Has anyone here had a hair transplant?? Please Help

So here’s the thing guys, whenever there is something that needs an honest opinion on I will always check thunders because there is almost always an answer on here and I feel the comments are genuine. I can’t find anything on hair transplants though and as of lately this is something I have been seriously considering…Sorry for the long post, reading it back I sound like a bit of a case but if you have any input I would appreciate it.

So I’m still young- mid twenties- and I have been wearing my hair at length 1 (short buzz cut) for about 6 or 7 years now because I started losing my hair when I was in my late teens. When I started losing it I tried minoxidil which didn’t work very well for me and also propecia which gave me puffy nipples and didn’t really give me anything beneficial so I stopped taking it after about 8 months. Since then I have just been grinning and bearing it even though as the months go past I can see I am receding further and getting thinner. That’s the annoying thing, if I was just receding I could live with it, even if I was just thinning but kept my hairline I could live with that, but the combination of the two at such a young age is definitely affecting me mentally.

I would say I am a pretty healthy guy, fairly confident and outgoing but especially lately I can physically feel when my confidence drops. It will do it suddenly if I catch a glimpse of my reflection outside (where it is especially noticeable) and even if I see someone else with what I think “looks” like my hair I’ll start to lose confidence. It’s just frustrating because I know I am limiting myself and the things I do in my free time because I don’t really want to go outside or meet friends I haven’t seen for a while because I am self-conscious they will notice I am going bald. To be honest only a few of my friends mentioned it when I was starting to go bald and I can honestly say I haven’t talked to them since so it obviously affected me. I used to have good hair, and I used to just be able to brush off any comments that where made about me and just say they were jealous for other reasons but now I take anything they say to heart…

I’d happily shave it all off if I was one of those guys that was blessed with a normal shaped head lol because a lot of men actually look better bald but I am not one of them. I have tried and it looks weird.

At the moment I am still meeting new girls that like me, people still comment that I am fairly good looking or that I look young for my age (in a good way) and I know its shallow but these make me feel a little better about myself and also confirm that I’m not thinking about getting a hair transplant for other people, I am doing it for my wellbeing. Please don’t think me shallow, I wish more than anything I could cast my worries and insecurities about it to the wind but I’ve tried and I feel exhausted, it’s like I’m fighting or putting on an act every second I’m around other people.

To add yet more sob stories, for a while now it seems I have developed some kind of allergic reaction on my head. They call it seborrheic dermatitis and the general consensus is that it is an allergic reaction to something in the oil on the scalp. I generally have quite an oily scalp so it has gotten bad in the past. It is typed as an oily dandruff but it is more a build up of skin that won’t shed, goes oily and if you try to remove it it will take hairs and can leave the skin red. Lately I have been washing my hair with a new shampoo from a french brand (not sure if I am allowed to mention the name) everyday and it has helped control the itchiness and calm the serb down a little bit but its still present. The doctor has said flare ups can be caused by stress or anxiety and definitely during exam times it flared up and now that I am getting anxious about the state of my hair it has been flaring up. I feel getting a transplant would hopefully divert some of the oil from my scalp but also the fact that I had more hair would calm some anxieties, do you agree?

The final blow is that even my donor hair on my back and sides would not be thick enough to be worth the money so I would have to use some body hair as donor hair. The hair on my legs has forever been a downer for me but in this case it could be my saving grace as it is literally as thick as the hairs on my head and as I wear my hair short it would not matter that they will never grow as long as head hair normally does. I have researched this a little and am still in the early stages but there are a few good doctors out there who can take hair from the legs and put it on your head which is very weird, I know, but good news for me. Its lame but it gives me hope.

I know these procedures are expensive but I feel it is a physical investment in me that will benefit me greatly in all areas of life. I know its holding me back, I don’t want to put myself out there and this can change that. I believe that your health is much more important than wealth so if getting this procedure means I can’t get a car for a few more years I’m okay with that. Luckily I’m okay house wise at the moment because obviously this comes first but I would say everything else in life can be put on hold for this to happen.

What I need from you guys is any opinions you have or even better, experiences, good doctors etc. I have joined a hair transplant specific forum but like I said before, you guys always seem to have the best advice.

I have learnt that the UK is not the place to have the procedure done unfortunately but I would be happy to go to Europe. America would be ideal but I think the cost of flights and living would eat into my funds a lot….Im open though.

