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Advice please

A

AASUK

Valued member
Hello all my bald friends there:)

I am a 38 years old bald guy and would like some advice please. I am seriously thinking of getting hair transplants and would like some advice.

I started losing my hair since I was 26 years old and over the last 4 years I lost almost all of it. Have used Rogaine in the past but could not pass the 3 months minimum period to see any results. Perhaps I was not too bothered at that stage.

I have posted some photos taken today and could you nice guys please comment on it as to whether I have enough hair left to get all the bald area covered and get a nice result too or my chance of getting such a result is minimal? I would be happy to consider only the hair line area and the frontal area as I am not too bother about the crown.

Financially I am ready to fund it.

Many thanks guys and by the way it is a very useful forum, thanks alot
 

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A

AASUK

Valued member
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AASUK

Valued member
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Nervousnelly

Nervousnelly

The Coolest Member
AAsuk,

Glad you found the forum. Keep in mind that you need to research like crazy. I would spend approx. 6 months minimum. You should consult with a couple of different clinics and definitely see some live results so that you have a good idea of what to expect.

Obviously you have a lot of hairloss. I am certainly not telling you anything you don't already know-sorry. Can you get complete coverage? Absolutely. Should this be a goal of your? In my opinion NO.

Understand that a HT is a numbers game. Not enough people think this way but they should. We all have a donor area that varies for each of us. The recipient area ofcourse varies also and so we have to find a reasonable balance between the 2.

Long term goal--Try to cover 3/4 of the area. This will require a minimum of 5000FU and likely cost you $20,000.+ For example. 5000/130cm2 will yield you an average density of 38fu/cm2. This will give a nice cosmetic improvement with a hairline that will frame your face and some OK density upfront. Ofcourse the crown is untouched in this scenario.

Short term goal--3-4000fu. Try covering the front half. You will have a nice hairline and some decent coverage and density but ofcourse the back half will be bald. For example. 3500/100cm2 will yield you an average density of 35fu/cm2. You might find that you are happy with this and have no need to proceed further.



***I know that some members might wonder why my long term recommendation for you is not a larger # of FU. Personally I believe that your crown area drops down considerably and you will be chasing the holy grail trying to find contentment. In other words, you have a limited donor area and your crown will be impossible to fully cover. I think that your focus needs to be upront and just understand that your crown is what it is. But, you can can and would be very satisfied with my above options I am quite sure.

Keep researching. Hope this helps.

NN
 
the B spot

the B spot

Pick your Poison!
Hi AA--- I agree with what NN said---however, I am beginning to think more and more that guys with your level of loss are better off creating a natural hairline that is fairly dense and then reducing the density as you go back toward the crown.

If this is done via FUE you can simply keep your sides short and manage an excellent look--without the risk NN mentioned.

OR,

We could go for max grafts via strip and go for the max coverage in the hairline, frontal core, and midscalp regions--leaving the crown bare.

I am a bit concerned about your donor region---you are receding up from the nape a bit and your thin right above your ears/sideburn areas---which is a cause for concern.

You would need to get on Propecia and see if you experience any side effects... if you do not experience any sides, then I would say your a candidate for strip---(it would only take 4-5 weeks to start experiencing any issues) but if you cannot take Propecia or are unwilling to take it for the rest of your life, then I would advise against strip.

Quite honestly, it is simply a matter of sitting down and talking things out over the phone to determine what you want to do based on your options----at that point, making sure you 100% understand the committment of getting a HT, future loss/potential future surgeries, time off work, and the pro's/con's of various approaches.

You can then use this information as you determine which clinic you feel meets all of you needs.

Take Care,
Jason
 
the B spot

the B spot

Pick your Poison!
thinning02.jpg


This is the type of cut I am talking about--notice the higher, more mature hairline, the receded temples---but at a #3 guard cut this guy looks pretty good--- I couldn't find any shots of his top or crown, but even if he had a bald crown this would look excellent with a tan.

please note this is not a HT patient, just a photo of a guy with a short cut.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi AASUK

Welcome to the forum,i`m pleased you`re finding it useful in your research.

Some great opinions given to you by B spot and NN.

All i can really add is like Bspot said get on the meds ie Propecia/Proscar to stabilise your hairloss and maybe grow some back.

Consult with a few doctors who you feel comfortable with and ask away on here anything you want.

Take care bm.
 
D

drmwamba

Valued member
Hi AASuk,

Most have been said before but let me emphasize in certain points:

-You are moving toward a class 7 in the Norwood scale (scale we used in hair loss to determine your level of baldness).Full coverage is of course impossible but with a focus in frontal and top ,you can gain decent look.

-Your donor as B spot stated is also a concern.If you keep thinning ,it could be a major problem to consider strip.

In my opinion I usually recommend for case like yours to go for FIT/FUE.It gives you a lot of flexibility like short hair cut that may give the impression of good coverage eventhough with light density.

Medication (propecia and minoxidil) should be part of the game to help you maintain what you have.

Another way to preserve your donor is to do FIT farming.Use your body hairs to replace the follicles you are taking from the donor to the recipient.It will maintain your donor density and gives you also an idea how your body hairs grow .And if you have good response to BHT ,your crown could benefit from it.

I will say 3500 grafts to 4000 if donor available +FIT farming +medication.


 
Nervousnelly

Nervousnelly

The Coolest Member
Some excellent advice. I keep neglecting the options of Fue and do agree with the above statements. It really could be a great option for you.

One point I want to stress and I am very glad that Bspot brought it up is that the look in the photo he presented is a very viable option for many. Ofcourse this is only typically obtainable with FUE (almost 99% of time). As Dr. Mwamba stated, this look is also achievable without having true density which is super cool.

