Been thinking of a HT for a long time. Your honest opinions please

[arfy]

If you get a transplant, the hair inside the "horseshoe" will likely fall out (shock loss from surgery). If you have this much hair loss at your age, it's a good bet you will become fully bald (the high sides you have now will be lost eventually). There's no know how long that will take, but since your hair loss is aggressive, it's safe to assume it will continue.

Some guys are getting FUE and then shaving their heads. This seems to me like a waste of money in many cases (some guys do get good results). I think those guys should skip the expensive surgery, just clip their hair short, and that's the end. If you prefer some hair (not stubble) I don't think you are a great candidate for surgery. I've seen some guys with high sides (like you have) get satisfactory results, because the more hair that's already there, the better. There's a limited donor supply, so if you are fully bald it requires a lot of grafts, costs a fortune, and you still can't fully address the entire head. It seems likely that you'll lose those sides (horseshoe will expand) and the supply won't be able to keep up with the demand.

In my opinion, if young guys are not excellent candidates (which you are not, due to the aggressive pace of your hair loss) they shouldn't get surgery unless they are willing to accept some major compromises. That means getting the hairline of an older guy (think 40's) and accepting a thin or even bald crown. Many guys are not excited to learn that is the best they can hope for. There are certainly clinics who will transplant a lower hairline, but that means that you''ll need many more grafts overall (which you won't be able to provide) thus leading to future problems (low hairline and large balding area behind it).

If you were my brother, I'd tell you to get the clippers out and go as short as possible (military style). This tells the world that you've accepted your hair loss gracefully (which many people admire, actually, especially women) and you've decided that your hair isn't going to be an issue anymore. Then walk away from the idea of transplants and don't look back. IMO if you can do all that, and stop worrying about your hair, then you've won. Nobody cares about your hair loss as much as you do, and as you get older all your friends and colleagues at work will start catching up with you. Women will definitely care less, the older you get. The percentage of guys who decide on transplants is relatively small. You can be "that one guy who got transplants" among your friends, but I think it's better to be the guy who said "IDGAF about it". In the long run, I think you will be better off. Just my opinion.