Why Age and Hair Loss Stage Matter
Hair transplantation is a special decision in a person’s life. It is associated with the desire to change the appearance, return youth and health. Thanks to the improvements in surgical techniques (FUE and FUT), the prices of equipment and service, the results of hair restoration are improving every year. In fact, one can come to the conclusion that everyone can get a great result in a hair transplant. And in a way, this is true. An important role is played by the surgeon’s skills and the method used. But if we talk about the main thing, about what for many men is a guarantee of a lifetime result, then this point has the fewest options for influence. This is the question of age and the timing of the intervention in the process of androgenetic alopecia.
A hair transplant is a long game, in which you need to outplay the genetics and not beat your wife. If you want a long and positive result from the hair restoration surgery, you need to approach this process with a realistic and critical view. Your task is not to restore the hairline of an 18-year-old man, but to create a hair transplant that will be natural, proportional and full in 30-40 years.
Hair Restoration Game Plan:
The Invincibility of Nature
In order to understand the importance of timing, we must first understand the opponent. Pattern hair loss is a progressive process.
In which DHT (dihydrotestosterone) and a genetic program for a person weaken genetically sensitive hair follicles. This process is called miniaturization and occurs gradually over time in the scalp’s most DHT-sensitive areas.
These are the vertex and crown. With each successive growth cycle, the follicle produces a hair strand that is gradually finer, shorter, and lighter. As a result, hair becomes visually thinner and disappears completely.
Hair loss does not go unnoticed because follicles become genetically resistant to DHT’s influence as they move to the back and sides of the head.
In a hair transplant, these are donor follicles that are genetically inert. These are the only healthy grafts with which the work of the surgeon is solved.
His task is to build, using a non-renewable resource, a long-term, durable result. It is necessary to beat genetics, which is rapidly losing in the areas adjacent to the transplanted grafts. And for this, time, correct timing is more important than anything else.
Dangerous Point
A 22-year-old man is more likely to want a hair transplant than a sports car. The reason is the strong psyche when the first signs of baldness appear. Such an important step as a hair transplant is often made in a hurry, and this is a big mistake. Here are the main arguments of those surgeons who advise their patients to “chill” and not to turn to them now.
Incomprehensible future The patient’s pattern in 22 years is unknown. He may think that he has a light Norwood class III. But in fact, after a couple of years, he will have an advanced, class VII hair loss. If a surgeon now builds transplants into the first areas of the first recession, the result in 20 years will be the saddest. The transplanted hair remains stubbornly, and the patient’s own hair behind it, which in the early stages of the disease used to be thick and strong, simply falls out. This inaccessibility will be a bright sign of an unsuccessful operation.
The limited resource of the donor area Every man has a limited supply of DHT-resistant grafts, which can and cannot be restored after a hair transplant. The earlier a patient seeks help from a hair transplant surgeon, the smaller the number of such grafts.
If at 22 he begins to solve his minor problems, then in 45 he will not have anything left for much more serious hair loss. In other words, a surgeon must be smart. It is necessary to plan a long-term “master plan” when a hair transplant can be covered many years ahead of time. The advantage of late planning is that over the years the maximum amount of a non-renewable resource remains to solve a problem.
Violation of age features Another problem when transplanting a very young man is that such a hairline simply does not fit his age.
Hairlines naturally recede slightly with age.
A transplanted hairline, on the other hand, is static and immutable. If at the age of 22 a man will lower a very low and dense adolescent hairline, in his 40s and 50s, when his face and skull have a completely different structure, he will look like from a young skinhead club. Hair transplants, like tattoos, cannot be corrected by later haircuts.
In young patients, a hair transplant is not the right solution at the moment. The right thing is to stop the disease with FDA-approved drugs (finasteride and minoxidil). This will help slow down or stop the progression of the disease, which will make it possible to more accurately assess the patient’s permanent pattern. It will also push the date of the surgery to a more mature age, which will benefit both the surgeon’s solution and the patient.
Choosing the right age for a hair transplant
For most men, the best time for a hair transplant is between the late 20s and late 40s.
It is at this age that a person is ready for an informed decision. A hairstyle has already had time to change so that the doctor could see its final form.
Solved Pattern This gives the doctor the opportunity to form a complete and more correct picture of the pattern. Judging by his current age, genetic features, the quality and rate of progression of the disease, it becomes clear what and where will the patient lose by in 10-20 years.
The “master plan” is the ability to create a large-scale solution, in which both the current situation and its possible final form are taken into account.
Planning in advance not for today but for the next 20-30 years helps to reduce costs by a significant percentage (compared with the solution of the problem in stages).
