Young Men and Hair Transplant Surgery

In the past, hair transplant procedures were only done on older men; young men who had a problem with baldness were usually left with no other choice but to live with their hair loss problem.

These young men had all sorts of balding problems -- ranging from thinning hair to receding hairlines -- and these problems often began before they were even past puberty. Today, however, young men with balding problems can undergo hair transplant procedures -- although with some restrictions.

Many hair transplant doctors are reluctant to do hair transplants on young men because they know that young people tend to make snap decisions. These doctors also realize how traumatic it is to start losing age at an early age. Most doctors would consult at length with their young patients and do everything he can to convince their young patients to delay a hair transplant surgery. What these doctors typically do is ask their patients to come back after 6 months for a final consultation. There are not a lot of doctors who will do immediate hair transplant procedures on young patients.

Despite most doctors' reluctance to do hair transplants on young men, there are certain advantages to hair transplants done on patients below 25 years old. For one, majority of young men are generally healthy; they aren't typically on medications. For another, these patients have more optimism and are more motivated, prepared and committed to a type of procedure that may very well turn into a lifelong treatment.

If a young man with a baldness problem undergoes hair transplant surgery early on, he can avoid developing low self-confidence and low self-esteem. If the hair loss problem is not addressed or if a young man is made to simply accept the fact that he is going bald, he will carry with him the stigma of being bald into his later years. When he is older and can undergo hair transplant surgery, he'll still have a hard time with his self-confidence and self-esteem despite the new hair.

A hair transplant doctor who has experience doing hair transplant procedures on young men will typically conduct an initial investigation. First, he'll meet with his young patient's family to see if his patient's hair loss is due to genetics. If it's not possible for the doctor to meet with other family members, he'll ask the patient to bring photos of his family members, preferably those that would give him a good look of their hair.

Next, once the doctor decides to do the hair transplant procedure, he'll advice his young patient in setting the hairline. Young patients tend to want a hairline that is fairly low. However, any good hair transplant doctor will advice his young patient that a higher hairline is better than a low hairline. He'll explain to his patient why this is so. For one, a higher hair line means that he'll use fewer donor hair since there's a lot less top hair to cover. For another, there will be more fullness on the top of the head. A doctor will make his patient understand that a high hairline does not mean that the patient will end up with a receding hairline.

For young men who have hair loss problems, they no longer have to enter adulthood looking bald. They can now have hair transplant surgery, provided they find the right hair transplant doctor.