you are not bald

[IBM]

The problem of hairloss is the unpredictability. Most NW2 knows that they wont be on that degree. That's the reason of fear and grief.

 

[Nathaniel]

If I could maintain the hair I have I would be happy. I really don't feel that bad about myself but its just the "what will I look like next" thing thats killing me.

I need to grow the f*** up I know.

 

[JayB]

If I could maintain the hair I have I would be happy. I really don't feel that bad about myself but its just the "what will I look like next" thing thats killing me.

I need to grow the f*** up I know.

no, you really dont. it is a natural fear and its not supposed to be turned off. People just tell you that because theres no other option. but "growing up" in regards to this situation is not that natural emotion youre supposed to feel. A person with HIV does not have to "grow up" because he fears it may progress to AIDS one day. Granted thats on a different playing field, but the unknown factor is supposed to instill uneasiness in an individual. our brains are wired that way. dont let anyone tell you differently.

 

[ginald]

If I could maintain the hair I have I would be happy. I really don't feel that bad about myself but its just the "what will I look like next" thing thats killing me.

I need to grow the f*** up I know.

i used to think that also.... if only i could keep what hair i had.

unfortunately i couldnt and raced from nw1 to nw6 in 5 years.

holy s**t.

what a shock.

now i just tell everyone that i like a 6 inch wide centre parting.

its the end of the world.

 

[Nick4441]

Prevention is better than cure but its a serious thing to go on these meds if your hairloss is very small and happening over a really long period....you'll be stuck on them once you start...Everyones opinion here is valid and helpful in making that decision..Somereal experienced researched guys on here.

Ginald - Hope you're going for the Peter Gabriel look with the goatee it proves Bald can still be cool and being bald this century is better than any previous....half the guys with hair at my work buzz their heads.

I can't wait for HM as I never wanted to take all these drugs...the only drugs I like are the ones you smoke

 

[Guest]

Prevention is better than cure but its a serious thing to go on these meds if your hairloss is very small and happening over a really long period....you'll be stuck on them once you start.

You're wrong.

You're not stuck on meds once you start, you can stop them at any time, and you'll lose the hair that the drugs were holding in. But you won't have lost any more hair than you would have had you never taken the drugs.

 

[Nick4441]

I know, but who's going to want to stop knowing that they are going to lose hair and not even know how much...so in theory you are stuck on them...

 

[Nick4441]

And by the way Jayman I have respect for guys like you and College's advice who have obviously put a lot of time in on this bloody nightmare we have to endure when we look in the mirror. So thanks to you and the experienced ones for continued advice.

Good luck to us all as we all deserve it!

 

[IBM]

i used to think that also.... if only i could keep what hair i had.

unfortunately i couldnt and raced from nw1 to nw6 in 5 years.

Can you post or point a resume of your past regimen. Just what meds you used and the periods.

 

[ginald]

i used to think that also.... if only i could keep what hair i had.

unfortunately i couldnt and raced from nw1 to nw6 in 5 years.

Can you post or point a resume of your past regimen. Just what meds you used and the periods.

Certainly.

i arrived at the full horseshoe, 18 years ago. probably about the same time you were starting to walk and you probably had more hair than me, even then! lol

i tried minoxidil for 6 months....verrry expensive and only just out then.

too far gone to be of benefit.

my present cynicism has been arrived at through many years of following the hair restoration industry.
it's awash with charlatans, quacks and liars.

tread carefully.

 

[Guest]

i used to think that also.... if only i could keep what hair i had.

unfortunately i couldnt and raced from nw1 to nw6 in 5 years.

Can you post or point a resume of your past regimen. Just what meds you used and the periods.

Certainly.

i arrived at the full horseshoe, 18 years ago. probably about the same time you were starting to walk and you probably had more hair than me, even then! lol

i tried minoxidil for 6 months....verrry expensive and only just out then.

too far gone to be of benefit.

my present cynicism has been arrived at through many years of following the hair restoration industry.
it's awash with charlatans, quacks and liars.

tread carefully.

I agree that you had no hope, ginald, and it wasn't your fault. Rogaine has only been available for like 18 years as you said, and Finasteride for 10, and Dutasteride for 5. Even if the Rogaine had worked for you and regrown hair you would have lost it a few years later.

Had finasteride been available to you earlier though, I'm confident that you never would have progressed past Norwood 5.

How old are you now?

I understand that you are cynical about the hair restoration industry, like hair surgeons, etc. but finasteride and dutasteride really do work at stopping hair loss and most people, if they start early enough, will be very satisfied with them.

 

[ginald]

jayman, i am late forties...very late.... and although you say i might never have got past a nw5 with the present drugs, in all honesty i have to say that once i got past nw3, the game was up for me.

it is a good era to be bald (if bald can ever be positively thought of) because the shaved look is definitely fashionable.

so once the hair starts to recede at the front that's game over for me....i could have lived with the bald spot on the crown but not losing the front.

even at my advanced arthritic age, i still hate bald.....but its more to do with the miserable time it gave me when i was balding rather than my complete baldness state now.

i have come to terms with it as i am now but the worst time, as you guys are finding out, is whilst you are losing it.

moral: it does get better but its a long journey.

