hair transplant at young age-why not?

[BBallHead]

I am 20 years old and have been losing hair since I was about 18. I am currently a NW3, and my father (age54) is a NW6, to give you an idea as to what I can expect. After researching photos of my father, we found that he also began to lose hair at the same age, in the same pattern, and as one doctor has told me, it looks like I am headed in that NW6 direction. Now, I have read COUNTLESS articles and opinions as to why I, as a young person, should not opt for a hair transplant at this stage, and I have listened to all the reasons for/against it. Now, please listen to my "plan" for young men recieving hair transplant's:
Lets take my situation for example:
-I would first need to do extensive research (which I have done, and continue to do), and find a doctor who will look out for my best interest in the future.

-Understanding that the progression of hair loss is undpredictable, lets assume the worst and say that I will progress to be a NW6 by my late twenties/early thirties (the age most ppl seem to say is the time for a hair transplant). Making this assumption, I go ahead and have a hair transplant done now(age 20/21) to fill in my temple recession and frontal thinning, restoring the hairline to a mature, conservative point. In no way am I expecting a dense NW1 hairline given my condition and age. With the use of propecia (which I have been on for 3 months now with full intent to continue), I can hopefully hold onto, and at least slow down the loss behind the transplanted zone and the crown. As my hair loss progresses, I realize that I will need a second and possibly a third procedure done. Given the fact that I, like everyone, have a limited donor supply, I realize that I may never achieve full coverage on the crown area. However, if after 2 or 3 hair transplant's, in my late 20s/early 30s, I am forced to live with a thin crown, then so be it. I would much sooner accept that, knowing that I have done all I can do, than I would accept "waiting it out" during my early 20s, just sitting and watching my hair dissapear. That is the worst case scenario, now lets see the other side of the coin, the best case:
I undergo a hair transplant to restore my hairline now to a conservative mature hairline. Propecia proves to be effective in holding onto the native hair in the back, leaving me with several years to enjoy the results of my first hair transplant. Eventually, hair loss progresses slightly and I am able to fill it in with a 2nd procedure.

Now, someone please tell me why I should not get an hair transplant at this point in my life. I will be graduating from college in a little over a year and I would hate to be thrown into the real world without all the help I can get. Getting an hair transplant would provide me with the confidence I will most certainly need in job searching, and developing new relationships with tons of new people.
I fully understand all the risks of a hair transplant at a young age. My expectations are not to receive a NW1 full head of hair. All i want is to conservatively fill in my hairline and keep up with my loss as it progresses, which will hopefully be delayed or stopped with the use of Propecia. Why would performing a hair transplant on a 50 year old NW6 patient be any different than performing several hair transplant's on a 20 yr old as loss progresses?? The same amount of scalp needs to be covered.

PLease tell me, what am I missing here???

 

[Follically Challenged]

get a hair transplant and stop worrying what others think

 

[PersonGuy]

I second that notion. A lot of guys will tell you that you need to think about future loss and to conserve your donor area and this and that...

Bottom line is this. If you've done the research. If you know what may be in store for the future. If you have reasonable expectations. And if you choose the right Doctor. There should be no reason anything should stop you. The meds may slow it down or even halt it for a while, hopefully that's the case. If not, my philosophy is that I want to have my early twenties with hair as oppose to without. And sure you'll think about it in the future and it may bother you but right now if it bothers you that much go for some consultations and explain to the docs your situation and that you don't expect amazing NW1 results and they will most likely be willing to work with you and you'll get a good result.

Good luck and in the end do what you want and what's going to make you happy.

 

[IBM]

If you started to lose at 18 and you're a NW3 at 20 then an hair transplant will be a disaster because you'll continue to lose what you have now. Besides you have to evaluate if your donor hair is not thinning.

 

[Norsk]

Have you considered what you will do if your hair loss progresses all the way to NW7?

 

[Follically Challenged]

If you started to lose at 18 and you're a NW3 at 20 then an hair transplant will be a disaster because you'll continue to lose what you have now. Besides you have to evaluate if your donor hair is not thinning.

This coming from a young man who calls himself a NW3.7 and would get a hair transplant in a second if he could afford it.

 

[Lucky_UK]

Have you considered what you will do if your hair loss progresses all the way to NW7?

I 100% agree with Norsk, if you are heading towards a NW6 by your mid to late 20's you may not have enough donor supply to give you good density, unless you are like jotronic.

Have you ever tried shaving your head to see how you would look with a buzzed cut? some people look better this way.

 

[Follically Challenged]

Have you considered what you will do if your hair loss progresses all the way to NW7?

I 100% agree with Norsk, if you are heading towards a NW6 by your mid to late 20's you may not have enough donor supply to give you good density, unless you are like jotronic.

Have you ever tried shaving your head to see how you would look with a buzzed cut? some people look better this way.

The guy said he's on Propecia.

And he knows it doesn't work in every instance, either. He knows he's taking a chance.

*Thinks* Hmm why I did even bother responding to this thread in the first place?

 

[Lucky_UK]

and......

 

[Follically Challenged]

and......

nvm, your're right. great advice. kid, enjoy your 20s as a young man with a receeded hairline.

 

[Lucky_UK]

Yes my above post was before you edited yours

The guy said he's on Propecia.

Was just trying to offer some realistic advice, a hair transplant at a young age with agressive hairloss isn't the answer

 

[metalheaddude]

BBallHead just wear a baseball cap for a few years, then look into the hair transplant. A few years wont kill you.

 

[Follically Challenged]

Since I started replying to this thread I may as well post an intelligent response.

