25 Year Old Male (Soon to be 26), Going Bald and Finally Owning Up to It

[Balding Bad]

Hey everyone,

So after about a month or so of perusing through this forum I have decided to finally sign up and introduce myself.

A little about my hair loss journey so far...I used to have long hair all the way down to my shoulders, but would always wear hats and beanies so it wasn't until I finally cut my hair back in college (when I was around 20) that I realized that I was losing my hair! I noticed my hairline had receded a bit and the front wasn't as full anymore.

Fast-forward to today and there is significant hair-loss on the crown of my head. i've always known that I would begin to lose my hair sooner or later (my father is bald, as well as my older brother), but I just never really accepted it. It's come to the point where it's extremely noticeable, especially when my hair is wet (I do my best to avoid going into the water in public now, how sad...). I can only style my hair a certain way and under certain lighting it's apparent that the front of my hair is extremely thin. I'm at the point now where I know I must take action soon before it becomes blatantly obvious that I'm balding. I'm planning on hopefully getting a hair transplant soon, maybe the beginning of 2014? However I'm still relatively new to this and would like to do some more research and hear more about other people's personal experiences before making the plunge.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

[J_B_Davis]

Hey everyone,

So after about a month or so of perusing through this forum I have decided to finally sign up and introduce myself.

A little about my hair loss journey so far...I used to have long hair all the way down to my shoulders, but would always wear hats and beanies so it wasn't until I finally cut my hair back in college (when I was around 20) that I realized that I was losing my hair! I noticed my hairline had receded a bit and the front wasn't as full anymore.

Fast-forward to today and there is significant hair-loss on the crown of my head. i've always known that I would begin to lose my hair sooner or later (my father is bald, as well as my older brother), but I just never really accepted it. It's come to the point where it's extremely noticeable, especially when my hair is wet (I do my best to avoid going into the water in public now, how sad...). I can only style my hair a certain way and under certain lighting it's apparent that the front of my hair is extremely thin. I'm at the point now where I know I must take action soon before it becomes blatantly obvious that I'm balding. I'm planning on hopefully getting a hair transplant soon, maybe the beginning of 2014? However I'm still relatively new to this and would like to do some more research and hear more about other people's personal experiences before making the plunge.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

Welcome to the forum. Before doing anything you should see a doctor to discuss your treatment options. Surgery is not the first thing you should consider and really should be a last resort.

[35YrsAfter]

Hey everyone,

So after about a month or so of perusing through this forum I have decided to finally sign up and introduce myself.

A little about my hair loss journey so far...I used to have long hair all the way down to my shoulders, but would always wear hats and beanies so it wasn't until I finally cut my hair back in college (when I was around 20) that I realized that I was losing my hair! I noticed my hairline had receded a bit and the front wasn't as full anymore.

Fast-forward to today and there is significant hair-loss on the crown of my head. i've always known that I would begin to lose my hair sooner or later (my father is bald, as well as my older brother), but I just never really accepted it. It's come to the point where it's extremely noticeable, especially when my hair is wet (I do my best to avoid going into the water in public now, how sad...). I can only style my hair a certain way and under certain lighting it's apparent that the front of my hair is extremely thin. I'm at the point now where I know I must take action soon before it becomes blatantly obvious that I'm balding. I'm planning on hopefully getting a hair transplant soon, maybe the beginning of 2014? However I'm still relatively new to this and would like to do some more research and hear more about other people's personal experiences before making the plunge.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

Some men have managed to maintain existing hair by taking Propecia or Avodart and having ACell/PRP treatments. Rogaine is minimally effective for most men. I use it anyway. We had five patients within the last year who had stand-alone ACell/PRP treatments. The best result we saw was with our patient who had been taking Avodart for about nine years and had three ACell/PRP treatments approximately a year apart beginning in 2011.

Propecia and Avodart are not for everybody. I have personally not tried either. I am considering ACell/PRP for my own hair loss.

[Balding Bad]

Welcome to the forum. Before doing anything you should see a doctor to discuss your treatment options. Surgery is not the first thing you should consider and really should be a last resort.

Thanks for the advice. And believe me, surgery is the last option I want to resort to. I have considered such alternatives like Rogaine and Propecia, however the side effects I have read about just doesn't seem worth it to me. Not only that, but it's only a temporary fix and I would need to become dependent on it in order to retain what little hair I have left.

[Balding Bad]

Some men have managed to maintain existing hair by taking Propecia or Avodart and having ACell/PRP treatments. Rogaine is minimally effective for most men. I use it anyway. We had five patients within the last year who had stand-alone ACell/PRP treatments. The best result we saw was with our patient who had been taking Avodart for about nine years and had three ACell/PRP treatments approximately a year apart beginning in 2011.

Propecia and Avodart are not for everybody. I have personally not tried either. I am considering ACell/PRP for my own hair loss.

35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
Cole Hair Transplant
1045 Powers Place
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Phone 678-566-1011
Please feel free to call or email me with any questions.

As I had just mentioned in my previous post, I am hesitant to consider Propecia or Rogaine due to the possible side effects and the fact that it's not a permanent solution.

Just out of curiosity, what is ACell/PRP treatment?

[35YrsAfter]

As I had just mentioned in my previous post, I am hesitant to consider Propecia or Rogaine due to the possible side effects and the fact that it's not a permanent solution.

Just out of curiosity, what is ACell/PRP treatment?

ACell is a brand of extracellular matrix. It was approved by the FDA as a regenerative product available to physicians only.
PRP is platelet rich plasma. In some cases PRP and ACell combined increase hair shaft diameter in men with MPB.

ACell Website
PRP used to promote healing - Emory


35YrsAfter also posts as CITNews and works at Dr. Cole's office
Cole Hair Transplant - Atlanta
Call Free 1-800-368-4247

[Notcoolanymore]

It seems like every treatment for hair loss not a permanent fix. You will continue to lose hair if you stop treatment. I could be wrong, but I think even with transplants, you need to take meds to stop further hair loss. Don't let the need to continue treatment stop you from taking action. You will only continue to lose more hair if you don't.

[Balding Bad]

Right, I understand that even after a transplant I will continue to lose hair as I normally would, however I will have coverage in the meantime. I don't really want to bombard my body with drugs and chemicals for the rest of my life. I accept that I will eventually go completely bald, but I want to delay that as long as I can until I can't anymore. By then I should hopefully be in my 60s or 70s and it won't really be a big deal by then, or who knows, they may have even more advanced treatments (here's to wishful thinking!).

[fred970]

If you can't accept going bald now, it is likely that you'll never accept it. It may happen, someday you might not care so much about your appearance and might want to let yourself go. But don't take that bet, there is a good chance that you will care even in your 70's. Good luck with the treatments!