I Am 21 Years Old Can I Go for Hair Transplant? (photo)

Dear goadfather54There is no age limit as such for a hair transplantation. But people under the age group of 18 years to 80 years usually options for hair transplantation as the symptoms of balding and spot balding occur within this span of life.

A doctor needs to examine you first to make sure you are a surgery candidate with good donor hair. The examination may find that you may be at an increased risk of further hair loss and the surgery may actually make the you look WORSE or require more surgery.

You also have to understand that hair transplant surgery is not a cure and that they will continue to have further hair loss of non-transplanted hairs. You need to have realistic goals and understand what is possible and what is not possible with surgery.

The conventional approach is the assumption of poor candidacy due to young age. These days however, with the advent of advanced FUE techniques such as my uGraft which enable the use of head and non head hair in transplantation, even young patients can be evaluated and counseled for a possible hair transplant. With this degree of hair loss at your age, it should be assumed you would be terminally bald eventually. SO any use of head donor must be strictly within the confines of the safe donor area. Next, you should do FUE instead of FUT strip method, since you level of hair loss would likely favor buzz cutting your hair at some point. A strip scar would preclude this hair grooming choice. Finally, a Buzz cut would cut donw on the number of grafts you would require in the long run. Definitely consult with  a hair loss specialist. Watch this vide which discusses a successful HT approach in a young patient.

All the recommendations you have gotten are correct.  You should wait until you hair loss pattern becomes stable.  Then the true nature of the loss can be evaluated and potentially treated.

Dr. ES

There are many methods of hair transplantation.  Wanted them RFUE and another can be a surgical flap.  Grafts can be taken with as few as one hair follicle or multiple follicles.  The quality of the hair, the number of follicles per unit and the location in which the hair is to be placed are all important determinants in the final result.  While it is a common misconception that hair can and should be taken from any location, taking appropriate hair from an appropriate location is key to success.  For instance, one cannot always use hair from a beard to replace a frontal hairline.  The orientation in which Harris placed is also important.  If the frontal hairline is being created then it is important to make sure that hairs are aligned in the correct orientation.  The way the hair is also laid down, for example a staggered pattern versus a straight line will also change the quality of the result.  You should certainly visit with a surgeon who does many of these types of transplantations as well as offers multiple options for hair restoration.  The cost can vary by geographic locale.  In general they can arrange from $7000-$25,000.  When you go over consultation ask for before and after photographs.