J
JFR8
Valued member
Hi,
Thanks in advance for any advice and the threads here have been useful already.
I've been losing my hair since my mid 20's, so 15 years now. I tried Minoxidil, Nizoral and Propecia (or it might have been its predecessor) back then after seeing Belgravia. Unfortunately I suffered side effects from Propecia (some loss of libido and swelling of pecs) so stopped that after 6 weeks. I continued with Minoxidil (foam now) and Nizoral. Which seemed to slow things down. Up until 5 years ago, with selective haircuts I could live with what I had. In the last few years its got to the point where there's no hiding it. Perhaps the last year where I've started doing a lot of exercise and Whey protein have caused even more shed to get me where I am now.
I'd always shied away from a HT as I didn't want to risk a bad one and figured when the time came I'd just go for a grade 1 and be done with it (despite my OH not liking that look). But several of my cousins have recently had transplants with varying success, although none I would consider bad. So I've decided to take the plunge myself.
Moreover, I suspect we'll have a few more mini lockdowns, so hopefully I can hide away for some of the time post op. I wish I'd done it last year.
After lots of research I contacted the Maitland Clinic. They are a little more expensive then others, but I like a couple of things about them. Firstly all the key work is done by the surgeon, rather than clinicians. Secondly their literature came across as quite honest and realistic, without any hardsell or unrealistic examples. Thirdly they appear to focus on natural hairlines (hopefully counter any urge to go for a 20's hairline), to ensure donor hair is preserved for future top ups.
I've attached a picture which they returned with a rough idea of what they'd propose initially. Approximately 2k grafts. Not touching the crown. This is based on the pictures I sent them and conservative. As I understand it they'd want to examine how much donor hair I have and how my hair loss is likely to progress and only then consider the crown.
I noted on their site they do offer beard hair transplants. I have quite a dense bears from lower neck up. And, atleast to me, it is similar to the hair on my head. So I will be asking if thats a possibility for the crown. And if there are any negatives I should consider. I have read beard hair has different growth phases.
I'll stop there for now. Really I'm just looking for some advice. In terms of what I can realistically expect. Any other things I should consider. And if the Maitland Clinic is a good choice and if there are any other similar clinics in the UK I should consider.
Thanks for bearing with me and any advice greatly appreciated.
If I could get back to what I had in my early 30's I'd be over the moon. I'm not expecting what I had in my 20's, I realise thats unrealistic.
Thanks in advance for any advice and the threads here have been useful already.
I've been losing my hair since my mid 20's, so 15 years now. I tried Minoxidil, Nizoral and Propecia (or it might have been its predecessor) back then after seeing Belgravia. Unfortunately I suffered side effects from Propecia (some loss of libido and swelling of pecs) so stopped that after 6 weeks. I continued with Minoxidil (foam now) and Nizoral. Which seemed to slow things down. Up until 5 years ago, with selective haircuts I could live with what I had. In the last few years its got to the point where there's no hiding it. Perhaps the last year where I've started doing a lot of exercise and Whey protein have caused even more shed to get me where I am now.
I'd always shied away from a HT as I didn't want to risk a bad one and figured when the time came I'd just go for a grade 1 and be done with it (despite my OH not liking that look). But several of my cousins have recently had transplants with varying success, although none I would consider bad. So I've decided to take the plunge myself.
Moreover, I suspect we'll have a few more mini lockdowns, so hopefully I can hide away for some of the time post op. I wish I'd done it last year.
After lots of research I contacted the Maitland Clinic. They are a little more expensive then others, but I like a couple of things about them. Firstly all the key work is done by the surgeon, rather than clinicians. Secondly their literature came across as quite honest and realistic, without any hardsell or unrealistic examples. Thirdly they appear to focus on natural hairlines (hopefully counter any urge to go for a 20's hairline), to ensure donor hair is preserved for future top ups.
I've attached a picture which they returned with a rough idea of what they'd propose initially. Approximately 2k grafts. Not touching the crown. This is based on the pictures I sent them and conservative. As I understand it they'd want to examine how much donor hair I have and how my hair loss is likely to progress and only then consider the crown.
I noted on their site they do offer beard hair transplants. I have quite a dense bears from lower neck up. And, atleast to me, it is similar to the hair on my head. So I will be asking if thats a possibility for the crown. And if there are any negatives I should consider. I have read beard hair has different growth phases.
I'll stop there for now. Really I'm just looking for some advice. In terms of what I can realistically expect. Any other things I should consider. And if the Maitland Clinic is a good choice and if there are any other similar clinics in the UK I should consider.
Thanks for bearing with me and any advice greatly appreciated.
If I could get back to what I had in my early 30's I'd be over the moon. I'm not expecting what I had in my 20's, I realise thats unrealistic.