Hello everyone..

[Supernova]

Hello everyone..

I am a 16 year old boy, and this is my story.. For about a year now, I have been losing my hair.. I used to have really long hair, and I loved it.. But then my girlfriend kept pressuring me into cutting it, me being the stupid one, I did. Several weeks later, she left me.. Then I started to notice that I had a receding hairline. I didn't think I was losing my hair, I thought it was fine.. But then as I started to grow my hair back out, I noticed that my recession was just getting worse.. Then I started to notice my crown starting to bald.. I started looking up ways to fix it, ways to reverse it. I went to my Doctor, and he said to see a dermatologist. So I went to a dermatologist office, and all they did was give me hair stimulant injections for six months, once a month. I went through all of that pain, for nothing. It did not grow my hair back. So I went to see a endocrinologist, but he didn't know what exactly was going on either. Every single day, I dedicated it to finding a cure. But found nothing.. I discovered Hair Restoration on the internet, and went to a hair restoration company.. The lady at the consultation felt bad for me, so she sent me to see a surgeon.. Once I saw him, all he did was prescribe me Propecia, and tell me that my donor area was outstanding (really good). But I couldn't fill it because they said I had to be 18.. I bought a very expensive wig to cover it up, but it makes me feel faker than ever when I wear it.. I can't do the activities I wish to do with it on either, or it will just fall off.. I cry a lot because of it.. I don't go outside anymore because of it.. And it hurts so much emotionally because of my age.. Some nights, I even cry myself to sleep because of it.. Today I bought Rogaine foam, and a box of multi-vitamins.. It's the only thing I can do now that no Doctor will give me any answers, and every hair restoration company I call doesn't take me seriously because of my age, and wont even give me a chance to explain.. :.( It's so horrible.. So Devastating.. So heart breaking.. I feel like I can never be social again.. Every time I'm out, I just want to go home so no-one can see me.. My friends still go out and do stuff together, but I don't have the self-esteem to go outside anymore.. Sometimes I even look at old pictures of myself and cry hysterically, wishing I had that full head of hair again.. I'm not even in College yet.. And I'm going bald :.( I always think to myself, "why me? Why this young? What did I do to deserve this?" and I always have dreams at night, that I either have my hair back, and I'm out doing the things I want to do, and having fun; or I got hair restoration, and I have my hair back again.. Ever since I started losing my hair, my whole world turned black and white.. I feel so alone, and so exposed when I'm outside.. I always have to worry about which way the winds blowing, and to make sure not to get my hair wet, or sweat, because then I look even worse.. I've become so insecure, and I just want my hair back, so I can take a deep breath, and let it out.. For once to finally smile again, to feel alive, to be able to have a social life again.. This is by far the hardest thing I know I will ever have to go through in my entire life.. I just want this nightmare to end :.( I just want to wake up from this horrible nightmare, and look in the mirror, and make a huge sigh, then say to myself "Thank God that was just a horrible nightmare".. But it's reality, and I can't take it anymore.. I wish someone could help me.. I wish someone could fix this, and make it go away :.( I don't care what the consequences are, I would literally do anything to get my hair back.. Some people say "get over it" or "shave it off and move on" but it's not that simple.. It's harder than anyone can think. If I was in my late 40's or something, already married, had my career, and already lived my life as a kid, I probably wouldn't care at all if I was losing my hair. But not at 16.. :.( My self-esteem has hit rock bottom, and the emotional damage this has caused me is unbearable.. I always read up on hair transplants, and hair follicle cloning, and the lucky people that were able to get hair transplants.. I'm currently home-schooled, on an online school due to having Insomnia, and I'm going to be graduating soon. I have an A average and I am going to be going to college this year.. I want to be able to go to college with confidence, with a good self-esteem.. I want to be able to meet people, and look the way I feel.. I just want this to end.. I've been so depressed over my hair loss ever since it started.. It feels like it's been going on forever, and I want my life back.. I'm a nice person, I've never hurt anyone, I've never done drugs.. What did I do to deserve a fate of baldness this young?.. :.( I just want this to end.. I'm crying as I'm writing this.. Because I can't take this anymore.. I just want it to stop.. I pray to God that there is a miracle out there that will end this nightmare soon.. :.(

(Please, if you're going to say something mean, don't..)

[d0072]

damn wtf. idk if this is a joke or what. but if its true i feel real bad for you man. just shave your head. its a hard thing to do but your young and its stylish as a young kid. when you hit your 20s thats when it gets kinda odd but if you have a round head then you can do it.

[Supernova]

damn wtf. idk if this is a joke or what. but if its true i feel real bad for you man. just shave your head. its a hard thing to do but your young and its stylish as a young kid. when you hit your 20s thats when it gets kinda odd but if you have a round head then you can do it.

No.. I wish it was a joke.. :.( And I can't shave my head.. I don't have the head for it..... It wouldn't look good at all...

[Turkman]

I feel for you man. I started losing my hair when I was 16. My hairline had noticeably receded by the time I was 18. I had to wait until I was 18 to start taking propecia but it has helped a lot in stabilising my hairloss. I'm 23 now and still too young to be going bald, but the older you get the more people start receding and the more normal it is.

Have you tried using any concealers (toppik, dermmatch, Hair cubed etc...)?

