Baldness acceptance from a 25 y/o

Hey guys! Hope everyone is well, obviously this is my 1st post, so be kind!

I used to read this forum at the height of my baldness woes, maybe two or three years ago, desperatly searching for advice, information and "cures" for my pending baldness.

I started losing my hair at around 20ish, I used to have thick hair, I was confident (a bit too confident), very active, and done well with girls. My dad lost his hair at a young age, so I guess i knew it was coming, but it doesn't exactly cushion the blow. Anyway, I let my hair loss got in the way of my life to the extent that I dropped out of uni because I felt so paranoid, stopped working out and kickboxing because I was using those nano fibres to cover my bald spot, lost so much confidence that I faded into the background during nights out, and I detested getting on pubic transport because I just felt that everyone was staring at my head. I was depressed, I thought about hairloss every minute of the day.

When I was 23 took the plunge and just shaved my head, plucked up some courage and went travelling around Europe. Taking that first step was the hardest, but it does get easier and easier after that. When I shaved my head I honestly felt like a huge weight was off my shoulders, because I think I was just as embarraced about people noticing that I was concealing my baldness as I was about my actual baldness. I no longer had to worry about girls I fancied seeing me in a certain light, or worrying about girls seeing me in the morning. What you see is what you get, if you dont fancy me because I'm bald then that's fine, I'm not attracted to vain people anyway.

Looking back I cant believe how much I let it get in the way of my life. I'm 25, I'm bald, but I'm happy. I still look in the mirror and sometimes think "I'd be damn good looking if I had hair!" but it's just a passing thought now. 25 isn't an abnormal age to be bald, so I honestly dont really care anymore, I'm not going to let it ruin my life.

To anyone dealing with early teen - 20's balding - I was at the depths of depression, I know how it feels. I know not everybody can "just do it" but I think coming to terms with baldness it better than any operation or drug. If you are struggling to cope in your current environment then GET OUT, go travelling, do some volunteering and you'll meet people from alternative lifestyles who wouldn't waste a second to question your appearance. Working out helped me a lot because it not only improves you physically, but mentally too because of the chemicals excercise releases.

I hope this is of some help to some people. I just want to let you know that there is light at the end of the tunnel no matter how depressed you are about your hair now! I was at the exact same place a couple of years ago.

Cheers!

Well said. I suppose I'm in the awkward phase where yep, I'm sure as hell going to be bald if things go the way nature intends but I have quite a bit of hair at the moment and it seems like it might be worth trying to hold onto for now because I still look better with the hair I've got at the moment than shaved down. I guess if there's nothing around when I reach that threshold of better bald it won't be so bad if that's what comes to pass. I'd still prefer for a great treatment to materialise in time but as of late I don't see it.

I've heard it said before than it's not being bald that sucks but balding. I completely get that.

There are days I want to just go to barber and buzz it. The daily ritual of picking hair out of my sink can be so demoralizing.

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Originally Posted by itssomuchfun

There are days I want to just go to barber and buzz it. The daily ritual of picking hair out of my sink can be so demoralizing.

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how many hairs are we talking about here (approx)

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Originally Posted by Follicle Death Row

I've heard it said before than it's not being bald that sucks but balding. I completely get that.

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Thats why I think the shaving/buzzing thing works so well for some. Theres no transition period that is embarassing.

Sure theres a self-acceptance period and an peer acceptance period...but when the new look is one that remains, it just becomes what is expected.

Theres no way to "expect" what your hair loss will look like. Everyone loses it differently. They may end up eventually having the same baldness pattern in the end, but how and over what period of time differs.

Yeah the balding process is far worse than the actual baldness itself. It's just overcoming the first hurdle of shaving and heading out for everyone to see, I think this is why travelling helped me so much, because nobody knows you, and the people you meet will like you for who you are instead of thinking "wow, he had hair two years ago!". I cant stress enough about how much a change of environment can help overcome depression.

Also, when anybody first shaves their head for the first time they think it's a funny shape haha, but after a couple of weeks you realise it is just a normal head. Kinda similar to listening to your own voice on a recording :)

Great message, MAC. Thanks for sharing your story. All the best.

Awesome share, enjoyed the post. Thanks for taking the time to write.

Cheers guys! Just one more thing - before I razor shaved (1 or 2 buzz) I got away with using Dermmatch (sp?) esque products to match some of the thinning areas into the thicker area. I done this for around 2 years after the nano fibers and nobody suspected a thing, even my long term girlfriends. Just make sure you're being realistic with it and not just painting your head black, use it sparingly, less is more! You can use it around your hairline as long as you restrict its usage to where you still have some fuzzy hair, and fade it out. I found it a great way for me to wean myself off my hair, haha.

Keep your chin up everyone!

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Originally Posted by Ramazan

how many hairs are we talking about here (approx)

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A couple hundred a day for 8 months. My doctor thinks it's telogen effluvium or aggressive MPB.