Any hope for a hair transplant??

[Breaking Bald]

First of all it looks like you would be able to pull off a close cropped look, so that might be an option. Since you have chosen not to take Propecia, I would say a hair transplant at your stage would be risky and probably will not provide you with the look you really want. It’s very possible that you will be worse off if you choose to have surgery even with the best FUE clinic.

Understood

[HTsoon]

Cheers for you reply man, I got preoccupied with this thread on another forum as it got more responses. Basically been told by ASHMED that they want me to take propecia which I'm not willing to do so looks like I am going to start living life as a bald man in the next 1-2 years. Glad things worked out for you so far, guess you were afraid of fin too? It just seems so dodgy to me no matter what people say.

I wasn't afraid of Fin, I took it when I was 21 and experienced negative side effects, so I can't tolerate Finasteride unfortunately if I could believe me I would be taking it. I do however take Lipogaine and Lipogaine big 3 shampoo. It has some mild 5 alpha reductase inhibitors. Things have worked out very well for me, I'm glad I did it, of course no one case is the same, I was basically the same level of hair loss at 27 and by 29 it had gotten REALLY bad, as you say you will be living life as a bald man in about 2 years.

ASMED and Dr. Lorenzo are big proponents for Finasteride, however you will find some doctors who do not require you to take Finasteride, again I can't stress enough how important a live consultation is, based on your family history and a thorough evaluation a surgeon can have a pretty good idea of what your future loss will look like, of course there are no guarantees but some surgeons who have been performing HT's for over 20 years have a pretty good track record. Worst case scenario are you open to hair systems?

This was my hair at 29 years old in 2014 right before my first procedure


This is a side view with the sides cut at a zero guard after 5,300 grafts via FUE


This is something most won't show you, the hair parted down the middle, you see it's still no where near my original density, so managing expectations is critical.


Once the hair is combed over and styled the weaknesses disappear, but they are there most definitely.


And yes my crown is still thin, I'm 6 months post op from my crown procedure and this is what it looks like so far, having a thin crown is something that I accepted long ago


I hope me sharing my story and experience can help you, and remember doing nothing is never a bad decision. But if its truly something you want to consider meet with some ethical surgeons.

[Breaking Bald]

Hey HT Soon, thanks for you reply again man. What is your final norwood btw? There aren't any clear pics of the back of your head. I think your result is great man, do you have any grafts left?

[Breaking Bald]

I do however take Lipogaine and Lipogaine big 3 shampoo. It has some mild 5 alpha reductase inhibitors.

How has that worked for you? Do you think they have improved your hair? Would you recommend using it? I remember reading about that stuff years ago, don't know I didn't include it into my regime.

[HTsoon]

Hey HT Soon, thanks for you reply again man. What is your final norwood btw? There aren't any clear pics of the back of your head. I think your result is great man, do you have any grafts left?

Based on my examination with Dr. Gabel and Dr. Mohebi they both inspected my lateral humps and saw zero miniaturization, therefore both believed I will be a Norwood 6 perhaps advanced Norwood 6, my dads uncle is the only bald person in my family and he was a Norwood 6 in his 60's, I do not have any Norwood 7's in my family that I know of, here is a pic of the back at a zero guard after 5,300 grafts, the scars are there but not very noticeable even at a zero guard, with a two guard they aren't visible at all. As for grafts I'm not sure I believe I have about another 1,000-1,500 via FUE. But I won't be getting any surgeries for at least another 10 years when I'm in my 40s. Maybe just some temple point work, I'm satisfied with everything else.

How has that worked for you? Do you think they have improved your hair? Would you recommend using it? I remember reading about that stuff years ago, don't know I didn't include it into my regime.

I've noticed a big difference from switching to Lipogaine, rogaine foam I used prior and I honestly felt it did nothing. I think the Lipogaine absorbs better and also has a mild DHT blocking effect.

[Breaking Bald]

I think with your transplant result there is hope for me considering my loss looks about the same. It's difficult where I live because there aren't many decent surgeons/clinics around. They just determined that with a powerful magnifying glass? I've just bought the big 3 shampoo man after you mentioned it. I guess I'll switch to their minoxidil as well if you think it's worth it? Been using rogaine for years, no idea if it's halting or not but don't want to stop just encase.

[HTsoon]

I think with your transplant result there is hope for me considering my loss looks about the same. It's difficult where I live because there aren't many decent surgeons/clinics around. They just determined that with a powerful magnifying glass? I've just bought the big 3 shampoo man after you mentioned it. I guess I'll switch to their minoxidil as well if you think it's worth it? Been using rogaine for years, no idea if it's halting or not but don't want to stop just encase.

With high magnification they can see what the naked eye can not detect, in the groupings of follicles you may have 1 healthy hair and 2 miniaturized hairs, that at a glance appear to be normal terminal hairs, this is a good indicator that those hairs will eventually be lost, checking the lateral humps which is what separates a Norwood 6 to a 7 is absolutely necessary. I drove 14 hours to Dr. Gabel from Los Angeles to Portland, distance should play no role, if this is something you're serious about doing I suggest taking a road trip to a good doctor or catching a flight.

In your first thread 1 year ago you looked way worse than you do now, that's why I feel Joe said you were not a candidate, now that your hair is grown out, it honestly doesn't look that bad, I was worse off than you are now that's for sure, there is no replacement for in person consults. The doctor needs to really evaluate your donor and build a plan as to how you should move forward or if you should move forward with surgery.

[HTsoon]

Thought I'd share what the back looks like at a 1 guard, I realize a zero guard may be to short for some.

[Breaking Bald]

It looks great man, you bust be happy! You are right if there is no one nearby I will need to make of an effort to go to somebody. I know there is a little amount of saw pamletto in Lipogiane, I know that you didn't tolerate fin but guessing that didn't effect you even though it's a little amount?

[HTsoon]

It looks great man, you bust be happy! You are right if there is no one nearby I will need to make of an effort to go to somebody. I know there is a little amount of saw pamletto in Lipogiane, I know that you didn't tolerate fin but guessing that didn't effect you even though it's a little amount?

Yes Lipogaine contains Saw Palmetto and also Beta Sitosterol which are both mild 5 alpha reductase inhibitors, I haven't felt any negative side effect from Lipogaine, I think you'll be fine,.