Well it all began around the age of 21 when I worked in a bar and one of the patrons commented that I had a receding hairline. I had long blonde hair, peroxided and brushing my shoulders. I thought, whatever. But it planted a seed and I remember my grandfather (mother's side) telling me how he was shiny by the age of 25. Sure enough I started waking to pillows of fur and by the age of 26 I sported a bald patch the size of a 50p coin (was living in the UK at the time) upon my crown. The temples continued to recede at a steady pace - so much so that when I look at photos of myself aged 27 I look a whole lot older than I do now. Having a close-crop (read: bad) haircut certainly didn't help. Neither did using cheap shampoo and conditioner, because that's just what naive people like myself do when they're young. I mean seriously, a guy with limp, thinning hair using cheap conditioner! Why? :crazy:
I discovered Toppik around the age of 27 and it certainly helped fill in the back and beef up the top - and probably more than helped my chances with ladies I met along the way. Tip: Make sure to use plenty of hairspray or fixative or risk some nasty morning surprises on their fresh white pillows.
I also decided that camouflage was not good enough and began using Regaine - the original nasty stuff that came in an eye dropper and smelt kind of like nail polish remover. It gave me pretty bad dermatitis but I stuck it out for about a year and had some good results - surprisingly particularly around the front. But I didn't like the messiness of the application and it doesn't work so well with Toppik (got to wash it out first before you can apply new Regaine), so quit. Hairfall began again almost immediately.
By the age of 28 I knew I needed to do something serious and noticed a sign at the doctor's office advertising Propecia. I jumped in. It had only just been released where I was living and I used it pretty much consistently for five years. It was a revelation. I still thinned a little overall but absolutely nothing compared to the shedding before. I gained thickness in the front and my hair actually started feeling more course, less oily and more stylish. I felt like I got my life back and partied way too hard for way too many years. Before I go any further, Propecia / Finasteride / Proscar (I used them all) gave me a new lease on life. If you're single and in need of confidence in the form of extra hair upon your head then I would never try to dissuade you from experimenting with these pharmaceuticals.
Unfortunately the down side to my story is that due to the partying and various other life events I became seriously depressed. Thought the world was going to end, blah blah. Still kept taking my pills, just in case it didn't! But the depression became debilitating and by the age of 33 I decided to quite Finasteride. Actually it was the biggest shock of my life that provided the real impetus to quit. I met a beautiful girl who seemed to like me back (thanks hair pills, good diet and exercise) and she became pregnant (um, very unexpectedly). One summer evening I was crushing up my cheap Finasteride pills in the bathroom, chopping them into jagged, crumbly 16ths as I had decided to lower my dosage to 0.3mgs (worked pretty well by the way). Then suddenly an alarm bell rang in my head and I checked the precautions on the packaging. Yep, it is a class X drug that almost certainly mutates the genitalia of baby boys if handled by a pregnant woman.
I had been crushing them up with an old rusty pill cutter, touching the bathroom mirror, doorhandles, glasses of water, HER BLOSSOMING BELLY and our eating utensils with my Finasta-tainted hands! Not to mention blowing my Finasta-laced seed directly into ground zero where our developing foetus had just started kicking. I felt sick to my stomach and had a mini-breakdown. When the day of the 20 week scan came around and we discovered we were having a daughter I thanked Buddha, God, Allah, Rama, the Universe, the ultrasound man - and promised to be a good guy from now on. I think I've kept my promise.
Anyway, so I quit Propecia for 8 months and noticed a huge difference in my chemistry. My depression seemed to lift almost instantaneously and the world suddenly appeared bright and hopeful. Believe me it wasn't all roses, I had to get a day job after having been a freelancer for years, so adjusting to a new work life and the forthcoming gravity of fatherhood was tumultuous and difficult. Yet I thrived. I found exercise easier and my libido increased dramatically. I had been on the hair pills for around 6 years by then and so had never suspected they could be altering my physiology. To be honest, even if they were I was totally devoted to their cause. Pills came before food in my triangle of needs / priorities.
Baby was born, all was good and I was exhausted from sleepless nights and a demanding job. My hairline had also begun some major regression. Just like in my early twenties, my pillows were home every morning to expensively cultured strands of hair that were leaving my DHT-soaked follicles in an exodus of note. Never before had my temples reached the crown.