As for self-esteem, It is tough going through this at your age when nobody else seems to have an issue, but if you stay positive, get in the gym, workout, feel good about the rest of your body then that helps too.

Also, some chicks are weird about balding, they don't understand it or they are crazy superficial and so do you don't have a chance with them, but they're not really the chicks you want anyway. My girl is way out of my league and she doesn't care that I'm going bald, she's with me because I'm smart and funny (although not too modest). If you're scoring A's and going off to a good college, it means there's a lot more to you than your hair.

Stay positive, stay on your meds (takes at least a year to see results), and find something else to take pride in like lifting weights, or playing guitar or whatever you find a passion for. I know it feels like your life is ending, but trust me, you will look back on it later and realise that going through this at a young age has made you stronger.

[thiningteen]

dude, i'm in the same boat. I started in about 9th grade and its been getting pretty bad lately. (I'm 19 in march). I've seen derms, emailed iahrs reccomened doctors, etc. but it seems like unless your 25+ no one really wants to give you the time of day when it comes to hair loss. I'm also scared to shave my head. Heres how I deal with it:
1. I lift 7-9 times a week (two a days for some of them, i'm in training for comps). I definitely reccomend it, but find a low key gym without many mirrors otherwise you'll spend the whole time obbsessing over your hair in the mirrors instead of lifting

2. topikk or nanogen fibers. The last month or so it's litteraly saved my self-esteem

3. get over it. I know its hard but listen. Your living at home, and have some privacy. Imagine what its like living in a dorm room with another person and sharing a bathroom with 40 other people. I spend so much time trying to conceal my hair that I completely alter my schedule just to avoid going anywhere unless i've styled my hair to hide the bald spots. it's not worth it. lately i've just been saying screw it. I get girls (a ton more then my non-balding friends), I have friends, and I go out. People know, even when you use concealers, people can tell and if they have a problem with it, **** 'em. A high self-confidence makes girls wetter than any amount of hair.

4. I know it sounds kind of hypocritical after #3, but don't quit. I don't know if i believe in miracles, but i definitely believe in the power of science. Something will happen. Between histogen, tricho, etc. eventually it'll work itself out. Personally I've decided that the moment my fallout stabalizes I really want to look into an HT, but until then i'm not even worrying about HT or anything like that.

[California13]

Ok, with this much suffering, I recommend seeing a psychiatrist. You need someone to help you with this, and possibly take some medications. I know for a fact you are not the only one who has seen a psychiatrist for hair loss, and it is definitely warranted. Hair loss is absolutely devastating. I have never felt panic and despair so extreme as when I started losing my hair. People who haven't gone through it just dont understand. And if the doc starts telling you its not a big deal, get over it, leave and go find another one. Perhaps a female doc might be better than a mail, unless that male doc is balding or bald, in which case they will likely understand.

[Buckerine11]

Ok, with this much suffering, I recommend seeing a psychiatrist. You need someone to help you with this, and possibly take some medications. I know for a fact you are not the only one who has seen a psychiatrist for hair loss, and it is definitely warranted. Hair loss is absolutely devastating. I have never felt panic and despair so extreme as when I started losing my hair. People who haven't gone through it just dont understand. And if the doc starts telling you its not a big deal, get over it, leave and go find another one. Perhaps a female doc might be better than a mail, unless that male doc is balding or bald, in which case they will likely understand.

In my experience, the only thing that a psychiatrist can do for someone in this situation is to give him some anti-depressants. The effects of counseling is pretty limited.
I would just give it time. I was at a low point last winter, and my psyche was similar to what Supernova is experiencing. It's hard to get past it, but once you do, you can just cope with it. Life still sucks once in awhile when you think about hair loss, but you won't be devastated every moment of your life like it is right now.
There's really not much any of us can say to you to make you feel better other than the assurance that you're not alone, and that it does get better from here. But, in the meantime, you'll just have to stay strong. Best of luck, Supernova.

[SpencerKobren]

[Winston]

As always, great advice Spencer! Thank you for taking time to do these personal audio clips. It shows that no matter how successful you have become that you really care. I enjoy listening to them and I’m sure this will help young Supernova and others.

[Layercake]

hey man, I'm only 21 and I'm dealing with this bullshit too. In fact I've been taking flack for my hair, or rather lack thereof since 8th grade. So I know how shitty it can be. When my hair-loss really started to pickup around 20 I felt what I can only describe as suicidal, buuut that crazy self-pity phase passes with time.
What kind of man would I be if all it took was hair-loss to destroy me?

All I can say is : get on the appropriate drugs , don't fall for scams, and take the advice and support of the good people on this forum.

Also try and keep things in perspective man. Your not some orphan living in Africa who's parents have both died of AIDS, your not a refugee, your not cancerous, blind or paralyzed. It's just hair. I know it sucks ass, I too have days when I look at my hair and just wanna puke. But I try and remind myself that in the disturbingly broad spectrum of human suffering... we got it easy.

Also try shaving your head, I also look goofy as hell shaved, but I did it once just to face my fears, and I found it helped in a weird way. It's really not that bad, and getting ready in the morning is waaaaay faster lol

Anyway, try and take it easy man, you're not alone.

Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that
So no matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out
Keep your head up, and handle it. -Tupac

Peace