What makes one a good candidate for hair transplant ?

[br1]

I was looking into the option of a hair transplant in the future, as I stopped taking finasteride, and will probably loose some hair (hopefully not a lot, but...).

hair transplant websites, always say you should do a visit to see if you are a "good candidate". I wonder what makes you a good candidate?

Cheers.

 

[Pequod]

A good candidate usually has money, good donor hair, a clean area to place grafts, and is on finasteride. They also understand the risks and rewards of the procedure.

 

[Giiizmo]

- Hair loss that has been stable for about two years, meds or no meds.
- A surface without too much hair clinging to it (if you have diffuse loss).
- Good donor hair.
- No outstanding health issues and a good enough lifestyle (no heavy smoking).

Bonus points if:
- You're on finasteride.
- You're past 40.

 

[follicle2001]

A good candidate

I think that one of the best things to have to be a good hair transplant candidate is set of realistic expectations. Too many people get disappointed because they do not really understand what they are buying or will be getting. Nothing will ever make you look 18 again. Nothing. Ever.

A good hair transplant can give you a good cosmetic outcome and can save you from being slick bald, so they are definitely worth it for some people.

 

[GoldenMane]

Thick donor hair. (hair shaft diameter)
Dense donor hair (high count of hair follicles and shafts per cm2)
A low Norwood destiny (if you're destined for NW7 or have retrograde allopecia, your going to lose a lot of hair over the course of your life.
Head shape, if you have a massive forehead it's probably not going to help you achieve good results with lower density hair transplant hair.

 

[follicle2001]

Thick donor hair. (hair shaft diameter)
Dense donor hair (high count of hair follicles and shafts per cm2)
A low Norwood destiny (if you're destined for NW7 or have retrograde allopecia, your going to lose a lot of hair over the course of your life.
Head shape, if you have a massive forehead it's probably not going to help you achieve good results with lower density hair transplant hair.

I agree with you except for one thing-I think advanced Norwood pts can have a good result if they go with a mature hairline and concentrate on the front and top of the head. Lots of bad outcomes, IMHO, involve the creation of a frontal hairline that is just way, way, WAY too low and looks unnatural.

 

[arfy]

Lots of good info here, but I just wanted to add this:

I think that one of the best things to have to be a good hair transplant candidate is set of realistic expectations.

If people tell you that your expectations are not realistic, it means that you are expecting too much. Many guys do expect too much, especially young guys and newbies. hair transplant are not a perfect solution to hair loss -- they have drawbacks and they have definite limitations.

 

[David Leung]

Firstly you are old enough and am fine with the scar that will eventually shows on back of your head when propecia becomes immuned/not longer effective on your hair
Secondly you are not seriously affected by the sides of propecia
Suggest you to go with FUE as the scars are less noticeable (doesn't mean u can't see them when u go bald), but most of the time could be fixed by things like micropigmentation etc

 

[wilson2]

Does anybody have success with hair transplants that isn't on propecia? If I got a hair transplant it would probably be in my mid 20's. I would hope that with some future treatments and one or two transplants I could have okay hair into my late 30s. Does this sound realistic to anyone?

I know Joe Rogan got hair transplants pretty young and was only on Minoxidil, he ended up having very "pluggy" look to his hair in his late 30s. I would actually be fine with those results for example.

 

[arfy]

Sorry, but planning for your results to only look good into your 30s isn't realistic, if by realistic you really mean "is this a good plan". No, that plan is not good.

Also, guys shouldn't get a transplant with the hope that 'future treatments' will fix the planning mistakes they might be making right now. I remember when the TV science show "Nova" talked about breakthroughs in hair loss treatments, which could be available quite soon. They talked to Dr George Cotsarelis (I even wrote him a letter after the show) and Dr Angela Christiano (names who are still active in hair loss research). That show aired in 1990... 25 years ago. For all we know, it might be another 25 years for a new treatment. Also, for all we know, previous surgery might make a future treatment less effective. Hair transplants create scarring in the donor area and recipient area... even FUE. Hair transplants are a type of skin graft which just so happen to contain hair follicles (I hope everybody understands this by now) but the skin grafts go into the deeper scalp tissue, and cause scarring which disrupts blood flow. For my own sake, I hope transplants have no impact on future treatments. But nobody knows.

 

[wilson2]

Good points arfy. I never considered how a hair transplant could effect future treatments.