At What Age Should Men Seriously Consider Hair Transplants?

Dr. Rassman,

Right off the bat, I have to give my deepest appreciation and gratitude for everything you do here! I have 3 seperate questions for you. I don’t believe I have seen these specific questions on your blog before, so hopefully you won’t have to be repeating yourself!

1. For anyone willing to send you pictures to publish with your comments (I am), what are factors should we keep in mind? For example, eyebrows raised are good, correct? What about wetting your hair vs. keeping it dry? Are pictures easier to dissect and faux diagnose if it’s longer or shorter? What about including older photos of yourself? Lighting, etc.
2. I realize every case is different, but generally speaking, at what age do you think people should start seriously considering transplants for receding hairlines? I’m 27, and I realize my mature hairline may continue to recede until at least age 30. If that’s a good rule of thumb, is it logical to wait until approximately age 30 to consider restoring your hairline? (I’m sure the last thing anyone would want is to transplant your hairline too early, only for your natural hair to recede more, leaving you with a bald gap!)
3. While I don’t quite understand why this occurs, I often see the immediate results of transplantation, which is often scarred and scabbed looking. How long does this look last? The reason I ask is regarding those who perhaps want to try and not let EVERYONE in their office (& life) know they had a procedure. If one were to take a week off work to let their scalp heal, would it look back-to-normal after 7 days? Then can you just wait for the hair to start growing in? I haven’t seen many week-by-week photo diaries online. Most tend to be more month-by-month, IF that.

I appreciate any detailed insight you might be able to give. Thank you, sir!

If you want a formal consultation from me, you can call (800) NEW-HAIR or send photos to this address and make time for a phone consultation. Sending pictures to BaldingBlog and having me comment on it will be just generalizations. I recommend taking the photos outside in daylight with some close-ups that wrinkle the brow so I can estimate where the hairline belongs. I also recommend taking some photos with the hair pulled back and even some with the hair wet if you think it will help me see what you want me to focus on.

I have performed surgery on men in their early 20’s to late into the early 80’s. There is no one age I would recommend. It all depends on what you are trying to do and your expectations and your maturity and understanding of what is possible (realistic expectations).

The scabbing after a hair transplant can last as long as one or two weeks, but it all depends on how well you clean and wash your hair. It can look “normal” after one day, and patients who have considerable existing native hairs in the recipient area often have their own coverage. In other words, if you already had some hair in the transplant area, you can use that to camouflage it. If you had no hair in the area at all, that wouldn’t work for you… so we often suggest changing your face by growing a beard or mustache to give a different look overall and detract from your scalp until the healing process is done.