Keep in mind that I believe that this "look" is really only best achieved or most certainly is optimized with a dark tan. No biggy ofcourse. Many might not consider this look because they don't want to be spending $$$ to be shaving their head but keep in mind that it is also a very stylish look and tells people you have a full head of hair.

Anyways......You have some great input above. Now is where your head spins.

NN
 
NotGoing2GoBald

NotGoing2GoBald

Member
Hey AASUK,

personally I would go for max # of grafts in my first procedure if I were you. This is the most cost effective approach IMO in many respects:

FINANCIALLY- grafts are discounted after reaching 'x' amount.
SCALP LAXITY -if your a virgin scalp your best shot at getting MAX grafts is in your FIRST procedure.
TRAUMA-mega sessions allow for maximum amount of grafts to be moved w/the most minimal amount of trauma to the scalp, in terms of both trauma to the recipient and donor area (i.e. two strips removals as opposed to 3-4, and each time the recipient area is subject to incisions the surrounding tissue is scarred in the healing process as well, in the event that you went back into the same area for "thickening".
UTILITY-no dr. in the world will be able to "strip you out" (use up all of your donor) w/in the first procedure. No matter how large the session you will have donor left for an additional procedure.
UTILITY-you have extensive loss, which will require more than one surgery. This is all the more reason to get as much done in the first sesssion.


I included a pic of 'Bobman' whose crown is clearly larger than yours, yet look at the final outcome of his case after two procedures:
http://www.hassonandwong.com/hair-transplant-videos.php?page=5&videoCatID=2&categoryName=Before+%26amp%3B+After+Videos

More NW 6's:
http://www.hassonandwong.com/hair-transplant-videos.php?page=6&videoCatID=2&categoryName=Before+%26amp%3B+After+Videos

http://www.hassonandwong.com/hair-transplant-videos.php?page=6&videoCatID=2&categoryName=Before+%26amp%3B+After+Videos

I think this should be encouraging to you as it shows what a fantastic result you can achieve. All the best.
 

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NotGoing2GoBald

NotGoing2GoBald

Member
After
 

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NotGoing2GoBald

NotGoing2GoBald

Member
LL before.
 

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NotGoing2GoBald

NotGoing2GoBald

Member
LL after one procedure.
 

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timuk

timuk

My member is cooler than NN's
some very good advice there from guys who know the score regarding HT 's.

The only thing I can add is that you have made the best first step finding this impartial forum that is based on giving honest advice for the good of us MPB sufferers :)

Do plenty of research and the right type and you will not go wrong . If advice like this had been available years ago I could have avoided being butchered and having to be repaired years later.. Believe me , being bald is 100 times better than walking around with a crap HT .

Good luck with whatever you decide

Timuk
 
A

AASUK

Valued member
I am so grateful to all of you for the advice, each and every comment has been very helpful and useful. You guys know the stuff!

Please forgive me if I ask silly questions but I am serious about taking it further after doing my research and taking into account all the useful advice you nice guys have given me.

I have some questions and I know some of these questions would be difficult to answer in 'yes' and 'no' but would be grateful for further comments please:

1. I would prefer FUE rather than the strip. Would it be possible to get a good/decent result with FUE in my case? If FUE would allow only to give me a decent hairline and cover the front half, I would be happy with it but would rather not have the scar of stripping.

2. I am reading that all the good surgeons are in the States, has anybody on this forum come across a good surgeon in the UK/Europe?

Once again, many thanks for all your comments, although I may not have raised all those comments made by all of you, believe me I have read them very carefully and have learned a lot from it, so thank you guys.
 
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timuk

timuk

My member is cooler than NN's
ASSUK...

Never feel that you are being "silly" when asking anything about an HT... after all its a very serious thing... there are so many guys out there that have had their life ruined by "feeling silly about asking questions"...

The guys on here take any question seriously no matter how trivial it may seem to you. I felt the same when I first started looking into a repair... but make sure you ask anything you want..... they are all a friendly bunch and all "been there"..:)... well... N2GB is nearly there but in my opinion has done so much research he could probably carry out his own HT with a good result !!!

As to where you get your HT.... please do not let travel be a deciding factor in who you choose... this again was a major issue for me.... I panicked about having to travel to the USA.. but to be honest it was no big issue, in fact I enjoyed it.

Have a look through this forum, there are some good clinics in Europe... at the end of the day the choice will be yours.

As for your other questions I am sure the more experienced guys will answer them

All the best

Timuk
 
janna

janna

Valuable Member
There seems to be a good number of clinics performing top notch FUE work in Belgium. I would say Dr. Bisanga, Dr. Mwamba and Prohair clinic are turning out some big cases via FUE that are impressive. You may want to start researching these clinics. Best wishes.
 
NotGoing2GoBald

NotGoing2GoBald

Member
I've seen some amazing results from a clinic called HDC in Madrin, Spain. They do both FUE & strip. Here's the link to their website:
http://www.hdc.com.cy/index.php?pageid=287

I have never heard a review from a patient of HDC nor have I ever corresponded w/one, but the work appears to be excellent.

FUE: the only problem w/FUE is that you will be limited to getting significantly less grafts per session, because no Dr. can safely remove as many grafts as that of strip in a single session; and of course it's much more expensive. I'd be very cautious which dr. you choose if you go FUE, even more so than strip because IMO it's a much more delicate procedure and there simply aren't as many docs who can perform it well.

This is a pic of one of their FUE results; btw check w/Bic Mac and make sure this is the right web address, because there are two clinics named HDC and one of them is shady; I'm almost certain this is the right one though.
 

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NotGoing2GoBald

NotGoing2GoBald

Member
After FUE:
here's the webpage directly to this result:
http://www.hdc.com.cy/index.php?pageid=30

All the best, keep us updated. Z:B
 

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