What would you do if your hair was like this at 28?

[Hound]

More excellent input and advice, thank you all, especially Innermind. WIll write back to you in due course, you sound 'wise beyond your years'. As for the USD 80k thing, I think that'd definitely be worth it for a guaranteed, full head of hair, easily, no question. (Of course that'd be doubly impossible!) I mean what else are you going to spend that money on that could make you happy? Some boring Merc? Nobody who matters gives a f*** what car you drive let's face it.

Some very interesting new developments however - I have spoken to 3 hair transplant clinics online. Here's what they suggested, I hope no-one will be cross with me for putting this on here - I think it is very difficult to perform an accurate diagnosis from a couple of poor photographs so I am not surprised at all to hear different things.

i_l_t_e_r C_l_i_n_i_c (Sweden) best case results could be to achieve a NW3, with 1 procedure of 2500 grafts, and another of 1000-1500.

a_l_v_i _A_r_m_a_n_i (US) "Realistic" to achieve results along the lines of http://www.alviarmanihairtransplants.co ... nt-28.aspx , with first 3500, and then later 2500 grafts - assuming total NW7 hair loss as starting point and therefore placing throughout the scalp to achieve an overall medium density. (Kind of my idea.) This would not be cheap though would it

D_r._U_m_a_r (US) Simply said that given my age and presentation hair transplant wouldn't be advisable. Unless I had ample good beard hair and head donor hair. My beard hair is totally unsuitable (thick, black, and ultra-ultra curly) and therefore out of the question.
I think this demonstrates admirable professional ethics :bravo: - however dare I say there could also be an element of him being able to pick and choose his patients and thus preserve his brand by avoiding unnecessarily difficult cases?

Maybe he assumes I want perfect hair, but in reality I think it'd be ok just to have 'something', so as to avoid a horrible shiny NW7. Does that sound logical to anyone else, or do you think that's just a total waste of time?

Food for thought - it's looking like Innermind might be right though, and this might be the end of the road for me. But I don't know how to 'move on', other than admitting defeat and resigning myself to be dissatisfied with the whole of the rest of life as well as my twenties.

 

[Nene]

Who the hell would pay 80k for hair, seriously? You guys are insane. To the OP, it's pretty much all gone now, my hair will be similar at your age. You really should try and forget about it...

Besides, you made a thread which asked if you would kill yourself due to hair loss? Yet, you act as if an exspensive hair transplant procedure would be unimaginable?

I bet the majority of us here would gladly pay 80k for hair. And good point finfighter, that is quite hypocritical to want to kill oneself over hair loss but refuse to pay 80k for it. Besides 80k is much cheaper than a house, a college tuition and even many luxury cars.

 

[Dedge89]

To be honest, if someone was THAT down about their hairloss that they weren't functioning properly and felt life was literally a drag and were depressed to the point where living was actually pointless for them then 80K really isn't alot... to get your life back.

Happiness > Money

 

[anxious1]

oh, 80k for body hair transplant. now i understand. My bad.

i knew about this, but i didnt think people were actually getting it done apart from a few experimental jobs.

my advice to the poster, is either keep battling with finasteride, minoxidil, supplements, lasers etc, and give it hell;

or, forget about it. youve obviously got the agressive balding that is kinda enivible its gonna peak at norwood 7.

sorry to say, u might be wasting ur time , effort, money etc. on the plus side, u seem to have the kind of face that looks ok bald.

when i feel down about it, (and i have to be honest, i dont have it as bad as u, i will probably peak at norwood 3-4 when im old), i like to remind myself that the coolest guy on the planet, best singer in the best band, who i think is married but used to get all the women he wants, is totally bald, and wasnt shy about it going.

yep thats right im talking about maynard from tool. he kept it all long while it was going, back in the day of 'opiate'.

granted ur probably not a rock star, and never will be, but it still makes me feel better.

 

[anxious1]

yep, all wigs. hes been totally bald since 90's.

he always wore funny wigs, and changed his appearance, to try and save himself and his family from media attention. and perhaps hes a bit nuts. lol

still most people wouldnt recognise him on the street, so it worked.

 

[Innermind]

To the op: I don't want to sound so pessimistic, but I have been through a lot and have seen a lot. hair transplant's are a long journey and there is no guarantee it will look good, you may hate it and now your in a worse position than before.

