Researching my HT Procedure, all feedback welcome

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  • Gandolf
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2011
    • 198

    Researching my HT Procedure, all feedback welcome

    Hi,

    I have been reading this board for a few months and just registered today to be able to post. Here is my brief history:

    Right now I am 27 years old. I first noticed some thinning of my hair around the age of 20, but was somewhat in deniel about it. I have always had very fine hair and noticed that in certain bright lighting, I could see right through my hair to my scalp. I would try to convince myself that's how my hair had always been, and that it wasn't getting worse, even though I kind of knew deep down it probably was.

    Fast forward to a year ago, when I was 26 years old. I received the first unsolicited comment about my hair loss (from my older brother). This made me very insecure about it and I could no longer be in denial. The area most affected is the corners of my hairline. I have some minor recession in the middle front, but nothing serious. However, the sides of the hairline have receded quite significantly and due to my fine hair, I have very limited styling options which have all been pretty much wiped out by the recession. I also have some diffuse thinning on top, but have full coverage everywhere except for the receded hairline.

    I got a prescription for Propecia at this time (one year ago), and it helped somewhat on top but not at all for the frontal hairloss. The thinning on the vertex filled in somewhat (but not 100%). The good news is that the hairloss seems to have completely stopped. I can run my hands through my hair and never come away with more than a hair or two. I never had the intense shedding that some people here describe (ie 50-100 hairs in the drain), but before the meds I could run my hand through and come away with a good 5-10 hairs, so there have definitely been some changes.

    So, here I am, several months away from my 28th birthday, I've been on Propecia for going on a year, and I think I've seen all the improvement from it that I'm going to see and still want to take my results further and thus, I've decided to take the plunge and get a hair transplant.

    I am attaching pics and would like everyone's opinion on how many grafts I'll need to achieve my goals, along with any other feedback advice. I haven't decided which surgeon to go to. I live in Maryland but am willing to travel anywhere in the USA to get this done. Please take a look at the pics and let me know your thoughts.

    My main goal is to fill in the receded temples and SLIGHTLY lower the hairline in the front, I want to significantly lower the corners of the hairline though and to hair it pretty densely packed. I would also like, if possible, to add some density all over the top. I am willing to pay for a 4000-5000 graft surgery (if need be) to achieve all of this.

    I should also add that I have no family history of aggressive MPB. Most of the men in my family have hairline recession and thinning on top, but no one has anything even close to a horseshoe pattern with a shiny head on top.
    Attached Files
  • DAVE52
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2010
    • 776

    #2
    Try a brush cut first ..see if you are comfortable with it and can live with it .
    I would hate for you to go for a HT and not like the results
    Remember a HT isn't goign to give you a full head of hair but if done properly will give the illusion
    Cheaper to get the brush cut first , than to go through helll the rest of your life if it doesn't work out the way to had hoped it would
    Good luck in whatever you choose

    Comment

    • Gandolf
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2011
      • 198

      #3
      Originally posted by DAVE52
      Try a brush cut first ..see if you are comfortable with it and can live with it .
      I would hate for you to go for a HT and not like the results
      Remember a HT isn't goign to give you a full head of hair but if done properly will give the illusion
      Cheaper to get the brush cut first , than to go through helll the rest of your life if it doesn't work out the way to had hoped it would
      Good luck in whatever you choose
      Bro I've tried everything in terms of hair cuts and styles, nothing looks good. It's not so much that my hair isn't full, it is, except for the receded hairline and mainly the temples. My hair looks a little worse in the pics I posted here because it's wet and because I have a flash on the camera I used.

      Unless I went to 3 or 4 well respected HT doctors and they all told me I'm not a good candidate (which is highly unlikely because I have plenty of hair to work with and no family history of extensive baldness) I've all but made my mind up I'm going to get this done, I just don't know all the specifics of what I'll need/want for the procedure.

      Comment

      • SilverSurfer
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2010
        • 116

        #4
        Dr Cole in Atlanta Georgia
        all the best in your quest

        Comment

        • CallumVaughan94
          Junior Member
          • Feb 2012
          • 24

          #5
          I know this is late but don't style your hair like that. Use something like a mouse/putty which makes hair look thicker compared to gels and wax's which make hair look thinner/wet

          Comment

          • Folly
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2011
            • 179

            #6
            Originally posted by Gandolf
            I want to significantly lower the corners of the hairline though and to hair it pretty densely packed
            Originally posted by SilverSurfer
            Dr Cole in Atlanta Georgia all the best in your quest
            Dr. Cole does not exceed 45 grafts/cm^2 due to graft survival, i've been told. So 'dense packing' with him may be out of question....unless you call 45 grafts/cm^2 dense packing, which i don't believe many people do.