I look forward to hearing from you all!

Thanks

Beenie

How much cash are you able to drop?

I see lots of guys your age with the number one gauge buzz cut. Honestly I don’t think you need to feel less self confident.

Additionally I started losing my hair early too so I do understand how you feel. I keep it at #1 or shave it. That does not seem to stop women from checking me out, as I am physically fit and project confidence.

As to your head being a funny shape. I doubt any one thinks that but you.

Do get the skin rash sorted out.

I know a dude who had four hair transplant procedures over last few years. He paid close to 20Ks but his hair look great and natural. And he looks much, much better now.

Beenie, PM me if I don’t get back to this thread within a few days. They have some cutting edge treatments that increases the amount of hair you have. We are on the verge of having cloned hair implants.

Currently they can take 1/2 of a cluster from the back and stick it up front… and have the portion in back as well as some of the ones moved up regenerate to full strength.

Berlusconi had an hair transplant. He looks kinda FrankenstHairs now. Have you tried dutasteride?

Beenie,

I didn’t read your whole post so I apologize in advance if you already know about this. If you still have a decent amount of your hair left their is this laser comb that is FDA approved and has many studies behind it and may help grow some back. I know it’s not a transplant but I thought maybe you might find it interesting.

This caught my eye a few weeks ago. The HairMax laser comb.

Omg please really think about this beenie. Perhaps these days the technology for hair transplants have come along a bit but I really can’t imagine a nice outcome. You’ve seen Donald Trumps hair right, from the American Apprentice? He’s a fuckin’ billionaire and his hair looks like that.

Okay, so my ignorant mind is just telling me, if you get this done it will be so noticeable and you will look like a freak. Sorry to be harsh and say it like that but it’s my opinion. I really think you just need to accept the situation.

I know a bit of what you’re going through. When I was like 14-15 my hair line started receding too! In High School I remember like a half a class was making fun of me over it. It took me a while to get over those days and just kind of accept my situation. Luckily though It hasn’t kept on gradually receding through this time. It’s about the same now as it was when I was 17. But it did effect me a lot. Even now I sometimes put my arm on my forehead and wrap it around a bit and try to imagine myself with a nice hair line. It would make me look so much better. Haha there was this advert on TV for a caffeine shampoo, I’m sure you’ve seen it. Apparently from Germany and I was like .Woah I could get that (As if it’s a magic shampoo that will grow a couple of inches of hair where the hair follicles have been dead for years)

We share a few resemblances too. Haha the ”odd shaped head” If you want to call it that. Uh I don’t know how to describe mine. I guess it’s long and thin. Or so I was always told, I used to be really skinny when younger too but as I’ve gotten a bit older it’s fattened up a bit. Also I have really oily skin too, a bit of back acne and it lead to a lot of dandruff, but I’ve been using head and shoulders consistently for years now and that did the trick. Perhaps I can thank that for not loosing any more hair?

Oh plus my ears stick out a bit to. So you can see how the combination of a bad hair line, slim face and ears that stick out do make a bad combo. There literally isn’t a good hair cut for this. At least, I’m assuming your ears don’t stick out and you could really shave your head to good effect.

But the one thing I like to do is have my hair short always and have some facial stubble. For some reason facial hair adds to your look and really does make a difference I find.

I think I probably do PE to ‘make up’ for that short coming. But anyway I don’t really know what I’m getting at here. Just trying to let you know you’re not alone and you try to make the best of your situation and look on the bright side. You are still getting girls. But please don’t make a mistake you will regret.

Research Acell Matristem. Mostly being used by Dr. Jerry Cooley but others as well. Acell is especially promising in transplanting body hair to the head.

You should also look into neograft FUE.
http://www.neog raft.com/proced … tomated-fue.htm

This as well as a higher percent of the transplants taking are dependent on post-op laser treatment.

Short answer is that the HairMax is snake oil; its power is less than 1 joule. The studies showing that laser treatment helps to stop hair loss were done in the 4-6 joules range. And that is joules/cmxcm.

I too have seborrheic dermatitis, and it sucks. But I use ceanel shampoo as a wash on the effected areas and it cleared right up. I have pretty bad dandruff and use that effectively to combat the dandruff, which I presume is a form of seborrheic dermatitis in my case.

