hair transplant - Why Not?

[riotboy123]

I'm 29 and have had thinning hair for 5-6 years now. It started at the corners and now it's showing at the crown and top middle of my head reaching around to the frontal area (behind hairline) and touching my corners.

I've been on Propecia for about a month now and hope it works. But as i'm getting quite self conscious about all of this during a time when i should be having fun -- i'm thinking about getting FUE or FUSS or whatever it's called.

I generally have shaggy hair and it covers it ok, but lets be realistic. It's still obvious.

So, i guess my question is: should i try FUE or FUSS? I have the money to afford it. I work from home so hiding the first few days will be easy. Although I don't want to shave my head to get this done. I also live in a city that offers Dr. Armani. It seems like a easy choice.

A couple of questions:
-Do I *need* to shave my head?
-What is the REAL success rate of getting this done?
-Why do people decide *not* to get this done?
-If i get this done- i will still lose hair. Can i keep going back to touch up the new areas?
-How long will the transplant last?
-How obvious is it that i had this done? if i cut my hair short will people see it?

 

[Petchsky]

Firstly, the best thing you can do is wait 12 months to let the meds do their thing, and make sure you can stabilize any future loss. During this time you can do plenty of researching hair transplants, know for sure you want to do it, and who the best Dr's are for you.

So, your questions...

Do you need to shave your head - Depends, some Dr's shave it, some don't. Most do though as it speeds the transplanting up.

Success rate - Again this depends. If you go to a top Dr, the success rate would be very high, don't have any figures though. Also, strip method has a higher grow rate than FUE. Strip is something like 90-95% graft survival rate.

Decide against it - I can only speculate, but cost, recovery time, horror stories, because it's surgery.

Carry on losing hair - Hopefully propecia should do a very good job of improving what you have and rapidly slowing down the loss, there is no problems going back to a surgeon to tackle weak area...the best Dr's already plan ahead for you and will give you advice worth heeding.

How long will it last - Forever, the transplanted hair is resistant to DHT.

If you get strip there will be a thin scar, so you won;t be able to comfortably buzz the back of the head below a grade 4, grade 3 for some. If the work is done by a top doctor it will look very natural.

Remember though dude, do lots of research, cos there are still a lot of unscrupulous toads out there.

 

[riotboy123]

Thanks for the info. I'm worried about waiting 12 months and losing more hair. I wanted to take the 'nip it in the bud' approach before it gets really bad.

I'm in Ontario, Canada. I was thinking about checking out Dr. Armani. I've read some pretty good stories re: him.. and some not so good stories. But that seems the case for anyone. Is there anyone else in the Ontario region that anyone can recommend?


Also, i see a lot of hairlines that look very strong and as such, fake. Are there methods that can make this look not so fake?

 

[gr0]

if you`re interested in strip there`s rahal in ottowa. You should read my topic on armani consultation...and give them a visit to get an impression of them, you got nothing to lose, it`s free and you`re prolly in the area...

You should also start rogaine asap, I wish I started using it earlier and if you do go for a transplant the Doctor will prolly suggest that you get on it anyways.

 

[riotboy123]

Where is your topic?

 

[gr0]

it`s the one right below this one

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=49026

 

[riotboy123]

just read it. good info.

armani are calling me back tomorrow for a consultation time. i live several minutes from the t.o office so it's tempting to go there.

in that thread you mention "if I do the procedure in Canada I can claim it on my taxes and should get $4000-5000 of it back."
Do you live in Canada and how can you get that much money back?

 

[Devender]

How long will it last - Forever, the transplanted hair is resistant to DHT.

I will qualify that statement. In most people the transplanted scalp hair will remain for life. In some there may be thinning when you grow very old. Havent you noticed some old people with thinning donor areas. If they had got hair transplant when young, I imagine atleast some of the transplanted hair will shed when they grow old.
Beard hair is a different matter. It grows stronger with age.

 

[gr0]

just read it. good info.

armani are calling me back tomorrow for a consultation time. i live several minutes from the t.o office so it's tempting to go there.

in that thread you mention "if I do the procedure in Canada I can claim it on my taxes and should get $4000-5000 of it back."
Do you live in Canada and how can you get that much money back?

You have to claim the procedure cost on your taxes as Medical Expenses, the rep at armani should give you a sheet which lists the amount you will get back. Oddly enough the higher your income is the more you will get back.

I called Canada Revenue a while ago and asked them if I could claim medical expenses if the procedure was done outside of the country. They told me if you`re able to do the same procedure in Canada then you cannot claim it, but she told me to try it. I wonder if I can argue that the Canadian docs are`nt as good as the one in the states.

For the FUE I believe it`s just Armani in Canada anyways, at least the only reputable one . and if I go with cole he calls it CIT maybe that classifies as a different procedure....

 

[oxymoron]

Thanks for the info. I'm worried about waiting 12 months and losing more hair. I wanted to take the 'nip it in the bud' approach before it gets really bad.

Something you need to consider is that if you get an hair transplant now and you're not able to control the loss with rogaine, propecia, etc then you could end up with transplanted hair surrounded by hair loss. Then you're stuck getting another procedure to fix that and possible future procedures to maintanence it over the years. Better to wait like everyone is saying and ensure the loss is being stabilized.

 

[riotboy123]

I agree. i opted to stick with propecia and see how it goes. I think reading this forum just got me all hyped up and ahead of myself. After a couple of days of solid thought i decided to just wait.

If hair transplant was more 'friendly' i probably would have just done it -- but there are too many factors to make it an easy sell for me now.

 

[kento]

Carry on losing hair - Hopefully propecia should do a very good job of improving what you have and rapidly slowing down the loss, there is no problems going back to a surgeon to tackle weak area...the best Dr's already plan ahead for you and will give you advice worth heeding.

How long will it last - Forever, the transplanted hair is resistant to DHT.

So we don't need to use DHT blocker in order to keep our transplanted hair?

 

[s.a.f]

So we don't need to use DHT blocker in order to keep our transplanted hair?

No but if you want to keep the rest of your hair you do.