Thinking About A Hair Transplant Or Prp Very Soon. Need Realistic Advice As Time Is Of The Essence!

[James227]

Hello everyone, I've not posted on here for a while but I have in the past. If anyone is interested in my situation you could look up my previous content as I'm gonna try and keep this as relevant.

Gonna try and keep and keep this as brief. Had long hair for 20 years, shaved head last August just days after my 30th (not done it again since) and about 6 years of battling hair loss with most of today's treatments. I am currently on finasteride (2+ years), liquid minoxidil twice a day (4+ years), derma rolling every night for last 6 months - going to start derma needling soon, biotin and caffeine shampoos and Nizorol. End.

I'm finally considering a hair transplant, something I never thought I would do. I would appreciate any experienced members advice on what is about to follow. I'm going to the KSL Clinic in the UK on Saturday for a consultation and to meet the surgeon. Travelling abroad is pretty much out of the option. Firstly, does anyone have any knowledge of this clinic or their work? Secondly, the consultant has already insinuated that I might not be suitable for a transplant as I have diffused thinning as apposed to a typical bald patch if you will and has mentioned PRP to me. So, does anyone have a knowledge or opinions of this and how effective is it? I have wasted a lot of money in the past on laser hair therapy and I really don't want to make the same mistake again. Thirdly, I am going to report back here after Saturdays consultation with any new information and I would really appreciate any advice then, or in the meantime.

I will enclose a few current photos just cause I know someone will ask. The white flakes are from the liquid minoxidil by the way.

Thank you in advance, James.

 

[Pelimorfo]

In my opinion i would do nothing with this hair, just enjoy it.

 

[md2002]

What he said, you have no worries...

 

[James227]

Thank you both for the kind words, but I'm just not seeing what you're seeing? Maybe the pictures I have provided are not the best, but I can assure you my crown is awful in person. Here's kind of a better angle...

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

I agree with the above views. Your crown is thinning, but not at a level I would do anything drastic about..although you are the only one who can decide your expectations and what makes you unhappy.
If you insist on going for the transplant option, it may be worth remembering that diffuse thinning is more likely to get sub-par results due to the difficulty of grafting hair between the existing native hair without causing transection which 'would finish off' the already miniaturised hair in the crown.
Further to that, I think it it the general consensus that UK is not the place for it.
First of all, prices are high and quality is known to be poor. I have no idea why that is...but my guess would be UK has a lower demand on hair transplant (cultural aspects? negative perceptions on any male who value appearance highly?) , so there aren't even many clinics that specialise in hair transplant only. I would NEVER go to a clinic that does general cosmetic procedures.
Secondly, the positive testimonies are very few and far between for UK surgeons. When in doubt, think Rooney...looking average at best despite multiple procedures.
To achieve your desired results, you definitely need someone highly skilled with a well proven track record, which would lead me to believe avoiding UK is the right thing to do.

 

[stachu]

You can put PRP to trash. Its useless for agressive male pattern baldness. Its even not enough effective for females with Androgenetic Alopecia sometimes.

 

[sacnk771]

You should go for FUE hair transplant. Consult an expert hair surgeon in your area and get it done. You will get your hair and look back don't worry.

 

[James227]

I really appreciate all the advice. As I've said previously, it's much worse in person. I'm not one of them guys who's worrying about something that isn't really there. And it's was a hell of a lot worse 3 years ago, I just didn't realise. I use concealer in it everyday and whilst it masks the problem to some extent I just hate doing it. I'm so ashamed to be sprinkling hair fibres onto my hair before work, it's totally embarrassing! If anyone knew they'd think I was pathetic!

Is PRP really a waste of time? I've already wasted £1,000 on laser hair therapy a few years ago and I don't want to make any silly mistakes like that again.

I know what you're saying about the quality of transplants in the U.K, I've noticed it too. But I don't know how comfortable I would feel going to a foreign country and having any kind of surgery. Don't know why really, it's just how I feel? Surely all the U.K clinics can't be bad, but I don't know?

A lot of people are suggesting duta to me? What do you guys think about that as an option?

Thanks again, James.

 

[James227]

I should also mention that finasteride has not stopped my actual hair fall, I'm not exaggerating at all here, but I probably loose 200+ hairs a day. I don't count or keep track anymore as it's not good for me mentally, but I used to. The day I shaved my head I lost over 300 in less than five minutes, just purely by running my fingers through my hair lightly. That was the last straw!

So, with that being said, is a hair transplant even worth it if I'm just going to carry on loosing hair around it?

