22 yo Considering HT (Looking for Advice)

[CIT_Girl]

Yeah that was my concern. If you get the HT done and make the front look nice but the hair behind it is receeding...at what point do you get another HT done?

As hair loss is obviously progressive in nature, this is definitely a concern. For this reason, it's important to have a long-term plan and wait until you're old enough to get a good indication to what you extent hair loss will progress. Men who gradually progress to later stages on the Norwood scale will generally have to undergo more than one procedure in their lifetime (or else have that 'wall' of hair in front and recession behind it). An honest doctor will evaluate your hair loss pattern and family history, and be upfront with you about the possibility of needing additional procedures as you age.

It's definitely one more thing to think about before you take the leap and another good reason to get on meds to preserve your existing hair.

hindsight2020, I'm sorry to hear about your situation/regret. Have you considered some sort of strip repair/graft redistribution that would allow you to just shave your head or bald 'naturally', or are you (justifiably) reluctant to have any further surgery?

[hindsight2020]

Yeah that was my concern. If you get the HT done and make the front look nice but the hair behind it is receeding...at what point do you get another HT done?

Maybe just wait until all the hair is gone before getting a HT?

If you ever have any questions in the future let me know and we can chat through IM or even phone, I dont mind. I have no rpoblem talking to you, or anyone else thats thinking of getting a HT. I will tell you the good and the bad, give you realistic stories of what you'll be dealing with, and hopefully set realistic expectations for you.

[Locke]

Since I have a 4 month summer I decided to buzz my hair to see how it looks. I don't think I'll shave it completely because this gives me a pretty good indication of what it'll look like. I will be traveling through Asia for 3 months so I won't have to encounter people who knew me with hair and will comment on it, although I'll be traveling with 3 friends who certainly will.


From the front.


Front on an angle.


Top.

I honestly don't like how it looks. I have a large forehead and a long face that is not made to be bald. If my head were circular like my mom's or brother's it'd look a lot better. Maybe I'll get used to it... but maybe not. I don't think someone who is 22 should look this way and I'm sure many of the people who I meet in public will think the same way and comment on it to my face or behind my back. That's my biggest fear to be honest. I hate the thought of people's first impressions being based solely on my hair, or lack thereof.

I started taking finasteride again today and I'm going to order nizural shampoo and rogaine foam. I'll see if I can stabilize it over the next 12 months and then strongly consider a HT.

On Thursday I will be finding out if I'll be attending medical school next year. Many of the people I meet won't know me when I had hair so maybe this is a good thing? I'm also single and I was hoping to meet someone in school but I don't think my hair helps this cause...

If I do get a HT next year during my 2 month summer I'll then have to go back to school and have everyone comment on me having got a HT at 23...I dread the thought....

[hindsight2020]

hindsight2020, I'm sorry to hear about your situation/regret. Have you considered some sort of strip repair/graft redistribution that would allow you to just shave your head or bald 'naturally', or are you (justifiably) reluctant to have any further surgery?

For a while yes I did. But I have accepted the fact that I made a mistake in getting a HT at a young age, and sometimes I regret getting a HT at all. Even though it served its porpose for the past 4-5 years, I am growing envious of how good people look with a shaved, naturally bald head. I am sure that came with age, and now that I am 30, I have a different persepctive on life. But I guess thats all part of the game, you live and you learn and you try to make yourself a better person during the process.

@Locke - I would kill to have your head again. When I was 24 I shaved my head just like yours and looked way more bald. But I had no scars, no ingrown itchy hairs on the top of my head, no worry about what my hair looked like, cause it walways looked the same. After my HT I thought my life would be easier, after all I had hair. WRONG... you think your worried about what people think of you now, wait till you have a HT... your ALWAYS worried about someone noticing. Someone noticing a HT is waaay worse than someone noticing that your going bald. HT's are unnatural and kind of wierd (if you think about it)... and thats how others will think about it... on the other hand, nothing wierd about going bald.

[Locke]

For a while yes I did. But I have accepted the fact that I made a mistake in getting a HT at a young age, and sometimes I regret getting a HT at all. Even though it served its porpose for the past 4-5 years, I am growing envious of how good people look with a shaved, naturally bald head. I am sure that came with age, and now that I am 30, I have a different persepctive on life. But I guess thats all part of the game, you live and you learn and you try to make yourself a better person during the process.

@Locke - I would kill to have your head again. When I was 24 I shaved my head just like yours and looked way more bald. But I had no scars, no ingrown itchy hairs on the top of my head, no worry about what my hair looked like, cause it walways looked the same. After my HT I thought my life would be easier, after all I had hair. WRONG... you think your worried about what people think of you now, wait till you have a HT... your ALWAYS worried about someone noticing. Someone noticing a HT is waaay worse than someone noticing that your going bald. HT's are unnatural and kind of wierd (if you think about it)... and thats how others will think about it... on the other hand, nothing wierd about going bald.

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate you sharing your story and giving me a much needed opinion based on real experiences with a HT. Every time I read your posts it makes me believe more and more that what's happening to me is natural and I have nothing to be ashamed of. If anyone has a problem with my balding head then to hell with them! It's not like they're perfect either!

That's quite the badass attitude...or should I say baldass? Bad joke I know.

[hindsight2020]

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate you sharing your story and giving me a much needed opinion based on real experiences with a HT. Every time I read your posts it makes me believe more and more that what's happening to me is natural and I have nothing to be ashamed of. If anyone has a problem with my balding head then to hell with them! It's not like they're perfect either!

That's quite the badass attitude...or should I say baldass? Bad joke I know.

LOL...

All joking aside... being 22 and the first of your friends to bald absolutley sucks. For me it all comes back to humility, which I think is one of the best things someone can learn in this lifetime.

I don't know where your from or what your into... but someone that helped me come to terms with anything that I thought sucked in my life is this new 'shock jock' talk show host named Jason Ellis. He is an aussie, but now lives in LA and has a 4 hour time slot on Sirius XM on the Faction Channel from 12pm-4pm west coast time. He's a retaired pro skateboarder turned MMA fighter/Talk show host. He is constantly talking about times he f*cked up in his past and making fun of himself. He's also bald. Its funny to listen to him give advice to people who call in with petty problems... he holds nothing back in letting them know how big of a 'b*tch' they are for letting little stuff in life bring them down. He talks about time, and how short we have to live our lives before we die. He talks about being bald, being ugly, and kicking a**.

The other day on the show it was hilarious... someone used the word 'receding' on the show (nothing to do with hair)... there was a quick pause and he responded back with 'Are you making fun of my hairline mutherf*cker! you know thats a sore subject to me' (with people laughing in the backround, even he chuckled) ... thats INSPIRATIONAL to me. Have humility, if your bald and ugly, embrace it! F*ck people who think looks are all that matters in the world. That fixed by 35 guy is obsessed with it, and look how he acts and talks... that guy is miserable inside.

Humility is the key. You'll never be the best looking guy in the world... why spend money to put more hair on your head just to look average? As Jason Ellis would say 'Man up and stop being such a little bi*ch' I know its not a slogan that everyone will embrace... but its right up my alley. Don't let your hairloss consume you. You sound like your heads on stright, you sound confident, and that you have a lot of friends that probably dont care if you have hair or not.

And your right. Everyone has problems, and to each person thier problem is the biggest in the world. Its how they deal with and overcome those problems thats defines who they are... or for some, how and when they quit and start balming everything else for thier failures. Don't be that guy!

[YoungHairLoss]

I suggest going to Doctor Epstien.