The Balding Survival Guide.

[25 going on 65]

Of course nothing will compensate for hair loss aesthetically or emotionally. Balding is the death of male beauty and the soul, it makes life FAR worse

However the OP might be on to something here. When you lose too much hair and do not have good options for restoring (way fewer guys are good HT candidates than people realize, and usually meds buy you time but do not stop hairloss 100%), the only way forward is maybe reinventing yourself. Buzzing/shaving the head and tanning/workouts/tattoos/stubble etc. so that you can have some kind of sex life instead of becoming a hermit or suicide case or awkward balding hasbeen who can not let go of the past

It will be shit compared to just having hair. Your life will never be what it could have if you had better hair genes, especially your sex/love life. But if you want to eek out some kind of life after you cannot hide this disease anymore, you will probably have to embrace a new appearance/identity. Part of that too is pretending not to give a shit even though you do, or taking the right drugs to stop you from caring

easier said than done.....

[PayDay]

Of course nothing will compensate for hair loss aesthetically or emotionally. Balding is the death of male beauty and the soul, it makes life FAR worse

However the OP might be on to something here. When you lose too much hair and do not have good options for restoring (way fewer guys are good HT candidates than people realize, and usually meds buy you time but do not stop hairloss 100%), the only way forward is maybe reinventing yourself. Buzzing/shaving the head and tanning/workouts/tattoos/stubble etc. so that you can have some kind of sex life instead of becoming a hermit or suicide case or awkward balding hasbeen who can not let go of the past

It will be shit compared to just having hair. Your life will never be what it could have if you had better hair genes, especially your sex/love life. But if you want to eek out some kind of life after you cannot hide this disease anymore, you will probably have to embrace a new appearance/identity. Part of that too is pretending not to give a shit even though you do, or taking the right drugs to stop you from caring

easier said than done.....

This is a pretty extreme statement. I see so many hot girls with balding average looking guys. Just go to any mall. Especially if you are over the age of thirty. I used to think like you. I thought my hair loss was a life sentence of misery. While you might not be as good looking without hair, or get the same looks on the street from women, if you have something going on in your life, and are a normal person you can get great looking women. Too many people on these forums with loser mentalities. If you think you're a loser or allow others to define you by their opinion, you are a loser.

[fred970]

You're talking about survival? How about working hard so you can earn enough money to buy yourself a hair transplant?

Instead of pretending the problem is not there. Everyone can be a candidate for a hair transplant, except maybe DUPA sufferers, but they are extremely rare.

Bisanga who is a reputed surgeon told me I had to worst hair loss at such a young age he had seen. And yet, I managed to have a successful hair transplant.

If I can, anyone can. It's a forum about hair loss and how to overcome it, for real, not beat around the bush and say you should get big/rich/super-awesome in every other area to solve it.

Being successful in a lot of different areas, personal growth, building knowledge, of course it can't hurt and I would encourage people to develop themselves.

Hell, I speak 4 different languages, I play the guitar, I have a master's degree, I own 5 different websites, I had more than my fair share of women etc. etc.

Of course it's better to have these if you're going to be a bald man, but again, none of these helped me not to feel like utter sh*t about my baldness.

I tell you this as someone who has truly been bald, you're not bald, you don't know what you're talking about. So, take it or leave, but it's the truth.

I hate nearly fullheads spreading lies here, we've had topics like these since the dawn of hair loss forums, and they've never helped anyone.

Denial is a horrible thing, because reality always comes back to bite you in the ass. And waking up can be extremely hard and painful.

Here's the reality: baldness sucks big time, it destroys your looks and your identity, and there's nothing positive about it.

You know this, I know this, we all know this. Positivity doesn't work, because it needs to be grounded in reality.

Saying "I'm bald in my 20's, but it doesn't matter because I'm positive!" About what?! That's you're bald? Oh yes you can be positive about that!

[PayDay]

Fred, you would be surprised at how far a positive attitude in life will take you. Being positive does not equate to denial, it's just a better way to deal with the challenges of life. There are a lot of guys who might take your advice and go get a hair transplant at a young age who will regret it for the rest of their lives. Not everyone will be happy with their results and some might realize that for them it was a huge mistake. Let people deal with their hair loss in a way that works for them. If someone wants to shave their head and work out, or whatever, they might end up even happier than you are with your hair transplant. You are a very negative influence on the younger guys here. I think it's fine to talk about what has worked for you, but honestly, if you were really so happy, you probably would not continue to post such negatively the on forums.

