Age of Transplant Procedure

[Krispin]

Hey guys and ladies; I'm 24 and a Norwood 4.5 and will likely be a 5.5/6 by the time I'm 28/29. I'm thinking about getting a hair transplant with H&W of about 4500-5500 grafts which will provide satisfactory coverage to the front and a concealing effect to the crown.

I'm not sure if I should do this within the next year, 2 years, or wait until I turn 27/28/29. What are your thoughts? Oh, and I was seen by Mayer in San Diego who told me that I had average density, so I believe I am not being overly optimistic when I presume to have around 5000 grafts available for transplantation.

-Krispin

 

[mpbsux20]

Take finasteride for the moment to prevent further hair loss till 28/29.You can consider hair transplant at that time...I feel 24 is way too young for a technique like transplantation.

 

[s.a.f]

Yeah you could be destined for a NW7. Before undertaking such a risky procedure you should get on meds and be sure that you've got the Hairloss stabilised/halted for at least a year!
I know it sucks but making the mistake that you have to live with the resy of your life would be worse.

 

[Krispin]

I am not planning on using any systemic medication (e.g. finasteride) because I have experienced mild side effects in the past and because I want to preserve my state of mind by not having concerns over whether the drug is the cause or not the cause of some bodily ailment.

Secondly, the results I've seen with Hasson and Wong show Norwood's 5 and 6 and even some 7's achieving satisfactory coverage with 5000-7000 grafts, exclusive of medication. For this reason, I believe that 5000 grafts on a Norwood 5/6 would provide descent/ satisfactory coverage but nowhere near a full head of hair.

Thirdly, I do not plan to ever buzz my head below a 3 or 4 guard if and when I get a transplant: I want hair and if I do get hair, why would I want to effect a near bald look?

Fourthly, I am not planning on a transplant until I get into my late 20s, at which point the hairloss will have tapered, at least tapered to a degree where it is slower than the initial loss between 18 and 22 and 24-27.

So with all that additional info, are the opinions still on the same page or is there something else to consider? Thanks for the replies, btw guys.


-Krispin

 

[Krispin]

If you are a NW4.5 at 24 years old, I'd say there's about a 90% chance you will be a NW6, if not 7 by age 27 to 30 - especially if you are not going to use finasteride.

Did you see the NW5's and 6's who have had 5-7,000 grafts up close and in person? If not, maybe you should. And I bet if you did you would be able to see right through their hair unless they were wearing concealer. It always looks different in person than a photograph.

The photos you have seen are most likely their "best case" scenarios. A typical NW5 who gets hair transplants, even after depleting all their donor supply, will not even come close to some of the "model" hair transplant patients that you have seen.

The cold hard truth is that I'd say most of time with guys who are NW4+, hair transplants will not produce results that good - especially guys with a lot of hairloss at a very young age. The few guys who have been fortunate enough to have such good results as the "model" patients on all the hair transplant clinics' websites are the exception not the norm - with typical results of the average joe being not nearly as good.

So, my opinions still stand as I said earlier. Nothing changed, sorry.

Hasson and Wong are reputable so I trust their photos. But transplants aside, you would recommend a hair system then instead?

-Krispin

 

[richlocks]

dudemon, who was your surgeon? this is a huge variable that you have not revealed.

I think the OP should wait until he is in his late 20s to see where his hair is at that point.. there are many types of "nw5/6s".. you can have a narrow alley, or the sides may have heavily dropped.. we cannot tell without pictures.

I would trust H&W, but would also go see them in person before you agree to a surgery to see what they say, and tell them you will not take medication. They are conservative.

The issue is with donor thinning in your 40s , 50s, 60s.. i think it may be inevitable. This is a risk all transplant patients have to take, i suppose.

Yes joe and londonlad are exceptions, but there are plenty of nw5 and nw6s with good results, who aren't "model patients".

What i would do is eventually go see H&W in a few years so they can determine how much donor they have to work with. I'm fairly average in both density and laxity.. and Wong told me I have about 7.5K to work with, total. Maybe more.

I have a pretty much NW6 pattern, but still have hair eveywhere (just diffused) up till my hairline.. i'm curious to see what your hair looks like.

