Hair transplant advice

[Baldspot]

I realise that for some of the posters this is routine.
Perhaps if the site offered endorsements of good hair transplant practices things would be simpler.

I have balding on the crown and will pay good money if i can fix it provided i can get the following

* minimal scarring = for when i'm older
* GOOD COVERAGE
* good surgery
* quick and easy surgery
* i have my hair long so would hope for surgery that lets me maintain my look whilst i get things fixed

any advice?

 

[not me!]

Age is a big factor when it comes to filling in the crown with a hair transplant.

For example, you have to take further recession into consideration when you transplant hairs there. Let's say you have a thinning circle 4 cm in diameter. You get a hair transplant into that circle. After a few years, recession continues around those hairs. You now have a ring of recession around an island of hair. Now, you tell me what looks worse: a distinguished-looking naturaly balding pattern or an "8-ball" effect on your head?


Ensure your recession is very stabilized before continuing with a transplant in this area. A good physician will have the same concern. A butcher will take your money no matter what and never think twice of what you will look like in 5, 10, or 20 years.

 

[Guest]

Jedd,

Are you on Propecia? If not, look into it if you have not already because it may very well be effective for you in the crown area where it has shown the highest efficiency in Merck's clinical trials. It works for nearly 90% of the men who take it for one year or longer. And if your young, you may even grow back some level of natural hair back in the crown, although it's very doubtful that it will "fill in" like it was before.

You may want to consider family history as well. I mean do the men in your genetic history go completely bald in the crown? Do most of them end up in the more advanced classes like Norwood 6&7? In the more advanced classes, the crown area can potentially demand as much as 50% of one's donor, so something to think about. Also, if you have potential to lose in the front, be sure you save adequate donor for that. Best wishes.

 

[Petchsky]

I realise that for some of the posters this is routine.
Perhaps if the site offered endorsements of good hair transplant practices things would be simpler.

I have balding on the crown and will pay good money if i can fix it provided i can get the following

* minimal scarring = for when i'm older
* GOOD COVERAGE
* good surgery
* quick and easy surgery
* i have my hair long so would hope for surgery that lets me maintain my look whilst i get things fixed

any advice?

Also, minimal scaring and fast recovery can be achieved with FUE...I have been looking into it myself and FUE is best for this although more expensive.

You can keep your hair long, but from what i have read they prefer it shaved. But, your the boss.

 

[Baldspot]

FUE for me?

Hi folks,
Many thanks for those who took the trouble to post a reply - much appreciated. Have been away on a long-term job but managed to squeeze in a consultation with a hair transplant doctor to discuss the merits of strip and FUE.

Basically strip could offer me a quick solution - I need about 1000 hair transplants in my crown according to the guy i saw - and I tend to agree with him. The big negative is the scar - I really, don't want that. Some guys come out with pencil-thin scars others don't - lots of variables seem to cause this: skill of surgeon, genetics, skin flexibility etc, etc. The quickness of the fix is tempting but I just know I'll be worried about my hair thinning when I get older and the scar becoming impossible to hide.

So - in the abscence of hair cloning or some other silver bullet - it's FUE. Like I said I have my hair long so have arranged with the surgeon to see if I can't allow him to shave a strip (or two) in a controlled way which will allow him to extract a small number of hairs (250 -300). Thus brushing over I believe with the kind of hair I have (and perhaps a few tins of Toppik) I can make the procedure less noticable. My hairdresser agrees and is going to help me style it.

True it will take time and cost more but I'm more comfortable with this. I should mention that a potential down-side we mentioned could be the 'absence' of hairs from the donor area where the eye might expect to see them (of course the hair would need to be shaved short to see this) - I am hoping that by that time 10-15 years+ I could resolve this problem, if it happens, with further FUE.

I am on Propecia (Proscar quartered) and have been since 1997 - found it great at keeping what I have but little regrowth. I'm 35.

Would love to hear from other with experience of FUE - or anyone else with views to share.

Sorry this post is so long - just seems to have snowballed...

Thanks

 

[ropcat]

Jedd -

I, too, am a bit confused about the scar issue with strip hair transplant. From what I understand, the scar (with a skilled surgeon and proper after-surgery care) is so minimal that you can use a #1 guard razor -- in other words, extremely short -- and still not have it be noticed. Thus, the only thing that might be out of bounds after strip hair transplant is shaving it down to the skin.

However, the enthusiasm for FUE in these threads has made me doubt my previous understanding of the scarring left by strip hair transplant. Could someone explain?

Thanks!

 

[not me!]

A #1 is pretty damn close. That is pretty much to the skin. The scar - no matter how good the physician will show up. I shave mine to a #2 with great success, though. The only way someone can see it is if I bend over and they look straight down on it in bright light.

 

[ropcat]

I shave mine to a #2 with great success, though. The only way someone can see it is if I bend over and they look straight down on it in bright light.

So would it have been worth it for you to spend twice as much and not have that scar -- or not? :?

 

[not me!]

I shave mine to a #2 with great success, though. The only way someone can see it is if I bend over and they look straight down on it in bright light.

So would it have been worth it for you to spend twice as much and not have that scar -- or not? :?

Not in a million years.