[fred970]

I post here because I feel like it's my duty to warn the newbies so they don't make the same mistakes I did.

I could just leave, on all the forums, I have enough hair on my head to be happy and I have quite a good life.

Do you think I haven't tried this whole "shave your head, work out and be positive" BS advice? Of course I did.

I had to stop at "shave your head" unfortunately, since people couldn't stop asking me if I was on chemo and the mockeries became unbearable.

I've never, ever seen any bald man say: "Hey I've worked out and shaved my head and now I'm happy!" Not on these forums, if a balding guy comes here, he cares, and always will.

I'm sure you've never been bald, especially at the same age I was to say what you're saying. Your advice does way more harm than mine, because it gives false hope. And that's dangerous.

There are two ways to deal with problems in life, either you face them, or you run away from them.

Complete baldness at 24 was my problem, I picked one of the best FUE surgeon and the world and he fixed it.

I think hair loss doesn't matter much up to NW3, people will still see you as one of them, so no urgent need for a hair transplant at that stage.

At NW4 though, you're almost bald, at this stage, you should get a FUE, because it's the only realistic solution that's going to get you out of this nightmare, even if it's temporary.

Life as a bald man in your early 20's is no life at all. These bald men you see in the mall with "hot" girlfriends, they're not 23! You really need to have gone through my experience to understand.

But let me guess, you are not bald? Of course not, you've been on Propecia for 5 years, I'm sure you are NW2.5 at worst.

If you're so confident in what you say, just drop the Propecia then? Come on, baldness isn't a big deal, once you're NW5, you can just shave your head and work out!

Can't you see the hypocrisy here? You'll see that all the young men who have gone through true baldness will hold the same discourse as me.

It's no wonder. Only a guy who isn't bald could hold these "Just shave your head, work out and get a tan" silly discourses.

I can't believe I still see those advices given in 2015, when they've never been proven to benefit any bald man.

[Not giving up]

Fred, no one was was ever saying 'just shave your head and be bald.' That's not the reason people come here. Some people can't afford a HT. Some people won't respond to meds. Your response of 'work hard and save for a HT.' Some people will be so crippled by hairloss that they lose all confidence and will struggle to progress in life and earn enough money for a hair transplant. Hell some people might just not have the smarts to earn enough, or just have so many responsibilities that spending that sort of money on themselves just isn't an option. It's not a case of just fixing a problem for some. Great that it was for you, but some people will need other outlets. Not everyone can win this battle, and in truth, to some, having a shaved head like you is as bad for their confidence as balding anyway if they normally have long hair.

The problem with you Fred, is you pass your opinions and experiences off as facts. You're talking about things that have happened to you as if every person on the planet will have the same problems you did. Can I see your point of view? Of course. You make good points. Do I think you're 100% right? No. You're too stuck in your own beliefs.

You have no need to be here convincing young people life will be awful bald. Will it be difficult? Yes. Is it impossible? Hell no. My best friend is NW5 at 24, has been since 23 and he's dating a hot blonde who he lives with (who he met when bald) he's even slightly overweight, but he's not doing badly, it's really not all doom and gloom. He hits the gym, he makes people laugh, he's saving for a house not a hair transplant. Has he been hurt by hairloss? Yes, but he moved on, pushed through. Could I do that? I don't know, balding is a crippling thought for me, I might be more like you and struggle with it too much and get a hair transplant, but my point is, not everyone can or has to do that to be happy. If it isn't an option, there are other ways to deal with it.

Case and point, paraolympians, some of those guys lose limbs in accidents, say they lost their legs in a car crash, so do they sit around, bitching about life, or do they go down other avenues, train hard and accomplish more in life than we certainly ever will?
There were other ways of dealing with the negative comments you received, getting a hair transplant to be 'normal' was one of them, but not the only one, young people here need a better role model than someone who thinks their way is the only way.

