I hear people recommend that young men(late teens/early 20's) are not good candidates for a hair transplant as their pattern of future loss is not yet evident. I agree with this approach but what about an older person(say 40) who is now experiencing hair loss and wants a HT. Is it any different for that person since it could be argued that his future hairloss pattern is not yet evident either?
I'm curious because I notice 2 of my brothers are experiencing somewhat rapid, significant diffuse thinning just now in their late 40's and who knows where it could end up...NW5...NW6? Also, I had a HT in my 40's and am wondering the same thing...where will I end up. I suspected I would not be too bald down the road as my father still has most of his hair and we have similar hair characteristics. Btw, another brother lost most of his hair in his early 20's and that's why I figured in my 40's that I would not see significant further hairloss. Now I'm not so sure.
So, how is someone in their 40's now experiencing hairloss any different than someone in their 20' going through the same thing? Both have finite donar supply so is it still ok for the guy in his 40's? Will the 40 yr old never see the same amount of hairloss as the younger person might?

Though the rule of younger people with minimal thinning hair not getting a hair transplant is a good one for many reasons, each hair loss sufferer and prospective hair transplant patient must be taken case by case. This goes for older men and women too.

Male pattern baldness is not discriminatory and can often hit later in life. The risks for a younger person getting a hair transplant are greater because the chances of future and greater degrees of balding are greater.

At 40+ years old with hair loss, it is true that nobody can predict just how far male pattern baldness will shed. But the risks of them ending up a level 5+ on the norwood scale of hair loss is a lot slimmer at their age.

I might suggest that if their hair loss is not evident to date, but experiencing rapid loss, to consider getting on Propecia (finasteride) rather than a hair transplant yet. Depending on the hair loss pattern, your brothers can then get hair transplant surgery in balding or bald areas to add density or coverage to the areas.

In my opinon, attempting to control your hair loss is always the first step, no matter how old someone is.

Best wishes,

Falc