 

[Krispin]

The detailed information is much appreciated and valued, but I believe that your sentiments on hair transplants are not necessarily representative of the average hair transplant experience. Maybe it's because you are not quite satisfied with the result. The problem with the advice "keeping the hair I have" is that I already have an unacceptable amount, therefore I need to increase the quantity if I ever wish to solve the hair problem.

Secondly, hair systems today have come a long way from the 80s and 90s; I've seen results that look undetectable, so just because many men wear systems that are inappropriate for their heads or simply ridiculously obvious, does not mean that a good hair piece (i.e., low density, good color match) cannot be found.

If you were in my position, and you were committed against medication, would you go for hair transplant or for hair piece? At this point, I am leaning towards hair piece since I do not think that it will be a problem: in the mornings, the head is cleaned and adhesive is applied. Hair piece goes on. At night, hair piece is removed, head is cleaned, and it is time for sleep. After 2-3 months, a new order is received and the wearer makes his or her trip to the local barber shop that has experience in styling hair pieces. It's somewhat of a hassle, yes, but eventually most guys say it just becomes part of their routine so why is it a bad solution if it is undetectable to the GENERAL public?

I don't care if .1% of the population that are experts on hair pieces can detect it after close examination; I just care about the piece looking all right and staying on my head. Thoughts?

 

[s.a.f]

I have seen Jotronic and London Lad as well as many other "model" patients from other hair transplant clinics (besides H&W) up close, and in person. My opinions that I mentioned in my previous posts still stand...again, end of story.

Hmm, really??? :whistle:

 

[techprof]

krispin, i got 4000 grafts, I was a NW5/6 when I was 30 years old (now I am 34).

It is a see through hair transplant. Also in spite of being on finasteride/dutasteride, the border areas are slowly fading away. I am still happy about the hair transplant and might get another one, though I hate the procedure.

Listen to dudemon, you think you won't shave, but at the least keeping the hairs shorter gives you a clean look. I am getting tired of keeping my hair longer, using gel, and getting haircuts frequently. Otherwise (some hairs grow faster, some don't. it sucks).

If you don't want to get on finasteride or dutasteride, get on topical spironolactone, topical RU, tricomin, proxiphen, or proxiphen-n.

Remember it is easy to maintain, then to grow.

I was just like you when I was 24( scared of using finasteride or wasn't even aware of it as I had temporary good success with minoxidil).

Now, at 34, I am planning to jump on to 2.5 mg dutasteride per day (after seeing 0.5mg dutasteride to be better than finasteride).

If you are scared of finasteride, see a Doctor get a blood test. Get on finasteride, keep getting blood tests every 6 months. If you see the numbers change, drop it.

 

[dougfunny]

You know what I would do is first just wait to go totally bald. Don't put yourself in the position of needing future hair transplants to correct gaps from continued hairloss.

Wait until you are a NW7 and then have the satisfaction of knowing when you do get a hair transplant all your hair will be 100% permanent and you will never need drugs or corrective procedures. With the speed you are losing hair even with drugs you will slowly continue to lose.

Second, I would forget the crown! Just build a strong forelock and then fill in the sides and back enough that it looks natural.

I really think must of the ugliness of balding is from the lack of a forelock. Even just a whisp of hair there adds a ton of definition to your face.

Like look at this picture of Bill Murray. His forelock consists of what, 400 hairs? Yet his face would look completely different if he were completely bald in the front.

Look at someone like Jeremy Clarkson who has a huge bald spot. You hardly even notice. You'll never notice in pictures. Anyway by the time you are 35 or 40 it is perfectly normal to have a bald spot and you will really fit in! You still have half your life at that point...

Don't try to cover your whole head it is going to look like crap. You normally have 100,000 hairs on your head... 5,000 is not going to look good no matter what!

It's all about being conservative with hair transplants. IMO 99% of doctors are way too aggressive.

I'd say a whisp of a forelock like that Murray pic will be a 70% improvement in your appearance versus no hair. From there on it's diminishing returns big time.

 

[s.a.f]

This is good sense although how many guys under 40 would be happy to do it? - Not many!!! But as you've pointed out guys like Bill and sting can look pretty good (and natural) with just a small amount of hair rather than a big bald dome.