I gots the baldness!!!

LegacyUser

okay, so over the last two years I've slowly but surely been getting thinner and thinner on top.
I'm 30, and don't particularly want to have to shave my head. So, the thing is, whats the best thing to do. I want to try put a stop to this as soon as possible. I'm thin, but you wouldn't quite call it baldness just yet.

I've read up a good bit and majority of stuff out there just seems to be complete bollix.... just scams to attract the naive and desperate.

So it's basically down to the only proven treatment, which is regaine. Has anyone here every used it, what sort of results did you get? Anyone with a bad story about it?

One of the other solutions I have come across that, although unproven, may have some merit is laser treatment. Anyone know anything about that?

Please refrain from any silly comments... and I have no interest in getting a lecture or a speal about let nature take it's course blah blah blah.....

ferdi

ah man just bite the bullet and get rid of it. its a battle with genetics that you just wont win. all these treatments, hair plugs and comb-overs are just naff and they reek of desperation.

Yeah I def agree

MarkR

Welcome brother. Clicky

You're not going bald, you're getting streamlined!

djkeogh

Went through all this myself a number of years ago when I was 22. Finally shaved the head when I was 23 and haven't looked back since. It was a huge decision at the time.

I went through trying to use Regaine and found it a real pain in the ass applying it and i didn't like it's texture, twas a bit sticky if i remember.

Final straw for me was one night sitting at the bar in a pub with my two best friends and one of the lads pointed out how bald I was when looking in the mirror behind the bar with a spotlight overhead. I was horrified. What a prat I looked.

You'll ultimately look better without it rather than looking like you can't face the reality of it. In terms of successful treatments, the only thing I've ever seen that impressed me was the surgery. Big undertaking but it looks like some real results. Best of luck with whatever you choose to do.

r3nu4l

There's no harm in trying regaine if you want. According to scientific literature it has a statistically better chance of working the earlier you start using it.

If it's not wirking for you at all then the best you can do is keep your hair very tight and tidy at all times. I'm not completely bald yet but the hair on the sides of my head is definitely far, far thicker than that on the top of my head, so if I go longer than 2-3 weeks without giving it a tidy then I look ridiculous

AARRRGH

Shave your head, get in shape, buy some nice clothes and start taking better care of your skin. You'll probably end up more attractive than you are now.

Canis Lupus

Superglue and one of those things for picking up dog hair (can be used for human hair as well).

Then a mirror, well lit room and alot of patience.

Failing that there is **** all else you can cheaply do bar shaving/close haircut and living with it. You can't will it back......god knows I've tried......

Pauli

Shave it off.. happened me years ago and I anguished about it for a good while, but once I shaved it off I never looked back and ladies loved it

Overheal

Shave it or cut it short - either way it doesnt matter. theres a lad in my course actually - he cant be older than 23 and he's getting bald already: just keeps it short, like a 2 or 3 blade cut.

ShawnRaven

Happened me a few years ago. After going years with long hair, i actually felt the world was gonna end. It's only gonna get worse.

My advice: Go as short as you can go, #3 blade if you're fair haired,
#2 blade if you're dark haired. And gradually you get used to it. Then you'll get sick of looking at the bald spot or receeding hairline and before you know it, you'll have the shaving gel on yer head and the bic in the right hand.

It's not as bad as it sounds, believe me. Pauli is right btw the rumours are true. Girls find bald men attractive. Even if you give it a #2 blade, they love the feel of the fuzz!

Good luck.
VR!

Vyse

I will admit that I use the old regaine. I get it from the states off ebay and it works out at a fraction of the price. Did make a big difference for me but I wouldn't be exactly bald. I stopped using it for a couple of months about a year ago and the top went very thin;) Went back on it with a vengence.

Worth a try. The worst that can happen is you grow hair all over your body (especially if you are dark haired like me).

biko

http://www.hairlosstalk.com

dlofnep

I'm 24 and going thin. I'd say I have a year or two left before I'll just do a Phil Mitchell on it.

The laser hair thing is a scam. You can get hair implant surgery or try regaine and propecia. Other than that, there's not any options.

digitally-yours

dublindude wrote:

Shave your head, get in shape, buy some nice clothes and start taking better care of your skin. You'll probably end up more attractive than you are now.

