more confident without my dermatch! big dilemma!

[mike46]

maybe its the girl that began flirting with me right before i left, or perhaps it was the relief that i wasn't hiding anything about my appearance, whatever it was, i definitely had a game-changing experience today.

Usually when i go to gym i leave my dermatch on and just shower at home.. but today i decided to take a tan at the gyms pool, not realizing that my sunscreen had completely smudged away my dermatch at my temples (only place i need it).

Before i continue, let me tell you this concealer shi% can get to your head, i constantly have a small lingering sense of anxiety throughout my day, i just had no idea how insecure it's been making me -until today.

Anyway im done at the pool and towel up, head to the locker room, when i glanced at a mirror i had a slight double take, but i kept on moving and thought to myself "what the hell, i don't know anyone here anyway, so i dont give a shi% what i look like", as i was getting dressed i repeated to myself calmly "why the hell should i give a shi$ what these guys think? (guys locker room.. & im not gay so who gives) i got dressed and left the locker room

i headed over to the protein bar rack to purchase one, there was a good-looking girl standing right there, i thought i would freak out (no, dont look at me, it's not what you think! lol) but when she glanced at me & i gave her a quick smile (a surprisingly unapologetic one which i even caught myself off-guard with) she immediately returned a nice big smile (with some solid eye contact) and she started telling me how she was starving and how they all looked so delicious and she wasn't sure which one to get.. you get the idea, after a min. or 2 we wished each other a good day and we both left.

let me pause again, girls usually don't just start talking to me, not because im ugly or weird, but i look like a bit of a tough guy and i think the way i portray that look, makes them feel slightly intimidated, so i think my receding look (plus my slight change of demeanor to compensate) had her warm up to me since she prob. subconsciously noticed a vulnerability and felt fine chatting me up. (also she did not at all seem like the type of spoiled/entitled chick who cant shutup about themselves and would talk to anyone within earshot)

i as i left the gym i decided that before i head home to fix my *uhum, situation, ill go & take care of an errand, since i have never been there before & dont know anyone there ill head straight over...

i began feeling a shift in consciousness, i felt like i was viewing things from a place higher than my head :jump: (i promise im not high right now, thats just the best way to say it) i felt like i was able to view things in a much more emotionally stable standpoint, i didnt feel trapped within my self.

to be continued.. getting late, also if anyone would be interested in seeing w/ dermatch vs. w/o pics, ill post that as well (im 19 with something of a norwood 2.5) .. good night

 

[mike46]

im gonna skip the rest..

now comes the dilemma, after got back home & took a shower i reached for the dermatch...

im not going to deny, i do look better with it and i do feel better about my looks with it

BUT, i feel much more at ease AND more confident without it!

strange huh? i feel like im balking in middle of a paradigm shift, i dont know what to make of this unexpected experience, help! :lost:

pics attached

 

[Ori83]

i see no difference, and really not much of a hair loss too :dunno:
keep going on finasteride and stop with the paranoia, no one could tell you suffer from male pattern baldness, not even bald experts on this forum.

 

[Hate2LoseIt]

Sigh...cmon ori, you know better.

His recession is evident. It does look more solid with the dermatch though..

I would be more confident with the dermatch because honestly that ish is undetedectable in that photo.... :bravo:

I say stop being stupid, you should have the same confidence either way.

 

[mike46]

putting things into proper perspective, your totally right, the only reason for my "paranoia" is that i had the ideal teenage hairline just less than a year ago (pic attached) and within a year i've receded so much on the corners.. im just nervous about how quickly it's been happening.

thanks

 

[Hate2LoseIt]

oh, your paranoid about further recesion.

I thought it was about having the dermatch in your hair and it being detectable or not..


You need to get on some treatments then bro



*EDIT* nvm, i see your on finasteride.


minoxidil might be a good look for your....i confident it would really help your temples out, plus your on finasteride!!!!......you might get satisfied to the point where you will ditch the dermatch all together

 

[mike46]

na, i can barely detect the dermatch myself right in front of a mirror! my issue with the dermatch is that if feel like im hiding behind it in a way, like it's inhibiting my personality (i just discovered this today & still trying to make sense of it, sorry if that doesn't sound too logical :jackit:

and yes, the paranoia is about further recession, about a month ago i began taking a quarter of generic finasteride. daily.. not much shedding but have not yet noticed an actual halt

 

[ghg]

f*** me you receders are lucky. You call that a lot of hairloss in a year? I went from a full head of hair to very diffuse all over top in a year. Luckily it has slowed down since but the fact is that I haven't been able to style or grow my hair out in almost 5 years.

 

[Mens Rea]

I'm sorry but someone needs to say it:

This forum is full of complete beta males and little b****s.

I read this whole thread and took interest. Then i see the pictures. Oh dear lord - what is the world coming to?

There may be a little difference when you use the dermatch but the reality is you have very, very minor hairloss / recission that most people won't even pick up on. Therefore with or without dermatch is something in your head, effectively. You'll never agree with me but im telling you as a fact. You have a very good head of hair and your looks wont fluctuate that much with dermatach. You are a MAN...

I can see now why the likes of Uncomfortable Man gets pissed off with some posters.

Get your f*****g act together.

 

[cuebald]

agreed with Mens Rea

NW1

 

[s.a.f]

:agree: +1 he does'nt have noticible hairloss, just imagine how F**ked up he'd be if he was a NW5+. Theres no way this girl was thinking anything at all about his hair. :shakehead:

 

[Hate2LoseIt]

Man, you guys really cant be serious?

I bet you if he pulled back his hair he would be right around a nw2.5 to nw3.

The fact is that he is balding and it may not be as bad as some of the worse case scenarios, but it can and will get to that point.


AND whoever said he was NW1!???!! :jump: :shakehead:

 

[Nashville Hairline]

:agree: +1 he does'nt have noticible hairloss, just imagine how F**ked up he'd be if he was a NW5+. Theres no way this girl was thinking anything at all about his hair. :shakehead:

Phew, I thought it was just me. The OP needs professional help.

 

[Pyro]

funny, at 17 my hairline was probably like that, and i never thought twice about it. My hair was thick everywhere else lol. It's only when i was 19/20 and the hair started to diffuse, did i actually count it as hairloss. Ie, hair coming out everywhere in the shower.

you have good hair man, looks like a manly hairline, that's all.

 

[mike46]

Thanks for all the "tough love" guys, like i said in my first post, the sh*t gets to my head and i make it out much worse than it actually is, so i do appreciate being put in place.

with that said, im just curious if any of you can shed any light as to why in actuality im more confident without it, although i do feel better about my looks with it.. i just cant wrap my head around it..

 

[kejan]

Hello,

To be honest, I don't see much difference with/out the dermatch. If anything, it's a minor improvement, but you still look fine without it.
I can understand though what you're going through. I had a NW1 that perfect hairline and even when I first went Norwood 1.5 - I was still yearning for a NW1 and probably would have used dermatch or at least attempted it to see what it would do for me.

As for the future, if you feel more confident without the dermatch go for it and live life. I'm the opposite I feel more comfortable when I see my hair looking thicker with some concealer in my hair. I've been saying a lot on this forum, but find a style or look that you feel 100% yourself with - and go for it!
Once you've styled your hair - you've looked at yourself and thought, I look good to go.
Head out the front door and don't think about it again!

 

[epictetus]

I found myself so paranoid about being caught wearing dermatch that it defeated the whole point of wearing it.