23yo Scheduling a HT soon (Need your advice. Please help me.)

[Locke]

Hello,

I have been considering having a hair transplant at the end of May/beginning of June this year with Dr. Rahal.

The last pictures of this thread show what my hair looks like today.

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?p=26712#post26712

I really cannot continue living my life looking like this. Every time I look in the mirror I feel like shit. I have more hair on one side of my head than the other and it looks ridiculous. My love life is gone and I always have self-conscious thoughts which is why I can't get a gf, let alone ask a girl on a date anymore.


My Main Concern
- I have a forelock area at the front of my head. If I go for a hair transplant now Dr. Rahal will only place hair on the sides where the hair is completely gone and possibly behind the forelock. He is going to line my hairline up with the front of the forelock and go across my head. I am fine with the placement of the hairline.

However, given the rapidity of my hair loss, when this forelock area thins out then won't I look ridiculous with a thick(er) hairline on the sides and a big thinning out area in the middle? This would look completely unnatural. I will have 3 months off next summer so the next time I could get a follow up hair transplant would be in 1 year.

Should I wait until all of the hair is completely gone in the forelock area before I have a transplant done? As much as I don't want to wait, I would be willing to have a shitty life for a while longer just to get better results

Other Concerns
- My surgeon will be Dr. Rahal and I know he's an outstanding HT surgeon but what if my hair doesn't grow in like other people and I don't have fantastic results. I would hate to have a plug look? Do you think given today's technology good hair growth is pretty much guaranteed?

- It would only make sense that Dr. Rahal posts the best outcomes on his website but do you think there have been horror stories? I know he has a great reputation and when I met with him he said the only negative aspect of his work is people not being pleased with the hairline placement because of higher expectations.

- I'm 23 years old and in my imagination I ideally would want a nice, thick hairline straight across my head. Will I be disappointed with my results and still feel like shit every time I look in the mirror? I'm smart enough to know that given the rapidity of my hairloss I will most likely be completely bald in the near future so a conservative placement is best, even though I would want something more dense and lower down. But I guess beggars can't be choosers and having an even hairline is better than the muck that I have now.

- Will I run out of donor hair?

- FUE or strip? I'm leaning toward strip for my first HT. I will most certainly need another one in the future and probably within 2 years given how fast I am losing my hair.


Thank you for your time and help. It really makes a difference.

[Tenex]

I am no expert on the subject but I have done a HT about a week ago.

I started noticing hairloss since I was around 17 and now I am 30 so I waited a while and used minoxidil and propecia on a on and off basis.

It really depends on how bad you feel about your looks. If you want to give propecia and minoxidil a chance (if you haven't already) and maybe combine it with a lasercomb you can at least see how much of your hair you can maintain.

If I was in your position, and could afford the cost, I would probably try a proper routine of minoxidil and propecia for a year, monitor my progress and at that point I would decide how much of my hair is going to last and at what point it would be appropriate to do HT.

Either way pick the best option and just go with it. Don't think about it too much.

[Locke]

I am no expert on the subject but I have done a HT about a week ago.

I started noticing hairloss since I was around 17 and now I am 30 so I waited a while and used minoxidil and propecia on a on and off basis.

It really depends on how bad you feel about your looks. If you want to give propecia and minoxidil a chance (if you haven't already) and maybe combine it with a lasercomb you can at least see how much of your hair you can maintain.

If I was in your position, and could afford the cost, I would probably try a proper routine of minoxidil and propecia for a year, monitor my progress and at that point I would decide how much of my hair is going to last and at what point it would be appropriate to do HT.

Either way pick the best option and just go with it. Don't think about it too much.

Hey Tenex,

Yup. Here's a thread about my use of Propecia.

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4899

My thoughts now are to lose as much hair as possible prior to getting a hair transplant and having a proper hairline laid down then getting on Propecia again at a half dose to reduce

[Tenex]

I had the same approach toward the drug, until I did research and realized that everyone experiences the same thing. I simply decreased the dosage to what wouldn't have as severe side-effects as before but enough to have an effect and stuck to that.

In the end no pain no gain.

Also remember that in most medical trials propecia and minoxidil can successfully thicken the crown area, they are not as successful in front of your head, which means you go on the drug, use it till you have an idea of it's effects and cover the remainder with a decent well-thought through HT.

Also with HT, if you can, meet several doctors, talk to them, ask them a lot of questions, negotiate price etc.

[CVAZBAR]

I had the same approach toward the drug, until I did research and realized that everyone experiences the same thing. I simply decreased the dosage to what wouldn't have as severe side-effects as before but enough to have an effect and stuck to that.

In the end no pain no gain.

Also remember that in most medical trials propecia and minoxidil can successfully thicken the crown area, they are not as successful in front of your head, which means you go on the drug, use it till you have an idea of it's effects and cover the remainder with a decent well-thought through HT.

Also with HT, if you can, meet several doctors, talk to them, ask them a lot of questions, negotiate price etc.

I've seen pics of transplants and some look amazing but have you seen any in person? Did you get the chance to feel the hair or see it in person? If so, how is it? Im considering a HT but not sure yet.

[Tenex]

I've seen pics of transplants and some look amazing but have you seen any in person? Did you get the chance to feel the hair or see it in person? If so, how is it? Im considering a HT but not sure yet.

I havn't seen transplanted hair in person but the feel should be exactly the same as the hair that feels at the back of your head. Although it grows slightly differently.

It's still early days but feel free to track my other topic and I will update every once in a while about my progress.

All I can say is do research and talk to several doctors.

Every doctor will say they are the best, but consider their result, see how reputable they are, who promotes them, how much they charge and how close they are to where you live.

The less you travel after the operation the better.