hair transplant surgery

vacuumfreeeke · May 1, 2009

I remember some of you mentioning having hair transplant surgery on previous threads about aging and such. I am considering doing that as well... my hair has been receding since I was 20 and I'm 25 now and just feel awful. I'm ready to do something about it. Would any of you who have been through it describe the procedure, results, recovery, and perhaps what I might expect to spend? I'm not bald, just receding at the temples and thinning at the rest... when my hair is wet, you can see right through to the scalp!

Thank you for sharing any experience and advice you may have!

oldhouseman · May 1, 2009

Mine started

to recede at that age also. It didn't bother me. I got a buzz cut and haven't paid for a haircut in 20 years. I run the clippers over my head once a week and enjoy being hair free. I think you are wise to ask others experience who have had the procedure. Some guys have a high sex appeal with less hair. I hope you don't feel unattractive because of hair loss. Most guys look just fine as nature runs its course. Remember Jes. Ventura?

toggleswitch2 · May 1, 2009

Not sure about that, but I have read that any shampoo with salt in it (like Head and Shoulders for example) will plug up the pores and kill the hair folicile. Yes is it probably effective in stopping dandruff, but the results may be FAR worse...... baldness.

athanasius80 · May 2, 2009

Look into Propecia.

sudsmaster · May 2, 2009

Salt?

Natural component of normal sweat. Unlikely to plug up pores or cause hair loss.

Male pattern baldness is simply a matter of genetics. And the trait is passed on in the maternal line. So if your mother's brothers were bald, then you probably are (or will be) bald as well. If they got to old age with full heads of hair (like my maternal uncles) then you'll probably have a full set of locks most of your life (as do I). I have a bad case of dandruff, however, and use Head and Shoulders every day. No sign of hair loss (although I notice more tends to fall out in times of high stress - but it seems to be replaced in time). Of course the hair is thinned a bit since I was 20, but still presentable with not much recession or skull capping.

I agree with the others... just embrace your baldness. It's not your fault and I think most men look better with their normal hair... cut shorter if it's receding. Grow a beard to compensate... seems to work well enough. Worst is the combover... and if you want to look like Joe Biden, then get those hair plugs... but I think one can always tell.

Believe it or not, when I was younger and broke most of the time (as a teen and college student, at least) I used to wish I was bald, so I wouldn't have to go through the expense and bother of getting a haircut every month. I outgrew that condition... lol...

brisnat81 · May 2, 2009

Hi Vacuumfreeeke,

I have a similiar hair line history to you, although I've now got a good smattering of grey through mine as well. I'll be 28 this year.

From about 19 - 25 my forehead got bigger and bigger and then all of a sudden it stopped. It hasnt receded any since, and instead has just gotten a bit greyer.

What I'm saying is, is that I wouldnt worry about it too much. If you're actually bald on top, look at clippering it, if its still just receding, wait and see it might stop all on its own.

I'm a firm beleiver that beauty comes from within. If others dont like you for who you are physically dont waste your time. Life is about accepting ourselves for who we are, once you've done that, you'll be truely happy.

animasinsulinpu · May 2, 2009

Laser

They've been having very good results with lasers. On that show "The Doctors" they showed one so I bought the hand held model, expensive tho....Bill in Az....

perc-o-prince · May 2, 2009

Salt?

I dunno. I've been using the WalMart version of H & S for years and there's been no noticible hair loss. On the other hand, I don't know what either of my brothers uses, but they've got receding hairlines and WOW thinning hair. If those hairlines recede any further, they'll be to the ankles!

Chuck

animasinsulinpu · May 2, 2009

Receding Hairlines

I used to tease my friend John Kay who died of Type 2 diabetes complication, this guy had the most full head of hair I've EVER seen. I told him it won't be long and you'll be blow-drying your FACE, wow, must be rough!!!....Bill in Az....

rapunzel · May 2, 2009

Embrace your masculinity

There is nothing that says "I am a MAN" more clearly, than male-pattern baldness and a hairy back ;0). Hair transplants can go wrong and there is no guarantee that the transplants will take, or that the thinning will stop after surgical intervention. Also, some transplants can become very obvious over time. Preparations are expensive and there are no guarantees either.

I too became folicularly challenged in my early twenties and had some issues with it initially. I explored what avenues were available from surgical options to other treatments, but in the end, I decided that I wasn't going to give in to vanity and make someone else rich on (what is largely) an empty promise. If you have a good face and half-decent shaped skull, you needn't worry too much. As long as you remember never to do the comb-over, get a toupe and say no to the mullet, you'll be fine. Most importantly, NEVER worry about what other people think. Those that don't like the way you look can look somewhere else. Love yourself for all the good things that nature has bestowed upon you - your hair is the least important and trust me, you'll still score. There are plenty of nice guys/gals out there who like a naked pate on a man.

Just remember to wear a hat on cold and windy days.

rapunzel

whirlcool · May 2, 2009

At age 58 I still have just as much hair as I did when I was 20. And I am only now getting my first gray hairs. My Mothers brothers all had their hair until well into their 80's, but a few of them didn't live so long.

I have noticed that guys who are bald seem to have more body hair than guys who have a full head of hair. It's like there is only so much hair a body can support, and after a certain point some of it must go.

Back in college I had a room mate that had black hair (not afro hair, just colored black), whenever he took a shower there would be black hair all over the place. It looked like 10 women took a shower with him. He was only 23 at the time. I imagine by the time he was 30 he wouldn't have much left.

rapunzel · May 3, 2009

whirlcool

"I have noticed that guys who are bald seem to have more body hair than guys who have a full head of hair."

Not necessarily. Being very familiar with men of the mediterranean persuasion I have come to know the true meaning of hirsute. Baldness doesn't actually mean that the hair is lost. The growth cycle slows down and becomes retarded. The follicles don't actually disappear, they just shrink. If one examines a bald person's head, one will usually find a covering of very fine, almost invisible fuzz. There is a gene that apparently switches off the hair's growth cycle in men and it is supposedly inherited from the maternal side.

rapunzel

whirlcool · May 3, 2009

Thanks for the information. I didn't know that. I learned something today.

vacuumfreeeke · May 4, 2009

Thanks guys for responding... I still want to hear from someone who has been throug it and I know some of the members here said they had (at least two, but I forgot who they were). It does bother me and I do not want to accept it, I want to have it fixed!

rapunzel · May 4, 2009

The only thing that can 'fix it' will be some form of genetic treatment. Everything else currently available is nothing more than patch work and snake oils. If you are programmed to lose it you will. You can either accept it and wait to see if our geneticists will come up with something in the next 10 to 20 years, or you can spend thousands now and still lose it. It may take longer, but lose it you will. Any plastic surgeon worth their salt will tell you this before they start work on you.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

rapunzel