Advice please

[Newbie79]

Hi,

I am a 33yr old based in the UK, losing hair mainly in the crown area (but starting to go at the front a little). I first noticed some thinning on the crown when I was about 25 and it has slowly progressed to the point where friends often mention it which is starting to get me down to the point where I want to do something about it.

I am therefore considering a transplant mainly because I have tried Minoxidil and it hasn't done anything and I am 100% unwilling to risk taking finasteride because of the potential side effects...(I would rather be bald than impotent, even if the risks are very small).

My first question is therefore...is it completely pointless to have a hair transplant if I am not willing to take finasteride?

Second question - assuming it's still worth doing if I don't take finasteride, who would people recommend for a smallish-medium sized crown job of maybe 9cm squared?

I am pretty open to having either FUT or FUE and am prepared to travel anywhere to get it done so long as the cost isn't ridiculous. I met Dr Bisanga in London recently who I was pretty impressed with....not pushy, very informative and have also done some research on-line to come up with a provisional short list, those being:

Dr Paul Rose in Miami
Dr Feller in NY
Dr Shapiro in Minnesota

I know it's a tough question to answer and everyone has their personal preferences but id anyone has any valuable advice or input then I would be extremely grateful as this isn't an area I know a huge amount about and I would really benefit from some sensible comments.

Cheers,

Newbie79

[Winston]

Hi,

I am a 33yr old based in the UK, losing hair mainly in the crown area (but starting to go at the front a little). I first noticed some thinning on the crown when I was about 25 and it has slowly progressed to the point where friends often mention it which is starting to get me down to the point where I want to do something about it.

I am therefore considering a transplant mainly because I have tried Minoxidil and it hasn't done anything and I am 100% unwilling to risk taking finasteride because of the potential side effects...(I would rather be bald than impotent, even if the risks are very small).

My first question is therefore...is it completely pointless to have a hair transplant if I am not willing to take finasteride?

Second question - assuming it's still worth doing if I don't take finasteride, who would people recommend for a smallish-medium sized crown job of maybe 9cm squared?

I am pretty open to having either FUT or FUE and am prepared to travel anywhere to get it done so long as the cost isn't ridiculous. I met Dr Bisanga in London recently who I was pretty impressed with....not pushy, very informative and have also done some research on-line to come up with a provisional short list, those being:

Dr Paul Rose in Miami
Dr Feller in NY
Dr Shapiro in Minnesota

I know it's a tough question to answer and everyone has their personal preferences but id anyone has any valuable advice or input then I would be extremely grateful as this isn't an area I know a huge amount about and I would really benefit from some sensible comments.

Cheers,

Newbie79

Welcome to the forum! The problem is that hair loss is progressive and since you are unwilling to try Propecia, it is unlikely that the progression will stop. Since you’re losing hair mostly in the crown you would actually be a perfect candidate for medical intervention, but I can understand your position on Propecia even though it has helped me and countless others a great deal.

All of the surgeons that you have mentioned have great reputations but transplanting your crown is always a big risk. A lot of grafts can be wasted in the crown and if you do progress to where you lose hair in your hairline you might not have the supply to meet the progressing demand. It also takes a lot of grafts to really make a cosmetic dent in a growing crown, so you should take this into consideration.