Absolutely not! Whether you want to opt for shaving your head like tons of other successful and respected men have or you want to restore that look of having a full head of hair, there is certainly hope. Actually, everything I wrote in “My Hairline Has Receded Substantially and I am Losing (or Have Lost) the Hair on my Crown” applies to you, with the exception of needing to maintain hair. There are basically two options for restoring hair to your head, if that’s what you want to do:
1. Hair Transplant Surgery
2. Hair Replacement (using a hairpiece)
Hair transplant surgery will probably not bring your hairline back to its original position (since there is a limited hair supply in the back of your head), but it will certainly fill in some gaps and restore a substantial amount of hair. Many men have undergone this surgery and are satisfied with it.
If you want that look of a complete and full head of hair, your only option (at least with current technology) is probably virtual hair replacement, which involves using a hairpiece. There are no limitations to the amount of hair you will want to use or the hair style you would want. It also gives a very natural look, as you can see from these photographs – assuming this clinic is reliable!
So whether you want to go Jason Statham or Bruce Willis, or you want to bring back a full head of hair, there are satisfying options for you! Good luck in your decision.
This is known as Stage IV or V of Male Pattern Hair Loss, measured by something called the Norwood Scale. This means you have experienced hair loss for some time. Is it too late to do anything about this or to “fix” it? Definitely not. First, there are plenty of men (including famous Hollywood celebrities) who simply opt for going bald, so that is certainly one solution to the “problem.” However, some men may not want to go that route, and if you are one of them and you have it in your budget, there are ways to restore some of your former hairline.
This section corresponds to the middle stage in the above diagram for male-pattern hair loss. You have lost a substantial amount of hair, but there is still some on the top. Image from http://www.theprivateclinic.co.uk.
The first thing you want to do is make sure you can maintain the hair you still have left on the top of your head. The way to do that is through the maintenance procedure as outlined in this section. You must consistently apply the well-tested treatments of finasteride, minoxidil, and/or low-level laser light therapy. (Using a combination of treatments seems to produce the most powerful effect. See this study, for example.) If you skip this step, you may lose the remaining native hairs you have on the top and crown of your head.
The second step is to consider replacing the hair you have already lost. The primary way to do this involves filling in the bald spots with your own hair via a procedure known as hair transplant surgery. In short, this involves extracting hair follicles from the back and sides of your head (called the “donor site”) and transferring those hair follicles to the places where there is no hair. Because this hair is taken from the back and sides of your head (which is “protected” from the hair loss caused by DHT), the hair that is transplanted will continue to grow the rest of your life. There are three concerns to be aware of, however:
1. Because you have a limited hair supply in the back and sides of your head, you may not be able to completely fill in every spot of your head that used to have hair. In addition, the new transplanted hair will not be as dense as the previous hair that grew on your head. However, a good hair transplant surgeon can make the results look very close to what you had originally.
2. There are two types of transplant surgeries: FUT and FUE. The FUT transplant procedure involves harvesting hair from the back of the head, so that will leave a thin but permanent scar on the back of your head. However, if you don’t keep your hair too short, it probably won’t be an issue, because the hair will cover up the scar. FUE does not result in any long scar, as it involves taking smaller “bunches” of hair rather than taking a strip of hair. Nowadays, hair transplant surgeons have developed ways to minimize or virtually eliminate scarring.
3. There is a possibility of experiencing “shock loss,” which is the destruction of hair due to the trauma of the hair transplant surgery. Usually, this hair that is lost eventually grows back as your body recovers. However, in some cases, the hair is lost permanently. Just be aware of this risk. In order to avoid this, make sure you find a surgeon with very good Before & After photos and talk to several surgeons about the risk of you in particular experiencing shock loss. There are many successful hair transplant surgeries, so this may very well be fine for you, but it is also good to be aware of the possible risks.
The benefit of hair transplant surgery is that it involves using your own hair and there is no chance of losing that hair again, since the hair strands from the back of the head (which are moved to the places you lost your hair) will always be “immune” to hair loss caused by DHT.
