Hi there. I'm a 23 year old male and started losing my hair when I was 18. I have significant loss in the temple and front half of my scalp, and have begun thinning out in the back as well. I have contacted Hasson and Wong for a consultation, but figured I'd get some other opinions.

How many grafts am I looking at? Has anyone with a similar hairline had success with a HT? Any input is appreciated.

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Here's a picture from the side.

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Armyguy,

Some questions come to mind:
Is your hair loss entirely limited to the frontal area of the scalp? What does your family history look like in terms of hair loss? Have you have any success with medical therapy? Do you think you will ever want/need to shave your head, or cut it shorter than it is in your attached photos?

Some young guys at your age can benefit from surgery (it is very rare IMO though). The reality is that you will need to be extremely motivated, and fully understand, now, what you will need to do in the future to maintain your hair. You will also have to have hair characteristics that are working in your favor, because your age is not.

The most important question is: what are you specifically hoping to achieve with surgery?

Thanks for the reply.

The loss is not limited to the front. I am starting to thin in the rear half of the top as well. I take after my mom's dad, who was a Norwood 7 by the time he was 26.

I have not tried Propecia yet, as I have to get it from a civilian doctor... it's not something the army will prescribe. I do not wish to cut my hair any shorter or shave it off... I don't have the skull shape to pull off that look.

For the surgery itself, I would like to fill in the temple area and front to create a stronger hairline, and it would be nice to reinforce the back where it's thinning...

somearmyguy,

Welcome to our community.

Thehairlosscure gave you some good advice and things to think about.

Though hair loss is unpredictable, family history of hair loss can be used as a guide. If you think you are following after your mother's father's pattern of baldness who ended up a norwood 7 by the time he was 26 - hair transplantation certainly is not the best option for you at this time.

There are many cases to be made against young people having a hair transplant though in certain cases, it may be acceptable. See Am I Too Young For a Hair Transplant? and What Should I Consider When Researching Hair Transplantation?

Hair loss medication such as Propecia and Rogaine is your best line of defense at this point. Consider adding Nizoral or Revita shampoo as an adjunct treatment which has some weak anti DHT properties in active ingredient ketoconazole.

I hope this helps,

Falc

Well, my friend, think long and hard on your options. If I were in your shoes I'd really do ALOT of homework on what future look will work for you, if you do go for it then something VERY conservative should be your intent (IMO).

I honestly think your real challenge is getting a long term goal in mind BEFORE you ever start, THEN finding the right surgeon who can pull it off to your content. But whatever you decide you are going to have to have to likely go with a look that enhances a receding hairline that some medical professional decides to work with you on.

As they say, "The Devil is in the details" so advise you to make sure your long term goals are at the forefront of any decision you make.

Good luck.

Wylie (former Army guy)

Man, I can totally relate to you, and I feel your pain. If you want some friendly advice from someone who has traveled your road before, get on Propecia as fast as possible, and STAY on it.

I had a similar pattern at your age (I'm 27 now). I started at 22, stopped at 23, and got back on at 26. I lost more hair in that 3 year window than I can to imagine.

Keeping what you've got > HT to get back what you lost. Always.

I definitely feel for you with so much loss at at such a young age.

I have to agree with some of the others in saying that at your age with the loss having been so rapid thus far, an HT is probably not the best thing to do.

You may want to see if there's another way to get a Fin prescpiption. You're in the military I take it?

hairbank: yes I'm in the military.

TheHairLossCure:
"You will also have to have hair characteristics that are working in your favor, because your age is not."

I don't really understand. Could you explain this?

Somearmyguy

I am 21 years old, and have recently have had a 1650 graft surgery. My hair looks alot like yours, but since you havent a posted a frontal/top view, its hard to say. Feel free to look in my thread "any reputed scaandinavian docs?" with pre- and post- (3 weeks) pictures.

Like you, my loss started in my mid/late teens, though mine slowed down significantly since i turned 20.

When TheHairLossCure is referring to your (our) low age, he is referring to the fact that future loss is very hard to predict, thus placing the grafts defensively is a very good idea. Dont lower your temples like they looked when you were a preteen, spread most of it on the diffuse areas. Additionally, you "will" dedicate yourself to using anti-hairloss medicine for the rest of your life (or until you no longer care)

Thus far, i have no regrets, but time will tell. My grafts did not cover my thinning crown (which is noticably, but definitely lower priority compared to the scalp) I am hoping to cover it using proscar+regaine (also known as finestaride and rogaine/minioxidil), and growing my hair longer, AND dyeing my hair blond (less contrast to scalp)

Weigh your desition wisely. Is it worth it? Do i have the dicipline to continue taking medications? Will i risk not having enough donor hair at old age?

For me, all questions was answered by a yes, maybe yours won't.

Fue only right now and in moderation--- (with regards to placement and approach)

Anything else would probably be a mistake.

Take Care,
Jason

Get on meds to stabilize loss FIRST.. Then you can take your time to research.. You maybe be able to grow some hair back and stop the loss which gives you more time .

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I sort of forgot about the forums due to my hectic schedule.

I've been taking Proscar since March, and it seems to have drastically slowed down my hair loss. Woohoo!

I'm still weighing the pros and cons of a HT, and am going to try to see Dr. Nakatsui in June, and hopefully I'll be able to meet with H&W in August (need to decide who I'll go with if I end up doing it).

Hey Army,

You are not alone however in being young and looking into the possibilities of a HT. I am 24 and have carefully watched my hairloss over the past couple years.

The use of propecia has definately aided in slowing down my hair loss, as I'm sure it has helped you. However, being 23 now with that much hair, its hard to say if you'd reach a NW7 by the time your grandfather did. Family history can provide some insight into your hairloss pattern but cannot account for all of it.

The worst case scenario, you'd be transplanting hairs that possibly could not be permanent. So not only would you have worthless transplanted hairs, but a nasty scar as well, with accelerated hairloss.

Take your time in your decision, as its an extremely important one.