Do we have the cure for hairloss?

[Weedwacker]

I never took a DHT blocker because Finasteride was out a little late for me. I never took significant amounts of anti-inflammatories because I have not seen any evidence of anything working. If I had empirical evidence of guys regrowing their hair from a Norwood 6 state then I would probably be more interested.

[jooder]

Oh life - Im no expert on propecia....but dont they say a year is a good time to judge results? Not that im recommending it! Too many scare stories for me.
There is clinical evidence that certain supplements have an anti - inflammatory effect and also that Taurine has an anti fibrotic effect. So we do have the proof....
Weedwacker - the reason i say substantial amounts of anti - inflammatories is because thats whats needed to counteract the pro inflammatory foods in our diets.
When you consider other auto - immune conditions.... such as crohns and diabetes, there are some people who get on top of their illness and can live perfectly normal lives. More often than not, these people are the ones who make massive changes to their lifestyle......radical diet change, plenty of supplements and of course, medications when necessary. Why then do we think that rubbing an ointment on our heads or a tablet a day will do the job?
Sure, it will help a lot........but its like a diabetes patient just injecting themselves with insulin and then never thinking about the sugary food they eat.......in other words, it might be half the battle won.

[mlao]

Oh life - Im no expert on propecia....but dont they say a year is a good time to judge results? Not that im recommending it! Too many scare stories for me.
There is clinical evidence that certain supplements have an anti - inflammatory effect and also that Taurine has an anti fibrotic effect. So we do have the proof....
Weedwacker - the reason i say substantial amounts of anti - inflammatories is because thats whats needed to counteract the pro inflammatory foods in our diets.
When you consider other auto - immune conditions.... such as crohns and diabetes, there are some people who get on top of their illness and can live perfectly normal lives. More often than not, these people are the ones who make massive changes to their lifestyle......radical diet change, plenty of supplements and of course, medications when necessary. Why then do we think that rubbing an ointment on our heads or a tablet a day will do the job?
Sure, it will help a lot........but its like a diabetes patient just injecting themselves with insulin and then never thinking about the sugary food they eat.......in other words, it might be half the battle won.

I don't want to stir up an argument but I have been a type 1 diabetic for 24 years. I limit carbs, eat lots of raw vegetables and fruits and lean protein (salmon, turkey) no beef, pork or lamb or any shell fish, and I limit my sugar intake to one teaspoon in coffee and about 4 very small low sugar cookies per day (more like a cracker)
I get regular aerobic exercise every day.
I still need insulin to live, my body does not produce any and no special diet or supplement will ever change that.
If you are talking about type 2 diabetics that is a different matter as most type 2 diabetics don't take insulin.
I don't know where you are getting your information from. Are you a doctor, nutritionist or a diabetic nurse?
I have spent the last quarter of a century living with this condition and there is no evidence that people with type one diabetes (insulin dependent) can live a life without medications.

[Footymad]

Which type of Anti inflammatories do you suggest please?

Over the counter ones such as Ibuprofen?

[jooder]

I don't want to stir up an argument but I have been a type 1 diabetic for 24 years. I limit carbs, eat lots of raw vegetables and fruits and lean protein (salmon, turkey) no beef, pork or lamb or any shell fish, and I limit my sugar intake to one teaspoon in coffee and about 4 very small low sugar cookies per day (more like a cracker)
I get regular aerobic exercise every day.
I still need insulin to live, my body does not produce any and no special diet or supplement will ever change that.
If you are talking about type 2 diabetics that is a different matter as most type 2 diabetics don't take insulin.
I don't know where you are getting your information from. Are you a doctor, nutritionist or a diabetic nurse?
I have spent the last quarter of a century living with this condition and there is no evidence that people with type one diabetes (insulin dependent) can live a life without medications.

I think you are misunderstanding what i say.
I know its not possible to survive without insulin.
My point is.....that if you only relied on insulin injections whilst not watching what you eat, you would not be a very well person. It is because you have insulin injections AND have a good diet that you can function well?

In the same way, propecia on its own may do something.......but if you add an anti inflammatory diet and an anti fibrotic supplement, you are covering all the angles of MPB......so would likely have more success.

[jooder]

Footy mad - anti inflammatory supplements such as green tea, curcumin, fish oil, alpha lipoic acid. There is a site called immortalhair.org....... he goes into depth about anti - inflammatories and the mechanism of Male Pattern Baldness.
However, he doesnt reccomend DHT blockers because he doesnt think they are needed. I think, for the best chance of defeating hairloss a dht blocker or an anti androgen at least is required......as well as anti inflammatories and Taurine.

[mlao]

I think you are misunderstanding what i say.
I know its not possible to survive without insulin.
My point is.....that if you only relied on insulin injections whilst not watching what you eat, you would not be a very well person. It is because you have insulin injections AND have a good diet that you can function well?