Propecia may or may not work to help you keep your hair. I'm sure you know about Rogaine (minoxidil), dutasteride (a stronger 5 alpha reductase inhibitor), and other topicals that may or may not help you keep your hair. A more complete regimen will give you the best chance of maintenance. If Propecia does not work by itself (or if you want to prevent hair loss before finding out it's not working by it's lonesome) you can use other products in conjunction.

You say you want a non-densely packed hairline. You could, of course, get a densely packed hairline so I will have to assume you would go for the not dense hairline in case you will need donor hair behind the hairline in the future. So, it seems as though you are being pre-cautious for someone looking to get a hair transplant at a young age.

All in all it seems as though you know the risks and have thought this out well. So, good luck in w/e you decide to do.

 

[BBallHead]

metalheaddude,
Wearing a baseball hat for the next few years, like I've been doing the past year and a half, will not be an option for me much longer. Once I graduate from college in a little over a year, and I have a job, I won't be able to just throw a hat on (like I do 99% of the time while at school) and forget about my hair. Graduating college and stepping out into the real world of working and meeting new people is only going to present a much more difficult situation for me to be dealing with hair loss.

Follically Challenged,
I thank you for your input and appreciate that you actually read my original post and understand. I do realize that a more complete regimen will help my chances of slowing/stopping future loss, along with Propecia. I originally was turned off of Rogaine because it was such a commitment, but I am realizing that I am going to HAVE to commit to this whole thing if I want to keep my hair.

To answer the other questions about my donor supply, like I said I have consulted with a top doctor in my area and he has told me personally that my donor hair/supply is Good. He also said that with the use of Propecia, becoming a NW7 would be rare in my case.

 

[IBM]

If you started to lose at 18 and you're a NW3 at 20 then an hair transplant will be a disaster because you'll continue to lose what you have now. Besides you have to evaluate if your donor hair is not thinning.

This coming from a young man who calls himself a NW3.7 and would get a hair transplant in a second if he could afford it.

Yes. I'm a diffuser and receeded NW3.5. I still consider myself in that scale. It sucks but well its life and i cant do nothing.

I changed my opinion about hair transplant. I considered an hair transplant when i saw Armani results but they are not what it seems. They cant be. And other hair transplant's seems like real bad wigs. I prefer to be bald then have an hair transplant that looks like a bad wig.

 

[Follically Challenged]

If you started to lose at 18 and you're a NW3 at 20 then an hair transplant will be a disaster because you'll continue to lose what you have now. Besides you have to evaluate if your donor hair is not thinning.

This coming from a young man who calls himself a NW3.7 and would get a hair transplant in a second if he could afford it.

Yes. I'm a diffuser and receeded NW3.5. I still consider myself in that scale. It sucks but well its life and i cant do nothing.

I changed my opinion about hair transplant. I considered an hair transplant when i saw Armani results but they are not what it seems. They cant be. And other hair transplant's seems like real bad wigs. I prefer to be bald then have an hair transplant that looks like a bad wig.

Riiiight...They're "too good" at Armani's so the whole industry is a big scam.

Well, me, I've seen one of those Armani before and afters (Shane O'Quinn) in person. Real good scam, then, because it sure fooled me. And he wasn't doing some Ceasar thing there, he was combing it to the side.

 

[Guest]

Having that much hairloss at your young age is not a good sign. I don't mean to sound like an echo here, it's just the facts that you stated. I recommend that you first wait to see how you respond to Propecia. Your dad undoubtedly never used the drug. What is your mother's side like? Any male pattern baldness on her side? Are there any class 7's at all? You want to look at others beside your father within family history. Most guys with that much hairloss at age 20 end up hitting class 7.

As long as you pull back your goals to where they are reasonable or achievable, there are some class 6's that have potential, and especially if you have other good compensaitng factors like a high degree of coarseness and above average donor density. You already said you can compromise crown coverage so you may be okay. Keep your hairline higher too. Hopefully, you'll respond well to finasteride.

One last consideration. Is there any donor zone thinning on either side of your family history? And I'm referring to the older men like your father. If so, you don't want to start hair transplants at all.

 

[BBallHead]

Gillenator,
I do plan on waiting it out for a while to see how I respond to Propecia. At the end of the summer (August), it will have been 6 months on the drug, and I will have a much better idea as to how well I am responding. This is also the time I am scheduled to go back and see the doctor who I previously met with, so that he himself can judge how effective the Propecia has been.
To answer your question about my mother's side: My grandfather was a NW6, while his son (my uncle), is a NW4. To my knowledge, and according to what my mother has told me, there has never been any history of donor zone thinning. My father's side also does not have this issue, as his father is a NW4, with more hair than him, and my father's brother (my uncle) is a full NW3 at the age of 48. My father himself seems to have a quite dense donor area, and as assumed, he never used any drug to help with his hair loss.
Certainly, I am very hopeful with regards to my response to Propecia. Obviously, if in 6 months I find that it does not seem to be effective at all, my plan will drastically change. HOWEVER, if the Propecia does prove to be effective by the 6 month mark, do you think that it would then be safe to go ahead and have a conservative hair transplant done, with a long-term plan set for the future?

 

[theanimator]

IMO, wait a full year while on propecia. Take before and after pictures. After a year post the pictures on this forum and get more opinions then.

 

[Norsk]

It's not only about whether you are responding well to Propecia. You also want to be reasonably sure that you won't get any nasty side effects forcing you to quit. I suppose the longer you stay on it without side effects, the less likely they are to pop up?