Who is a Good Candidate for Hair Transplant?

Traditionally, a good candidate for hair restoration surgery was a man or woman with healthy and permanent hair in the back of his/her head (know as the “donor area” from which the hair is harvested during the procedure) coupled with an area of thinning (i.e. the “recipient area”) that can benefit from the addition of those healthy hair follicles between each hair. 
The ideal candidate is a man/woman over 30 who has not only a healthy “donor area”, but also a well-defined area of hair thinning that they would like to increase in volume and density.  For example, the temporal recessions (the corners of the hairline that frame the face) gradually rise up and back over time to the chagrin of many women seeking an initial consultation.  These are some of the most common anatomical areas filled in to provide a healthy framing of a woman’s face.  A large percentage of females wish to lower their hairline or even give the illusion of lowering their hairline by increasing the hair density surrounding their face.  Adding healthy hair follicles throughout the part line can also provide a profound cosmetic improvement in women with hair thinning atop their head.
For patients with more aggressive hair loss at a younger age, there are numerous non-surgical treatments (PRP, topical medications, etc.) that can help halt and reverse their hair loss process.

Thank you for your question.
Before all, your current physical and mental health condition should be fine .

Secondly, your donor site which is the back of scalp should have adequate supply of hair to extract and this amount should be enough to restore an acceptable large portion of the bald area with a desired density.

Additionally, your expectation with the result should be realistic.


When all these come together, you are a very good candidate for Hair Transplant Surgery.

Thank you for your question!  Being 21 years old and have thinning hair, the approach to maintaining your hair may be a better option at this point.  If you were to have hair restoration, potentially the transplanted hair will live in its new location, yet additional hair loss would continue, especially if you don't take steps to maintain your current hair count.  This may lead to an unaesthetic appearance down the line.  Options include using propecia, an oral medication helping with maintaining your current hair count, platelet rich plasma injections to help slow down the progressive hair loss, hair supplements including various third party products and oral supplements, and light therapy.  If you were to get hair transplants, a strategic location for the transplants would need to be discussed with your hair transplant surgeon so that you can anticipate a hairline that would look realistic and is masculine appearing.  These are all topics you can bring to your consultation that may be helpful in the future speaking to your surgeon.  I hope this helps

Hair transplant is not generally performed until patients have reached their early to mid 20's.  I typically wait on hair transplant until a patient is about 22 years old at the youngest, but each patient is unique.  The key factors to consider are the extent of hair loss at a young age, any other medical issues that may be contributing, and the family history of hair loss.  Family history allows us to better predict what the eventual extent and pattern of hair loss might be.
Also, at a young age, it is important for patients to understand that a hair transplant is not a cure for hair loss and that other topical treatments, medications, and future hair transplant sessions might be required to achieve optimal results.  I always recommend consulting with a fellowship-training hair restoration surgeon.
All the best,

Thanks for your question. It's not abnormal to see younger men experiencing hair loss, but it's still too early for you to undergo a restoration procedure. For the best results, it's best to wait until the hair loss process has slowed down or stabilized before undergoing a transplant. At this point, it's still too early in the hair loss process to predict what pattern your loss will take. By delaying your procedure, you can ensure that you get natural-looking results that will last as long as possible.