I can't stop thinking about hair and keep staring at hairlines

[Lucero]

I go through phases where I am relatively content or apathetic about hair loss but lately my obsession is through the roof again.

I think about hair so much throughout the day lately. I'm a NW4 with thinning throughout so I envision a NW7 in my future. The worst part is that I tried everything -- propecia, minoxidil, biotin, even the dreaded lasercomb and at best I slowed it down but eventually I realized I was getting nowhere while getting all the side effects. I've looked at pictures from 2 years ago when I stopped about my hair was barely any better back then while I was on meds.



I am jealous of men with NW1's and women and they have no idea how much their personalities and lives would change with even a little frontal hair loss. I constantly analyze hair and could tell you the norwood status of every man in a given room within minutes. I feel like I am losing it lately.

I just want my hair back. All these medications are ****ing worthless in my book. I got minimal results with finasteride with all the side effects (started getting gyno, psych problems, ED).

I hate knowing that at any time I am vulnerable to bald jokes, or feeling like people are staring at my hairline (even though I do it to them). Therapists don't help. My girlfriend telling me I'm handsome doesn't help. I have every other area of life handled -- 2 degrees, good job, girlfriend, good friends and family, roof over my head, but I have such a hard time accepting my declining attractiveness.

Just knowing that there are people out there who HATE hair loss kills me inside, because I have no control over the process at this point.

Man wearing hair piece? Laughing stock.
Take Propecia? Deal with its side effects while your hair continues to thin.
Apply Rogaine to your head (a pain in the ***) twice a day for years until your last hairs fall out anyway.

I get that people in the third world have real problems - starvation, disease, war, but I for some reason just can't get over this.

 

[winnyblues]

Hang in there bud, I'm the same, it sucks but make the most of what you got.
I'm gonna get SMP soon maybe you should look into that or try a hair transplant

 

[swingline747]

Hang in there bud, I'm the same, it sucks but make the most of what you got.
I'm gonna get SMP soon maybe you should look into that or try a hair transplant

seriously SMP?

I find that too risky and pretty much the same as a wig.
Try it first I say, get a buddy to use a fine tip perm marker to dot your head up. It will be semi perm but eventually go away and you can see if its really something you want.

 

[winnyblues]

seriously SMP?

I find that too risky and pretty much the same as a wig.
Try it first I say, get a buddy to use a fine tip perm marker to dot your head up. It will be semi perm but eventually go away and you can see if its really something you want.

I know but Ive been researching heaps, I shave my head anyway with a 0 guard cause I cannot stand how bad my diffuse thinning is when my hair is wet when I try growing my hair out, so for my case I think SMP would help heaps just to make my hair look more dense/make my hairline a bit better. it can be risky but I've done the perm marker on my forehead quite a few times already, like I have a visible hairline, problem is I have a 4 finger forehead ALREADY without the ****ing receding which will only steadily get worst... so **** it I'm going to get SMP. A hair transplant is too expensive for me at the moment because I just moved out

but going back to the original poster, yes Ive been observing everyones hair now, seeing if their hair is thinning or not and I'm astounded by how many older men (50+) have better hairlines/density than me. its ****ed up makes me so sad

 

[resu]

The ink dots fade, turn blue/green, plus they don't have the 3D effect that real hair have even when shaved, it looks awful anyway you see it.

 

[TD500]

Im proud of you man! That youve got your life together even with hairloss!

I don't agree with the other stuff Toms wrote, but I do agree with this. Other avenues in your life have still been a success and not only did you get those 2 degrees, a good job, girlfriend, house etc but you did it while suffering with hair loss. Be proud in that aspect.

Try RU some people are experimenting with and you can mix it with minoxidil I think which lessens the hassle somewhat.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

Doesn't work, doesn't work, and doesn't work. Stop giving that kind of advice from under your thick NW2.

It is easy to give advice to do something like this when you are in a position where you don't even need to consider doing it yourself. You hear it plenty around here. "When my hair gets that bad I will just take a razor to it". Really? I wish they would come back here and post pics when they finally go through with it. 99.9999% of these guys will never take a razor to their own heads, but have no problem shaving ours.

 

[winnyblues]

I still think SMP should be a last resort after you've had your donor depleted. Because that's all there will be if you reach that point (besides beard grafts).

