Considering HT advice needed

[cliff2005]

Hi all, I'm a 30 year old guy living in the UK. I have been balding since about 22. My dad has the typical completely bald on top and hair at the sides and it looks like I'm going the same way.
I've been using minoxidil for about 6 years and it's worked to an extent but I can't fight nature anymore so I'm looking at other options.
What do you guys think? Am I a candidate for a HT? I expect I will go completely bald so will I have enough donor hair as I don't want an island of hair in another 10 years if I lose the rest.
Advice much appreciated

 

[Pete from Farjo]

Hi Cliff, welcome to the forum.

From the pic it is clear where your hair loss is heading. It's just a case of how far the crown and sides will dip in the coming years. If you can halt that progression (perhaps via finasteride if you've not already tried it), then that could make all the difference. You appear to have a decent tuft of hair at the front which could be worked around to give you a nice result.

I would recommend getting some in person consultations with clinics to more accurately assess your situation and to check your donor supply/quality. It would be good if you could post some donor pics for members to give their opinions on also, but there's no substitute for a face to face expert opinion.

All the best with it.

Pete.

 

[cliff2005]

Thanks for the reply. Although I have fairly thick hair at the back and sides I noticed the bald patch is starting to creep further down the back of my head. Although I want a HT I just worry that I think my hair is going to go almost completely and I'll be left with an island of hair.

 

[cliff2005]

Close up of donor supply.

 

[Pete from Farjo]

Your donor area looks decent from the pics. The crown is a tricky area to address though with you being relatively young and unsure as to how it will progress. Have you considered trying finasteride? It may be worth trying for a few months to see how you respond. If you can stabilise your situation it gives you a good platform to build on. Keep in mind though that side effects, though quite rare, are possible.

 

[garageland]

I would agree with Pete that medication is very important in your case as it appears you are destined for a high norwood pattern and the back/lower part of the crown is going to open up in the future. Your donor density looks good and provide you have realistic expectations I would say you are a candidate.

You will most likely need two sessions one to establish an appropriate hairline and give coverage front and top and another for the crown but you should see how you feel after the first session grows in before deciding on the crown.

 

[cliff2005]

Thanks both for the advice. If I were to explore the HT route what should I expect? It's clear that I'm going to have a high Norwood pattern, as I get older will this not leave me with hair islands and tufts of the hairs that are transplanted? That's the big worry for me that I have a couple of sessions then run out of grafts leaving me with hair framing the face and nothing behind it looking worse than being bald.

 

[bullitnut]

cliff2005 wrote:

as I get older will this not leave me with hair islands and tufts of the hairs that are transplanted? That's the big worry for me that I have a couple of sessions then run out of grafts leaving me with hair framing the face and nothing behind it looking worse than being bald.

It all depends on whether your going to consider using a DHT blocker like finasteride dude.....if your not imo (i'm not a doctor) you could be destined for problems down the line. I would try and stabilize your loss first using Fin/Propecia and that should create a better foundation for a HT, which ultimately will help and hopefully prevent/slow further loss in the future.