I think that 23 years of age is too early because your final balding pattern doesn’t usually show up until you are 25-26 years of age, and even at 26, it may not show up. When I do a hair transplant, I prefer men over 25. The number of grafts depends on three factors: (1) the size of the area being transplanted, (2) the location of the transplant (frontal hairline or not?), (3) your donor density, and (4) your hair mass per unit hair. With that, I can build a personalized Master Plan for any patient, which will take into account what might happen to them as they continue to bald (as every youn ..read more

The doctor should discuss a plan when he/she intends to harvest hair outside of the donor area, as shown in this picture.  A procedure with 4500 grafts with the patterns shown demonstrates the problem. If his balding pattern increases, many transplanted hairs will fall out because many hairs/grafts were taken outside the safe donor area. FYI: The same donor area is a 3-inch high area from the base of the skull around the side of the head above the ears to the temple peaks.   ..read more

Minoxidil will have no value to the transplanted hairs. Minoxidil’s has value is in the non-transplanted areas. I performed a study where I had patients apply minoxidil to 1/3rd of the transplanted area (to manage overlap) and then compared both the speed of growth and the thickness of the end result. There was no difference between the treated sides and the non-treated sides ..read more

The use of both of these topical medications is effective, as shown here; however, a considerable amount of these drugs go systemic.  Great results anyway.   ..read more

Many men have written to me to ask me if they had Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA), which I defined in the literature with Dr. Bob Bernstein in 1996.  This is a “female type of pattern” where the hair in the donor area has significant miniaturized hairs.  In men, it is also called Senile Alopecia when appearing in aging men.  The basic premise in hair restoration surgery is that the donor area (a rim of hair about 2 1/2 inches above the ears and around the base of the skull) is privileged hair protected against the genetic of balding.  The Norwood Classification shows th ..read more

I was told that I haven’t lost enough hair to fill in the highlighted areas where I’ve been balding (see outline of my thinning). Do I need to loose more hair to become a better candidate? I consulted two clinics about the number of grafts for my hairline. One said 2000 the other said 2500-2800. Above 2000 seems like too much to me, but I’m not sure. Any feedback is appreciated. Why undergo a hair transplant if you don’t need it? Hair transplants accelerate balding, especially in younger men. You would likely lose much of the hair presently on your head if there is significant miniaturizatio ..read more

I waited for 12 days before washing the recipient area of my transplant.  At that time, could I have damaged the grafts? We wrote an article that discusses what happens day by day after a hair transplant. The grafts are secure in 7-8 days if no crusting is present. If crusting has not come off with good washing, removing the crusts at 12 days with good washing techniques is safe ..read more

I’m 35yrs old living in South East England. Started receding about 10yrs ago and never done anything to prevent it. Only recently started considering a transplant as I’m now starting to be able to afford it. Your worst-case balding pattern is a Norwood Class 5A pattern. These patterns are suitable for a surgeon to work with because they usually don’t progress. (no guarantee of course). The key is to get a good assessment of your donor supply (Donor density and hair thickness), and then., if you use a good, honest, artistic surgeon, you can get a good estimate for the work. There are many goo ..read more

It will take you at least 6 months to know if it is shock loss, as that is the time it takes to reverse. Now (at 6 weeks) it is too early to tell what will happen.   ..read more

The doctors said this is fine and will grow to look good. Disregarding that its crooked… Does anyone have a similar experience and it turns out more symmetrical later? It will always be out of balance. What you see is what you have; however, it is not as noticeable when the hair grows in, especially if you style it correctly ..read more