I Considered a Hair Transplant, But I Can’t Take Propecia

Hi Doc,

Thanks for such a wonderful site, it’s been very useful.

I’m 25 with thinning hair. I have taken propecia for couple of months but I have stopped it because of side effects. I have considered hair transplant but from what I read on your blog, you mentioned that it’ll be really bad to do hair transplant without taking propecia at the same time. So what are my options if I can’t take the drug, should I even consider transplant.

Thanks a lot.

I don’t think I’ve ever stated that it was bad to have a hair transplant if you are not taking Propecia. If you can find a BaldingBlog entry where I did please let me know.

I often advise patients to take Propecia to prevent possible shock hair loss. However this is after a personal face-to-face consult on an individual basis and after I make an assessment of what the possible long term balding pattern might be. Everybody is different and there are many patients that have hair transplants without taking Propecia, but there is some risk of acceleration of the hair loss without it. The degree of miniaturization will be proportional to the risk of shock loss. There are some 25 year olds who do not have a great deal of miniaturization and they will be a lower risk for shock loss than a person with extensive miniaturization. Maybe a short term use of Propecia to protect yourself from shock loss would be worth trying. If you are considering a hair transplant you should see a good hair transplant doctor to have all your questions answered in person. Remember, there are some absolutes and if you have a hair loss pattern indicating extensive balding is probable, then you must be able to walk that line with your doctor so that you can keep you hair and understand the risks as well.