Author: Dr. William Rassman

I am a 20 year old male and I want to discuss about hair transplant. I Started noticing hairloss since around age 19 and since then I have been using rogaine to help me with it(about 7 months now), I have also just started finasteride a month ago. Although I only have a small amount of recession, I want to get a small hair transplant done so that my hairline looks good. I am a model/actor hence I am in front of the camera a lot and I need to keep my hair looking good in order to maintain a few of my upcoming roles. After doing a bit of research I came across the fact that hair transplant is usually done on people above the age of 25. But I am fine with getting it done two or even three times in the next decade as long as I can keep my hair! I also think it is worth mentioning that money is not an issue for me in the sense that having good hair would be an indirect investment into my career. What would you advise me?

Please look at these pictures: https://baldingblog.com/need-master-plan-think-hair-transplants-photos/ and see the need for a Personalized Master Plan that will not include a hair transplant until you are at least 25. This is clear because your balding will change and if you use us your donor hair now, then you might end up without enough to follow your future balding pattern.

Hi, I’m a 20 year old Caucasian male, and for the last few months I’ve been concerned about my hairline. I had never paid much attention to it before, as I’ve always had thick wavy long hair that mostly hid it, but after getting it cut short I realized that the corners extended a little bit higher than I’d like them to. The left only extends a little bit above my juvenile hairline, but the right corner is a little bit higher than the left. In both corners above the juvenile hairline mark I have short dark vellum hair.

I’m worried because I have more of this hair on the left than the right. The left almost hits my juvenile hairline while the right does not… Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated.

I give all permission to use these photos.

 

Thanks for allowing us to post your photos. Click them to enlarge.

You shouldn’t worry about having more hair or less hair on left or right corners of the hairline. Many people have asymmetry, so what you’re seeing isn’t uncommon. With respect to hair loss, I cannot give you a diagnosis at this stage since you’re only 20 years old and anything is possible. This could just be a case of the hairline maturing, but honestly, it is impossible to tell how/if your hair loss will progress just based on looking at photos. There needs to be more hands-on examinations of the hair.

My advice is that if you are concerned about hair loss, see a doctor. First, get an objective measurement — miniaturization studies and bulk analysis of hair on different parts of the scalp). Then get a diagnosis and a suitable Master Plan that will follow you for the years to come.

That is a reasonable number of grafts. If you have very fine hair, then more grafts would have been better because fine hair does not have much bulk to it. However, there appears to be areas where the growth is underperforming at this time, so wait out another 2 months. If at that time the area has not filled in, go back and see your doctor.

This type of response is what I would expect in this age group

I am on Fin and Min and my hairloss doesn’t seem to progress. Because I have high temples naturally and no regrowth, I wanted to ask if there are clinics that transplant hair from the top of the head, rather than the back. As I believe I will lose all hair eventually, I would like to have a small transplant of hair that will fall out with the other hair if I stop Fin. I am 20 right now by the way.

You are absolutely wrong about your hair loss. The back and sides always stick around regardless of how much hair you lose. A small transplant is like being a little bit pregnant, there is no such thing. If a 20 year old gets a little transplant, then the balding will accelerate (worst and most probable case), and you lose out big time. See a good doctor, make a Master Plan with that doctor and follow that plan with that good doctor for the next 20+ years. Look at this previous post I wrote which defined the issues very well: https://baldingblog.com/22-year-old-received-a-hair-transplant-of-2800-grafts-from-reddit/

There is no doubt that this man, now in his mid-50s, looks younger than his balding before state. I did his surgery 20 years ago and it is always a pleasure seeing my older patient. He maintains his hair situation from progressing by taking finasteride which he has been taking since 2002. He has no side effects. I want those of you who are looking at his hairline and see if you can see that this man had a hair transplant. I can’t tell even today. His hair transplant shows the value of a 1/4 inch transition zone made up with around 350 single hair grafts in front of the 2 and 3 hair grafts that bring on hair bulk. This shows that the hairline is not a ‘line’ and it should never be. The transplant does not need the finasteride to hang in for his lifetime because these hairs came from the back of the head where the hair is lifetime hair.

From the photos, it looks like the drug may have stabilized the loss. It is possibly slightly better but most important it is not worse. If you were to stop the medication, I’l bet you will lose a lot of hair.

Hi I l’ve seen your advise and I was wondering if I could ask for you opinion as you seem to be one of the few in r/tressless who is an expert in hair loss. I’m diffuse thinning and started fin at the end of October. I’m afraid of starting min as well because of the shed. All I’m wondering is do you think min could work for me looking at my hair loss. I’m 20 going bald for about 15 months. This is my hair from last august until this week

That is a lot of balding for a 20 year old. I would add minoxidil to your daily routine, pulling out all stops to hope for some reversal. If I ever saw a man than needs a Personalized Master Plan it is you with a caring competent hair doctor. You are likely going to develop a Norwood Class 7 pattern of balding. Is that what is in your family history? Dad, Grandfathers, brothers, etc….?

This is a great result, something I would expect in many men. This man used topical minoxidil and appears to be one of the 40% of men who respond to the topical minoxidil