In the same way, propecia on its own may do something.......but if you add an anti inflammatory diet and an anti fibrotic supplement, you are covering all the angles of MPB......so would likely have more success.

Again I respect your opinion however I have regular check-ups with a diabetic endocrinologist who regularly prescribes an insulin pump (which I prefer not to use because of the hassle) however she has a number of patients who use them and they are pretty much allowed to eat whatever they want plus they do not follow a regular exercise regime and with the pump their bodies functions as normal. In addition the people I have seen and talked to who follow this therapy are very healthy looking people and most are in their late forties and early fifties.

i am not trying to start a heated discussion just pointing out the facts because of my involuntary experience with diabetes.

[Weedwacker]

I never took massive amounts of anti-inflammatories;however, I took fish oil,flaxseed oil and a host of antioxidants such as coenzyme-Q10, vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid and food-based superoxide dismutase. There seems to be research which shows that antioxidants can fight against oxidative damage as well as inflammation;however, I have not seen a legitimate study showing how any supplements can help with hairloss.

I indeed have Crohn's Disease, which is similar to type-1 Diabetes in that it appears to be of auto-immune origin. In Diabetes-1, the beta cells of the pancreas are damaged by one's own body. In Crohn's Disease, the immune system does not recognize something within the digestive tract and, thus, begins to attack it. That's why I had my large intestine removed and now I live with an ileostomy. I have a permanent hole on the lower right side of my abdomen through which the end of my ileum(small intestine)protrudes. Unfortunately, it cannot be reversed;however, the surgery has given me my life back and I am no longer suffering. I have to wear a small beige pouch for the rest of my life;it sucks but it has made me stronger and I appreciate life more, which leads me to my next point.

As baldness sufferers we must find a way to overcome our obsessions about hairloss so it doesn't kill us. Even though I have accepted being bald, it does bother me. I do believe the OCD involved can be a detriment to our lives and we must fight through it. The psychology involved, in my opinion, may lead to BDD(Body Dismorphic Disorder). Much of the obsession and paranoia over hairloss is within our own minds and is not realistic. It's similar to a person who has a pimple on his face and thinks that everyone is staring at him;however, in reality that's not the case. When I was about 26, I began going out in public for the first time without my proverbial hat. To my surprise no one noticed or cared that I was bald. I believed that everyone would look at me like a freak but they did not;the fear was caused in my head from my own insecurity.

[jooder]

Mlao - I appreciate your input......and i will have to concede to you on the subject of diabetes as you have more experience than i. I know two diabetics type 1.......and i know that when they eat well and limit sugar AND have insulin injections they can function well and live a normal life. One of them however has 'his moments' when he disregards his diet and his blood sugar gets much more unstablised and as a result that affects his ability to do more strenous things, such as exercise or lifting.
Weedwacker - I think your right about hair loss becoming an OCD type thing, many other people just dont care.

[jooder]

This is an interesting study, suggesting the benefits of a multi-faceted approach :

http://www.jcasonline.com/article.asp?issn=0974-2077;year=2010;volume=3;issue=2;spage=82;epage=86;aulast=Rajput;type=3

[Weedwacker]

I just buzzed my hair down to 1/16 inch. My buzzer has a guard that goes lower than a #1. I think I look good and, more importantly, I feel more liberated and happy. Having the damn horseshoe is annoying and it makes me focus on my baldness more. The closer I buzz it, the less I think about it. I think I will keep it this short permanently because I look a lot better;furthermore, I've gotten more compliments and smiles from women when it's buzzed closer. I think my psychology of shaving and buzzing may be changing.

[jooder]

Weedwacker - thats a very good thing. Buzzing and shaving can be a very liberating thing......takes the hassle out of it and can make you look younger and more attractive. After all, the shorter your hair, the more prominent your eyes etc.
You will read time and again that people who have had hair transplants wish they could now shave their hair. You also read that medication veterans wish they had done it 'a long time ago'.
Unfortunately, the propaganda of shaved/bald heads are hideous to women puts a lot of men off doing it. As you are finding out, the shaved look is much more appealing to women than a grown out horseshoe. I think you are right in that the less prominent the horseshoe, the more attractive you are and feel.
Another benefit is that you can continue medications, supplements etc whilst having the reassurance that you have done the 'hard part' by buzzing/shaving it down. If the medications work, then great........if not you already have your new, uncomplicated look. Its a win/win for me.

[DAVE52]

I just buzzed my hair down to 1/16 inch. My buzzer has a guard that goes lower than a #1. I think I look good and, more importantly, I feel more liberated and happy. Having the damn horseshoe is annoying and it makes me focus on my baldness more. The closer I buzz it, the less I think about it. I think I will keep it this short permanently because I look a lot better;furthermore, I've gotten more compliments and smiles from women when it's buzzed closer. I think my psychology of shaving and buzzing may be changing.