Also, don't ever let money dictate your hair loss recovery plan. I could get temporary SMP in Milan for 1000€ and I would be set for a few years, but I still prefer the additional 2000 grafts for 4500€.

Your first priority is to get some real hair growing out of your scalp, after that you can do all the enhancements you want with SMP or even beard grafts if you need more coverage.

I really don't get people getting permanent SMP on a slick bald head. Having permanent SMP (which is what I think you're having done winnyblues) is a mistake. You won't have a(n easy) way out after that.

I should add that all these recommendations would work only for people who are in the same position than me pre-hair transplant (slick NW5).



Doesn't work, doesn't work, and doesn't work. Stop giving that kind of advice from under your thick NW2.

Im gonna get semi-permanent. I still have a Nw2 hairline, its just i'm diffuse thinner which really really sucks hence why SMP

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Im proud of you man! That youve got your life together even with hairloss! Shave it off, grow a beard, get a little tan, I swear tan helps alot for bald/balding people.
I am was in too much trouble already plus struggling with university and then hairloss kicked in at 19.
You are the guy i want to be in my future

Btw understand you about the staring at the hairlines.

don't you have thick luscious hair?
lol

 

[RoyD]

Well Lucero I can completely understand how you feel. There are days when I don't stress about my hair much although there's never a day when I don't look into the mirror at least 10 times to see how bad it is. Then there are days when I've had a massive shed and I come back to the forum and keep thinking about it all the time. There was also a time when I just got into the NW3 region and I used to check out people's scalps all the time. Especially if I was in the train I'd look at every man and judge his Norwood status within minutes. Quite often the first thing I look at when I see a man is how much hair he has compared to me. Idk if I can ever get over it because I'm exactly at the same NW4 stage as you.

Somewhere deep inside though I know I am coming to terms with my hair loss even if it's very slow. I have already lost most hope and now imagine myself as an NW7 in 3 or 4 years time and try to imagine what life will be like then. It's depressing but it does prepare you to some extent I believe. Anyways stay strong and keep focus on the important things in life which you can control. You have a gf for instance, I've never had one and probably never will which means no one is ever gona even say I'm handsome except for my mom. LOL! Like Dalai Lama says, you should not worry. If you can do something about it then do it. If you can't then worrying won't solve the problem anyhow.

P.S. Idk why people complain about having to apply Min twice a day. It takes just as long as brushing your teeth. Besides you can get cavities brushing your teeth twice a day anyways so you shouldn't let the hair loss demotivate you. I don't see anyone complain about the fact that they have to spend 5 minutes of their day brushing their teeth that too during the worst part of the day (right after waking up). It's all about getting your perspective sorted.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

You can also combine these solutions. But for them, there is always something.

To all these guys I say: then just live your life as a bald man, what do you want us to tell you? But you don't really have the right to complain.

Once you've tried all the things I've suggested and it didn't work, then I will feel sorry for you.

Until then, accept the fact that you're the only one holding yourself from taking steps to recovery.

Very true. I will agree that our options aren't the best, but they are options nonetheless. Losing your hair sucks, but there comes a time when you have to take some action to try to help yourself. Complaining is a very ineffective treatment for hair loss.

 

[VeprSuper]

Seems like the best thing is to attack it at all angles. Fred's advice plus getting in great shape might beat the problem (or lessen it).

 

[billybob mcdougal]

Of course in a perfect world, we would all be NW3 at 40 years old that have the big 3 working for them and a thick donor area.

The conditions can't be ideal all the time. I was NW5 at 24 years old with only minoxidil and a below average donor area.

It didn't stop me from taking action. And it won't stop me in the future. I've got the cash stashed to get every enhancement possible.

Vanity is definitely youre favourite sin.......mines wrath.

 

[billybob mcdougal]

There's nothing wrong with being vain. We all are. People saying they are not are fooling themselves.

True, but youre vanity is for seeking validation off females/society, rather than inner contentment.

 

[billybob mcdougal]

We all seek to be validated by women and society. What's your point?

If you were rejected by every woman you encounter and hated by all your peers, you would just shrug it off maybe?

Not being validated can be dangerous. If you can't get people to like you, to trust you and form alliances with you, you'll be screwed for life.