 

[Rocknroutlaw]

Is PRP really a waste of time? I've already wasted £1,000 on laser hair therapy a few years ago and I don't want to make any silly mistakes like that again.

I know what you're saying about the quality of transplants in the U.K, I've noticed it too. But I don't know how comfortable I would feel going to a foreign country and having any kind of surgery. Don't know why really, it's just how I feel? Surely all the U.K clinics can't be bad, but I don't know?

.

At work, I openly declared that I am bothered about my appearance and will not hide having any procedures done. I had pixel laser done on my face for scar reduction and went to work with a red face, then recently walked into work clearly looking like I'm recovering from hair transplant..I think you'll find that people will respect your choice and will have little to say other than questions of curiosity (in my case at least, because I'm clearly open about it).
I also had laser for hair growth which amounted to nothing; the clinic was clearly run by sharks who possibly even faked their qualification. Having said that, laser in theory should be helpful for stimulating growth and lengthening the growth cycle (similar idea as Minoxidil?), although obviously not enough to combat hairloss without tackling DHT. I am actually thinking about laser again to promote growth (I'm 2 months post transplant), but previous experience put me off. For anyone interested, they're called HGC (Hair Growth Centre) with a few locations. They are shameless when it comes to emptying your wallet, and as soon as you signed above the dotted line their tone of voice completely changed, not to mention failure to do my monthly folow-up, then later making up blatant lies about my progress while viewing my scalp under a cheap USB microscope lol... AVOID.
I can understand your reservations about going abroad (I was the same). You can only decide what your priorities are...so perhaps see how you feel after a few consultations. Turkey does sound daunting, and does require a more careful selection to weed out the greedy ones. There are undoubtedly many great clinics there though. If you're uncomfortable about going to Turkey, perhaps consider Belgium/Spain's big names? I would personally avoid UK.

 

[I could hair less]

OP you need to see a therapist not a hair transplant...

if you think you need more hair than you got some MAJOR issues in your life for real...seriously get help.

 

[Pequod]

The problem for you is you risk shock loss if they do any type of transplant, and you could end up worse off. That is a risk you have to decide about.

They could put 1500 grafts in the crown to cover in that balding area, if you did an FUT you wouldn't even have to cut your hair. A smallish transplant might reduce the risk of shock loss, but if you try only go with on the top doctors.

 

[Wolf Pack]

There are undoubtedly many great clinics there though. If you're uncomfortable about going to Turkey, perhaps consider Belgium/Spain's big names? I would personally avoid UK.

This is true, UK is a must to avoid, pains me to say it being from here but I also went abroad and it worked out well! Does anyone have Dr de Rey's contact details? I may need to soon send him an interesting thread for evaluation!

 

[James227]

Okay, so it's been a couple of weeks since my consultation, here's what they said. Because I have diffused thinning I'm not a great candidate for a hair transplant due to the risk of shock loss. That has already been mentioned on here so thank you. They said if I was to have a transplant against their advice however that it would be around 800 - 1,200 grafts, the higher being to compensate for the hair I may loose due to damaging existing follicles, and the price would be around £5,000 - £6,000. The other option of PRP is also costly, around £1,200 - £1,500 and sounds like one of those "everybody reacts differently to it" kind of things? Bit risky as I don't really have the money for any of this anyway.

So, I know everyone is against the UK for transplants, and I'm not saying I don't agree, but these guys were nice and honest and they have a pretty high celebrity client base so you can see their results and they're good. Most notably Joe Ledley and Paul Robinson, a few reality stars (I don't know who?), Jake Quickenden (not sure if that's how you spell it?). Anyway, all I'm saying is that these guys transplants look good and the consultant that I spoke to had also had a transplant there and his was okay too. Is the UK really that risky? Anyone had a hair transplant here and can shed some light on this for me?

Lastly, if I was to go outside the UK, who and where do you suggest?

Again, any advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks again, James.

 

[James227]

OP you need to see a therapist not a hair transplant...

if you think you need more hair than you got some MAJOR issues in your life for real...seriously get help.

Ha ha! Just seen this comment. Thanks man! But why do you find it necessary to respond in that way just because we're online? There is no way you would say that to someone if you were face to face.

 

[I could hair less]

Ha ha! Just seen this comment. Thanks man! But why do you find it necessary to respond in that way just because we're online? There is no way you would say that to someone if you were face to face.

yea If I were your good frnd I would tell that to you...seriously STOP stressing over your hair and enjoy it...if it gets much worse then come back and start looking into ways to help the issue...