Thin Jim
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Well I finally got signed up. I have been reading this site for around a year or so and it had given me some great info so thanks. Sorry if this gets a bit long but there is a lot to tell.
I started loosing my hair when I was around 18/19. I guess I was in denial for a while and never really accepted it until I had to. Nobody in my family is bald, My Grandfather is 87 and he still has a decent head of hair. My dad although receeded a little is still in good shape for a 55 year old. So although I could see it coming out in handfulls I guess I just didn't think it would get that bad. However when I was around 20 I could no longer style it the way I had all throughout high school (think Nick Carter from the backstreet boys). I had to cut it short and combed it forward to cover up my destroyed hairline.
At this time I started minoxidil 5%, and although I never really saw any obvious results I think it did slow the loss down a little. After around another year it was getting so bad that I tried shaving my head (Huge Mistake). I was appalled at how bad I looked and spent the next 6 months of my life under a cap. I was lucky I had a job where I could wear it or I would have probably quit. I know shaving is good for some people but it is something I will never do again. Being from the UK I have a really pale complextion. Also with a baby face and light blond hair to go with it I looked like I was going through chemo or something (harsh but true). I realised then that I was never going to be comfortable being 'that bald guy' for the rest of my life and decided to try and do all I could to stop it.
I cant begin to tell you how much this has destoyed me. It has affected me in almost every part of my life. I know you guys will know what I mean but heres how bad it got. Last november I stopped going to work cause of it. I didnt go back for over three weeks in which time I had gotten concealers. I had never told my parents about how badly this had got me and they became really worried. I was deeply depressed, barely showed my face around the house and stopped going out. I came home during this time after walking our dog (with my hat on) to find my mum in my dads arms crying her eyes out pleading with me to tell them what was wrong. I ended up balling my eyes out in front of them and they were really understanding actually.
They made me go see the local doctor which to this day is still the most embaressing and humiliating thing that I have ever had to go through. For any of you guys who are from the UK I am telling you now that seeing your doctor will be a complete waste of time. The guy was a joke, he didnt even know what finasteride was. I had to tell him and he looked it up in his medicine book. His attitude was you cannot stop it and are gonna have to learn to live with it. He did make an appointment for me to see a derm but when the date came through I just chucked it in the bin.
It was last Novemver that I started my serious regime. I quit taking minoxidil 5% and began xandrox 15%. I started taking finasteride but wanted to give myself the best possible result (I was not concerned about side effects), so I take 1 finpecia tablet and 1/3 of a fincar tablet everyday. So thats around 2.6 mg a day. Also I bought the hairmax laser comb, some hair vitamins, and msm.
As for results so far, I think the back has thickened up a little but definately has not got anyworse. However the front is my big problem. My hairline is all but gone and I would say the front third of my scalp is badly diffuse. With Dermmatch I can still just about get away with keeping it short at the sides and much longer on top and just kinda combing it forward and then making the front a little messy to cover it up. However some days even with Dermmatch under a bright light its quite obvious to me.
I dont get the 'hey your going bald' comments from people, but I know they are all looking at my hair thinking WTF. Some of my friends are loosing their hair too and they like me have severe baldy sydrome where you obssesivly check out everyone elses hair, men and women to see if they are loosing as well. One of my friends is 23 like me and almost completely gone, and I know he would go to town on me if he knew.
By the way I hate dermmatch, although it does the job it is supposed to, it makes my hair really stiff after application and when I comb it I swear around 20 hairs get pulled out everytime, and I know its all from the front where I apply the stuff cause the hairs are all coated in it. It also looks unnatural and is a nightmare to try and wash out. However I have to use it cause I have no choice.
I really think the hairmax is a total piece of crap too. I was swayed by that dateline thing that they have on their website. The build quality of the thing is appalling. It would cost them no more than 5 pound to make it and I bought it for around 250 english. When i use it it kinda feels like its frying my hair and feels much thinner when im done. I will probably quit soon.
I could rant forever about my feelings towards these companies that sell all this stuff. In my oppinion 99% of them are complete con artists. I mean Xandrox 15% is 88 dollars a bottle, WTF. Although Dr Lees company are a proffessional outfit, in that the orders are quickly shipped and response to emails are quick (also they mark there packages as cosmetic samples so that I get away with paying import duty which is cool), but I bet Dr Lee sits there is his bed surrounded by moneybags just laughing his head off. I dont mean to single him out cause there are a lot worse than him but you get my point.
So now I feel the time is fast approaching where I am gonna have to make a decision. Whether to get a transplant or to start wearing wigs. There are pros and cons to both but Im pretty sure that these are my only options now. I dont think any meds, pills, or potions are gonna restore my hair to a state where I can be comfotable with it, and concealers are no longer doing the job. To be honest I am tempted to get into hair pieces. A lot of the pics I have seen look great and now I just want something which is gonna put my mind and rest and enable me to start living my life again. If the piece looks good enough I dont think I would even care if I got busted or other people knew. With a transplant there is obviously the high cost which again is daylight robbery. I would go with Armani after a lot of research but I know I may have to go back for more. If I could get the front third filled in and stay on the meds to keep the rest that would be ok. I really would love to know the profit percentage these places make though.
Well I said it was probably gonna be long but it feels good to get it all off my chest anyway (I could have gone on longer this is only half the story). I guess Im just at a place now where im so sick of it. I guess I have got a big decision to make as I refuse to shave again. So I will keep you all updated on what happens. Im gonna keep taking these meds until the year mark anyway just incase there is still some improvement to come. Oh and I know your gonna ask but sorry I dont have any pics. I dont have a digital camera at the moment but when I get one I will try and post them.
