How Young Is Too Young For A Hair Transplant?

Excellent question, thank you for posting this.Your nephew would be best suited by seeing a physician who specializes in hair restoration to get an expert opinion. Hair loss can have many different causes, the most common of which is male pattern baldnessl, also known as androgenetic alopecia (AGA).This can be treated medically with finasteride (Propecia) and minoxidil (Rogaine), non-surgically with Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), or surgically with hair transplantation. Medical and non-surgical management cannot replace hair that has been completely lost, but can reverse hair that has become miniaturized (thinned) as a result of AGA. Options for hair transplantation include follicular unit transplant (also known as a strip procedure) and follicular unit extraction (also known as FUE). FUE is a technique where each individual hair follicle is removed from the back of the scalp and transplanted into the areas of loss. Neograft and the Artas robotic hair transplant are in fact simply devices which are used to perform FUE hair transplant. In addition to these there are several other ways to similarly perform FUE with the same beautiful results. Your nephew's assertion that 22 is "old enough" is generally incorrect. He has several decades for his hair loss to evolve and unfortunately, we have no real way to predict the ultimate severity and timing of his hair loss. With hair transplantation only so many grafts can be harvested from the donor area and you may have insufficient donor hair for future hair transplant. The best predictor of the degree of hair loss you will have is family history, but this is also not a perfect predictor. In in general I would recommend against hair transplantation in a 22 year old, especially if there is only mild loss.I suggest your nephew seek a consultation from an expert in hair loss and hair restoration to determine the very best option for him. Best of luck!

Many clinics agree that younger patients should wait to have hair restoration surgery until the rate of their hair loss has slowed or steadied. Getting a hair transplant too soon may exhaust the donor supply of follicles remaining on the scalp. Past this point, there would be no more resources left to repair the bald patches which could result. However, if a young man really wants a hair transplant surgery, he may want to consider a specialist who extracts body hair grafts (e.g. beard hair). This approach offers an additional recourse for filling in areas of missing hair should they develop.It would be important to select a doctor who not only has the capability, but also demonstrable experience producing excellent results on past patients. 

Your nephew needs to see a doctor in person for an exam.  There is no absolute rule of when you can or cannot have a cosmetic surgery.  In general, an examination comes first, then a diagnosis.  Afterwards, the doctor can go over any treatment recomendation which may or may not include surgery.