Should NW6s have HT?

[didi]

Just thought about this for some time,
here are some facts, so lets look at some raw numbers

-NW6s lost half of their hair and that's about 80-100 000 hairs(35-40 000 FUs),
-most of these guys have weak donor hair, sometimes it even thinning, but lets say they are able to extract 6000 grafts
-they say you need 50% of your original density to have illusion of hair, 6 000 grafts is not even 20% of original density
-even if you add body hair its still impossible to reach 50% density(17-20 000 grafts), besides we all know how bad BHT can turn out, poor growth, aesthetics, high prices

-nw6 can easily spend $100 000+ and still be considered bald, some doctors charge up to $15 per graft

-theres a few good cases such as jotronic but they are not common, theya re rather exceptions, guys who had great donor, favourable characteristics, color, calibre etc
-on the other hand I have seen many mediocre results with super high hairlines that look bizarre, body hair which looks odd, see through coverage, etc



lets face it, numbers just don't add up and if it doesn't work on paper it cant work in practice



opinions?

[sausage]

The answer is yes, of course they should get a hair transplant....if they want one......the only issue for me is cost, and risk......risk that it may not work, I don't know IAHRS failure rates but I assume there must be failures ie, transplanted hair not holding.

Of course NW6's are going to have to have a receded look, and be cautious on density......but I don't see why they can't improve their look.

They are not going to recreate close to what they had when they had a full head of hair.......but a decent improvement can be made...

I have seen several decent results......and I, as a NW6 would be happy with a high hairline, reasonable density in frontal region, gradually thinning into a sparse crown.

Thing is this can only really be done with FUT and FUT personally scares the crap out of me. Although I am tempted to go to Hasson and Wong.

[baldymcgee]

I think it really depends. Some of the NW 6 cases that doctors post here and on their own websites, I think these people looked better *before* having their HTs but if they are happy then who am I to judge?

Certainly things like hair/skin contrast, donor hair caliber, and (*most* importantly) response and success to finasteride will make huge differences in your result.

I'm not a big fan of FUT but bless Jotronic for his honesty -- he openly says that the best HT in world won't get you full density and there will be situations (lighting, wind, whatever) where your scalp will be visible. Doesn't matter if you use H&W or any of the other doctors -- it's just a matter of donor supply.

I *really* respect that honesty.

The point being that if you can't live with the possibility of thin results then don't even bother with an HT. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror -- you probably look a *lot* better right now than you would as "the guy with the thin hair attempting to cover up".

But, as always, see a doctor and get the information about fin, about your hair caliber, and about your final loss pattern.

[Follicle Death Row]

It really depends on the individual patient and their goals. Some norwood 6s will have great thick donor and can pull 9000 out by strip over 2 or 3 procedures. Some may have 6000 FU available. Some may have more than 9000.

Then there is hair calibre, texture and colour to consider; all have an effect on the end result.

Some patient's may want a thick hairline and are not too bothered by a bald spot or sparse crown. Others will want full even appearing coverage and they will have to have a higher hairline in order to achieve this.

Many things to consider. Can a norwood 6 have a transplant? Yes of course in most cases.

[youngin]

I have to say, there's some pretty amazing transformations on Hasson & Wong's site (in the video section). I think the price going that route is alot more manageable. I am a NW6 but I will be waiting for something that feels like more of a solution than hair transplant.

[35YrsAfter]

I think it really depends. Some of the NW 6 cases that doctors post here and on their own websites, I think these people looked better *before* having their HTs but if they are happy then who am I to judge?

Certainly things like hair/skin contrast, donor hair caliber, and (*most* importantly) response and success to finasteride will make huge differences in your result.

I'm not a big fan of FUT but bless Jotronic for his honesty -- he openly says that the best HT in world won't get you full density and there will be situations (lighting, wind, whatever) where your scalp will be visible. Doesn't matter if you use H&W or any of the other doctors -- it's just a matter of donor supply.

I *really* respect that honesty.

The point being that if you can't live with the possibility of thin results then don't even bother with an HT. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror -- you probably look a *lot* better right now than you would as "the guy with the thin hair attempting to cover up".

But, as always, see a doctor and get the information about fin, about your hair caliber, and about your final loss pattern.

These are good comments. Jotronic has an excellent result. He was a repair case which makes his result even more noteworthy. Of course a great result depends on a doctor's surgical skills and artistic sense, but an often overlooked requirement of a great result is a patient's donor characteristics. Styling and hair color also play a major role in the overall appearance of a hair transplant. The best Norwood 6 result is of course going to look terrible with greased up hair parted down the middle.

To a younger man, generally only the complete absence of hair loss is acceptable. Such a person with those expectations would not be satisfied having a natural looking hair transplant with a high hairline and thin top and back.

I have a friend who would only be satisfied with a full looking teenage head of hair. He wears a hair piece. Unfortunately, it doesn't look natural, but having the appearance of a lot of hair is apparently more important to him.

The concept of FUT providing better yield is only true when considering the transection rate and methods used by doctors at the beginning of the FUE learning curve. A talented and experienced FUE physician interested in the best possible results for his patients will take advantage of extracellular matrix, PRP, ATP, proven graft chilling and storage technologies as well as extraction methods causing the least amount of trauma to the grafts.


35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
Cole Hair Transplant
1045 Powers Place
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Phone 678-566-1011

[garageland]

Norwood 6 patients in the main make good candidates as they usually have realistic expectations and are happy to have hair to frame their face and this can drastically improve their appearance. There are so many varying factors that as to whether as NW6 patient should go ahead with surgery or not but it boils down to (in no particular order).
1.Donor density
2.Laxity (if having FUT)
3. Donor characteristics (hair shaft diameter, texture, straight or wavy hair etc)
4.Expectations
5. Age

If 3/4 of these are good then the patient maybe a candidate for surgery. For all NW6 patients they need to be realistic that they either need a large number of grafts which would require 2/3 surgeries and a thinner crown.

As a clinic we have turned away many patients who don't have the donor for a large number of grafts to be moved to make a significant cosmetic improvement.

[baldozer]

Yes, look at this video. Although, I reckon his whole crown and back of the top is still without hair (because they don't show that part in the video), from the front this guy looks great nevertheless after having only 3000 grafts transplanted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB2KvBbaxl4

[35YrsAfter]

Yes, look at this video. Although, I reckon his whole crown and back of the top is still without hair (because they don't show that part in the video), from the front this guy looks great nevertheless after having only 3000 grafts transplanted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB2KvBbaxl4

I have a friend who wore his hair long and in a ponytail for years. He never had any hair transplant work and appeared to have a full head of hair. Later I saw him with his head shaved. I asked him why he shaved his head and he told me he grew tired of hiding his bald spot in the back which was about 4" in diameter. When he wore his hair long, pulled back and in a ponytail, his hair in the front completely covered the bald spot. I was surprised when he pointed out his hair loss.

A natural appearing hair transplant with a great hairline, grown out long can provide decent coverage in the back for those in the upper Norwood categories. A short haircut looks good as well but only at certain angles when the graft numbers are low and the Norwood range is between 4-5 and 6.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office