You have summed it up all for those who have the ability to understand.

Match one negative with another positive if you get my drift

Supercell

You don't want lectures but you do seem to want a miracle cure?

Sorry buddy, but every guy on earth looses hair as they grow old, thats just a fact of life, suck it up and move on, fight the battles you can win!

Wibbs

Not every guy loses his hair as he gets older. Certainly many men hang onto their hair well into their 80's. Most of the men in my family do for a start. If the OP wants to hang onto it, he should try out the options. The regaine stuff seems to work well for some, especially in the early stages(as Vyse said. Worked for a mate too).

Going bald doesn't age a man as much as going grey IMHO(I had grey going on in my teens:D ). I also agree the shaved look is the way to go if you're in the mind to embrace natures little harvesters. No to combovers. I think why baldness upsets many men is not just down to the aging thing, it's also down to the fact that it gives you so few options from a style point of view. Buzzcut and that's basically that. As I say I reckon the OP should try the regaine stuff and see if it works. If not then at least you tried.

I would also suspect that 90% of the men who say embrace the chrome dome would not refuse a full head of hair if it was offered to them. When a full cure does show up I reckon the inventor will make more than bill gates.:D

Wibbs

dublindude wrote:

Shave your head, get in shape, buy some nice clothes and start taking better care of your skin. You'll probably end up more attractive than you are now.

That's very true. Even if the hair restorer works that's good advice anyway.

MooseJam

one more vote for shave it off

Bubs101

Get a wig

Dalfiatach

There's nothing you can do, OP. Any "treatment" is just delaying the inevitable. Do you really want to go through a couple of years of forking out loads of wonga on chemical junk, only to have everyone laughing at you behind your back for your desperate efforts to pretend you aren't going bald? Trust me, people do notice. And laugh.

Waste of time. Bite the bullet and accept it. You'll look much, much better shaved than any other alternative. I wouldn't bother with the interim #2 either. Just go the whole hog right away and get it over with.

Believe me, other men will respect your no-nonsense will and resolve; and the wimmin do seem to love a shaved head.

I've still got most of mine, still thick on top but starting to recede slowly at the temples. And I've already decided that when the time comes, it's Mr Bic for me. Which will probably be within the next 2-3 years.

the_syco

dlofnep wrote:

try regaine and propecia

The name of the game is testosterone. Too much, and your hair falls out (could be why some Asians love bald men).

Regain is something you gotta squirt on your head twice a day. Not too expensive.

Propecia is expensive. Worked out at about €90 for a bottle of 30 pills 5 years ago. One pill a day, so convenient, but you you may get it cheaper if you can import it directly from the States yourself. Note: last time I checked it up(5 years ago), Propecia hadn't gotten past some government medical trials. It works by lowering your testosterone, and thus your sex drive (or so it says in its information leaflet).

Myself, I want the shaved head route. Every 2 or 3 days, I cover my head in shaving gel, and use a Mach 3 to shave it off.

Wibbs wrote:

I would also suspect that 90% of the men who say embrace the chrome dome would not refuse a full head of hair if it was offered to them. When a full cure does show up I reckon the inventor will make more than bill gates.:D

+1. Saying that, I'll wait a while after it comes out. My reason: check out Body Bags, which involves a balding man looking into a brand new hair growth formula, and you'll see why.

Magic Eight Ball

I second the wig idea.. worked for this guy
http://mondoweiss.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/donald_web.jpg

JohnnyStones

Trevor Coulahan wrote:

I second the wig idea.. worked for this guy
http://mondoweiss.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/donald_web.jpg

Surely that's not a wig:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

gcgirl

i prefer a guy with a shaved head!!;)

DublinWriter

gettingthin wrote:

I've read up a good bit and majority of stuff out there just seems to be complete bollix.... just scams to attract the naive and desperate.

Hair transplants : A friend of a friend spend a six-figure sum getting HT treatment. Four years down the road the hair around the transplanted area started falling out naturally, giving him the appearance of a Benedictine monk. As he couldn't afford any more HT treatment, he shaved the lot off.

Regaine: Works with most guys, but it's very high-maintenance and stinks like hell. Really only recommended if you're a total-cue ball and want forearm-like whispy hair.