Cheers
I started loosing my hair when I was around 18/19. I guess I was in denial for a while and never really accepted it until I had to. Nobody in my family is bald, My Grandfather is 87 and he still has a decent head of hair. My dad although receeded a little is still in good shape for a 55 year old. So although I could see it coming out in handfulls I guess I just didn't think it would get that bad. However when I was around 20 I could no longer style it the way I had all throughout high school (think Nick Carter from the backstreet boys). I had to cut it short and combed it forward to cover up my destroyed hairline.
At this time I started minoxidil 5%, and although I never really saw any obvious results I think it did slow the loss down a little. After around another year it was getting so bad that I tried shaving my head (Huge Mistake). I was appalled at how bad I looked and spent the next 6 months of my life under a cap. I was lucky I had a job where I could wear it or I would have probably quit. I know shaving is good for some people but it is something I will never do again. Being from the UK I have a really pale complextion. Also with a baby face and light blond hair to go with it I looked like I was going through chemo or something (harsh but true). I realised then that I was never going to be comfortable being 'that bald guy' for the rest of my life and decided to try and do all I could to stop it.
I cant begin to tell you how much this has destoyed me. It has affected me in almost every part of my life. I know you guys will know what I mean but heres how bad it got. Last november I stopped going to work cause of it. I didnt go back for over three weeks in which time I had gotten concealers. I had never told my parents about how badly this had got me and they became really worried. I was deeply depressed, barely showed my face around the house and stopped going out. I came home during this time after walking our dog (with my hat on) to find my mum in my dads arms crying her eyes out pleading with me to tell them what was wrong. I ended up balling my eyes out in front of them and they were really understanding actually.
They made me go see the local doctor which to this day is still the most embaressing and humiliating thing that I have ever had to go through. For any of you guys who are from the UK I am telling you now that seeing your doctor will be a complete waste of time. The guy was a joke, he didnt even know what finasteride was. I had to tell him and he looked it up in his medicine book. His attitude was you cannot stop it and are gonna have to learn to live with it. He did make an appointment for me to see a derm but when the date came through I just chucked it in the bin.
It was last Novemver that I started my serious regime. I quit taking minoxidil 5% and began xandrox 15%. I started taking finasteride but wanted to give myself the best possible result (I was not concerned about side effects), so I take 1 finpecia tablet and 1/3 of a fincar tablet everyday. So thats around 2.6 mg a day. Also I bought the hairmax laser comb, some hair vitamins, and msm.
As for results so far, I think the back has thickened up a little but definately has not got anyworse. However the front is my big problem. My hairline is all but gone and I would say the front third of my scalp is badly diffuse. With Dermmatch I can still just about get away with keeping it short at the sides and much longer on top and just kinda combing it forward and then making the front a little messy to cover it up. However some days even with Dermmatch under a bright light its quite obvious to me.
I dont get the 'hey your going bald' comments from people, but I know they are all looking at my hair thinking WTF. Some of my friends are loosing their hair too and they like me have severe baldy sydrome where you obssesivly check out everyone elses hair, men and women to see if they are loosing as well. One of my friends is 23 like me and almost completely gone, and I know he would go to town on me if he knew.
By the way I hate dermmatch, although it does the job it is supposed to, it makes my hair really stiff after application and when I comb it I swear around 20 hairs get pulled out everytime, and I know its all from the front where I apply the stuff cause the hairs are all coated in it. It also looks unnatural and is a nightmare to try and wash out. However I have to use it cause I have no choice.
I really think the hairmax is a total piece of crap too. I was swayed by that dateline thing that they have on their website. The build quality of the thing is appalling. It would cost them no more than 5 pound to make it and I bought it for around 250 english. When i use it it kinda feels like its frying my hair and feels much thinner when im done. I will probably quit soon.
I could rant forever about my feelings towards these companies that sell all this stuff. In my oppinion 99% of them are complete con artists. I mean Xandrox 15% is 88 dollars a bottle, WTF. Although Dr Lees company are a proffessional outfit, in that the orders are quickly shipped and response to emails are quick (also they mark there packages as cosmetic samples so that I get away with paying import duty which is cool), but I bet Dr Lee sits there is his bed surrounded by moneybags just laughing his head off. I dont mean to single him out cause there are a lot worse than him but you get my point.
So now I feel the time is fast approaching where I am gonna have to make a decision. Whether to get a transplant or to start wearing wigs. There are pros and cons to both but Im pretty sure that these are my only options now. I dont think any meds, pills, or potions are gonna restore my hair to a state where I can be comfotable with it, and concealers are no longer doing the job. To be honest I am tempted to get into hair pieces. A lot of the pics I have seen look great and now I just want something which is gonna put my mind and rest and enable me to start living my life again. If the piece looks good enough I dont think I would even care if I got busted or other people knew. With a transplant there is obviously the high cost which again is daylight robbery. I would go with Armani after a lot of research but I know I may have to go back for more. If I could get the front third filled in and stay on the meds to keep the rest that would be ok. I really would love to know the profit percentage these places make though.
Well I said it was probably gonna be long but it feels good to get it all off my chest anyway (I could have gone on longer this is only half the story). I guess Im just at a place now where im so sick of it. I guess I have got a big decision to make as I refuse to shave again. So I will keep you all updated on what happens. Im gonna keep taking these meds until the year mark anyway just incase there is still some improvement to come. Oh and I know your gonna ask but sorry I dont have any pics. I dont have a digital camera at the moment but when I get one I will try and post them.
Cheers
