I was told not I'm not currently a good candidate for hair transplant. When will I be a suitable candidate? (photos)

Thanks for the question. Based on your photos, you might be a good candidate for hair transplant. I recommend you to contact a Board Certified Surgeon for consultation. I wish you all the best. 

If you understand that surgery may make your hair look worse, would you have surgery?You can't say this with much certainty without an exam.If you are considering surgery, see a doctor.You may be a great surgery canddiate.You may be a great medical candidate.You may also be a great SMP candidate.You first start out with an examination by seeing a doctor in person. You need to have goals and set expectations. You need to understand possible risks and consequences of surgery such as shock hair loss (looking worse). If you understand all this, you may not even want surgery.

I would want to know your age and The rate at which you have been losing hair.Certainly there are other factors involved which we could determine during a consultation.

You  seem that you may be an ok candidate for FUE procedure and transplantation.  If your hair loss is stable you may be ready.  If your hair loss is still progressing, you may want to wait.  

This can't be definitively answered unless there has been an individual examination. And so I wouldn't comment on wether your surgeon was right or not in declining you on basis of candidacy. However I can elaborate a little on what we consider when we decide upon a patient's eligibility.
We definitely proceed with caution before we approve candidates who are under the age of 18. In rare cases, people that young do want this procedure and they will be carefully vetted before being approved, if they are approved at all. So, age is a factor. 
Another factor is the general health of the patient. For example, a surgeon will look at medical history, current health conditions (if any) and then decide if it’s safe to perform the procedure. In some cases, a candidate may need to resolve health issues prior to being approved for the surgery. 
Also, patients should have immune systems which are strong enough to allow them to heal properly after their operations.
Doctors prefer to perform hair transplants on patients who live healthy lifestyles. So, following a healthy diet, getting moderate exercise and practicing stress management will boost your odds of getting the “ok” for this type of surgery. 
A surgeon will also look at your degree of hair loss and how much donor hair you have available.
These are some variables. If you really want to make sure about your candidacy, you could book another consultation with another cosmetic surgeon in your city. Just make sure you chose a skilled, experienced, certified and well rated surgeon. 
This will be the best way to see if you’re a viable candidate for this type of procedure, as every patient is different. Only a surgeon can tell if this procedure is right for you.

While it is difficult to tell just from photos, I don't see why you wouldn't be a candidate.  I would suggest avoiding the strip technique and go with FUE.  However the only way to really tell if you are a candidate is to make an appointment with a board certified plastic surgeon for a full evaluation.  Good luck!

Hi and thanks for your question. No one can really give you sound medical advice based upon photos and a brief medical history. There are multiple medical causes for hair loss which should be evaluated prior to considering hair transplants. However, if you see a qualified hair surgeon in consultation and are medically cleared, then you would be an excellent candidate for an FUE technique like Neograft. It avoids a surgical scar and results in a natural result to the thinning areas without an additional scar in the donor area. Good luck!

If you don't want to believe what your doctor told you, get a second opinion but you would have to be examined first.

Hair transplant in the crown area has some risks involved. One of which is is shock loss to the native hair that already exists . At earlier stage of hair loss in the crown area, most doctors like to try medical regiment routine to see if that helps before jumping to surgery.

A hair transplant is the strategic movement of hairs from the
area at the back of the scalp called the donor area that are genetically
resistant to hair loss. An example would be a male who has advanced hair loss who
has a horseshoe pattern. The horseshoe pattern is permanent and it’s not going
to fall out. Since it is permanent, those hairs can be cut out and then placed
in another area strategically.



The surface area of the crown is fairly large and it is very
common for men to think that space can be covered with hairs. Unfortunately, it
requires a large number of grafts to cover it and the donor area is fairly
limited. If the hair is thinning, there are existing hairs and not entirely
bald areas. Placing grafts might destroy those existing viable hair follicles.
Your doctor may have suggested finasteride to see if it can reverse the hair
thinning.



Finasteride is a 1 milligram drug that is taken once a day. It
is used to inhibit an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase which converts
testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Dihydrotestosterone can cause
susceptible hair follicles to eventually disappear. Many men with crown hair
loss will respond to it. Unfortunately, a lot of men especially in their 20s
and 30s don’t want to take finasteride because of concerns about long term
sexual side-effects.



In our practice, we have been in a leadership position with treatment
called Hair Regeneration. It was discovered several years ago after the
introduction of a material called extracellular matrix derived from pig bladder
that helps wound healing. It uses the body’s adult stem cells to heal by
duplication of tissue that is native to a given area where the extracellular
matrix is applied -when it’s applied to muscle, you are able to regenerate
muscle. Since hair is an organ, you can’t regenerate or duplicate hairs or
clone hairs but we can restore the cells and signals necessary for hair growth.
Once you have this treatment, the hair that’s thinning will come back thicker. The
results are first noticed from a few months to 18 months. With male pattern
hair loss, we’re approaching a 100% success rate defined by significant
improvement that people can see and appreciate with before and after pictures.
We also routinely do microscopy. In fact in our practice, we follow these
patients very closely.



It is actually hard to find this particular treatment especially
with all the fake solutions in the internet. Now that you have learned about
this, you can investigate this method as an option and find a provider who can
perform this for you. I think that the trial of finasteride is worth
considering. See how you do with it and learn more about Hair Regeneration to
help you stop your hair loss and restore hairs that may or may not to be
responding to finasteride. I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of
luck, and thank you for question.



This
personalized video answer to your question is posted on RealSelf and on
YouTube. To provide you with a personal and expert response, we use the
image(s) you submitted on RealSelf in the video, but with respect to your
privacy, we only show the body feature in question so you are not personally
identifiable. If you prefer not to have your video question visible on YouTube,
please contact us.