Frankly, you kind of gave in to peer pressure pretty easily and just played into their hands a bit. Would I be any different? As I said, I don't know, maybe not, but then I'm not the one trying to shoot everyone down because they don't agree with me.

Fred's message for the kids: if you don't fit in, sucks to be you. Don't come back until you do.'

Awesome.

[polios]

Of course nothing will compensate for hair loss aesthetically or emotionally. Balding is the death of male beauty and the soul, it makes life FAR worse

However the OP might be on to something here. When you lose too much hair and do not have good options for restoring (way fewer guys are good HT candidates than people realize, and usually meds buy you time but do not stop hairloss 100%), the only way forward is maybe reinventing yourself. Buzzing/shaving the head and tanning/workouts/tattoos/stubble etc. so that you can have some kind of sex life instead of becoming a hermit or suicide case or awkward balding hasbeen who can not let go of the past

It will be shit compared to just having hair. Your life will never be what it could have if you had better hair genes, especially your sex/love life. But if you want to eek out some kind of life after you cannot hide this disease anymore, you will probably have to embrace a new appearance/identity. Part of that too is pretending not to give a shit even though you do, or taking the right drugs to stop you from caring

easier said than done.....

Wow, thanks a lot for that. It is really how I feel sometimes about hair loss in my worst moments... but there are still things to look positive at.

[fred970]

Fred's message for the kids: if you don't fit in, sucks to be you. Don't come back until you do.'

Awesome.

This is actually sound advice. What do you want to do? Gather the 7 billions of people out there to tell them: "Listen, I don't want to make an effort to fit in, so you'll have to accept me as I am!"

Your posts contains the usual mistakes baldness deniers make: first, there have been studies that have shown that being disfigured (and yes, baldness is disfigurement!) is worse than losing a limb.

In short, crippled people could get to the same level of happiness they had before their accident, disfigured people couldn't, because their identity and self-esteem were forever... crippled.

Some hair is always better than no hair, I didn't do this to have a full head of hair that I can style (that's impossible), I did this to get out of the "bald loser" category.

Now people think "Hey this guy has hair, but he just chooses to shave it by choice, what a badass!" Some girls actually called me a bad boy.

What a joke, so when you're forced to shave because you're bald, you're pathetic, but when you do it by choice while having hair, "OMG, so bold, so daring, so alpha!"

Most people outside the world of hair loss are stupid and ignorant as f-ck, so you don't want to be in a position in which they can just put you down.

Buying a house! Perfect, and you think he's so smart, right?! When his hot blond girl divorces him, takes the house, the kids, and leaves his bald ass on the street, we'll see how he will be doing.

A 28 year old bald man with no home, no money, no prospects on the dating market. This is just madness. If you have been depressed because of hair loss, you should invest in getting some hair back.

But you know, priorities in life. People who think hair and looks don't matter that much will be in for a rude awakening at a point. This is the main reason we're here, this is the main reason you're here.

I know you're trying to convince yourself it won't be that bad when you're bald. And I've already said it, it isn't that bad: just regular mockeries, and you can have a girlfriend who will put you down for being bald.

But other than that, you can function, but is that a way to live? If people don't want to work hard and solve their hair loss problem, they have no right to complain.

This "forget about it and work out" advice typical of hypocrites like you on hair loss forums. If you go to a weight loss forum, do you think they will tell the obese guy:

"It's OK man, don't work on yourself, women don't care that much, you can have a hot girlfriend while being a fat f-ck! Just be positive and confident!"

Of course you don't see that! They will tell him to just lose the f-ing weight. Why can't it be the same for hair loss? Just get a job in McDonalds for a few months and save for a high-end FUE in Turkey!

Again, it's all about facing your problems or running away from them.

[25 going on 65]

This is actually sound advice. What do you want to do? Gather the 7 billions of people out there to tell them: "Listen, I don't want to make an effort to fit in, so you'll have to accept me as I am!"

Your posts contains the usual mistakes baldness deniers make: first, there have been studies that have shown that being disfigured (and yes, baldness is disfigurement!) is worse than losing a limb.

In short, crippled people could get to the same level of happiness they had before their accident, disfigured people couldn't, because their identity and self-esteem were forever... crippled.