Saw Palmetto: The jury's out on this. You can get it at Holland and Barrett. It works by absorbing the hair-follical killing chemical secreted by your 'nads (DHT I think). It won't give you back lost hair, but it is supposed to help you keep what you've got left. Rumours about it causing man-boobs abound.

Comb-over: Is your name Bobby Charlton? Exactly.

Dude, I'd just bite the bullet on this one. As the late-great comedienne Linda Smith once said, just women just want guys to have a clean shirt and a nice smile.

SarahSassy

dublindude wrote:

Shave your head, get in shape, buy some nice clothes and start taking better care of your skin. You'll probably end up more attractive than you are now.

This is so true.....

A lot of ladies (myself included) have a 'thing' for bald men.... Add in a good body, nice clothes and a good smile are you are sure to score....

Latchy

This is so true.....

A lot of ladies (myself included) have a 'thing' for bald men.... Add in a good body, nice clothes and a good smile are you are sure to score....

Tis very tru , look at the amount of bald men on tv surounded by lovley wimin .Ross kemp is one and the guy of come dancing is another .

Linoge

dublindude wrote:

Shave your head, get in shape, buy some nice clothes and start taking better care of your skin. You'll probably end up more attractive than you are now.

Also agree with Dublindude. Women won't be so interested in your hair when they see you BuLgInG BiCePs. You can be fat or you can be bald, you can't be both!

Burga Galti

I started thinning at about 16/17 and each year I buzzed my head a grade shorter. At 20 I was down to a 2 but iin an under 21s rowing race I got accused of cheating since I had to be at least 30. At that point I shaved my head, totally bicced it. For a while I was happy with it, but then came to realise that I am who I am, hair or no hair doesn't really matter.

I now sport a #3, thinning and all, with a decent but well trimmed beard and I feel great in myself.

I figure balding is like grieving since you go through the five stages. Combovers are denial, taking out the bic is anger, treatments are bargaining, depression occurs somewhere in amongst it all, and finally acceptance where you realise that it's not the end of the world.

johnnyrotten

I finally started to shave my head a few years back after seeing a pic of the back of my head. I have never looked back since. Its a natural thing for a man. Just happens sooner with some men than others
SUN ROOF FOR A SEX MACHINE!!

sobriety

Started to get bald at 21. Started regaine at 22 and got a good boost for a couple of years, but you eventually lose the battle. Tried other lotions and potions.. during this time I discovered hair systems, the type used by celebs such as Ben Affleck, Travolta, Elton John. Best of all, I discovered a place where I could get them at a pretty affordable price, without going to these dodgy rip off salons (who sell you crappy wigs anyway + charge you a fortune for maintenance).

I researched hair systems for a few years (it's a pretty big dicision imo), and then eventually made my big decision to go with a hair system. I've been wearing mine now for nearly 2 years and life has never been better. My hairline is totally exposed (check out recent Elton John photos for an example) and if you get them from the right supplier, you can get them for about 150 yoyos. It takes me about 1.5 hours per week maintenance but it's worth it. My girlfriend spends more time on her hair than I do hehe... it is also totally light, breathable and quite simply looks real (Ben Affleck has one in most movies).

About two months after getting my hair system, I met my girlfriend and now we're together nearly 2 years. I'm not saying looks are everything but .. I had never been in a proper long term relationship and found it difficult to meet women, so "go figure". Hair does make a difference..especially if you have features like mine (hair balances my features and frames my face quite well). After a couple of months I told her about it and she didn't care too much, she actually said "I wish more guys would do that, cos balding really takes away from a guys looks and makes them look older". Without my hair system I look about 35. With it, I like about 24. I can show you photos if you PM me.

If you want to know how my hair looks, it's basically similar to Ben Affleck (who wears a hair system very similar to mine). Sometime I use blonde highlights and I like to play around with it.

It's totally DIY - I do it all myself, and don't pay any of these rip off merchants in the industry (there are lots of them in the hairloss indistry, I wasted a lot of money on lotions and potions, and I know people who have wasted tons of money on dodgy hair systems too). I do my cuts myself, I customise my orders and measurements, I design everthing and they just send me the hair A bind lasts for a full week and weather/tem doesn't affect it.. my girlfriend didn't notice anything for 2 months and she is constantly pulling at my hair and running her hands slowly through every inch of it.

