The Balding Survival Guide.

[JoeTillman]

This is obviously an emotional topic and I can understand why. I've been there and I know better than most what it means to be damaged mentally but also physically because of this curse.

Fred, I don't think people are saying that these actions that are being suggested will erase the pain of hair loss. I think they are suggested as a distraction. Distractions are good because if you are distracted you just don't feel as bad. I know what you mean when you say to someone that is not a NW6 that they don't know what it is like to be bald, I really do, but in my experience hair loss for a NW3 is just as bad as hair loss for a NW7. It is relative and they are losing their shit just as much as you and I were as NW6s.

The key to dealing with hair loss, if you can't afford the surgical option, is to find something that makes you feel better about yourself and some of those options presented will do just that. Who doesn't like to bulk up and look more muscular? I know I did. I'm in better shape now than I was when I was half my age (Fred's age I think). If I were still bald I'd be even more motivated and I'd be huge. In fact, my best friend from high school, which some of you may remember from my history as being the one responsible for the great idea of having hair transplant surgery when we were 22, eventually lost his battle with hairloss. He got fixed up by Dr. Wong with a really nice one pass result but his hair loss progressed after he had the bright idea of stopping his medications. Long story short, he got serious about lifting and eventually got to the point that he looks like a bad mutherf*cker and he shaves his head completely, down to skin. He's got some nice ink on his chest, left shoulder and upper bicep, and he gets more action with the ladies than anyone I know. It's kind of ridiculous the amount of attention he gets and these aren't ladies our age, either. These are ladies in their mid-twenties.

Does this mean that everyone that shaves their head due to hairloss and bulks up in the gym wil be a hit with the ladies? Of course not but if one more element is added then I guarantee this combination WILL work. Add personality to the mix. If you have a nice personality, or even better a funny and outgoing personality, then you win; period. My buddy is also funny and outgoing so that is why it works so well for him. However, you don't have to bulk up and you don't have to shave your head. I know from my own personal experience before my repair work was done. I dealt with my hairloss and my f*cked up hair transplants by becoming more outgoing. You have to when you are waiting tables and bartending in higher end restaurants, which is what I did for years. You can't wear a hat and you can't reel from the comments by turning into a hermit and living under a hat. You have to think quick on your feet and come up with one liners on the spot to disarm people and this is the exact type of mentality that disarms the ladies, too. Even in my WORST condition I still got my share of action. Why? Because I was funny. I was outgoing and that is just one guaranteed way to look confident and confidence is what gets you across the finish line.

If you are angry about your hairloss or so deeply wounded that you are hyper-sensitive to even the slightest glance then you lose. If a chick glances at you with a weird look on her face many men with hairloss automatically assume it's because of their hairloss when in fact it may be because they are so down on themselves they forgot to trim their three inch nose hairs that morning. I mean, guys that feel like shit about themselves usually look like shit too. Take care of yourself, dress well, if you don't shave at least have a clean and tight hair cut, take some pride in your appearancea and in many cases that is a great start. When you take pride in your appearance, the parts you can control, you feel better which means you walk better which means you look more confident. You smile more, blah blah blah. You get what I'm saying.

The younger guys will snear at this, but I've been there and I speak from a LOT of lifetime experience. I am happy to say that even when I looked my absolute worst with regards to my hair, bald AND with a pluggy artificial hairline, I was STILL making women laugh which meant a whole lot more

[25 going on 65]

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.

No hair loss sufferer will be ungrateful when the problem can actually be SOLVED (not just covered or compensated for)

Wanting millions of $ is greedy. Wanting plastic surgery to transform you into a movie star is greedy. Wanting fame is greedy. Wanting to look like a non-disfigured version of yourself is not

Your being a candidate for HT does not make others good candidates. You also had advantages, I have seen your transplant pics. Your hair and skin color are closer to each other than what many people have (having dark hair & white skin can create a HUGE cosmetic challenge), you do not have AGA in your donor (at least not in a way that made you a non-candidate....some people literally do not have the donor hair to have transplants), you can get away with a buzzed head/higher forehead much easier than many people. Some guys MUST have a low hairline & solid temple points for proper facial framing & some can not buzz/shave due to skull shape or other problems

Also some people do not respond to meds or can not take them. Which makes a transplant in most cases unacceptable unless you are content with very minimal work (nobody is except maybe old people)

Yes in many cases, having transplant work is better than not. Not always. The world is full of people w/ this disease who do NOT currently have an aesthetically acceptable solution

[fred970]

Yeah, I tend to forget about these advantages. I agree with you. But I just don't understand how some people can just be like "Nope, nothing to be done, let's just whine endlessly."

How about SMP? Anything? Well, maybe if I was a slick NW7 with a thin donor, black hair and fair skin, I would be singing a different tune. These cases are extremely rare though.

[polios]

Thanks JoeTillman for your post. A lot of true points in there. Was a fun read.

[Herbaliser]

I was never really bothered of my hair loss, and i think people overreact regarding hair loss when somebody just glances at you, since you are just a focus object for the moment.
A small eye contact means not to look at the sealing or floor, just a point to focus on, and it´s normality to seek contact on human beings to not look abnormal themselves.

But then again the media is the most influential one, that takes advantage of our low self confidence by using perfectionism in commercials and tv for profit reasons.