Why do people get hair transplants?

[pick]

Most of the people who are balding will end up at NW 5 or 6 or 7. I see a lot of NW 2-3 people getting hair transplants. They will all eventually lose all the hair they are supposed to and have very little donor hair and end up with a scattered look.

But people still get hair transplants. What is the idea?

Heck even Wayne Rooney got a hair transplant. He was this bad: http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/...ney-413279.jpg

I just cannot understand to whom hair transplant would be beneficial.

Is it beneficial only to people who are ready to take Fin **and** Fin works for them?

[Velvetmonkey]

I just got a HT. I want to look good while I am still young. I am also convinced a cure is around the corner. Or at least better methods for keeping/regrowing hair.

[CaliD]

My friend was about a NW4 12 years ago when he got a hair transplant at age 29. His hair looked fantastic afterward and he got the confidence to date and be social. 6 years later he got another smaller transplant at age 35. Yes he's on Fin and now at age 41 he still has a relatively full head of hair. If it only buys him another 5-6 years that would be a total of 18 years with hair. I'm not saying that's the case. He may keep most of his hair for another 20 years (who knows). He definitely doesn't regret it. He's living his life and enjoying it with a bit more confidence. I guess that's why people do it.

[arfy]

HT can work well for guys with specific characteristics. The problem is that HT are marketed to everybody, whether they are ideal candidates or not.

Some things that make you an ideal candidate IMO:
Isolated frontal hair loss, not a very high Norwood
Plenty of hair remaining in the crown and parietal humps
Not a diffuse thinner
Above average donor density
Coarse caliber hair
Rate of hair loss is extremely slow or halted

Other factors:
Wealthy enough to afford multiple surgeries
Not in a hurry or desperate (which makes you susceptible to fraud)
Not trying to regain a teenage hairline
Not a perfectionist when it comes to your appearance (HT are not perfect)
Won't be bothered if some people know it's a transplant
Can wear a hat at work during healing phase/first year if needed.
Can take time off from job for surgery and healing

IMO the best results are seen with patients who have ideal characteristics; The fewer ideal characteristics you have, the less ideal your transplant results will probably be. IMO the "average" guy will get average results, which aren't worth the risks. (When you see patient photos of good results, notice that they are usually people with ideal characteristics to begin with.)

Some of the risks are:
Unnatural-looking results (the #1 risk, IMO)
Shock fallout of existing hair
Bad scarring
Poor graft yield

[DAVE52]

. (When you see patient photos of good results, notice that they are usually people with ideal characteristics to begin with.)

And remember photo's are usually taken a year after the HT . If performed well, they usually look good at first.

They don't show you what it looks five years ( or whatever ) down the road.

How much more hair did the person lose .

Did they need another HT etc .

[Jasari]

I've had three hair transplants totalling over 7000 grafts. I can buzz my hair down to a number two and it just looks like a normal buzz cut.

If I was to have further loss my appearance will be more or less the same. Obviously you need to research the doctors and understand the aggressiveness of your hair loss.

Without my transplants now I'd be a 4a and slick bald at the front. Instead I'm norwood two and look like I have a full head of hair. I've also been stable for years.

Why do it? It gave me my life back. I'm glad that I did.

[chistina43]

I want to look young for a long time and hair is always a factor. The most important factor.

[Sean]

People get transplants to pook young. Look at other parts of cosmetic surgery, folks get facelifts, nose jobs, eyelid surgery, liposuction, etc etc at all ages. You are never too old if you want to look young and make some changes. Hair transplants are just one of the many surgeries where folks of all ages want. Age shouldnt be an obstruction or a why factor, but rather accepted more as more and more folks go through with it.