I've been thinning since I was 19 or 20. It's noticeable now, but I've got a long way to go before I would call myself bald. I talked to my doctor about Propecia, but after hearing his take on the potential health effects, I decided I'd rather be bald. Besides, according to him, all Propecia does is delay the inevitable. At some point, you'll lose your hair with or without medicine.
Thanks for your input. Like already mentioned, I'm not insecure about the hair at all. I was planning on shaving it all off this Christmas, but decided against it. Like you said, people who shave their heads have to do it every few days. I don't even have time to shave my beard every day and there's no way I will be able to keep it up. Right now I've actually resorted to wearing a cap. It's great because I have pretty long hair right now and let whatever I have "fly out." And one thing I love about Houston is the humidity. I do have curly hair and my hair absorbs all the moisture in the air and makes it look more dense. We'll see...I still have plenty of time to decide what to do! And I am already a member of baldrus.com!
To answer the original question: I had a slightly receeding hairline that I first noticed when I was 17. I'm 33 now and most people still don't notice that I'm balding even though it's probably gone back half an inch in 16 years. I tried rogaine when it first came out, but it was too much of a pain in the ass and I just stopped using it. Don't believe any of the old wive's tales about wearing a hat, hair gel or whatever causing baldness. I went to the dermatologist and he said the only thing that caused balding was genetics, and I'll take an MDs advice before my drinking buddies' any time. Several years later, I tried Andro as a workout suppliment and it made my hair fall out, which I barely noticed above my uncontrolable rage (I quit taking it). But I don't think the dermatologist was taking workout suppliments that raise your testosterone in to effect when he gave me my consult. I don't really care about it now. I'm married and have a kid, so vanity is out the window now. Anyway, good luck with your trifecta of meds.
There are side effects with Propecia which includes loss of libido. However, it only affects 2% of the people, and that was a risk I was willing to take. And the side effects go away once you stop taking the pill. Propecia is a type II 5 alpha reductase inhibitor, which is the precursor to DHT. This could stop your hair loss possibly forever. The only problem is you have to take it for the rest of your life and it could be costly ~ $900 a year
im balding in the front, and now in the back, which i actually didnt notice until my girlfriend pointed it out. i honestly dont really care, but like the original poster, it seems to be bothering everyone else EXCEPT me. Its just hair, big deal. As long as my balls dont fall off, i'm good. btw, i was going to order Scalpmed.. from www.scalpmed.com i was seriously thinking about buying some, i saw on tv, and maybe i fell for it and wanna buy it. Couldnt hurt to try i guess.
My doctor says that he thinks, based on the way it works, that the long-term effects of Propecia will include an increased risk of prostate cancer.
From what I understand, Finasteride (the main ingredient in Propecia) was used to treat prostate cancer. This was actually 5 mg called Proscar. It worked and is still used to prevent prostate enlargement. Now what they found out while doing this study was that hair began to grow in places where there was no hair before. They lowered the dosage and tried again and amazingly people began to grow hair! So this new drug consist of 1 mg Finasteride and is called Propecia. You can even buy Proscar and cut it into fifths (it's a lot cheaper this way). If anything, it actually helps prevent prostate cancer. It is FDA approved and more importantly you can only get it with a prescription here in the US. Your doctor will tell you to come back a couple of times for a checkup to see if anything unusual occurred. So basically it's just like any other drug in the market. I also browse this forum: http://www.hairlosstalk.com/discussions/index.php Just check out the success stories. There are some amazing results and that is why I am optimistic today!
Do NOT buy Scalpmed. I saw it on TV too on ABC Family at like 1 in the morning. I was so amazed and did research the next morning. It's complete crap. No hair grows back in 4 weeks. The cycle takes 4-6 months for everybody. Their logic is also bogus. Look at it again and they make no effort to explain anything. More importantly, while they said it was FDA approved (this is what got my attention) IT'S NOT! I also think there is a lawsuit going on with them right now. Just don't buy it. Stick with the stuff that works.
