What brings you to the forum?

[mjolnir]

So I've noticed a wide variety of attitudes on here along with a wide variety of reactions to the news we get about various treatments, and it got me thinking about why I read this forum, and why others do. Realistically, I think we all accept that it will be at least a few years before anything approaching a cure is available, so we can't actually do anything with the information we're getting. Personally, I suppose I'm looking for a bit of hope, but also - because I know many of these new treatments probably won't do much, or will be horribly expensive - I like to think that by the time they're actually available, I really won't care that much any more, and being here is more about easing my mind until I make it to that point.

But what about everyone else? What brings you back here? What do you feel you gain from all the speculation?

[re22]

Mostly because I'm a nutcase. Keeping an eye on the upcoming treatments gives me a peace of mind, although there is so much disinformation that gets thrown around here that it sometimes is more distressing than appeasing to stick around. However, I think posters like Tracy C and a few others give legitimately quality insight which outweighs the constant stream of garbage that the goons who inhabit this place seem to have an infinite supply of.

[Dazza]

pretty much same as re22.

Keeping an eye on the upcoming treatments is my main focus. ideal situation would be reading up on a treatment(s) that 100% works, after hearing that i could breath a sigh of relief and prob just delete this account. even if said treatment(s) was a few years off, the thought of a treatment(s) that fully works is enough for me to start relaxing and count down the days.

[NeedHairASAP]

Mostly because I'm a nutcase. Keeping an eye on the upcoming treatments gives me a peace of mind, although there is so much disinformation that gets thrown around here that it sometimes is more distressing than appeasing to stick around. However, I think posters like Tracy C and a few others give legitimately quality insight which outweighs the constant stream of garbage that the goons who inhabit this place seem to have an infinite supply of.

Tracy has no idea what she is talking about. She makes claims ALL THE TIME and has NOT ONCE cited where she got her unquestionable opinions...

[Pate]

Mostly to make sure I don't miss any info on the new developments. There is so much info flying around all over the place, but if I log on here I can be almost certain somebody has seen it and posted about it. That's why I pretty much just hang out in the "Cutting Edge" forum.

I agree it is hard to be a member here sometimes - the amount of negativity and lack of objectivity displayed by some posters I find amazing and kind of distressing - it really brings home to me how damaging this condition is, emotionally. And when you read those posts every day about how your life is ruined because you're balding, no girl will ever want you and even that you should kill yourself, well - you realise this can be an unhealthy place to visit indeed.

mjolnir, I have read a few of your posts and you are one of the more level-headed guys around here. You hair loss obviously is an issue for you (or you wouldn't be here) but you don't seem to subscribe to the idea that it's the most important thing in life. It's refreshing to read and a nice balance to some of the hysteria I read here almost daily.

[re22]

Tracy has no idea what she is talking about. She makes claims ALL THE TIME and has NOT ONCE cited where she got her unquestionable opinions...

You should bring her to your Hair Site cult so she can watch you and the others type your praises to Iron Man as clumps of hair come tumbling down onto your keyboards.

[Tracy C]

Tracy has no idea what she is talking about.

Now that's funny right there.

You should bring her to your Hair Site cult...

I won't waste my time with those clowns. The only hair loss support forums that are worth my time are The Bald Truth and the Women's Hair Loss Project. Sometimes it feels like The Bald Truth isn't even worth my time. Some of you guys are simply insane, brutal and downright cruel to each other.

[Smiley]

I won't waste my time with those clowns. The only hair loss support forums that are worth my time are The Bald Truth and the Women's Hair Loss Project. Sometimes it feels like The Bald Truth isn't even worth my time. Some of you guys are simply insane, brutal and downright cruel to each other.

That's just cause of the frustration that hair loss causes some young guy's/girls. It can be pretty traumatic, one day young with a full head of hair, next day thinning and looking out of place (in your own mind). It turns some people into bitter insecure humans.

The psychological damage hair loss can have on a person is probably the worse part of losing your hair. And these 'insane brutal' people you refer to are just victims of this cruel disease.

Hope you can see thats all what it is. Cause I for one value your posts and level headedness. cheers!

[Conpecia]

I like reading about the new treatments. Seems like tons of new options have popped up over the last year. It gives me peace of mind to know that better treatments are on the way.

[neversaynever]

Find a way to maintain my diffuse head, with some regrowth, without a big risk to my sex life. Then im gone from forums forever.

[25 going on 65]

I guess I use this place as a kind of support group. Reading other people who echo my thoughts and feelings on hair loss is somehow therapeutic.
Sometimes I just think out loud on this forum too--about future treatments, experimental ones, proven ones, coping with hair loss, even random stuff that isn't very relevant. I don't feel comfortable talking about these things to anyone in person.
Also I like being able to give some advice/hope to guys who are in the same position I was a few years ago: noticing their hair loss, hating it, and not sure what to do next.

Also for what it's worth, I do get a genuine laugh out of some of the stuff people post here. Posters like Davey Smith can lighten my mood when I really just want to grow a billion times my normal size and put my fist through the world.

[Conpecia]

It's weird, I went out to dinner tonight with a huge group of people in their early 30's and like 70% of the guys there were bald or headed that way. Only one dude showed no signs of loss whatsoever, and yet all of these guys had wives or fiancées and seemed totally comfortable. One guy even had the condition where you don't have ANY hair, as in no eyebrows either and no horseshoe. And yet I'm looking at all these guys and it just doesn't matter to me. I'm not thinking "Man, these guys look horrible, all of them are balding." It just looks normal to me, honestly.

It's times like this when I realize I am seriously overreacting to hair loss. Truth be told it's just not THAT big a deal.

[rdawg]

Heading into a NW3 I'm just looking to gain back the hair i had in my teens(im 20 now). Everything seems to be in Phase II now.

Like someone said above, the second I hear something(like Histogen) is in it's last phase III and 100% works, even if it's 2-3 years away, just the excitement alone would be enough to tide me over.

I'm just waiting for that confirmation, I feel like it's damn close, more and more research money is spent every day and one day(soon) we'll have an answer. A product may be 4-5 years away, but we'll know for better or worse if there's a strong 'cure' within a year or 2 IMO.

[Thinning@30]

I mostly come to this site to visit the section on cutting edge / future treatments. I've given up on minoxidil and finasteride and have decided against a HT. I like reading about future treatments because it gives me hope that maybe I won't always have to live with this condition. I also feel this community is a valuable resource for debunking hair loss scams. There are so many snake oil products and treatments out there that are marketed with all kinds of pseudoscientific jargon to make them appear legitimate. Since coming here, I think I've gotten better at spotting them.

That said, I hate the lack of civility that so often permeates these forums. It's one of the reasons I'm not a member of hairsite, although I occassionally read those forums as well.

[amadeus]

I joined because I needed support and I listen to The Bald Truth. All of the forums are full of bitter crazy guys, but even though some of the hairsite nut jobs have infiltrated this place, for the most part it still satisfies my need to stay on top of things and there are great knowledgeable people here like Tracy and Winston and several others.

Hairsite trolls like NeedhairASAP are just plain poison for all forums. They destroy the sense of community that a message forum should be. They don't understand what civility means and their cult-like mentality is actually sad.

With all of that said, this is still the only legitimate hair loss forum on the internet and if you just ignore the idiots, there is no better place to get hair loss info and connect with people who have the same issues. I still really enjoy it here and just hope that some of the jerks learn to treat others with respect.