So I went back on the Propecia. And I subsequently went several months with no libido whatsoever. I assumed it was the newborn thing (and of course to some degree it was), but I realised I hadn't woken up with a boner in ages. I did while I was off the pills during the pregnancy but then retrospectively reflected back and realised I hardly ever woke up excited in the preceding years. I think youthful vigour compensates for the side effects of Propecia but as you age you loosen into what seems to be a normal pattern but which, for me, just hinted at underlying issues. I heard Joe Rogan on a Podcast say something about, "You know you're a healthy male if you wake up with a boner. If you don't you'e fcked." Having the little break from pills had confirmed I could indeed wake up with a boner. Excuse being crude, but it was bigger too. Being pill-free made me hungry and ambitious. I finished personal projects like a wild man, with ruthless focus. Going back on the pills I seriously started thinking about the world ending again. Horrible old circuits reactivated. Dark thoughts. So I bit the bullet and quit, once and for all. Almost instantly returned Mr Happy in the morning, my libido, my lust for life. I guess having been a long-term user of the pills I might have lost some tolerance to them, or maybe I've just become more attuned to my chemistry, or old.
I certainly wouldn't have found (or had the confidence to approach) my partner without the pills, so I will never regret the time I spent under their spell. But coming off was a good thing for my health. My hairline, however, was not so fortunate. So I tried Nuhair and other weird DHT blockers but didn't really like the idea of overloading my system with soy and some other questionable ingredients. Saw Palmetto seems ok, so took a multivitamin supplement containing it but my temples well and truly blazed a trail to my crown and while my hair was in good condition (thanks to quality natural shampoos, Revivogen, Toppik Hair Fattener etc) I needed more Toppik fibers than ever to look presentable. Being subject to bouts of eczema sometimes the Toppik would get sucked into the open, weepy patches and become all clogged up and super noticeable - anyone else had that issue? Especially on the crown. It sucked.
So I caught a plane to Asia and 4 days ago had 2500 hairs transplanted from the back of my head to the front. I went FUT and I know it means I'll have a ghastly smiley face scar on the back of my head, but I already have a large scar from car accident so will probably always wear a longer hairstyle. I now sit here with itchy tiny little hairs poking out from places where hairs haven't lived in decades and spikey stitches protruding from the back of my head, wondering if this was a good idea. It was cheap here, maybe $5000 USD and the Doctor was amazing. I would've gone for 3500 grafts and filled my entire dome but thought I'd do the front first, see how it goes and then maybe come back again.
Now, my contemplation is: should I go on a reduced Propecia regime (maybe 0.25mgs every second day), Minoxidil or some other herbal system to see if I can enhance and maintain my new hair? The game of life and the drama of it all. It's the most self-indulgent journey and I can't believe I've come this far. But if anyone understands hopefully it will be you.
I discovered Toppik around the age of 27 and it certainly helped fill in the back and beef up the top - and probably more than helped my chances with ladies I met along the way. Tip: Make sure to use plenty of hairspray or fixative or risk some nasty morning surprises on their fresh white pillows.
I also decided that camouflage was not good enough and began using Regaine - the original nasty stuff that came in an eye dropper and smelt kind of like nail polish remover. It gave me pretty bad dermatitis but I stuck it out for about a year and had some good results - surprisingly particularly around the front. But I didn't like the messiness of the application and it doesn't work so well with Toppik (got to wash it out first before you can apply new Regaine), so quit. Hairfall began again almost immediately.
By the age of 28 I knew I needed to do something serious and noticed a sign at the doctor's office advertising Propecia. I jumped in. It had only just been released where I was living and I used it pretty much consistently for five years. It was a revelation. I still thinned a little overall but absolutely nothing compared to the shedding before. I gained thickness in the front and my hair actually started feeling more course, less oily and more stylish. I felt like I got my life back and partied way too hard for way too many years. Before I go any further, Propecia / Finasteride / Proscar (I used them all) gave me a new lease on life. If you're single and in need of confidence in the form of extra hair upon your head then I would never try to dissuade you from experimenting with these pharmaceuticals.
Unfortunately the down side to my story is that due to the partying and various other life events I became seriously depressed. Thought the world was going to end, blah blah. Still kept taking my pills, just in case it didn't! But the depression became debilitating and by the age of 33 I decided to quite Finasteride. Actually it was the biggest shock of my life that provided the real impetus to quit. I met a beautiful girl who seemed to like me back (thanks hair pills, good diet and exercise) and she became pregnant (um, very unexpectedly). One summer evening I was crushing up my cheap Finasteride pills in the bathroom, chopping them into jagged, crumbly 16ths as I had decided to lower my dosage to 0.3mgs (worked pretty well by the way). Then suddenly an alarm bell rang in my head and I checked the precautions on the packaging. Yep, it is a class X drug that almost certainly mutates the genitalia of baby boys if handled by a pregnant woman.