The second option to gain back the hair you lost is via a method known as Hair Replacement, in which human hair (other than your own) is almost “grafted” into your scalp to provide a full head of hair. One example of a clinic that offers this solution is Graff Technology in Riverside, California. The benefit of this is that unlike in hair transplant surgery, there are no restrictions on how much hair you can use or what hairstyle you want to have, since there is a full supply of hair available. Also, you will have a full head of hair, giving a very natural look. And since there is no surgery involved, there are virtually no risks.
The downfall is that it requires maintenance and that it is not your own hair. However, if you want to have hair and cover up bald spots, this is an excellent and satisfying option.
Based on your stage of hair loss, you can choose to either do hair transplant surgery or the hairpiece. The hairpiece has no limitations as to what kind of hair you want, but it is not your own hair; the transplant surgery is limited by how much hair you have lost and how much you have available from your “donor site” (the sides and back of your head), but it uses your own hair, giving the most natural result.
If you have just noticed your hairline starting to recede (or it’s only been a few years since you started noticing hair loss), then you are still in excellent shape. This is because you likely still have a good portion of your hair on the top of your head, meaning all you have to do is strengthen and maintain the hair you have. In addition, some of the hair you have lost (in “bald” areas) may still be in a miniaturized state (not completely gone), which allows the possibility of reviving those weak hair follicles. It is much easier to deal with hair loss now than it would be if you were already mostly or completely bald.
lts-hairstyles.blogspot.com
For methods to slow down or stop hair loss and maintain the hair you currently have, see this post.
Another important thing is to try and predict how much at risk you are for further hair loss. Try to match up your pattern of hair loss with someone in your immediate or extended family (your dad or grandpa). Chances are (though it’s not a guarantee), you may have inherited a similar type and pattern of hair loss. This means you can use your dad or grandpa’s current hair situation as a predictor of the hair loss you will have to deal with. If Grandpa has no hair left except around his sides and back, then you can assume that will be the condition of your hair in the future if you do not do anything. Some people, on the other hand, only lose some of their hair. Knowing how much hair loss you would experience or what type of hair loss you will have to deal with can help in your procedure for maintaining your current hair. Note: This is just a rough way of estimating, and is not necessarily guaranteed. It may just help provide some perspective in your plan for treatment.
If your dad, grandpa, or uncle went bald at an early age, you may need to utilize the more powerful solutions (for example, a combination of the methods discussed here, the more powerful lasers with over 200 diodes, etc.) to maintain the hair you currently have. Image from http://www.gettyimages.com
If Grandpa is 70 years old and he’s only lost a little hair on the temples, you may not have to worry about your hair. In fact, you may just decide to let nature take its course. However, if Dad is 35 and his hair is almost gone, and you don’t want to go down that same path, then you need to watch your hair closely and take steps now to prevent future hair loss, perhaps using one or more of the solutions discussed above.
Since you have caught your hair loss in its early stages, you are in excellent shape and will have much better control of the situation. In short, the options you have for maintaining your current hair and stopping (or at least slowing) hair loss are finasteride or dutasteride, minoxidil, 2% ketoconazole shampoo, and low-level laser therapy. I discuss the scientific studies behind these treatments here.
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* I am not a doctor. You should always consult a board-certified hair restoration doctor before making any decisions about hair loss treatments. However, from what I have researched, minoxidil’s effectiveness to reverse hair thinning at the crown seems to be better documented than it is for hair at the temples. In addition, minoxidil does not block DHT; it only stimulates hair growth, albeit in a somewhat mild manner.
If you are young and have not seen any signs of hair loss, but your dad, your grandpa, or uncle (on either side of your family) has experienced hairline recession or balding, then you are still in great shape. However, there is definitely a chance hair loss will begin at some point in the future for you if you do nothing. With that in mind, you can also completely avoid it and maintain the amount of hair you have right now if you are proactive and plan wisely.
So if you are concerned with possible future hair loss, keep an eye out, and if you ever notice it starting to occur (your hairline recedes, or you start losing hair in your crown, or your hair feels or appears thinner), then you can begin a “program” to halt the process and maintain the hair you have.
Maintaining Hair For Men 