            Comment

            • Still-Researching
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2010
              • 193

              #7
              Hi Gandolf,
              You asked for comments, so here goes:
              You look great in those pictures - as suggested by others, maybe use some different products to make it look at bit more dry and thick as the wet look makes it look thinner...

              I am 10+ years older than you, if I were you, knowing what I know today - I would wait and see how my real mature headline will look say at 31-32 years old and stay on propecia (I take it as well and it usually stops hairloss). Then if you feel you still need a HT - you are 5 years further down - new technology, meds and knowledge etc

              In the pics you have more hair now, than I do after a FUE HT with 2500 grafts (see my HT story in the link, if you are interested)
              I want to start the thread with thanking 3 people/groups: First a big thanks to Spencer Kobren for this great site with a ton of information for anyone considering going down the HT route or feeling down due to hair loss. Secondly thanks to the community, the guys and women, who posts on this forum with news, info,


              I am so happy I waited more time, and did not make a NW1 hairline, as I was planning at around 28 years old some 10 years ago for many reasons - back then I could not have done a FUE, there were no forums, I would have chosen an inappropriate/not life long hairline etc.

              As you get older, most of your friends will loose their hair and go partly or fully bald, and the women in your age (unless you will keep looking for women in early 20'ies - nothing wrong with that though :-) ), will look for mature men, who looks successful and seems to be mature farther material in their 40'ies and not like Justin Bieber...

              Anyway - take my comments from what it is - ideas to support your decision making - a lot of people have given me input over the years on this... I am thankful I did a HT, but equally thankful I waited and did max research on it, before I went ahead.

              Good luck... And to finish were I started - you have great looking hair for your age.

              Comment

              • Gandolf
                Senior Member
                • Sep 2011
                • 198

                #8
                Originally posted by CallumVaughan94
                I know this is late but don't style your hair like that. Use something like a mouse/putty which makes hair look thicker compared to gels and wax's which make hair look thinner/wet
                Thanks for the tip. I actually don't style my hair like it is in these pictures. To show my hairline, I wet my hair and slicked it back because otherwise the pics wouldn't have shown my hairline.

                When I am actually styling my hair, I use a product called Bumble and Bumble Sumotech which is a putty like you recommend and yes, it makes my hair much thicker and gives it a drier look.

                Comment

                • Gandolf
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2011
                  • 198

                  #9
                  Still-Researching,

                  Thanks for the insight. I actually did just book my procedure for early 2013. I'll be 29 at that time and while I know that is still a little young, I have been on Propecia for almost 2 years and my loss has completely stopped and I have no family history of aggressive hairloss.

                  I don't want to wait until I'm in my late 30's to have this done I feel most of my good years will have already passed me by at that point.

                  Your results look great. I definitely think Dr. Feriduni is the best in Europe when it comes to HTs.

                  Comment

                  • El Nino
                    Senior Member
                    • May 2009
                    • 191

                    #10
                    Good luck Gandolf. I had my first HT at 28 and it was a great decision.

                    You have a low contrast between your scalp and hair colour so I am sure you'll get a great result.

                    Comment

                    • Still-Researching
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2010
                      • 193

                      #11
                      Hi Gandolf,
                      Good for you. Only wanted to give my objective opinion.

                      Who of the docs are you going to? and FUT or FUE?

                      Please do not go for a NW 0 teenage hairline.

                      Hope you have researched a lot and you are aware of the significant risks of shock loss in the recipient area, if you go for adding density to the top of your head (in between existing hairs).

                      You are on the other hand a good candidate for dense packing in the hairline.

                      Wish you all the best.

                      Comment

                      • northeastguy
                        Senior Member
                        • Feb 2012
                        • 367

                        #12
                        Gandolf.... your hair looks great as far as I am concerned. I wouldn't do much. stick with the big three as long as side effects are tolorable. Also add proper nutrients... Biotin, Vit E, and MSM. Use a good cleansing DHT shampoo. Don't rush, be patient.

                        Comment

                        • Gandolf
                          Senior Member
                          • Sep 2011
                          • 198

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Still-Researching
                          Hi Gandolf,
                          Good for you. Only wanted to give my objective opinion.

                          Who of the docs are you going to? and FUT or FUE?

                          Please do not go for a NW 0 teenage hairline.

                          Hope you have researched a lot and you are aware of the significant risks of shock loss in the recipient area, if you go for adding density to the top of your head (in between existing hairs).

                          You are on the other hand a good candidate for dense packing in the hairline.

                          Wish you all the best.
                          I'm going to Dr. Rahal and doing FUT. I'm only addressing the hairline and will leave anything on top for a time down the line. I don't really need my hairline lowered in the middle, just strengthened and I'm having the corners filled in. The goal is to go as dense as possible in the front.

                          Even when I was a kid I never had a teenage hairline, it was always on the higher side so there would be no need to create one now : )

                          Comment

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