Going bald in college

[mattjames]

I have some slight recession and I've been on proscar for about 8 months. I plan to get my hairline restored surgically.

If anyone else here is considering getting a transplant, make sure you do the research first and don't let geography dictate where you go for the procedure. I am flying from the UK to Canada for mine, as there are no docs in my country who are anywhere near the standard of the best in North America. Don't just pick a doctor because he's close to where you live. This is something that will be with you for the rest of your life, and there are still many doctors out there butchering patients. The most famous transplant doctor is Bosley, and his clinics are also the most heavily promoted. I would steer clear of them, he has many unhappy patients.

The best doctors are:

Hasson & Wong - Vancouver - http://www.hassonandwong.com/

Alvi Armani - Toronto - http://www.alviarmanihairtransplants.com/

Alan Feller - New York - http://www.fellermedical.com/

H. Rahal - Ottawa - http://www.lmchairtransplant.com/

John Cole - Atlanta - http://www.forhair.com/

There are a few others that I forget. The FUE method, where individual follicles are removed, is the only way to avoid a strip scar, but as yet there are not a great deal of proven results on the internet. (and it is important to see results first). The modern strip method leaves a very fine scar, and the trichophytic method of closing the scar means that hairs grow through it, camouflaging the wound and making it difficult or impossible to see at any length over a grade 2 cut.

Naturally, if you're young and have many balding years ahead of you, and you don't wish to use drugs like finasteride (propecia), a transplant can be a risk. You will most likely need further procedures down the line to address further balding. You might even reach a degree of baldness that is impossible to cover with your supply of donor hair. Because of this, some doctors refuse to work on guys under 25, in some cases under 30.
Do your research.

 

[Ivan Kipling]

mattjames, I've heard the same info, regarding Bosley. Have heard too, that the process by which a bald spot is removed by excising if from the scalp, then closing in on it, with hair that's left on one's head . . . often doesn't work out.

 

[mattjames]

Originally Posted by Ivan Kipling

mattjames, I've heard the same info, regarding Bosley. Have heard too, that the process by which a bald spot is removed by excising if from the scalp, then closing in on it, with hair that's left on one's head . . . often doesn't work out.

Those scalp reduction methods should be avoided at all costs.

 

[Soph]

Originally Posted by mattjames

Those scalp reduction methods should be avoided at all costs.

--- Also the insane fleming flap should be avoided at all costs despite what GQ/Esquire etc. proclaim. Anybody under 30 should be looking at FUE by Cole preferrably.

 

[itsstillmatt]

IMO, guys go bald. No big deal. I would not think of wearing makeup, having pecs implanted or taking pills to make ******* bigger. I would not even think of taking medicine or having a hair transplant. It just does not really matter.

 

[Soph]

Originally Posted by iammatt

IMO, guys go bald. No big deal. I would not think of wearing makeup, having pecs implanted or taking pills to make ******* bigger. I would not even think of taking medicine or having a hair transplant. It just does not really matter.

--But you'll wear a Kiton suit

What's the difference? Nothing matters. Expensive suits, many people will laugh at how silly that is.You love to use hyperbole and extremes.

I've seen patients with inverted chest. Pec implants restored their lives. Pills can't make ********* bigger.

I know many physicians and self esteem is tied to physical looks to some extent, don't call the kettle midnight:

http://www.forhair.com/hairtransplant/about944.html
The results are virtually perfect by top notch, 'custom HT docs'
Another result achieved without perceptible scarring, using Follicular Isolation.

If a patient wants to improve their lives, I say why not. Although shaving one's head first to determine if that is ideal is your first step. I prefer short hair myself, but I'm not going to bash someone for wanting to improve themselves via a suit, shoes or anything cosmetic. Many men would prefer hair over a suit anyday.

 

[Bradford]

I heard a waitress use a funny line about this yesterday.

She told a balding guy, "the more hair you lose, the more head you get."

I thought that was pretty good.

 

[Ivan Kipling]

Those of us who have had to deal with baldness, handle it the best way we can, I guess. For me, it was not easy.

I have been told by many women, that to their eyes, bald men are often appealing. Yul Brynner certainly had a big, big, following. Naturally, he had a face that stood alone, hair or no hair. But I know women who thought Telly Savalas was very attractive, too.

Also . . . we shouldn't forget that as women age, they too lose their hair. I'd say the average woman loses perhaps a third of her hair, if she lives long enough.

 

[Gradstudent78]

There are plenty of bald or balding men who have been considered attractive: Patrick Stewart was voted sexiest man on television one year. Other notables are Bruce Willis, Jason Stathom, Anthony Edwards (also named sexiest man in a prime time series), Vin Diesel, Sean Connery, Michael Rosenbaum (not really bald, but shaves his head for smallville). Thats just to name a few... Anyways just because your bald or balding doesn't mean its the end of the world. I'd say one of the keys is keeping the rest of your body in decent shape and dressing well. Of course personality and presence can go a long way in making you stand out with or without hair.

 

[stach]

Vin shaves his head to hide his race, but it still looks good.

 

[Gradstudent78]

Where did you hear that from Stach?

 

[mattjames]

Originally Posted by iammatt

IMO, guys go bald. No big deal. I would not think of wearing makeup, having pecs implanted or taking pills to make ******* bigger. I would not even think of taking medicine or having a hair transplant. It just does not really matter.

What dreadful reasoning. None of those things are analogous to hair restoration.
I'm betting that you still have all your hair.

Regarding Dr. Cole, I believe he is fairly conservative and I don't recall ever seeing a result from him with as much 'wow' factor as the results often seen from doctors such as Armani or Drs. Hasson & Wong. I don't think we would give the kind of results a young guy with recent memories of his childhood hairline would desire. I also think he is less likely to work on younger guys in the first place. He is undoubtably a man of great skill, though.

 

[Soph]

I think lean, muscular, strong jawed men do best with a shaven head.

Also those with a darker skin tone do better with it.
Its a case by case basis.

I don't think Moby looks great, but Shawn Connery has been voted sexiest with a bald top.

Shaving one's head should always be tried prior to any other avenues as I agree many men look great bald, other not so much.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally posted by mattjames What dreadful reasoning. None of those things are analogous to hair restoration. I'm betting that you still have all your hair.

Actually, I don't have very much of it left at all. You know what... I could not care less. Unless you need your hair to stay warm, it is no different than a prick extension. Do as you like, I just don't believe in chemically or surgically changing my appearance.

 

[mattjames]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Actually, I don't have very much of it left at all. You know what... I could not care less.

Unless you need your hair to stay warm, it is no different than a prick extension. Do as you like, I just don't believe in chemically or surgically changing my appearance.

A prick extension would be giving you something you never had. Hair restoration is giving you back what you once had. The only plastic surgery it is comparible to is reconstructive surgery of the face, or something like that.