Month: January 2023

I’m a junior in College and my roommates are telling me that I am losing my hair. I never noticed it before but I now realize that I can see through my entire scalp. It looks like my hair is thinning everywhere. I am thinking seriously about getting a hair transplant.

You need to be evaluated by an expert who specializes in hair transplantation, and is honest and doesn’t do it just for the money he gets from you. A good opinion is critical. I met with a man from Reddit last week who thought he was balding and had seen another doctor who offered him a hair transplant. When I examined him with the HAIR CHECK instrument and a trichoscope, it was clear he was not balding (and he did not have DUPA), so what he was seeing was very fine hair with very poor density (which I measured as very low). He was probably born that way and just noticed it recently from comments by friends. If he got a hair transplant with his poor hair and poor density, he would end up deformed for life because he had terrible hair and just would never make a good hair transplant candidate. If he felt strongly about his appearance, a wig might work for him or he should just accept what he has. We could offer him Scalp Micropigmentation which would make his hair appear much thicker. It would make his white scalp less prominent which is a much better option than a wig because it is full freedom to be himself.

The results from the nightly use of minoxidil has been great, but I want to know if it will stay or eventually be lost.

The hair brought on by minoxidil will stay as long as you stay on the drug. When you stop it, then the minoxidil dependent hairs will fall out. Best always to take the exact same view of the photos.

First, check with your mom and the other females in the family (grandmothers, aunts, sisters, etc..) and see if they had the same situation in their 20s as this condition is often inherited on the female side of the family. You need to get a good doctor and a good examination of your hair with a trichoscope which shows classic genetic patterns in the area around the sides and back of your head.

Some common blood tests for female hair loss:

• Sex Hormone tests
• SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) used to test status of male hormones
• Estradiol is a sex hormone
• FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) *not hair follicle but follicle in the ovary*
• LH (Luteinizing Hormone) is a sex hormone
• Free Testosterone
• Total Testosterone
• ANA (Anti Nuclear Antibody) used to test for Lupus or other autoimmune diseases
• TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) used to test for hyper or hypo-thyroid disease
• Test Iron status
• TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity)
• Ferritin
• Iron

As these test may point to a cause other than genetic

Hello, I am currently a 20 year old college student with a big hairline recession and also thinning hair. It is not that bad, but it is definitely something that is causing me a lot of anxiety and stress. I am entering my 6th month on finasteride and have been on and off minoxidil for about a year. I have not seen any progress and fear it is just getting worse. I really want to get a transplant but feel I may be too young. Any advice on when in life is best for this or if finasteride will eventually start working?

Don’t do a hair transplant until you are at least 25-6. At that time, your final pattern of balding will be evident, and you can build a personalized master plan with a good doctor for your future hair loss, which will continue to occur even at 26. Finasteride will slow, stop, or reverse the hair loss. It is not uncommon for reversal at age 20.

My best alternative for my hair loss is to get a Hair Transplant. However I have read various news from the internet and I came down to these conclusions:

1. It is permanent however you would need to get another hair transplant in the future if you want more density.

2. My hair transplant doctor says you do not need to take any medications, treatments. For my case, and that is exactly what I want to do but alot of internet topics suggested to take minoxidil, rogain, finasteraide, proprecia, prp to keep the existing hair for the rest of your life if you do not want to lose anymore hair.

3. I wear toppik and have 1 picture of my current hair.

4. I would consider a hair transplant if all I had to do was 1, and no medications were required. Is it possible or are you in a endless cycle of multiple transplants and a lifetime supply of treatments.

You discussed endless cycles but at 20, the reality is that repeated hair transplants every year until your balding becomes stable is a awful endless cycle, see here: https://baldingblog.com/22-year-old-received-a-hair-transplant-of-2800-grafts-from-reddit/

I also have a history of having Gynecomastia when I was 15, and it was surgically removed. Will my risk be high if I start Finasteride?

Before staring the drug Finasteride, I always perform a HAIRCHECK, which accurately shows the amount of hair lost at the time the drug is started. If no hair is lost, I advise against the drug.

However, if hair is lost, then I remeasure the patient one year later to see what happened to the balding process and if the drug (1) was started, and (2) the value and the benefit, if any, of taking the drug. For young men with a history of Gynecomastia, the drug Finasteride is not any more of a risk in your situation compared to other men of your age.

Young men rarely get Telogen effluviums. When it does happen, it goes away by itself. If it does not go away, it is likely early genetic hair loss. If it is early genetic balding, it will not reverse. You might want to see a doctor and get a HAIRCHECK test for a good baseline measurement to compare with future measurements so that you know what is happening with your balding pattern.

To learn more about HAIRCHECK tests, see here.