I am despised by 90% of humans who come into contact me, mainly due to the way I look.

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I am despised by 90% of humans who come into contact me, mainly due to the way I look.

If I was really seeking approval from women/society I would go clean shaven/stubble, lift lighter weights/higher reps for definition, get a tan, tint my blonde eyebrows, buy more high end inanimate objects, and change my personality by smiling and being more "open"
Due to not willing to adhere to the above, and dance, you are right, I am screwed.

 

[RoyD]

I hate that defeatist attitude towards hair loss. The truth is, no matter your Norwood status (most likely at worst NW6, NW7 being extremely rare), you can do something about it.

Always. Getting on medication, using concealers, getting a FUE hair transplant, two FUE hair transplants, beard grafts, temporary SMP.

This is always the same patterns I see on the forums. NW4+ saying everything's over and that they don't to get on meds because side-effects, they don't want to use concealers because they're afraid to become dependant, they don't want a hair transplant because no money/not a candidate/they won't get a full head of hair/..., beard grafts, same reasons and temporary SMP looks ridiculous to them.

You can also combine these solutions. But for them, there is always something.

To all these guys I say: then just live your life as a bald man, what do you want us to tell you? But you don't really have the right to complain.

Once you've tried all the things I've suggested and it didn't work, then I will feel sorry for you.

Until then, accept the fact that you're the only one holding yourself from taking steps to recovery.

Try all the things huh. Like Minoxidil, Finasteride, Dutasteride?! Well what if I told you I've tried all of them for over 2 years now? I've not responded to anything (read my post on Dutasteride which I recently created). You may say hair transplant is an option but it won't work since even after an hair transplant you need to be on finasteride to maintain your original DHT prone hair for an extended period. Without that you need at least 2 or 3 hair transplants for your hair to seem somewhat pleasing to the eye for the remaining of your life. I haven't even started earning yet and by the time I collect enough to get a decent hair transplant I will have lost a lot of hair.

Despite this I'm still on finasteride and Min and have not given up hope which is as thin as my hair. Besides this is the Impact of Hairloss section where we give each other support without Norwood discrimination which was what I was trying to do.

 

[Wolf Pack]

It's game over if you can't take finasteride/dutasteride or won't respond to it. Unless you try RU and no one knows how good that is.

Without these meds a transplant won't get you anywhere near full coverage especially those of you with aggressive loss.

This post won't be popular but it's the truth.

For the majority of people I see in real life, the solutions are there. Not as aggressive pattern, finasteride, minoxidil, few hair transplants = full hair up to 50s.

 

[RoyD]

I don't believe anyone who is hit by male pattern baldness in their 20s can have a full head of hair until the age of 50. That is just impossible. By the time you reach 40 itself your body will easily make a mockery of whatever meds you are taking whether it's Minoxidil or even Dutasteride. Hell, Minoxidil isn't even recommended for men above 40 (it's on the label!). Once you reach 40 it's a big **** you and deal with it sort of thing. Besides, you really don't want to be on Dutasteride or Finasteride for more than 10 years or even in your 40s.

Personally I wouldn't mind losing my hair in my 30s. All I want is my 20s to go by with a decent amount of hair. That's the age when you're supposed to be youthful and in your prime or whatever. I don't really mind even being NW7 by 35.

 

[bilboswaggins]

Once you got past NW3, you'll never have a full head of hair again, and you should not get one with a hair transplant.

This is a mistake and you'll regret it when you need more grafts at NW5 and 6 stages. Always try to be as conservative as possible.

So the guys who are nw3 with otherwise very thick hair, thick donor should do nothing? not everyone balds all the way to nw5

 

[Wolf Pack]

So the guys who are nw3 with otherwise very thick hair, thick donor should do nothing? not everyone balds all the way to nw5

My point exactly. Norwood 5-7 is much rarer. When they say 1/4 men have baldness in their 30s it is usually minor stuff. I walk around and don't see many severe cases for example.

I still maintain that for the average balding person there is enough out there to have most of their hair if they start early and use meds and hair transplants.

 

[RoyD]

So you're telling me if you start losing hair in your 30s you can maintain until you are 60 by getting on meds. No wonder there are such few bald people in the world ....