Not sure if that helps the hair transplant thing, but worth a shot for the dermatitis right?:)

I seriously love this site, you guys are always so helpful! To be honest I was a little worried about coming back and didn’t know what responses I would get, if any, but I appreciate all the input.

PErsian- I’m looking to spend around £5K, maybe a bit more, I’m not sure yet. honestly if it is going to help my confidence I think it will help me in work so I don’t mind spending on it. I don’t do drugs/ smoke so compared to most of my friends I have quite a bit of extra cash!

Sta-kool - you are probably right about the insecurity of my head shape but seriously, I shaved my head with a razor completely once and I really can’t pull it off :-s . I’m hitting the gym and am in fairly good shape but for now I can’t seem to accept it…

troubadoue- Yeah I think I would have to “top it up” over a couple of years but like you said, if it makes a difference I don’t mind doing this. Don’t suppose you know where he went? USA? I’ve heard UK surgeons are hopeless so I’ll definitely have to go elsewhere which adds a bit to the cost unfortunately.

iamaru-intersting stuff…I had seen a little bit on cloning hair but thought it was years away. I’ll read you links and get back to this thread a bit later.

marinera- lool yeah those are the horror stories, and its not like he’s struggling for money. I am hoping because I will wear my hair short they will still look fairly uniform even if there are a couple of dodgy ones. I have heard way too many bad stories from dutasteride, granted most of the time only people who had bad experiences will post but it sounds like a stronger version of propecia and since my experience with that wasn’t good I don’t want to push my luck any further.

Damien84 - Yes I have seen these but the more I read up on them the more it seemed like they rarely work, if ever. If you are thinking of getting one please read up a little more on independent reviewers because it seems to be a very small success rate, and also iamaru pointed out the scientific side to it. Thanks anyway though.

Audacia- You make me laugh mate, that avatar seemed to go right in line with your post as well! Donald Trump is another loaded guy who seems to have had a dodgy job but I think he has had his a while and the quality of surgery seems to have moved on a lot, plus again if I wear it short I’m hoping it will be less noticeable if it is a bad job… I appreciate you relating to me, I have seen the caffeine shampoo but again I can’t relaly see how it works. I have started to look a lot more into the scientific side of hair loss cures and it seems like reduced circulation is one that many are convinced is the cause but I think there is more evidence to show this isn’t the case. It’s funny you mention that the anti-dandruff shampoo may have helped you keep some of you hair as it seems to be the case with a lot of people. Unfortunately as my skin is quite sensitive in generaly these shampoos tend to dry out my scalp too much which then has the adverse affect of making the oil glands over work..brilliant. Haha you are right about the facial stubble as well, I always keep it there at around 0.5 using my clippers, definitely adds something. Your advise is appreciated though, I am trying not to make a mistake and trying to get others views but essentially it will be my own decision and I kind of think my mind is made up…as long as I can find a good surgeon.

74zowee86 - I know it sucks right! Are you losing your hair as a result of it? I am convinced it is contributing to my hair loss and at the same time I avoided washing my hair as often as I should because I was scared at losing more of it which obviously made the serb worse…oh well lesson learned I guess, I will check out that shampoo though. Do you only use it when it flares up of do you use it every now and again to keep it away?

Again, thanks for all your responses guys I really appreciate it!

Not losing my hair. In fact, if anything, it’s thicker than ever! I use it everyday if it flares up and it soon goes away. If I use it once or twice a week, it doesn’t return. If I forget for a few weeks, then it can come back.

Okay thanks 74zowee86, I noticed it says for psoriasis- do you have psoriasis or seb derm? It can’t hurt to try anyway but I was just wondering…also is it called ceanel concentrate shampoo or are you using a different one?

Thanks

I think Sta-kool nailed it. Your “funny head shape” is probably in your head! If you doubt it, post a pic on this site (you can blur out your eyes or wear sunglasses) and we will give you the truth. I am 99% sure your head shape is fine.

Like Sta-kool I would focus on being in shape and getting the skin condition sorted out. Then you shave your head with confidence and forget about this hair hangup! :up:

If your hairline is still receding I would advise you to wait a few years for it to level off. I hope any decent doctor would tell you the same. You don’t want to shell out big bucks, and get the transplants only to have your natural hair recede behind / under it and end up with really thinned implanted hair.

Lots of girls find the shaved / bald look sexy. Its really about your confidence to pull off whatever you have.