This is a wonderful result from 4 months on finasteride + minoxidil with a return of the corner & center hairline shown in both after photos
I was thinking of getting a FUE hair transplant. I was hoping those that have been through it could give some advice on the following. Thanks for your help! How do you know/verify that the specialist delivered on the number of grafts that he charged you for?
How many hair follicles should be in a graft? What is an optimal number of hair transplant procedures done by the specialist? Some I called said they’ve done 50. What is a good baseline?
Does it matter if the specialist is board certified plastic surgeon?
I have spelled it out in great detail in two posts here: https://baldingblog.com/before-selecting-a-hair-transplant-doctor-do-your-homework/ just follow the link
I got 6000 grafts in Turkey and this is what I now look like just 10 months since the surgery. What are my options?
You didn’t show your donor area but I suspect that it is see-through. If that is the case, the only good option is to get Scalp Micro Pigmentation and shave your head as shown here: https://baldingblog.com/smp-scalp-micropigment-patient-talks-about-how-others-were-upset/
Your photos show a maturing hairline, not balding. If you want to find out if you have hair loss behind the hairline, then get a HAIR CHECK test (https://baldingblog.com/haircheck-test-how-it-is-done-and-what-its-value/), and then you will know for sure. The age of 17 is not too young to get finasteride if the HAIR CHECK test showed hair loss behind the hairline.
You are in trouble (see my post here: https://baldingblog.com/22-year-old-received-a-hair-transplant-of-2800-grafts-from-reddit/). You are confronting a progressive hair loss process and chasing it with multiple hair transplants. Four hair transplants by the age of 22 shows that your surgeon doesn’t have your best interest at heart. You are stuck chasing hair loss now and if you run out of donor hair before the process is finished. What is your plan? Hair transplant do speed up the genetic hair loss to eventually reach your final inherited pattern. Two more surgeries now? I would be happy to give you an opinion and a telephone consultation at info@newhair.com. I can show you how you might still be able to protect yourself.
Good early results shown in the photos in this post. I would expect more hairline return in time.
I’m 5 weeks post op now and still have transplanted hair that haven’t fallen out yet. I tried using DermMatch to conceal it. But applicator pulled out like 15 transplanted hairs. Will they grow back or are they damaged since I forcibly pulled them out instead of letting them fall naturally?
The hairs that remain in the recipient area after a hair transplant that do not grow, are the remaining hairs in the grafts and if you pull them out (they come out easily) there is no harm done. The new hair grows from the stem cells that were transplanted with the grafts.
These are very impressive results
Too early to tell and not the same view. I had a young man like you where I did a HAIRCHECK test to see what degree of balding he had:https://baldingblog.com/19-year-old-parent-told-not-balding-according-haircheck/ I am following him after starting him on finasteride. If he reverses the hair loss on the drug, then he will know that he is succeeding with the treatment.
A mature hairline is located 1 finger breadth above the highest crease of the furrowed brow in the mid-line and a gentle V-Shape to the hairline. IF the V-[shape is too sharp], the corner recession could be present, the beginning of a Class 3 pattern of balding.
Doesn’t work well on hairline unless you are under 23. The younger the better. Be sure what you are experiencing is recession and not the appearance of a Mature Male Hairline.
The response to finasteride is variable long term. Everyone is different. I tell people that it is a balancing act, balancing the positive benefits and the negative side effects against each other. The decision here is, therefore, yours to make. If you had ED problems that got worse, I would tell you to stop the medication for risks of PFS, but for people with increased sex drives, there is no evidence that prolonged use of finasteride is a problem.
It can be both hair shaft size reduction (miniaturization) or reduction of hair numbers. A good doctor will tell you what it is.
Vellus hairs are the short hairs that are mixed in with each follicular group of normal hairs. Miniaturized hairs are hairs that have lost their thickness and are noticeably thinner than the hairs on the back of your head.
I just don’t understand why the earlier someone starts balding doesn’t always mean they bald extremely quickly. Like what explains a 30 year old balding almost completely in 2 years vs a 20 year old who starts balding at 20 but takes 15 years to show significant loss?
Again, it is tied to the genetics. Each hair in a region has a finite number of hair cycles to it. when the hairs go through its limited # of anagen growth cycles (a growth cycle in men is between 2-3 years), then the hair often dies. The death may be partial in the Folliclular groups (normally say a hair follicle has 3 hairs in a group, one of two my die off) making the hair look like its is thinning from above (it is thinning) and eventually that last hair will fall out sooner than later. So for an aggressive balding pattern (Norwood Class 7 pattern) the number of three year hair cycles for all of the hair from the front to the crown might be 8 cycles (pre-programmed at birth) of 3 years (3 times 8 = 24 years old to balding). Not a good scenario. Most Class 7 men will be bald by the time they are 26 years old. The same thing can occur in older men 30, 40 or even 50 and they may lose parts of each Follicular group of between 2-3 hairs each) and then eventually the rest falls out at its pre-programmed death. Drugs like finasteride, prolong these cycles making the hair last longer.
I hope I didn’t confuse you, but I got stimulated to give you a scientific view of the process that you are describing in different men of different ages.