I owe Uncomfortable man an apology

[Oknow]

I have had a scare, I thought I was diffuse thinning - so had a taste of what it is like dealing with hairloss...I thought my days were numbered

I was out the other night, couldnt have a good night, was thinking about my hairloss and norwood spotting the whole night. Been bothering me so much that today I got a tricologist to check my hair out. I was literally going mad.

Found out the following things:

1) I am NOT diffuse thinning
2) I am a Norwood 1
3) My hairloss is very minimal, one temple is bashed more then the other.
4) My hair on top is very thick. 76% Density.
5) Stress and poor diet accelerates hairloss.
6) At my age, most guys lose some hair. 4/5 guys.
7) and yes the girls were looking at my head thinking WTF

They told me to monitor my hair, but at the moment the hairloss is at its very very early stages, and so I have nothing really to worry about. So not much point taking propecia or minoxidil.

Now come to realise, that I would hate NOT being a Norwood 1. Miss the days of being a Norwood 0 a lot. So I really apologise UM, hairloss does indeed suck!

OkNow

 

[uncomfortable man]

It's a whole other world when you become bald. I haven't worn a hat or beanie for almost a whole month now. I am trying to overcome my fears of how other people perceive me. When someone looks at me the wrong way I tell myself to be strong, then I look them in the eye and smile. It makes them realize that they are being dicks and that their attitude projections don't affect me. People are going to think what they are going to think. I have no control over that, nor should I. I do have control over how I take it and process it though and try to realize that anyone who thinks of me as less of a person because I don't have hair are close minded to the point of being borderline retarded and that is their bad...not mine.

 

[Oknow]

It's a whole other world when you become bald. I haven't worn a hat or beanie for almost a whole month now. I am trying to overcome my fears of how other people perceive me. When someone looks at me the wrong way I tell myself to be strong, then I look them in the eye and smile. It makes them realize that they are being dicks and that their attitude projections don't affect me. People are going to think what they are going to think. I have no control over that, nor should I. I do have control over how I take it and process it though and try to realize that anyone who thinks of me as less of a person because I don't have hair are close minded to the point of being borderline retarded and that is their bad...not mine.

I was trying to carry this mentality. Strange how I told you to adopt it, but because hairloss was so new to me, man it was so hard to implement. I am glad that you have learnt to accept it. But yeah, I can't imagine and dont want to ever imagine what it is like being a NW5, must be hard (especially if I am freaking out over being a NW1). So totally sympathise.

 

[haunted-ballroom]

I rarely leave my apartment without a hat these days, sucks, but feel much more paranoid without my hat.

 

[Petchsky]

The way I see it is you have two options if your bald or well on your way to being bald.

1. Bald and proud (no hat)

2. bald and embarrassed (hat)

Makes sense to go for number 1 even if you're not proud, best to fake it, people can't tell the difference.

Nothing wrong with wearing a hat, but if you wear it all the time then it becomes a bit suspect and people wonder what you're hiding under there and it serves to draw attention to the thing you're hiding.

Glad to hear you're out of the hat cupboard Uman

edit: Oknow, now you know not to take that mop on top of your head for granted. Keep taking photos every 6/12 months to keep an eye on your hair. male pattern baldness can sneak up on you.

 

[treeshrew]

I will however note that even for Uman, it could be worse.

At least he was attractive to begin with. Imagine looking weird/ugly already, then getting doubly-screwed by hair loss.

Also, this is a perfect example of the type of NW1/2's who flock to this board freaking out at the slightest hair loss. At least oknow has the maturity to realize and admit it.

I for one am grateful for posters like Uman and dudemon who are a bit older, a bit wiser, and have some perspective on the subject.

As for the hat, in my pre-finasteride days when I shaved my head just to see the extent of my hair loss (which was pretty shocking) I wore a hat for awhile. The first time I ever wore it inside at a house party I got challenged by a group of girls to take it off. There was like 15 of us in the kitchen, me the only one with a hat, and she goes "everyone let's take off our hats!".

After that experience I never wore a hat. In my opinion it's worse to show shame and insecurity (by wearing a hat) than to show the baldness.

 

[karl_h]

It is not good to get depressed if you have a lot of hair loss and walk around thinking that your life is over.

People are also attracted to other people's personalities, and having a positive outlook on life is going to help you to meet people when you go out.

 

[HatPrisoner91]

And when you don't have the option of "letting it grow in" then you end up like me.

 

[uncomfortable man]

It's just that this problem has to litteraly sit on top of our heads. It is so obvious and unavoidable that it makes it nearly impossible not to think about it or even fixate on it. It is the first thing people recognize about you. It's not easy being bald.