HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

I was wondering about your views on how old a patient must be to have a transplant. Do you think of it as a whole or do you view them individually? Do you mind if I ask whats the youngest patient you've worked on?

The docs might jump up on the boards soon if time permits but let me give you some ideas for now. Generally, one should delay surgery until mid or late 20s. Around this age the doctor can get a better sense of what the future might hold for hair loss.

Each patient is seen individually. Dr Cole will not refuse to examine your hair because of age. Some young patients actually are good candidates for conservative FIT work if a good plan is worked out. It is usually better to wait though. Other patients are bad candidates regardless of age.

Can you tell me your age, hair loss pattern, family history with hair loss and if your are taking any meds?

I'm 21, its a horse shoe pattern but it doesnt extend to the back of my head, just ontop. Its 3 1/2" in width 6" from front to back. Everyone in my family is bald but my dad didnt start balding until his mid 40s. My brother is already bald and he is 2 years younger than me. My hair is already thin but I can hide it. I have blonde hair and pretty high density. I also have alot of chest hair and leg hair which I think is a good thing. I wouldnt mind doing small sessions at a time but I don't plan on wasting money on meds. If they had a high chance of working I would but I would have to use them the rest of my life. Plus, they lose their strength after 4 or 5 years anyway.

I would like to start before I'm completely bald but I guess its not my descision. I mean my brother shaved his head but I can't cause I have scars back there and it just wouldnt look right. Not big scars but you get the idea. Let me know what you think.

Photos removed by admin because they were linked to a dead page.

I know that you probably heard that before and i know that it might be hard for you...but you should stay on the meds (propecia, minox), they will help you to keep and stabilize your hairloss the way you are now which is good in my opinion. your hair doesn't look bad and with a little bit of styling and toppik you can have the illusion of a heavily full head of hair.
It will be good for you to get a consultation with a good ethical dermatologist or hair transplant doctor that will give you an idea of how to fight hair loss and why its still early for doing hair transplant in your age.
in your case your hair is fine(i might be wrong...pic in not good quality)
and your thinning on top. you didn't lost this hairs! it is just manituarization and you can stop it and even grow some back with the meds.
You are probebly going to be class 5-6 in the future. so you will put 1000 grafts and loose 2000 grafts...it will look un-natural and hard to correct...
In other words you will climb the hill and rich to the top and then drop down to the bottom.
This is my opinion tho...

Well I'll try rogaine but propecia is too expensive for me right now. Hearing it from you makes it alittle easier to try. Isn't there something like rogaine that isnt as irritating to the scalp? If I am one of the unlucky ones and it doesn't work after 6 months, what should I do then?

Oh and thanks for the info thus far.

Proscar is cheaper than Propecia and it has the same active ingredient. Proscar comes in 5mg tablets so you can buy a pill cutter and divide the tablets into fourths. Take 1/4 pill per day (1.25mg proscar). Also you can skip a day or two per week usually. You will pay less than half the price of propecia this way. Try this for a year.

Buy generic minoxidil (not rogain) if money is an issue. I do this. If it irritates the skin use Nizoral shampoo (1 or 2%) twice a week. Actually use Nizoral regardless. It is good for your hair. I think Forhair recommends Selson Blue aswell.

Consult with your doctor about meds to be safe. Or you can meet Dr. Cole at a seminar.

If you are trying to restore your hair, medications will save alot of money! They will not waste it!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Meds are mind blowingly cost effective especially if you are losing hair rapidly at a young age. By avoiding meds and doing hair transplants at your age you will most likely have less hair in a year than if you avoided hair transplants and took only medication. So with meds expect to get a better result at 1/10th or 1/20th the cost in a year. If you are not a good candidate at the moment, you can save your money. Remember $5,000 invested today might be worth 10,000 in five years if you make good investments. That's money you don't have to earn for your hair when you are ready for FIT.

Btw, maintaining your hair with meds will make you a better candidate over all as you can stabilize your loss and show your doctor that your are mature, serious about your hair, and ready for surgery.

Although you are losing your hair you still have a defined hairline. So keep it.

If you are one of the "unlucky ones", there are other options to try so keep us posted on your progress.

If and when I stabilize it, but I still want more density, would it be possible to get a small FIT procedure?

Shock Doc, I can sympathize with you as I started losing hair at 20. It is not fun. Yes it is possible to build density. It may not be advisable though. Then again it may give you some relief. It is the doctor's call (and yours). If you can meet Dr. Cole at a seminar he can examine your donor area and also assess the risk of shock loss in your thinning areas. I think he will suggest that you delay your surgery a bit but it is worth getting an examination to know where you stand. Be patient and take this step by step. And again feel free to post concerns here.

Dr. Cole on HT and age:
"Typically, I recommend that any person delay hair restoration surgery until they are 23 years of age. I would consider FIT placed in a conservative fashion in a younger male though, but only if they were fully educated and had been counseled by those who experienced hair transplant surgery at a young age, but now spend a large portion of their time educating others about their unfortunate mistakes."

Here are some good reads, the patient guide and an article on young patients.

http://www.forhair.com/patient_guide_contents.htm

http://www.forhair.com/hair_transplant_young.htm

Ok, I'll seriously give monoxidl a shot and/or proscar. I have 2 questions though. Where is a good place online to purchace these meds and what do you think would be a good regime to start out with.

www.minoxodil.com

I've been on propecia for over a year now and it works well. As of a few days ago I switched to advodart and will begin minox on Monday. I'll update progress. You don't look like you have a receding hairline, just thinning in spots. I'd put money down that minox/proscar combo will help you big time.

yes - www.minoxidil.com , about 7% of people have the irritation that you talk about. It is from the propylene glycol content whick is at 50% of the solution in store bought brands. at minoxidil.com their standard minoxidil has 30% propylene glycol and it worked great for me. I was in the same situation as you with minox.