There is a lot of help out there and lots of people who are in the DIY hair system scene helping each other out. I'm not going to post details on a public forum cos I don't want to blow my cover, and we don't want the public to know our secrets.

Just remember, there is no secret way to cure baldness. There are no micacle cures, and there are no specially designed hair matrix, extensions or har grafts, etc.. there is a lot of bull**** in the scene.

Hair system / hair replacement is not perfect, it's not for everyone. It takes 1.5 hours per week, or more if you swim a lot. Somedays it can be a challenge to get it right. But for me, it really is worth it cos I have my hair back and I look the age I should look (I'm 27 now).

sobriety

I will say one other thing; lots of women say they love a shaven head and find it sexy. And they will touch guys with shaven heads when socialising, and chat them up. But I can honestly say, from experience, that a lot of women - if given the chance - will go for the guy with a thick, nicely styled head of hair any day.

Exception: a shaven headed guy with *extremely* attractive and strong symmetrical features, combined with a nicely shaped skull African males are a good example, e.g. Michael Jordan.

If you are the exception, go right ahead and shave it. But for the rest of us, we just look like pale, miserable, aids victims with out of perportion features. And all those chicks that tell you your shaven head is sexy, and want to touch it while they're drunk... well, they are misleading you. At the end of the night you'll find them with that fella with the thick head of hair. All of that nonsense about a shaven head being sexy is just a novelty to them. Although they do find it *cute*.

So beware of that... unless you look like good old Bruce Willis and have an amazing body

LegacyUser

'

the_syco wrote:

The name of the game is testosterone. Too much, and your hair falls out .

So going to the Gym, working out, building muscle is all related to going bald ??'

estar

gettingthin wrote:

okay, so over the last two years I've slowly but surely been getting thinner and thinner on top.
I'm 30, and don't particularly want to have to shave my head. So, the thing is, whats the best thing to do. I want to try put a stop to this as soon as possible. I'm thin, but you wouldn't quite call it baldness just yet.

I've read up a good bit and majority of stuff out there just seems to be complete bollix.... just scams to attract the naive and desperate.

So it's basically down to the only proven treatment, which is regaine. Has anyone here every used it, what sort of results did you get? Anyone with a bad story about it?

One of the other solutions I have come across that, although unproven, may have some merit is laser treatment. Anyone know anything about that?

Please refrain from any silly comments... and I have no interest in getting a lecture or a speal about let nature take it's course blah blah blah.....

unless you have a strange head shape - and you can find this out by shaving the head on a long holida leaving time for it to grow back

shaving your head could be a very practical and non painful answer

those hair products usually dont work.

hair plugs work but are meant to be excruciating. and take a while.

i know two guys with shaved heads and they look far better without hair.

thats me two cents.

bostonian

shaving the head bc of baldness shows maturity, and an acceptance of reality. it shows perseverance in the face of adversity.

rogaine, plugs, transplants, etc., seem pathetic, like the old guy at the club.

Wibbs

Uri wrote:

'

So going to the Gym, working out, building muscle is all related to going bald ??'

Very distantly. Testosterone builds muscle, burns fat, gives men(and women) their physical libido and other cool stuff. Men who go bald just have a genetic trait that makes their head hair sensitive to testosterone at very low levels. Sadly for the baldies it doesn't mean you have any more testosterone than a man with a full head of hair. You could even have less. Women can get male pattern baldness too(though much rarer).

bostonian wrote:

shaving the head bc of baldness shows maturity, and an acceptance of reality. it shows perseverance in the face of adversity.

Well put.

sobriety

you can find lots of hairloss info on this website:
www.hairlosshelp.com

there are forums to help you as well, and lots of baldies who are dealing with the problem who can give you advice on what to do. that site has helped me a lot.

moco

The lotions and potions cost alot and generally don't' work. Regaine might work a bit but you lose your hair again as soon as you stop using it.

Try taking perfectil hair skin and nails tablets, I hear they work well. If your hair wants to fall out very little will stop it but I'd say give it the best chance of growing by taking perfectil which provides all the nutrients hair needs, plus have eggs for breakfast. Sounds silly but I've read that folicles are at their weakest in the mornings and as hair is made from protein eggs give them a boost.

