Male hairloss - Advice please - All welcome

[Shaun1986]

Hi all,

I've only just signed up on here. i've tried to contact 'Spex' but it sent me a delivery failure, i think his inbox is full, is he still around??

Anyway, this is the message I sent him, if anyone wants to help/advise me, please feel free:

Hi there, I'm 26 and suffereing from MPB; I have been loosing hair for about 5-6 years or so now. I have done some reading and had two consultations so far. The main affected areas are the front hairline where it's receeding, and general thinning on top and around the scalp.I've tried regaine, but stopped using it a while ago, and now back on it but will be more patient this time. I'm looking at surgery for the frontal thinning areas. I've had two consultations; one recommended 1700 grafts, the other around 1150. I've attached some photos of my hair when cut fairly short, so you can see. I miss being able to style my hair when going out. I hate it all of the time anyway, I'm embarrased and try to push it down/spread it out by hand, and I hate it getting wet. I don't like my photos taken any more because of how bad it looks, and I'm fed up of comments from people. I'm only 26 and don't want to loose my hair for good. I've read up on propecia, I was realy excited when I first heard about it, but am too scared of the side effects, and therefore I'm ruling this out. I am seriously considering surgery alongside the minoxidl, however I'm not confident as to perhaps who to go with in the UK? I may possibly consider travelling abroad, but don't want to travel too far or pay a lot for travelling ontop of surgery costs. I have read good reviews of the Farjo clinic? I thank you in advance for any support or advice you may wish to give. Shaun.

 

[Shaun1986]

Probably not the best picture, try this one:

 

[Shaun1986]

Probably not the best picture, try this one:

 

[Hattingen Hair]

Hi Shaun1986,

26 is relatively young to have a hair transplant with the amount of hair you still have; hair loss is progressive and fixing a low hair line could create problems in the future if your loss progresses and your donor cannot meet the demand required.

This is especially true if as you say your hair is generally thinning also over the top of your scalp, "fixing" a relatively small area like the hair line now could put you on the road to more and more ops in the next years.

Minox is not a miracle cure but it can help to massively reduce the thinning of hair and even possibly thicken up the hair you have. It takes time and is no quick fix, so you will need to give it a good year before assessing how well it has worked; who knows if it can help to improve the quality of your hair you may be happy enough and not look into a HT for a while longer.

I am sure it may not be what you wish to hear, but before getting involved with an HT give it a year on meds and then review again in our opinion, you ´ve got nothing to lose and all to gain.

best wishes with your research

 

[Shaun1986]

Thankyou very much for your honest oppinion.

To be fair, I'm very nearly 27.... not that that makes hardly any difference.

I understand what you're saying, I will stick with the regaine though i know how long it may take to do anything as you say.

The first clinic quoted 1700 grafts for £8,500 and the one I went to yesterday 1200 grafts for £4100 if I book soon, huge difference in price!!

Cheers,

Shaun.

 

[Hattingen Hair]

With the greatest respect Shaun, please do not make price and timing your reason for doing this. All the people on here who have been around the block will tell you to research and do what is best for you long term. There is no quick fix and many of the guys here who have been repairs patients will give you probably all the same story, they jumped in too quick and then regretted it........... and the money you think you have saved today triples when you need more work done.

If your hair is losing density all over it almost certainly means your loss will progress, yes meds can be a pain, but you brush your teeth everyday, it takes no more time than that really, and could change the complexion of your hair.

It is not always the case but many guys who have a good HT result it is because they combine with meds, get their hair stable first with meds, then add to it with a HT, and continue with meds.

It ´s a little hard to tell from the angle of your pictures, but it is unlikely you would be happy with either quote you have received, 1200 is very little as a small hair line needs that, you need to redesign a hair line and bite back into your native hair.

keep up the research

 

[garageland]

Shaun,

Welcome to the forum. Spex is alive and kicking, you should google him to get his website details. Hattingen has given some good advice Putting 1200 or even 1700 into the frontal area would not be a good idea in my opinion. The angles are a little off but it appears that you have thinning to the entire frontal half of your scalp. Your best bet is to try propecia and get your hair loss stable, once you have done this then you could be a candidate for a session to address the whole frontal area if indeed it is thinning as it looks.

