Is
there an ideal age for a hair transplant surgery? This is a question that is often
asked by the younger clients who come into hair loss clinics usually within the
earlier stages of hair loss wanting to rebuild the shape of their receded
frontal hairline. In answer to the question on whether there is a minimum age
the answer is yes. The preferred minimum is 25 years of age however 30 years or
older is preferred. Why is this? Let’s explain this in detail:
1. Difficulty in forecasting long term hair loss
When being assessed for a hair transplant surgery there are two important
things that need to be determined during the consultation. The first is the
number of grafts that they require right now in order to treat the thinning
area and secondly the number of grafts (via additional hair transplantation)
that they may require over the long term as they lose more hair.
As an example, a 23 year old male want hair loss treatment
to thicken and recreate
their frontal hairline back to what it looked like a few years earlier. As far
as treating the area is concerned, it may be estimated that he needs 2500
grafts to complete the transplant properly. So giving them the result that they
are after is not difficult. However the inability to forecast how much hair
they may lose over the next 15 years can create a problem in the longer term.
Donor hair is in limited supply because whatever is extracted for surgery does
not grow back. If it was evident that the patient was going to become
completely bald within 15 years, the hair transplant surgeon is going to be
more conservative with the hairline position (meaning that the hairline would
be positioned higher up in order to reduce total surface area on top). A strong
probability of being completely bald also means that more total grafts will be
required during their lifetime to maintain some level of coverage over the top.
If
it concluded that a patient will end up with a very bald area the Doctor must
decline requests for too much density or a very low hairline as this will
severely deplete donor hair supply for future surgeries. Forecasting long term
hair loss is very difficult in a 23 year old and quite easy in an older patient
that is in their 30s.
2. Unrealistic
Expectations in Young Patients
Young patients in their early 20s still hold
onto the glimmer of hope that they can bring back the level of density as well
as the hairline shape that they had during their teenage years. To them it was
only a few years ago when they owned such a thick head of hair so they figure
it is still possible and reasonable to request this during their consultation. Hair
transplant patients generally end up with a hair transplantation density that
is around 40% as thick as the density per cm of their donor region. To put
things in perspective a completely bald man with a newly created frontal
hairline and a medium density will be very satisfied because it is a significant
improvement to what they had for so many years.
The young
patient who ends up with a medium density 15-18 months after the surgery will
express that they are not satisfied with their result and will blame a lack of
growth. But the real reason for not being happy is a lower density compared to
what they used to have and to what they were hoping to achieve. This is
unrealistic expectation. Sometimes clients come in with a photo of David Beckham
and ask, “Can you make my hair look like this?”... Enough said.
A young male will often demand a low
hairline as well as a thick density. There are two main concerns about agreeing
to this. The first is that the low hairline may suit them in the short term but
will look very unnatural as they enter their 40s and 50s which can become a
giveaway that they had surgery. The fact is that the older male will have a higher positioned frontal hairline in most cases. Along with this a low hairline
increases their total surface area on top limiting the overall density they are
capable of achieving should they need additional procedures in the future.
The other issue in relation to wanting a high
density comes down to supply and demand. If 3000 grafts were dense packed
within the frontal third of their scalp and they require more surgery, it may
be possible that 5000 grafts is the most they can extract over their lifetime.
This leaves only 2000 grafts to treat the remaining two thirds of their scalp which
will produce a density that is only 33% of the frontal third that was initially
transplanted at a high density. If a patient is going to transplant the whole
top they will want to maintain a relatively consistent density from front to
back. They certainly don’t want one region to be double or triple the thickness
of the remaining transplanted areas.
3. Young
patients don’t think about the long term
A
common mentality is that in 10 years they will not care about their hair
anymore and therefore they are living only for today. This is commonly heard
when a Doctor Recommends hair loss medication for 12 months before proceeding
with hair transplantation surgery. Many young patients who are still in the
earlier stages of hair loss convince themselves that they will not lose anymore
hair. They notice that the existing hair still looks thick and due to this doubt
they could ever lose an extensive amount. Being recommended medication, a high
hairline design and a medium density to preserve grafts for later do not
interest the young patient. However it is up to the hair transplant surgeon to
use their experience and to educate the client properly about all the risks and
the potential of longer term hair loss.