Linoge

Good post sobriety. I'm glad that you are happy with your hair system.

But... do you not think that you are fighting nature? Being bald is who you are. If your gf does not find you attractive with your natural look then maybe shes not the one for you?

Being bald is nothing to be proud of, but certainly not something to be ashamed of.

Baldie

Shave it off! It's alot less hassle in the morning with putting in gel and what not! My girlfriend prefers me with the sahved head look... Go for it man!!!

sobriety

do you not think that you are fighting nature? Being bald is who you are. If your gf does not find you attractive with your natural look then maybe shes not the one for you?

Not really, as far as I'm concerned I've accepted nature - that I'm bald. I'm not trying to fight it anymore, I don't take any drugs, pills or potions, lotions, etc. I'm a baldie and I'm happy with that, and when I take off my hair system - I look in the mirror and I have a little laugh at how different I look without it, but I still accept myself like that.

BUT, I look at wearing the system as a style choice. If you lose your two front teeth, what will you do? You will probably pay for the dentist to replce them, right? If you want to make yourself look good, you will wear clothes that make your figure look as good as possible right? You will make the best of yourself as a *styling* choice.

We are only here for a few years, and my head looks pretty ugly without hair - fact. So why not cover it with something that makes the best of what I've already got? I'm not an ugly guy, but without hair, my face just looks *off* somehow, or imbalanced (nose is not in proportion). Also, with a thick head of hair on top, my eyes look brighter and healtheir for some reason (dont' know why). Balding had made me look old and tired. I was amazed at people responses after I got my system; they told me everything from "have you lost weight", to "you look well rested", to "you look younger for some reason, dod you get a new hairstyle". Hair seems to solve all the image problems I'd had in my early 20's, and I'm so glad I made this choice at the age of 25. I'm now 27.

Let me just say one thing; if you saw my before and after photos it would all make sense

Linoge

sobriety wrote:

Not really, as far as I'm concerned I've accepted nature - that I'm bald. I'm not trying to fight it anymore, I don't take any drugs, pills or potions, lotions, etc. I'm a baldie and I'm happy with that, and when I take off my hair system - I look in the mirror and I have a little laugh at how different I look without it, but I still accept myself like that.

BUT, I look at wearing the system as a style choice. If you lose your two front teeth, what will you do? You will probably pay for the dentist to replce them, right? If you want to make yourself look good, you will wear clothes that make your figure look as good as possible right? You will make the best of yourself as a *styling* choice.

We are only here for a few years, and my head looks pretty ugly without hair - fact. So why not cover it with something that makes the best of what I've already got? I'm not an ugly guy, but without hair, my face just looks *off* somehow, or imbalanced (nose is not in proportion). Also, with a thick head of hair on top, my eyes look brighter and healtheir for some reason (dont' know why). Balding had made me look old and tired. I was amazed at people responses after I got my system; they told me everything from "have you lost weight", to "you look well rested", to "you look younger for some reason, dod you get a new hairstyle". Hair seems to solve all the image problems I'd had in my early 20's, and I'm so glad I made this choice at the age of 25. I'm now 27.

Let me just say one thing; if you saw my before and after photos it would all make sense

Thats fairly understandable. I guess some men are more suited to having a shaven head than others. Some people, when they see pictures of me with hair they think I look weird!

At the end of the day, if you are not feeling confident in yourself and it really gets you down change something. Whether its losing weight, bulking up, getting your teeth done or getting a hair system they all have the same effect, they make you feel better in yourself.:)

LegacyUser

I'm starting to receide at the sides, going bald doesn't scare me much, what scares me is the shape of my head. I have a really bump head and a strange dip on one side of my head. So count yourself lucky if you have the option of shaving your head and not look hideous.
I might just wear a hat indefinelty when I go bald.

kiwikid

i am married to a very sexy fine baldy!

He does nto shave his head because i think its silly to get rid of it all for no reason - its feckin freezin as it is! Just keep it cut tight every few weeks. Its only a small part of him really.

CDfm

long hair is becoming quite fashionable - get a transplant mate -you know you want to

Wibbs

Very helpful CDfm.:rolleyes: Anyway zombie threaditus so closed.