 

[s.a.f]

Thanks for being on here Ginald its good for some of us to hear it from the perspective of someone who is'nt a 20yr old nw1.5. My situation is similar to yours. finasteride and dutasteride came along (or I found out about them) a few years too late really. So I've gone the distance aswell with m.p.b in my 20's. For anyone who's interested here's the stages as I see them:

Nw2 = As a young guy its scary to see something happening to your hair and the slightest change gets you paranoid. Now you start experimenting with hairstyles to try and disguise it. You think everyone is looking at your hair, but in reality its not that bad.

Nw3 = Ususaly a couple of years later. By now you're getting used to seeing it going and you are giving up hope. You are not receeding/thinning you are going bald ! and people will tell you this to your face. This is devastating as you are visibly balding and there's not much you can do to disguise it. Its at this point that most give up and shave it if they hav'nt already.

Nw4 = Now you are officialy on your way to being bald. It looks bad and you begin to accept that your hair is gone forever. Every hair of your shaved stubble counts and you just hope that you dont look to much like an old man. Now you would give anything to have your old nw2 back.

Nw5+ = Now you are officialy a baldy try to accept it.

 

[Letsget2thepoint-51]

good points guys

saf-Nw2 = As a young guy its scary to see something happening to your hair and the slightest change gets you paranoid. Now you start experimenting with hairstyles to try and disguise it. You think everyone is looking at your hair, but in reality its not that bad.

this explain me EXACTLY





im 21 with a decent hair line and some thinning in the crown/ a little diffuse thinning on top. I can still hide it so it looks fairly normal, but i feel sorta paranoid about it. AS paranoid as this is for me i agree with some of u .........i need to realize that its not that bad yet and life is still good. I really see both sides of this and i think a lot of the younger guys on here need to calm down and not obsess about thier hair losss (myself in cluded)..........but i can also tell u that being 21 and realizing that u are losing some hair is TERRifying. As far as bald/balding guys go i am about as lucky as can be so far..........but i am still going bald and my hair can barely pass for normal and not thinning.

IM trying to go from " oh my god i have really thin area in teh back of my head to " its not that bad and people can barely notice and most of them dont even care anyways.......... I am just going to be thankfull for what i have left and be content with knowing im doing pretty much all i can. GOod post guys

 

[Guest]

jayman, i am late forties...very late.... and although you say i might never have got past a nw5 with the present drugs, in all honesty i have to say that once i got past nw3, the game was up for me.

Sorry I meant to clarify that had propecia been available to you and dutasteride soon after, you probably never would have gotten worse than NW3 and you probably wouldn't have reached NW3 till age 60+. Then with NW3 and a strong crown region you could use some of your donor hair to get back to NW1.

 

[astral week]

Jayman, do you really believe that about if you are a N1-2 and you get on propecia and later dutasteride you won't be a N3 until like 40+?? I love your optimism and maybe you know something I don't, but just by looking at the ol' Propecia results timeline that seems unlikely. sure hope you're right though.

 

[Guest]

Jayman, do you really believe that about if you are a N1-2 and you get on propecia and later dutasteride you won't be a N3 until like 40+?? I love your optimism and maybe you know something I don't, but just by looking at the ol' Propecia results timeline that seems unlikely. sure hope you're right though.

what propecia results timeline? if you look at the graph and project it out the average user is still above baseline 7 years later. and the propecia decline is only about 10-15% of the speed of the placebo decline. and avodart is even more powerful. and by the time you need to upgrade better treatments will be out. avodart is only 5 years old. propecia is only 10 years old. why shouldn't i be optimistic?

 

[Cassin]

Jayman, do you really believe that about if you are a N1-2 and you get on propecia and later dutasteride you won't be a N3 until like 40+?? I love your optimism and maybe you know something I don't, but just by looking at the ol' Propecia results timeline that seems unlikely. sure hope you're right though.

That timeline doesn't take into account multiple treatments. Add in Copper Peptides, Nizoral and minoxidil and you can safely assume that the timeline can be stretched out pretty far.

 

[astral week]

actually, the propecia study WAS done with nizoral. But yeah, after a second look, assuming the propecia line declines at the same steady rate (which of course is a great assumption, but it's nice to be optimistic), the average user has a good 7 years. Wow, that's much better than I thought. I thought I had 5 years before rapid declination if I was lucky, and that time was to be spent coming to terms with it.

The only thing that has been bothering me is this: they say younger men typically respond better to propecia. But they also say the more aggressive the hairloss, the more inevitable it is, obviously. But if the hairloss starts in the late teens, early twenties, doesn't that mean that it's also aggressive? Do these factors cancel each other out, or is this just a big crap-shoot?

 

[Guest]

actually, the propecia study WAS done with nizoral. But yeah, after a second look, assuming the propecia line declines at the same steady rate (which of course is a great assumption, but it's nice to be optimistic), the average user has a good 7 years. Wow, that's much better than I thought. I thought I had 5 years before rapid declination if I was lucky, and that time was to be spent coming to terms with it.

The only thing that has been bothering me is this: they say younger men typically respond better to propecia. But they also say the more aggressive the hairloss, the more inevitable it is, obviously. But if the hairloss starts in the late teens, early twenties, doesn't that mean that it's also aggressive? Do these factors cancel each other out, or is this just a big crap-shoot?

it's not a big crapshoot. i think thta if you have super aggressive hair loss then finasteride might not be able to hold your hair for one year. avodart would probably be able to stop the hair loss for most of the people who didn't see a cessation of hair loss on finasteride.