgeons used the same cutting-edge techniques. And I thought the scarring nowadays was pretty much unnoticable. Doesn't the FUE leave no scar? I live near Nashville and would probably be having it done by Dr. Jack Fisher. I don't think I would need any more than 1500 grafts. And I'll go back to my original statement. I don't care what will happen later. I want my full, thick mane right now. Not when I'm 40. It makes no sense to go thin or bald during your young vital years and then have a full head of hair during your old and slow years. My donor hair is somabundanf, and I'm willing to risk it, because I believe that we are on the brink of having breakthroughs. Even if histogen isn't what it was made out to be, I think the stem cell stuff will cure the lack of donor hair dilema. So what is this method that Dr. Gho uses that is better than the others.

All doctors skills are not equal just take a look at similar case with equal graft numbers on this site or any of the other sites and compare results. Some docs can make 1500 grafts look like 2500 while some docs put in 3000 and you look at the result and ask yourself. What were they doing, dropping them on the floor?
A hair transplant will never create the exact hair you had before you lost it. It will never replace hair 1 for 1 It creates an illusion of thicker hair . So the artistry and skill of the doc is key.
As far as Dr. Gho is concerned if it works as described it will change the HT industry forever but I'll let aim4hair and mardona handle the Dr. Gho question as they know a more about it than I do.

[mlao]

I don't see how litte white dot scars would be visible at all.

They would be visible if you were to buzz your hair to a short length say
0 to 2 grade clipper.