NW2 Transplant with Dr Erdogan, Maral or Dogonay?

[Jg420]

Hi,

I'm 24 and have been receding for the last 3 years. I have been using finistride for almost a year which seems to have haulted/slowed this but no regrowth. It is starting to ruin my life! I am constantly worried about wind, rain, waking up with my hair messy etc.

Cut a long story short I have been looking into transplants, specifically in Turkey due to costs and seemingly being specialists in this area.

My question is firstly would you say now is a good point to get this done, I know some say to wait until as long as you can but then I also feel these are the best years of my life and if I'm going to do it I want to enjoy it while I'm younger.

Secondly which one would people recommend? Has anyone used any of these doctors and could send pictures?

My main deterrent in doing this is people knowing I have. I feel that would be much more embarrassing than the hair loss itself as this point. People will be able to tell I'm sure!

I have been reading these forums for ages now and they have been really helpful in gathering information, so I thought this would be the best way to make a final decision. At the moment I am swaying every day...

 

[wilson2]

I'm no expert in any area of hair-loss. However I have heard countless times that hair transplants should be avoided until the hair loss has been stabilized or relatively stabilized. You say that finistride has "haulted/slowed" growth. Honestly If i were you I would probably get the hair-transplant and bank on the fact that I can most likely have decent hair into my early 30's. This is just my opinion. If you are 24 and you have pretty much stopped the hair loss in the last year, than I doubt your hair loss would get extreme in the next few years. That would be the worst case scenario obviously, you wouldn't want to spend money on a hair-transplant. start to go bald and then have a scar or just be bald etc. Though I mean I actually probably will do a hair-transplant even if I know i will go fully bald because I'd like to delay it, even if its inevitable.

 

[Jg420]

No other advice??

 

[nikko]

I do understand how you feel as I am in the same situation at the same age...it sucks XD

Anyway I think first off you could send the doctors you pics an see what they do answer you, what's their opinion,..

Among those I heard about Koray and ********* (or whatever his name is). Koray is kinda cheap (2.5 eu per graft if I m not mistaken)... Isaw some really great results by him. About ********* I do not know much but he s a valid doctor.

One other good Doctor is Keser, which imho is one of the best for the hairline in Turkey but he s a lil bit more expensive (3.5 ish)

 

[SayifDoit]

Some severe thinning going on there. I would recommend you get on minoxidil before hand, you'll see huge regrowth.
It might even make you reconsider getting a Hair transplant.
I can not recommend it for you enough dude.

 

[GoldenMane]

Yeah, get on minoxidil for a year or two, see what you can regrow before getting a hair transplant, your hair doesn't look that thin, though it's hard to tell due to your skintone and hair colour matching. If you want to restore your hairline/temples, you'll probably need a hair transplant, but getting on minoxidil will mean you'll need less grafts and have more hair to work with, so you've got to do that first. Good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

I'm also contacting hair transplant specialists in Turkey now. Already messaged dr Erdogan. Heard good things, need to check out Dr Kesser...

 

[greg711711]

I'll make this as short and sweet as possible. I have a similar pattern as you and I am the same age. My hairline would be like yours but a couple years ago I got a procedure done (small, conservative only about 900 grafts). Though I continue to lose hair slowly it really was life changing for me. Unfortunately for the both of us the crown loss sucks because there is no quick fix at a young age. You should try minoxidil and hope you get some regrowth (im on dutasteride, ru, and minoxidil and never got regrowth :/). Honestly as someone who got a hairline procedure done at 22 I can say it really did work. You also have light hair which is awesome because the loss isn't as noticeable like mine (dark brown hair). I would go for a consultation with someone and get some info if you really are thinking about it. They will probably tell you to get on topicals/finasteride first though. Either way, you still have plenty of hair and your hair color matching your skin tone is a HUGE advantage. Good luck!

 

[Wolf Pack]

Your hair looks fragile and pretty thin tbh. I would not be eager to rush into a hair transplant at 24 in this scenario and dense pack the hairline. You will need to follow it up with another hair transplant and it could create a disparity between grafts used and grafts left over. An unbalanced look. I also doubt you have great donor and the quality of your hair is not the best - another reason I would wait. A surgeon will do it but I would wait a few more years so you can learn more about your genetics and how finasteride is doing.

It's definitely not the end of the world if you do decide to do it. I just wouldn't yet personally for reasons explained.

There was an Asian guy on here who had a transplant at 24 (Norwood 3) but he had thick wavy hair and could afford to just do transplants as he goes along due to the nature of his hair/donor.

 

[GoldenMane]

Having thick hair certainly is better for hair transplants, but aside from the crown, it doesn't look that thin elsewhere. People with fine hair generally have higher hair density, but smaller hair diameter. It's certainly possible to have multiple successful hair transplants with finer hair, but you should only go for a hair transplant after you've squeezed all the regrowth mileage you can get out of topicals first. I was in a worse position than you when I began my treatment, much thinner hair, much more diffuse thinning and recession and after two years in finasteride and minoxidil I was told that I would be a good hair transplant candidate, but that I should wait another year so my pattern can be established properly. Not sure what another year would do, can't wait around forever, hair loss can accelerate at any time... A year of topicals and a conservative hair transplant at the hairline/temples would be my suggestion.

 

[DoctorHouse]

At only 24 with a NW6 pattern emerging, you might want to be very conservative with a hair transplant. I would wait as you can definitely conceal your problem with long hair and toppik.

