Getting cold feet

**Exodus** · 03-03-2013, 01:48 PM

Well Ill try and offer some advice here.

I'm 23 and I have pretty bad diffuse hair loss following that of my Grandfather and Uncle on the maternal side. As for any young person, it sucks, badly (I won't lie there).

One remedy to mitigate some of the visual effects is the buzz cut. If you look at my posts 'Buzz Cut', 'Buzz Cut Update' and 'Shaved Down' you will see how progressively shorter I have gone.

Personally I don' think it looks too bad and Im quite comfortable keeping my hair that short. The only issue I have is that the crown and vertex/top of my head look much sparser then the sides. This of course can be remedied using Minox and Fin (still got issues with that drug).

But the point I want to raise was the reaction I got after I buzzed my hair and how hair loss became a topic amongst peers and family. Comments were made and they will be made. Bear in mind Im in my early 20s and so jokes, pokes, comments etc are going to be flown in my direction, they just are, it's natural and I know this is expected. Being called 'Bald' and hearing the word makes me cringe.

BUT in my view I feel it shows courage in my end that I've taken this solution. I know the comments will die and I know people will get used to the look (Im still building up the courage to change my Facebook profile picture), but it's going to happen. There's going to be a shock, things will be said, but it will die down.

There maybe ridicule, there maybe encouragement. All I will add is once you decide to shave and do it, people maybe shocked, BUT they will get over it. There are far more important things for them to worry about then your scalp.

I hope I've helped here, but good luck with your choice.

**Kayman** · 03-03-2013, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by OhYeah

Hi guys. I posted before when I joined about the fact I was planning on ditching my hair unit and shaving it down for the honeymoon.

Be talking about it with the mrs and now have doubts. She tells me to do what makes me happy as she is not bothered either way but we were talking about the reactions of people. She said be prepared for people to say things like "what have you done" because they have only know me with hair, I do believe that most know I wear a unit and she has never heard anyone mention it even before we got together and I told her.

I'm now getting cold feet in case I get ridiculed by people for hiding it.

Do not know what to do.

If you want to shave it down then I say do it. It'll show people you're not prepared to hide yourself under a "unit" anymore. Comments will be made, some compliments, some jokes, but this happens to anyone who shaves their head, whether you're a hair loss sufferer or not. Just know that hundreds of thousands of men shave their heads everyday so you aren't the only one, you wont look out of place in public and once you do it after a couple of weeks when people have seen it, it wont be an issue to you anymore.

**Morbo** · 03-03-2013, 03:16 PM

People are bound to give you a little banter when you change something noticeable about yourself. I know this site has some sort of paranoia idea about a world full of "baldness-bullies" who will mock you with just the intention of putting you down and making themselves feel better, but most of them will just do it out of the best interest or as a friendly joke.

Better for them to comment on it than keep silent or avoid you like the plague and act like you have some sort of vile, contagious and life-threatening disease.

**Aames** · 03-03-2013, 04:35 PM

Do what makes you happy, man. You can't spend your life catering to other people and their stupid, made-up expectations. Enjoy life and your honey-moon.

**OhYeah** · 03-04-2013, 01:57 PM

Thanks for the advice guys. I do know that a fair number of people know I wear a unit and comments have been made in work in the past, especially one individual who keeps spreading it over the past 10 years (I've still had many girlfriends whilst I have never known him to have 1 in the 15 years I've known him). My other half says I'm being paranoid as in the 7 years she has worked at my place she hasn't heard anyone mention it.

I took pictures of myself without my unit to show her when I was having it reattached and she said I looked fine, I did tell her from day 1 that I wore a unit as I felt its important to be truthful to the ones close to you. Nobody in her family know and a few of my friends know.

I'm so use to seeing me with hair and it is a quality unit but sometimes I look at pictures of myself and I think that looks fake but is it because I know it is. I know I will look in the mirror and not recognise the person staring back but at the same time I don't want to be a slave to the unit spending money on buying new ones and paying for the up keep for it.

I'm so nervous about it and I'm a generally a confident guy.

**Davey Jones** · 03-04-2013, 02:19 PM

Originally posted by OhYeah

Do not know what to do.

Go at it full blast. If it seems like it's going to be mentioned in a group, be the FIRST person to mention it. Joke about it, don't act like it's a big deal. My suggest, refer to it as "that weird hat I used to wear."