I had been crushing them up with an old rusty pill cutter, touching the bathroom mirror, doorhandles, glasses of water, HER BLOSSOMING BELLY and our eating utensils with my Finasta-tainted hands! Not to mention blowing my Finasta-laced seed directly into ground zero where our developing foetus had just started kicking. I felt sick to my stomach and had a mini-breakdown. When the day of the 20 week scan came around and we discovered we were having a daughter I thanked Buddha, God, Allah, Rama, the Universe, the ultrasound man - and promised to be a good guy from now on. I think I've kept my promise.
Anyway, so I quit Propecia for 8 months and noticed a huge difference in my chemistry. My depression seemed to lift almost instantaneously and the world suddenly appeared bright and hopeful. Believe me it wasn't all roses, I had to get a day job after having been a freelancer for years, so adjusting to a new work life and the forthcoming gravity of fatherhood was tumultuous and difficult. Yet I thrived. I found exercise easier and my libido increased dramatically. I had been on the hair pills for around 6 years by then and so had never suspected they could be altering my physiology. To be honest, even if they were I was totally devoted to their cause. Pills came before food in my triangle of needs / priorities.
Baby was born, all was good and I was exhausted from sleepless nights and a demanding job. My hairline had also begun some major regression. Just like in my early twenties, my pillows were home every morning to expensively cultured strands of hair that were leaving my DHT-soaked follicles in an exodus of note. Never before had my temples reached the crown.
So I went back on the Propecia. And I subsequently went several months with no libido whatsoever. I assumed it was the newborn thing (and of course to some degree it was), but I realised I hadn't woken up with a boner in ages. I did while I was off the pills during the pregnancy but then retrospectively reflected back and realised I hardly ever woke up excited in the preceding years. I think youthful vigour compensates for the side effects of Propecia but as you age you loosen into what seems to be a normal pattern but which, for me, just hinted at underlying issues. I heard Joe Rogan on a Podcast say something about, "You know you're a healthy male if you wake up with a boner. If you don't you'e fcked." Having the little break from pills had confirmed I could indeed wake up with a boner. Excuse being crude, but it was bigger too. Being pill-free made me hungry and ambitious. I finished personal projects like a wild man, with ruthless focus. Going back on the pills I seriously started thinking about the world ending again. Horrible old circuits reactivated. Dark thoughts. So I bit the bullet and quit, once and for all. Almost instantly returned Mr Happy in the morning, my libido, my lust for life. I guess having been a long-term user of the pills I might have lost some tolerance to them, or maybe I've just become more attuned to my chemistry, or old.
I certainly wouldn't have found (or had the confidence to approach) my partner without the pills, so I will never regret the time I spent under their spell. But coming off was a good thing for my health. My hairline, however, was not so fortunate. So I tried Nuhair and other weird DHT blockers but didn't really like the idea of overloading my system with soy and some other questionable ingredients. Saw Palmetto seems ok, so took a multivitamin supplement containing it but my temples well and truly blazed a trail to my crown and while my hair was in good condition (thanks to quality natural shampoos, Revivogen, Toppik Hair Fattener etc) I needed more Toppik fibers than ever to look presentable. Being subject to bouts of eczema sometimes the Toppik would get sucked into the open, weepy patches and become all clogged up and super noticeable - anyone else had that issue? Especially on the crown. It sucked.
So I caught a plane to Asia and 4 days ago had 2500 hairs transplanted from the back of my head to the front. I went FUT and I know it means I'll have a ghastly smiley face scar on the back of my head, but I already have a large scar from car accident so will probably always wear a longer hairstyle. I now sit here with itchy tiny little hairs poking out from places where hairs haven't lived in decades and spikey stitches protruding from the back of my head, wondering if this was a good idea. It was cheap here, maybe $5000 USD and the Doctor was amazing. I would've gone for 3500 grafts and filled my entire dome but thought I'd do the front first, see how it goes and then maybe come back again.
Now, my contemplation is: should I go on a reduced Propecia regime (maybe 0.25mgs every second day), Minoxidil or some other herbal system to see if I can enhance and maintain my new hair? The game of life and the drama of it all. It's the most self-indulgent journey and I can't believe I've come this far. But if anyone understands hopefully it will be you.
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