(PICS) Hair Transplants and Meds? How long does it last?

[cman7]

I'm about 27 and have pretty low density in the front and crown area. (see post below for pics) I haven't taken propecia or minoxidil and have been using Toppik and the like to successfully hide my thinning over the last 5 or so years.

Recently I saw the pictures on Dr. Armani's website and am very impressed with the results. Do you guys think these results are typical?

Also, with regard to meds and topicals, should I get on them before doing any kind of surgery?

And is it best to just do my whole head at once? (i.e. hairline back through crown) I have very thick sides and back (thought you might not be able to tell from the pictures) for donor hair and hope this would be enough.

How long does the transplanted hair last?

Thank you for any responses.

 

[CCS]

The transplanted hair lasts as long in front as it would have lasted in back where it came from.

Yes, get on the meds first.

The results are probably typical of people who got a lot of grafts. If you do a smaller procedure, you won't look as good.

It is usually best to use the grafts in places that the meds don't regrow. Some people regrow a lot of hair in front but not in back, or vise versa. It would be sad if you put them all in front, and that was the area that regrew on propecia afterwards.

For most people, a simple regimen like propecia will just maintain their hair, and not regrow any, except a little in the short run. There is also a decent chance you will go completely bald some day even with propecia, though the propecia definitely will buy you time. This is why I use the strongest regimen I can use.

 

[cman7]

RE: response

Thank you for the response! I think I read in another thread that you have had one or more surgical procedures already. Do you have any pictures of your results? I will post my current pictures in a follow up response.

How long before surgery would you recommend staying on the meds? And I know you've probably been asked this a million times, but what meds, topicals, etc. do you recommend using? And this regime can never be stopped once it is started, right?

Also, did you experience any loss of feeling in your scalp after surgery? I read somewhere that it can happen to some people.

 

[cman7]

RE: pics

I use Toppik, etc. on my hair and it gives me the illusion of MUCH thicker hair. I am very seriously considering surgery to at least thicken up the front and some of the top. I think the hairline is most important to my appearance because it frames my face. Without that hairline, I look completely different (not in a good way) and much older.

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[CCS]

I think EVERYONE gets loss of feeling in their scalp after surgery. The amount and location and time it takes to go away will vary. Mine was 95% recovered after 2 months, and completely normal after 3 month, all three surgeries.

You have a lot of hair loss. It would take all the donor hair you have to fill in that area. Since you have most of your follicles, but they are just much smaller than normal, you are a good canditate for meds, and topicals.

I recommend the regimen I'm using and the products on my website. I recommend waiting a least a year to see what can happen. You might continue to regrow for a total of 3 years. Until then, just use topik and a baseball cap. It would be very foolish of you to get grafts now. You would look better, but you would selling yourself way short.

In order to lower your hairline and rebuild your temples, you will need transplants. But first find out if you will regrow enough hair on top that you will have enough donor hair to go around before getting any grafts in the front. I think you would look better with a good front even if the top is gone, but most doctors won't do that, and will only go with a high hairline.

 

[cman7]

RE: response

So, if I just wanted to thicken the front with grafts to give me a stronger hairline that would look better (with or without concealers like Toppik), then I would be taking a chance that in the future the top and crown would think even more and leave me with thick hair in front but not in back, looking odd?

Personally, I think the front is most important anyway. What if I wanted to take the chance that, even if the top and crown thins more in the future, there will still be enough to get by using Toppik?

After trying the meds for a while, would you definitely recommend not getting implant surgery at all? I'm really unhappy with my thin hairline and very badly want to do something about it.

Do you think it would still be possible for me to get a fullish (doesn't have to be like a teenager's) hairline sometime in the future after I've tried out the meds and determined how they worked for me?

 

[dirtrider67]

hey cman, go for the hair transplant to rebuild your hairline and get started on a good regimen to keep what you already have. bottom line is that there are no topicals or meds that can give you back a hairline and that's what most of us want back. surgery is the only way. i am 39 now and wish i would have started to do something about my hair issues when i was 27. just be conservative with the donor so you have enough to fill in as needed through out the rest of your life.

good luck

 

[CCS]

some people respond well to meds, others dont. you won't know what group you are in until you try them. Use combo's.

 

[dirtrider67]

have you ever heard of anyone growing frontal hair with meds? i have never taken any meds so i have no experience with them or topicals. i did finaly order proscar and minoxidil so i will put that regimen to the test. my goal is to keep what i have along with the 1471 follicular units that were rearranged. time will tell now.

 

[Guest]

cman7,

Please listen to me carefully. Had you started finasteride even five years ago, things might be much different from your current situation. I'm not trying to judge you or anything, and we cannot change the facts, BUT if you don't get on the meds now, and I mean now, you're going to lose everything on top. You'll probably be a class 6 in your thirties, and end up a class 7 if you don't.

My guess is that there are class 7's in your family history. But they did not have the meds available and you do. Yes, definitely don't do any surgery until you have been on the meds for at least eighteen months. You absolutely need to be able to compare the degree of miniturization (loss of caliper) your hair has right now, and then to future evaluate if you are continuing to miniturize or if it appears to have stabilized.

You want to take some sample cuttings of your hair from the frontal zone, midscalp and crown. Then tape these hair samples to a sheet of white paper. Afetr you start the meds, begin to take new hair samples every six months and then compare the hair caliper, examining them with the former cuttings side-by-side at each six month interval for eighteen months. Go for two years even. BTW, you can buy a cheap magnifying glass at the dollar store to better help you visualize the caliper of each hair.

If your hair shafts continue to get thinner (loss of caliper) over time and/or with additional hairloss evident, the meds are not working and you'll need to re-group and switch to other options like dutasteride etc, all of course under the guidance of your doctor.

Now if none of the meds work long term, DON"T DO A hair transplant, because you'll regret it. And if you do decide to go ahead with surgery, certainly don't do anything over 20 cm2 and don't do anything in the crown at all. Even if worse case you lose all of your natural hair in the frontal zone, 20 cm2 won't look over-dense or like an island of hair. I would not lower the hairline either. I hope you appreciate my honesty, I would just hate to see you decide on something now that you would regret twenty years later or so.

 

[MPBWarrior]

yeah, the problem is 10 or 20 years from now. if u continue to bald into an NW6 or 7 your transplant will look really bad. to have a transplant u should really have waited until you're sure your male pattern baldness won't progress much further.

 

[dirtrider67]

if a good regimen will help one keep the hair they have, shouldn't it work on the transplanted hair as well? chances are that your male pattern baldness will be the same as your father and grandfather so if they have plenty of donar then you should also right? but if they are depleted then why bother with the hair transplant.