TIme to Buzz? Shave?

[jerome]

Hello-
I think I already know the answer, but I guess I'm looking for support. I'm 51, been on Rogaine for about past 5 yrs years with some stabilization for a while but now I'm rapidly progressing. I tried finasteride but had too many side effects and I'm not willing to go back on it. So, I've made my peace with the fact that, short of a transplant, I've done pretty much all I can do. I've had a good run, and I've been much more fortunate than the younger guys on the list.

Anyway, apart from curiosity how you would grade my hair on Norwood scale, I'm looking for advice on styling. I usually keep it pretty short, but I'm not tall (5'7") and I'm not fooling anyone at this point. So-- time to buzz? Time to shave? I kind of scared to make the next move and I guess I'm just looking for a bit of advice and encouragement. I've attached pics. I think I look ok from front and sides, but quite thin on top and back.

Thanks for reading!

[hanginginthewire]

You look really young for 51. Why not consider transplantation? Fin?

[jerome]

You look really young for 51. Why not consider transplantation? Fin?

Thanks for the reply and the compliment! I tried fin but too many sides and I'm done with it. Not sure I want to go through with HT, and, as I understand it, you need to be on fin after a HT?

[Mpbman]

Wow, you look really young for 51.

Hair is still not that bad and a hair transplant could do wonders. But if you can't handle finasteride or dutasteride, it's hard to say what will happen with the hair around the transplanted hairs. It could all fall out and then your hair might look weird.

Have you tried lower dosages of fin? Like 0.25mg per day? It might do the trick slowing down the hairloss without side effects.

[jerome]

Thanks, Mpbman! I tried 1 mg, and then a year later 0.25 mg once per week and had bad enough side effects at both doses that I stopped after a month or two. Maybe I'll give it one more chance, esp if I think I might go the HT route, but I doubt I'll persue that.

[StevenLaventine]

Have you ever tried Nioxin System 2? It does not do wonders but it helped me a bit.

[jerome]

Thanks, Steven. I haven't tried it. I'll check it out.

Sooooo... Meanwhile, any opinions re buzzing my hair at this point?

[Dfaru94]

Thanks for the reply and the compliment! I tried fin but too many sides and I'm done with it. Not sure I want to go through with HT, and, as I understand it, you need to be on fin after a HT?

If your hair loss has not stabilised naturally yet, then yes you will need to stay on Fin to prevent further hair loss.

Having said that though I'll be honest, you have quite a bit of diffuse thinning (generally sparse hair as opposed to true large slick bald spots). Some transplant surgeons don't like operating on that since it can cause permanent "shock loss" of the hair that remains in the area. A very highly skilled transplant surgeon might be able to do it with no problem though, it's worth enquiring about if it means that much to you.

If a hair transplant is not an option for you, you might also try looking at integrated hair systems. That's basically a really realistic looking hair piece, that you non-surgically attach to your scalp and wear 24/7 like it's your own hair. You still have a pretty decent amount of hair in the front too considering what you've lost at the back. You might even be able to blend some of that hair you have in front of the hair piece for more natural-looking results.

If you're not going to go down the route of hair replacement though, honestly I would completely shave it off if I were in your position. This is purely my preference and I don't mean to sound like an ass, but I'm an all-or-nothing kinda person with my attitude to balding, either go all-out with hair replacement or just shave off whatever is left after a certain point. I think completely bald is preferable to looking like you're clinging on for dear life to what you can still grow, sorry if that sounds harsh I'm just giving my honest opinion. At least it kinda looks like a choice if you do that (even though it really isn't, it still sucks).

[jerome]

Hi Dfaru! Thanks for your candid and honest reply. Not harsh at all. I'm a realist and I appreciate the honest advice. I suspected I might not be a great HT candidate, and I don't think I want to go that route anyway. I wasn't aware that Fin was needed after HT, so that makes it doubly unappealing to me given my history of side effects.

I'm not sure I want to bother with hair system, either, so looks like shaving is in my near future. I'm kind of scared about going right to shaving (mostly the reaction I'll get at work), so I'll probably ease into it with progressively shorter buzz until I feel comfortable enough to shave it all.

Thanks again for the honest advice! Much appreciated.

[DAVE52]

When you have a vacation for a week or 2 buzz it with a #1 or 2 guard - then see how you feel about it - by the time your two weeks are up , hair will have grown back - just tell people you buzzed it for vacation. Yea youll get an initial reaction from people who know you but they'll get over it

Judging from pic 1 appears you have a good head shape for a buzz cut -

[jerome]

Thanks, Dave! Good advice. I might have more of the nerve to do it if I know I'm not seeing people at work the next day.