Long-term solution Now the surgeon must build on the principle of economy and get the maximum effect from the donor area with a limited number of grafts. Therefore, the hairline should be the lowest permissible to the age and as smooth as possible. Then the grafts remain to fill the top of the head. In these areas, the doctor will be able to apply a greater number of grafts, which will give the maximum cosmetic effect, and also leave a significant part of the donor supply in reserve for the second stage of the work, if necessary.
Planning for age
The perfect age for a hair transplant is directly related to the patient’s pattern, goals and personal situation. It also depends on the degree of disease progression.
Hair Transplant Timing Cheat Sheet – Young, Prime and Late Hair Restoration Game Plans
Every patient and his age are individual.
Prime patient
Hair loss control
- Early patient 25-30 years
- Later patient 50-60 years
- Patient’s age prime
- Hair loss control
- Hair transplant surgery
- Patient’s age later
Hair transplant surgery
This is a list of major characteristics that influence the timing of hair transplant surgery:
Late Patient
If a person is in the late stages, planning for a hair transplant is somewhat different. But first of all because at 50 there is an advantage and an advantage at once. The doctor can be sure that he is solving the problem to the end and has the final and not earlier pattern. An advanced age sometimes puts limits on further, but these are minimal for a skilled surgeon.
Hair density
The density of hair also tends to decrease with age. Not as much to the head, but to each individual hair shaft. Therefore, a man who is 50 years old may have a density that is three times less than 30 years old. But this fact is not decisive, the surgeon will assess the quantity and quality of the donor area with a high degree of accuracy. Planning and building a solution takes into account these features. The result will have to be denser than the existing one, but it is almost always realistic.
Skin laxity
The elasticity of the scalp also decreases with age. In some patients, this symptom can be an obstacle when using FUT technology. If the skin is too tight, it is very difficult to close the donor area stripe after harvesting follicles. For FUE, scalp laxity does not pose a problem, but the extraction of grafts will be more difficult.
The main points for planning at an advanced age are related to a change in facial features, scalp laxity and, as a consequence, a change in the size of the donor area. Therefore, the doctor must accurately assess the quality and quantity of the donor area. The scalp laxity of the head also plays a significant role. If a surgeon offers an FUT, with very elastic scalp tissue, it is time to turn to a hair transplant doctor. Scalp laxity for FUT technology is the most important negative factor.
Medical therapy: friend or foe of hair transplant surgery?
No matter what the age and stage of the disease are, but one moment is important for all hair transplant surgery timing. These are the post-operative medical therapies for hair growth. Finasteride and minoxidil are not a priori alternative methods and even competitors of surgery. On the contrary, medicine plays an extremely important role in the most successful outcome of hair transplantation. It will be helpful for both patients and patients in a hair transplant.
Medical therapy helps choose the correct time.
Young Patients
With the help of drugs, it is possible to stop the process, relieve stress and take time. This is an excellent solution when a person decides to restore hair. He will have time to develop and more carefully plan the stages of the procedure.
Hair Loss Stages Before Hair Transplant Surgery
Doctors for men in a prime position
FDA-approved drugs (finasteride and minoxidil) should be taken to protect existing hair follicles and improve long-term results after a hair transplant. This is a mandatory, but often “neglected” medical therapy.
Older Patients
Medicine at an advanced age will also help to improve the quality and health of existing thin hair. This will additionally increase the general result of a hair transplant in patients who missed their chance when they were younger.
Medical therapy is an important factor that directly affects the timing of a hair transplant and the long-term outcome. This approach to the problem will provide the doctor with more timely information, while the patient will be able to achieve much better results. An unwillingness to take finasteride or minoxidil for an indefinite period must be built into the surgeon’s plan with the help of the most conservative option. As a result, this person’s hair loss will be more intensive and difficult to predict, and the timing of the hair transplant will be critical.
The Long-Term is not so Long
A hair transplant is one of the most long-term procedures. After a tattoo, it is possible to be completely cleared with a laser, and after a car, it is real to buy a new one. The results of surgery and the decisions made on them will be with you for life. Therefore, the short-term benefit, the inaccessibility of modern technologies, in which the volume of the transplant can be spent for a seemingly unlimited amount, must be overcome with common sense and will power.
The ideal timing for a hair transplant is, in fact, the result of the most accurate and competent approach to each case. This time is neither in the calendar nor in the surgeon’s office. It can be achieved only by analyzing your unique genetic history, determining your current state, and your goals, and is primarily a test of patience.
Hair Transplant Stage-by-Stage Recovery and Healing Guide
Achieving a sustainable result and confidence in your decision is possible only in full trust between the patient and the doctor. Remember that a hair transplant is not a permanent thing like a car or a laptop, but a long-term investment that will last a lifetime.