Putting a small number of grafts at the front at the moment and not taking any preventative medication will only leave you going back time and again for more surgery. You appear to have very fine hair and that is going to mean more grafts to give you the coverage and density that you would require.

Many thousands of men happily take propecia without suffering from the side effects and as a result keep their hair.

I would need to see some clearer photos from all angles to give you a better idea of what should be done.

 

[Shaun1986]

Thanks hattingen for your quick reply. This is really getting to me, as a lot of people I bet, and it's becoming obsessive. Kind of wish I hadn't started even looking into this, or more so.... wish I hadn't started loosing my hair!! Not the end of the world, there's always people out there far worse off, suppose you have to think of that!!

 

[Shaun1986]

Garageland, thanks for your reply also. I agree, and my hair is unfortunately very thin and fine. It has become thin on top to the point there is no point even trying to style it anymore, and I generally keep it short.

The photos aren't the best, as I took them myself on my phone.

I'm sorry but I have read horror stories of propecia and side effects continuing after stopping the medication. I will stick with Regaine for now.

 

[Hattingen Hair]

Try to take a step back if possible, it ´s very hard obviously; try to think what advice you would give to a very good friend in your position if you had the knowledge and understood the pitfalls. Apply that logic to yourself then to try and give balance to doing it or not.

It doesn ´t mean your feelings are invalid but just try to check them, make a decision based on sense not emotion.

As garageland says 1000 ´s of men use propecia, but it is obviously your choice, but you need to keep on some meds and long term.

very best of luck

 

[Sparky]

Hattingen is giving very good advice, don't let your emotions bully you into going for a hair transplant, I know it's hard, I did it at 22 and it wasn't a good decision, really take your time.

 

[Sabine-Prohairclinic]

I would strongly advice not a quick fix hair transplant as well.
You not only risk to end up paying much more later on for follow up or even worse fixing a bad transplant.

At your current hair status, we usually refer to it as diffuse thinning, shock loss is a major issue. Shock loss can be extreem especially in cases of diffuse hair loss and no meds to stabilise the hair loss. Some guys end up with less hair after a transplant then what they started with in the first place.

Save your money, get on anti hair loss products, especially Dht lowering ones such as finasteride, dutasteride or Keratene Retard.

S

 

[Coopman]

Shaun

What were the names of the UK Clinics you got your quotations from? Remember Belgium/Switzerland are only a couple of hours away on the Eurostar, with Clinics whom have hundreds of documented cases so it would be prudent to expand your location parameters.
Without being on a DHT inhibitor (FIN) it may not be wise considering a hair transplant, FIN could thicken a lot of your minitaurised hair and also stabilise your loss. It is unlikely Rogaine alone will maintain your hair for longer than 2-3yrs, although possible.
If styling your hair is problematic and making you self conscious, there are many concealors that will thicken your hair if you hav'nt already tried this option. Mane, Dermatch, Toppik, Courve are worth trying so check their websites out.
Good luck.

 

[Sparky]

Fin has maintained my hairline for 11 years, haven't noticed any sides.

 

[Shaun1986]

Ziering I think was the fitst, and 'UK hair transplant clinics' the second.

Thanks for all support. I'm still nervous of any medication, and think I'd rather stay as I am than risk any side effects to be honest.

Thankyou.

 

[Shaun1986]

[No message]

 

[Modenese]

Shaun, as the others have said you MUST take your time.

Personally, I would not use either of the clinics you mentioned.

Farjo (Manchester) and the top Belgian clinics should be on your list. I'd also recommend HDC in Cyprus, based on the result Dazzster (on these forums) got with them.

Don't panic, take your time.

I do have side effects with Finasteride. Libido, anxiety, brain fog - pretty much the whole lot. But you can take very tiny doses and still get benefits. All side effects go away if I stop taking the drug.

I've now arrived at a dose of about .5mg every 4 days that strikes a compromise. No tangible sides, but some benefits.

Most guys don't experience sides - worth remembering that.

 

[AstroNeil]

Now a days, Hair loss has become most common problem. With so many men as they get older they start to lose their hair. One can predict why this is happening as it may happen due to thyroid , vitamin deficiency or the food you eat daily these all are primary reasons. As you are 26 years old, it €™s better to go for hair transplant treatment but before selecting a hair expert please go and consult 2 to 3 hair experts and then select the one.