Some hair is always better than no hair, I didn't do this to have a full head of hair that I can style (that's impossible), I did this to get out of the "bald loser" category.

Now people think "Hey this guy has hair, but he just chooses to shave it by choice, what a badass!" Some girls actually called me a bad boy.

What a joke, so when you're forced to shave because you're bald, you're pathetic, but when you do it by choice while having hair, "OMG, so bold, so daring, so alpha!"

Most people outside the world of hair loss are stupid and ignorant as f-ck, so you don't want to be in a position in which they can just put you down.

Buying a house! Perfect, and you think he's so smart, right?! When his hot blond girl divorces him, takes the house, the kids, and leaves his bald ass on the street, we'll see how he will be doing.

A 28 year old bald man with no home, no money, no prospects on the dating market. This is just madness. If you have been depressed because of hair loss, you should invest in getting some hair back.

But you know, priorities in life. People who think hair and looks don't matter that much will be in for a rude awakening at a point. This is the main reason we're here, this is the main reason you're here.

I know you're trying to convince yourself it won't be that bad when you're bald. And I've already said it, it isn't that bad: just regular mockeries, and you can have a girlfriend who will put you down for being bald.

But other than that, you can function, but is that a way to live? If people don't want to work hard and solve their hair loss problem, they have no right to complain.

This "forget about it and work out" advice typical of hypocrites like you on hair loss forums. If you go to a weight loss forum, do you think they will tell the obese guy:

"It's OK man, don't work on yourself, women don't care that much, you can have a hot girlfriend while being a fat f-ck! Just be positive and confident!"

Of course you don't see that! They will tell him to just lose the f-ing weight. Why can't it be the same for hair loss? Just get a job in McDonalds for a few months and save for a high-end FUE in Turkey!

Again, it's all about facing your problems or running away from them.

Problem is, there is no way to solve this problem unless you catch extremely early & respond great to meds (meaning meds actually stop your hair loss 100%)

Once past a certain extent of hair loss you are f*cked no matter what, it is just a question of how to get by for the rest of life (or until the next big treatment). For some guys the best way forward might be a transplant to partially cover the damage. But just because you were a candidate does not mean everyone is a candidate. Plenty of guys are just bad candidates, many factors are involved. Amount/quality of donor, difference between skin & hair color, pattern/extent of loss, etc

This is why I said for some, just forming a new identity is probably better than transplanting. Yeah it sucks, but that is the nature of this disease. Everything just sucks compared to being follicularly healthy, whether your approach is meds, transplant, hairpiece, shaving, hair tattoos, etc etc. It all sucks & the best way to deal with it is not the same for every person

[fred970]

Problem is, there is no way to solve this problem unless you catch extremely early & respond great to meds (meaning meds actually stop your hair loss 100%)

Once past a certain extent of hair loss you are f*cked no matter what, it is just a question of how to get by for the rest of life (or until the next big treatment). For some guys the best way forward might be a transplant to partially cover the damage. But just because you were a candidate does not mean everyone is a candidate. Plenty of guys are just bad candidates, many factors are involved. Amount/quality of donor, difference between skin & hair color, pattern/extent of loss, etc

This is why I said for some, just forming a new identity is probably better than transplanting. Yeah it sucks, but that is the nature of this disease. Everything just sucks compared to being follicularly healthy, whether your approach is meds, transplant, hairpiece, shaving, hair tattoos, etc etc. It all sucks & the best way to deal with it is not the same for every person

I had the worst hair loss at a young age ever (NW5 going on 6 at 23) but I was still a candidate.

People who say they can't do anything are just making excuses, or greedy. You won't get your NW1 teenage hair line and coverage back.

I'm glad I have some hair on my head (only 2000 grafts though). At least people think I just shave my head. It's not ideal for most people, but it's better than looking like a bald loser.

As I've said many times, Having a hair line, a frame for your face, and some coverage takes away 90% of the suffering caused by hair loss.

Now I only feel sad when I see myself under bright lights or when I look at my crown in a mirror (that doesn't happen often).

It all sucks? Maybe it would be better if we were still in the 80's then? At time when no solution at all was available except hair pieces (which is not viable).

I guess some hair loss sufferers will always be ungrateful no matter what advances we make.