Finding other Chinese East Asian results Please

[NateDog]

Hi there

I would like to find other east asian (Chinese) hair transplant patients with straight black hair (medium to above average hair shaft diameter) to find out what type of results one can expect

Preferably not the A variants

I am 33 years old and norwood 3 going and starting to thin on top (am on Propecia). Worse case for me is norwood six so the twenty thousand dollar question is expectation and what result can I really expect if I was a norwood 6 with 7000 grafts (I was told I had 6000+ left after 1200 used to date) on top of my head. As above lets say I had medium shaft straight black hair if I went with a high hairline what kind of result can I realistically achieve and would I be happy

Would like to see or hear from anyone in the know and pictures. I figure no point in looking at Indian hair photos or Caucasians or even variants of the A class because I believe this is not my type of loss or hair type. Unfortunately I am not Bobman or Jotronic so want to know and establish a realistic expectation before committing any further

Thanks so much

[CIT_Girl]

We have a CIT licensee in South Korea. The two doctors there have been trained extensively by Dr. Cole in CIT (a proprietary FUE method). You can see a number of their results photos on our website. Dr. Cole actually recently attended and participated in a Regional Live Surgery Workshop in Thailand, entitled "New Advances in Asian Hair Transplantation".

Some of the general marked differences in East Asian hair (versus Caucasian) include thicker individual follicles, but fewer hairs per follicular unit and lower hair density (hairs per square centimeter). The contrast between very dark hair and relatively light skin can unfortunately make it more challenging to achieve a sufficiently dense appearance, thereby requiring more grafts. Another challenge can be in creating a natural-looking hairline due to the coarseness of Asian hair; it is important that the physician use only single-hair grafts, and finer ones if possible, along the hairline to avoid a pluggy appearance.

To get a more detailed appraisal of your own personal situation, I'd suggest you submit photos, or perform a virtual consultation, with one or more physicians/clinics. A physician will be able to give you a better idea of how many potential grafts you have left, and what sort of expectations would be reasonable.

[NateDog]

Thank you CIT girl

I do like looking at photos unfortunately I wish all Surgeon sites would put hair shaft diametre and the ones you linked to have no graft count

I also wish I had a crystal ball to know how bald I will become over time... I would hate to think I would transplant now and it not meet my expectations plus ending up a natural norwood six and have this thin layer of hair on top of my head

Can I ask if you know if you are asian and your normal density of hair is for example 70 units per cm and they say you need to lose fifty percent before its noticeable... Does this mean that an Asian only needs to place 35-40 FUT's per square cm to achieve this

[CIT_Girl]

As you point out, the lack of a crystal ball is definitely an inherent problem in hair restoration surgery and it's wise of you to recognize this before you dive into more surgery. When you have the potential to reach a Norwood 6, you definitely want to err on the side of caution and take a conservative approach so that you don't deplete your donor supply prematurely. You should always plan for a 'worst case scenario' so as to achieve the best possible results in the long-term.

Unfortunately, it's very hard to say how many grafts per square centimeter would give you acceptable density because you have to consider, not just the density of follicular units, but the average number of individual hairs you have per follicular unit. Although the 50% rule is generally quite accurate, you also have to consider other personal hair characteristic factors (hair color,caliber, curl). However, because you have the potential to become a later Norwood class, I wouldn't suggest you exceed the 35 or 40 per square centimeter. In fact, studies have shown that exceeding this amount in a single pass can actually lead to a decreased survival rate of grafts, which would be a big waste of your limited donor supply.

[NateDog]

Thanks CIT girl

I guess some guys take a punt at the end of the day and understand they may lose don't they because otherwise you could be waiting forever to see if you stabalize and so forth over time and by then you are fifty and you might be a norwood six or be fifty and be a norwood 4-5 and think oh damn

What I think is holding me back from really committing is my expectations and also once you have the large scar (I have read alot of info on FUE and it appears asian hair is the least favourable due to possible dot scarring which means no way to ever shaving to even a number 1 buzz). And I would hate to think I have to resort to this power comb over tactic with a huge bald spot behind which again is an unfortunate risk. Again I wish I could actually have some sort of visual representation of my head with a norwood six and 6000 grafts placed in different ways to see how thin it is if I was to lose all of my native hair as this would be a great way to have an idea as to whether I can live with that. Every asian guy I see in a high norwood has some crazy comb over I am yet to see an asian Jotronic or London Lad

[CIT_Girl]

I actually just scrolled down after reading your last post and found this post in the 'similar threads' section: http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=565 I'm not sure if "Asian_Guy" has posted any follow-up photos since last year but there's an example of someone, with your hair characteristics, who has had a large procedure. I'll also say that Dr. Cole speaks highly of Dr. Wong's work, and considers him one of the best strip surgeons around.

[NateDog]

I have definitely tried contacting Asian_guy however he must either not use that email or has moved on with his life which would be great for him

I keep looking in the mirror to determine if I would look good with a head shave... Possibly I do not have a face that is fat and with dark eyes so maybe... Should try it anyhow as I really do not believe I would be too happy currently to have a comb over on top and bald back in crown :S

Would be interesting to see if Asian Guy and his results. My other query is he had 5k grafts. So what does it look like today and if he was to be a norwood six in 5-10 years from now what would his transplant look like then... That is the questions I have in my mind as he has still a bit of hair to lose I would of thought