Is 18 Years Old Too Young For a Hair Transplant?

Written by Gregory Pistone, MD on September 3, 2008

My son just turned 18 and he has had alopecia since he was ten, we had tried everything. Is he to young for a hair transplant? ~Lidia
- - - - - - - - - -

Hello,

First, let me say that we would need many additional details to give an accurate answer to this question, so I will confine myself to an answer based on educated assumptions. The youngest patient I have ever seen with male pattern hair loss was 14. To have it at 10, prior to puberty, would be extremely unusual, if not impossible, so I am going to assume this is not the case. The most likely cause of hair loss at this age would be alopecia areata so I will confine my comments to this disorder. If there has been a problem with alopecia areata and there are several patches of hair missing, and these have been stable over a period of several years, then hair transplantation could be a good solution for your son. If the alopecia areata is active and patches continue to come and go, then I would advise against hair transplantation until and if the disorder becomes stabilized, otherwise the transplanted hair might fall out as well. If you care to add any additional information or provide photos, I would be good to be more specific in my answer to you. Feel free to contact this website if you have additional questions.

Gregory Pistone, MD
Member, International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons
Member, American Hair Loss Association