Although that one by Armani is impressive and he is talented, but he is known for doing highly aggressive and controversial procedures on young men with aggressive hair loss. If you knew the whole drama with Armani, you would know that the whole industry is bull sh*t, even these forums which are supposed to be an extension of our free speech and be the weapon of us helpless desperate bald men. I would not be surprised if this thread gets deleted because Armani's name is mentioned. And yes you would probably be expecting to pay 30K or so for this procedure. Too much for something that can never be returned, IMO of course.

Be patient, wait for Histogen to post results next year ( i have a lot of faith in these guys), if things go well start saving and you could possibly have the majority of your 30's with a nice head of hair. But if not, don't stress, hair is not the end of the world.

 

[Hound]

Innermind
great advice thanks dude. I'm not currently convinced hair transplant is right for me any more - which I kind of knew all along. Yep ok i suppose hair is not everything. You can have an ok mediocre life without hair i suppose.

At the moment I keep vacillating between angry, panicked desperation, and flat, emotionless don't-give-a-f***-about-anything-anymore-ness. Anyone else get that? Neither state is particularly great to be honest. My OP was definitely in the former..

Wow that Histogen looks unbelievable! Shame it'll just be a bit too late for me - read somewhere it was hoped it could be on the shelves as early as 2013 - that probably means in reality: clinical trials till 2016 and available to the public in 2019 following some protracted BS lawsuit filed against Histogen by their own R&D department or something..

I hope the thread doesn't get deleted. I certainly don't think there was anything dishonest or wrong with what any of the clinics said to me. Optimistic perhaps, but not dishonest. Neither of those that did quote even tried to promise a full head of hair or anything like it, and Armani specifically said they couldn't achieve a thick density with me. So, clinicians; if you're reading this, don't worry this thread is not intended to be critical of you at all! Free advertising if anything!

Finfighter
I know it would be technically possible for Dr Umar to use beard, but in reality out of the question. My head hair is genetically from my northern european genes - thin and fair. My beard is from my southern european genes - incredibly thick, jet black, and very curly. Basically if I were to try and use that, I might as well go all out and have SHT done (that's Scrotal Hair Transplant for any of you not familiar...) The overall effect would be somewhat less than excellent.

Anxious1
I don't really know Tool - from what I sense it's probably a bit heavy for my liking. I AM planning on becoming a rockstar myself though in fact, going to dust the guitars down and become one of the sickest rock heroes of the decade. As soon as I have ALL my hair back. I'm only ever going to play one concert though. But that will be to 250,000 fans and I shall be lowered on to the stage in a bathtub whilst unnecessarily sporting two of those double-necked Les Pauls. unk:

Enden
Sorry dude I don't know what you're talking about regarding health insurance. Doesn't work like that here. As for the Propecia - I didn't just jump on without thinking - both my family doctor and a good [and expensive] dermatologist told me that they thought it would be safe to take. Side-effects-wise, only desire seems to have been slightly affected, rather than function. But will keep an eye on things. And thanks for posting.

 

[Thickandthin]

I would move somewhere new and get a great hair piece.

I'm completely serious. A hair transplant most likely isn't an option for you. You'll likely end up a NW7. A hair piece would give you back all of your confidence and would look 100x better than even the best hair transplant.

 

[Ende]

Enden
Sorry dude I don't know what you're talking about regarding health insurance. Doesn't work like that here.

I'm so glad that there is free healthcare in my country. How does it work? I assume that those who've been damaged by the drug, have to prove that Propecia is the source of all their problems. There is very little evidence supporting that claim, since a blood test to map hormone levels isn't mandatory before doctors prescribe Propecia. Merck denies any connection, and I don't think the insurance companies will support the patients. They're always looking for excuses NOT to pay.

 

[cuebald]

I don't think I could ever look anyone in the eye if I was wearing a hair piece.
I might as well be walking around with my fly undone and my willy poking out.

You got any body hair that matches your scalp hair? Umar uses chest, nape, leg, etc hair. I doubt I personally would go for chest, leg etc transplants (still seems a bit frankenstein-esque) but if I had the money I'd definitely get some beard BHT done with Umar - but then my beard hair is long, dark and straight just like my head hair is. (ideal match). I'd definitely sign up for 2000 grafts if I had the dosh.

Otherwise, shave it, stick with the big 3, and hope for the best. See what it looks like longer in 6 months and see if you can get away with using Toppik.