Rogaine doesn't work for everybody. But you won't ever know until you try it. And don't just give up after the requested 4 months. Some have said hair grew back 1.5-2 years after using Rogaine every day. Propecia will definitely work. It will stop your hair loss. So whatever hair you have left, you will keep as long as you take it. Once you stop, however, whatever hair you grew will eventually fall out and you'll be where you were at day one. Same thing goes for Rogaine. And then for shampoo use Nizoral. Try it out if you are desperate. Thats what everyone recommends. This guy has been using the big 3 for over a year and check out his results. Simply outstanding. He is just like you and me; this is no photoshop garbage.
im 21 and i have this great fear of losing my hair. i feel like my hair has thinned significantly in the past few years. also may hairline is moving up a little. im just gonna let it grow and never cut it again.
You don't have to shave often if you are balding. Because unlike me, your stubble won't grow back as fast if at all. And the stubble look is still fine if you aren't in the mood to shave. Also, the same cap you are wearing will work on those days with "stubble" if you care. I shave every day because to me it's a labor of love. I feel good about myself and wear nice clothes pretty much daily because I feel so confident about being bald. As far as the time. How much time do you spend on your appearance daily? Shaving your head takes anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on how smooth you want it. But that depends on how thick the hair you have also, as myself with thick hair meaning thick stubble takes longer than say someone with a receding hairline. You can do it in the shower by feel, at the same time taking your daily bath. Killing two birds with one stone. At most, you might only need to shave twice a week, and that could take up 10 minutes-an hour out of your week max. And again, the stubble look isn't bad at all. It's just personal preference. Furthermore, think of the money you will save. Unless you plan on never cutting your hair again, it usually cost me 15 bucks to get a haircut. If you shave say twice a week, for a month. You may need to find a package of replacement blades for your razor, and that costs like 5-10 bucks, but will last you awhile. Max with gel and aftershave you are looking at 30 bucks up front, but you won't have to replace them for a long time. Plus think about it this way: for the 30 bucks, you get 10 shaves at least. That's more like a 3 bucks per haircut(you get more haircuts), and it gets cheaper because the aftershave/gel/replacement blades don't have to be replaced every month. If you get a wet dry electric shaver, like I did, those things last years. Mine for example(norelco cool skin shaver) cost 95 bucks. However, divide that by 12 months. For one year my monthly haircut bill would be 8 bucks. If it lasts two years, 4 bucks, etc. For a comparison per year when I had hair it costs about 180 bucks per year. Now I have to buy gel/aftershave every once in a while. But my first aftershave lasted 5 weeks and i shave a lot more often than you would. Also cost 5 bucks, but you can get cheaper. The gel will probably last about three weeks for me(longer for you), but you can use stuff like hair conditioner or shaving cream that you already might have for the face anyway. Furthermore, ladies love to rub the head. Today I went tanning, and I asked the girl behind the counter who "thinks we are crazy for shaving it" to rub my head. She remarked how smooth it was and said good job. And that's from somebody who isn't necessarily on board with the concept. There are plenty of other stories on www.slybaldguys.com and the internet about ladies rubbing the dome and finding bald guys sexy. In fact, http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip21045.htm. Or: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/03-14-2005/0003194477&EDATE= There are other message boards where plenty of women comment positively on bald guys as well. Furthermore, this stuff about you have to be in shape to be bald, or you have to have this head etc, are crap. The myth about it only working for black guys is crap as well. It's all about confidence(for you and the ladies), and I have a look now that matches the inner confidence I have. Anyways, just wanted to present more info on the subject for you. And to take care of myths.
Anybody ever tried that Bosley hair restoration? I have thick coarse hair, I'm not going bald, no one in my family has been bald, but my left front bangs of my head has considerably less hair then the right side where it looks funny and noticeable if I part from the left side. I remember banging my head hard in that area on a door when I was young and when I ran my fingers through that area I got a large clump of hair in my hand, needles to say I was stunned and traumitized for awhile as I loved styling my hair. Then earlier this year, I was taking off a polo shirt and I guess static made a portion of my left front hair get tangled with those buttons on that polo shirt and before I knew it I ripped some bangs out, I stared at it in disbelief. My left front bangs can't catch a break, and I know those ripped out won't grow back.
You all have no idea how ******* lucky I and the electronics in my vicinity are that I wasn't drinking anything hot while I read this.