Congratu;ations
I wish I would have tried the same thing 10 yrs ago
For me it's not about the compliments and smiles from women , it would be about feeling happy about myself and being able and confident to do all those things I was hesitant of doing because of the inseciruty of my hair loss.
If I was happy with myself then that's all the matters everything else is just a bonus

[thejack]

Exactly!! Hair loss was so devastating for me because it prevented me from being comfortable with myself. Being happy and confident with your appearance enables one to fly freely through life

[Weedwacker]

Some important new thoughts and stories

I'm trying to get my dates correct. I shaved my head from the time I was 19 to the time I was 21, but I was not very accepting of it because of my age. Then, from 22-24 I wore a hairpiece. I am lucky in that I can pull off the closely buzzed-head look. I have a Michael Stipish shaped head and it works with my face.

Dave52, you are correct about self-acceptance. I am not as concerned about getting compliments from women as you may think, though. I mentioned that because, even though I felt bad about being bald, that's not the way that other people necessary feel about it.

I was at a store a couple of years ago and during that time I buzzed my head with the metal part of the buzzer, so not quite a wet-shave. One of the girls who worked there, who was really cute, was overtly smiling at me and making eye contact. Now, I wasn't some muscular guy; I weighed 150 pounds at the time. My negative perception about my appearance clouded my ability to accept what was happening. Over the past 3 years I have kept my hair buzzed to a #1 and thought I looked "ok" that way. What I didn't realize is how much better I look with it buzzed even closer. As Jooder stated, sometimes we have perceptions about things that are not realistic. I am not going to wet-shave my head because I think I look a little better with a bit of a shadow up there. Some guys can shave and that is a great release if you can do it. I did not realize how much better I look with it buzzed to 1/16 inch as opposed to 1/8 inch.

I do feel better now and I am more secure and confident. By the way, being insecure is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you admit it;however, not doing something about it is. Admitting your weaknesses and doing something to fix them is a sign of strength. A lot of life is about attitude. There are some guys who lose their hair and go into a permanent depression. Attitude and inner strength goes way beyond hairloss. For instance, some people are rich, good looking, healthy and have a great body but they're miserable. Why? They lack the inner strength to realize everything they have.

I originally came to this website years ago, but didn't come back until recently. I have been coming to this forum everyday and will probably continue to do so. Over the past month I have been doing a lot of thinking about hairloss, and life in general. It is good to discuss things with others because you get feedback and learn. I appreciate the comments from everyone here because you can bounce ideas off of people.

We can allow hairloss to destroy ourselves, or we can be proactive. I don't want to think about it all the time. There are good hairpieces, hats, surgery, medications and new treatments that may be available in the future. I've made a decision to make an effort to talk to people more instead of being quiet all the time. I'm naturally somewhat quiet;however, premature baldness changed my personality and I became a bitter recluse. I don't necessarily blame myself completely in my early years because I was so young. I will be 34 next week and it's time to get in the game. All my life I have seen all these people who have major physical flaws but they are confident, happy and outgoing. I talk to girls at school and guess what? They talk back to me and are sometimes very friendly. That is something I never would have been able to do when I was 22; I lacked the confidence. I have made the decision that, despite my surgery, my illness, baldness and other things I am just going to live my life. I don't want to be 80, and look back on my life and realize I let the whole thing slip away. I don't want regrets;there's nothing worse. If you can't buzz or shave your head,fine;get a "good" hairpiece or talk to your doctor about medications. I was sick for a very long time and I don't want to let the rest of my life pass me by.

I will end my WAY TOO LONG post by telling everyone of another incident that occured back around 2006. This is a true story; I'm not being hyperbolic. I was working at a medical clinic, and had my head nearly shaved. I was unable to eat and was very sick at the time so I weighed 127 pounds. I pretty much had the body of Michael Stipe or Moby. I was anorexic looking. As I was sitting down at a desk a female patient whom I checked in, and who was probably about 25, said(and I'm paraphrasing),"Oh my, look at you...aren't you something." "Oh, wow". Now, the whole time she was giving me a very flirtatious smile and giving me eyewinks and major eye contact in this matter of fact way. I was mortified. I could not handle the attention because she did this while waiting in line in front of about ten people. Now, she was a drug addict, so I didn't take it very seriously;but you get my drift. While standing in line, she kept looking back at me and smiling with overtly playful looks. The reason I mention this is because, despite my bald head and being rake-thin, she flirted with me. I was pretty shocked. There have been other times when women have checked me out, including while in school. The moral of this story is that there are many different people on this planet who find many different things sexy and attractive. Don't let the media **** with your head more than YOU already have.