 

[Wolf Pack]

At only 24 with a NW6 pattern emerging, you might want to be very conservative with a hair transplant. I would wait as you can definitely conceal your problem with long hair and toppik.

Words of wisdom Doctor.

- - - Updated - - -

Having thick hair certainly is better for hair transplants

Literally every advanced Norwood case with a great transformation, had thick hair characteristics. This guy doesn't look like he has finished thinning by any stretch of the imagination and he is 24. Going all out on the hairline is probably not a great idea. I don't think it's just the crown and front. It looks fragile and thin throughout.

 

[GoldenMane]

Damn guys, give us fine haired folks a little hope

What do you mean he hasn't finished thinning? I mean none of us are really, all of us will thin more either through age or if/when finasteride/dutasteride wears off. But you can't tell from those photos if it's progressed further, halted or reversed, there's no before photos after all...

 

[Wolf Pack]

Damn guys, give us fine haired folks a little hope

I've just massaged hope into your head. Please allow it to remain there for 4 hours. Do it twice a day. If you stop doing this you will get "catch up despair." Please avoid swimming. Apply to a wet scalp to increase the effects of hope.

 

[GoldenMane]

:thumbdown2:

http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-25034.html

Just found this. Looks like a pretty solid conservative hair transplant on a fine haired guy using a low number of grafts and achieving a good result...

 

[Wolf Pack]

Forum opinions. Most of the well known MDs in hair loss specifically state the benefit of thick hair. It's obvious. Just have a look on youtube, most high Norwood transformations into fullish heads had thick hair. Tend to be Mediterranean, Asian, Middle Eastern as thicker hair predominates here.

Dr Mohebi MD

Men with male pattern baldness who have good quality donor hair usually have an adequate number of grafts to restore all or most of the balding areas. However, when donor hair is fine with low density we generally don’t have enough hair to cover the entire head. Fine hair provides minimum bulk after transplantation.

That's not to say it won't happen with Fine hair, but the chances are much much lower. If someone is diffusing into a Norwood 6 pattern with fine hair, what are the chances they will have like 9-10k grafts to spare to get fullish hair?

Yet I saw a Norwood 6 get back to fullish hair with 6-7k grafts. He had thick wavy hair. Grown out you could not see the scalp through it despite skin/hair contrast, some scalp is normal in people with differing contrast anyway.

Average grafts are 4-6k regardless of whether your hair is fine or thick.

AHLA:

How does the direction in which your hair naturally grows affect your hair transplant?
Coarse hair is bulkier and can therefore be transplanted using fewer hairs per graft since it gives more coverage of the scalp. Fine hair has less bulb and can give a very natural look but less coverage than coarser hair. Wavy and curly hair lends itself to good visual results in transplantation because a single wavy or curly hair curls on itself and can therefore cover more scalp area than can a straight hair. Curly hair also rises from the scalp and holds its shape, and these factors also give the appearance of greater coverage.

 

[GoldenMane]

Yes I know that advanced cases are more likely to be successful with thicker hair. But are you saying that men with finer hair should not get hair transplants? Or should wait until they're bald before getting one? What about lower Norwood levels? Most men balding in their 20s are destined for NW5 or 6. With fine hair, it's unlikely that full coverage via transplants will be possible as hair loss progresses. Does this mean that men like use should simply not get hair transplants? Or that we should wait until it's more advanced and get an ultra conservative NW3 pattern hair transplant? I keep hearing about hair loss pattern being established? What does this mean? If we already know we're destined for NW5 or 6, then why wait to simply verify that it's happening, especially if hair loss is stabilized for a year or two? How long must a person wait until they can say their hair loss has stabilized?

 

[Wolf Pack]

I think I did answer this to some extent in that thread you posted recently. Have a look there. I'm not saying they shouldn't have a transplant just cause they have fine hair, course not. But obviously diffusing into Norwood 5-6, early 20s, with fine hair is different. You need to make a long term plan with a surgeon and decide what to do. Get your number of grafts checked out would be a start. As well as final pattern - pretty accurate in your late 20s but not fool proof. I'm heading for a 3V one day but who knows really. Scope it, to know it.

If you're destined for a NW6, I would wonder how much donor hair do you have of fine hair? If 5k, would you really use up tons on the hairline? Probably not. It's up to you. But you could end up with a good hairline and then diffuse and bald patches elsewhere in the future.

 

[GoldenMane]

Don't remember that thread, but fair enough. I suppose for those of us destined for NW5 or 6 with finer hair, it's just a toss up between having good hair now and running out of grafts later in life, or living with what we've got and getting a conservative NW3 hair transplant later in life... Sucks to be us I guess!

 

[Wolf Pack]

^ Probably. But you never know how long finasteride could work (life) OR how many grafts you have. You could have loads. It's all a bit of a lottery. We can plan all we want but we never know when **** may hit the fan, if ever. I would say though most people who were diffusing in an advanced pattern in their 20s, will have trouble holding onto it for life on finasteride.

That's just my opinion though. The hair will probably be able to go through much more cycles but will inevitably end up on the chopping block. But getting to like 50 odd in itself is great. Better than being bald at 15 for sure.

 

[GoldenMane]

Depressing... But I knew it myself. Guess I was just trying to delude myself... Maybe I'll give 15% minoxidil a shot and hold off on that hair transplant for now...