This is a young man who presented to our clinic at age 26 with a 3-year history of typical male pattern genetic hair loss. He’d briefly tried over-the-counter minoxidil for a short time but abandoned it because he didn’t feel it was helping. With such advanced hair loss at such a young age, he felt that his confidence was significantly affected.
We talked to him, not only about the options of surgical hair restoration but also about the importance of complementary treatments to prevent ongoing hair loss. We planned for an FUE surgery of about 2000 grafts, with about 1000 grafts dedicated to filling the recessions on both sides of his hairline, and about 1000 grafts to restore his crown. At the same time, we started him on oral finasteride to block the effects of DHT and we reinforced the importance of restarting topical minoxidil to stimulate hair growth and keep his hair in a growing phase for a longer period of time. With the use of both of those medications, not only would he be treating the root cause of his genetic hair loss, but he would also be taking steps to stimulate some hair regrowth. To make the use of his minoxidil easier, we switched him from twice daily, over-the-counter minoxidil to our once-daily high-strength formula. We also set realistic expectations for him, so he better understood that it would take some time, even up to a year, before he might see the benefit of his hair transplant surgery and treatments.
This young man returned to see us about a year after his surgery, and what a difference a year makes! His hairline is fully restored with a very natural appearance and a strong, masculine frontotemporal angle in a natural position that will continue to look great for years and decades to come. It is almost impossible to see his scalp through his crown now. His donor area looks just as full as it did before his surgery. Looking at him, you’d never know he had a hair transplant surgery. He continues to use his oral finasteride and our high-strength minoxidil and he’s thrilled with the results. He couldn’t stop telling us what a positive impact his hair restoration has had on his confidence and we couldn’t be more excited about this young man’s future. Congratulations!
