Never Thought I'd Be Here

[Parker317]

Hello Everyone,

I hate to say it, but in my head, I don't want to be here. I don't want to talk to any of you and I don't want to admit this is where I've ended up. But in reality, I am glad I found this place and happy there are others out there like you that can help me.

I'm 27, started seeing some receding on near the temples/corner of my hairline around 23 and didn't think much of it. My Mom actually pointed it out to me or I wouldn't have noticed it for awhile. She's always pointing things out to me, you know how Moms can be. So I started on the Nioxin system for awhile and that seemed to help, but things just got worse and worse - and when paired with stress, things were becoming worse.

I've tried Nioxin and Bosley hair systems and neither seemed to do much. I'm not the most consistent guy either, I start strong then can't seem to stay on top of it as I forget or get lazy - so partially my fault for some systems being ineffective.

I just accepted the fact that the front would recede a little, my Dad's is like that and he looks just fine. But I really started to worry when the crown was thinning. My Dad is 70 and has no problems in his crown and my brother has a great full head of hair and he's 26. So I seemed to of gotten the short straw, or should I say "short-strand"....

The last 2-3 years have been some of the worst in my life when it came to confidence about myself. I'm a pretty good looking guy, I get plenty of attention from woman and live in the booming areas of Orange County - so losing hair is a real death sentence over here..or so it feels. THANK GOD I found Toppik... without it I probably would have shaved my head by now. It's really filled in the "comb-over areas", if any of you haven't tried it. Please do, it's enough for the early stages of MPB. It's really saved me, it doesn't stop hair-loss, but helps you go out in public and not feel like a fool. (FYI, it's a keratin powder, you kind of powder it on your head like pepper, then tap your hand on the areas to get it down to the roots)

So fast-forward to now, I just started Finasteride last week. I finally gave in, I don't mind going bald or shaving my head, but I want to be closer to 40 than 25.. I'm hoping for good results, so far I haven't noticed any side effects. I'm pairing this with Nizoral and also a laser comb three times a week. I will post results hopefully in a few months.

I've tried Rogaine/Hair Wash/Nizoral/Laser hair combs/hair pills/saw palmetto, even got my blood tested for thyroid and can honestly say nothing stopped the hair loss... Sure I've found new ways to style my hair and cover things up, but I knew it was time to bring in the big guns. I figured Finasteride was my Hail Mary.. So as of now I just feel better, even if it's not doing anything, I just feel as if my life has been saved. I know it's stupid, but you all know how it is, your hair is so important...It's something that everyone sees. If you're bald, you're known as "that bald guy"...Sure you can embrace it, but I'm not ready.

I'm sorry for the long post, I just haven't really talked to anyone else about this in a few years except maybe my GF and brother. If anyone wants to talk, feel free to message me. I'm not sure of the exact MPB classifications, but I think I was getting to a 3V..So it was literally as bad as I would let it get where covering it up was no longer an option.

I will try to return and post my Finasteride results. Best of luck to you all on your journey. I really wouldn't wish this on my worst enemies.. Some people just don't understand how detrimental it really is, at times I wanted to give up on life and thought my GF would want to leave me. It sucks. But with forums like this we can all fight together towards a resolution!

[richardd1972]

If you're 27 and just starting to get a receding hairline this is normal for someone who is not suffering from MPB. It would help to see some pics. In any case when I was 27 I was receding pretty bad and the only thing available at the time was 2 percent Rogaine then eventually 5 percent and finally the DHT blockers. You're fortunate in that there are many options available today. Taking a DHT blocker is a great start as it's inexpensive and convenient. Keep in mind that any treatment aside from a HT is unlikely to regrow the temple or hairline. Like I said I was fairly far along in my hairless by your age but was able to use Rogaine and finasteride to maintain until I could afford my first procedure at age 32. If you can afford it and or get a doc to write a scrip Avodart is much more effective than finasteride and is now available as generic

[Notgivingup2]

Well if it makes you feel any better I don't want to have talk to you either haha!

I get what you're feeling. I had another account on here and it stopped working all of a sudden, I didn't bother creating a new one until recently and I only did because I realised without this place id have nowhere to vent. I was starting to crack without being able to complain about shitty all this is.

This is a shit thing, and we're meant to just be men about it, but ****, I'm just not ready to look in the mirror and hate what I see everyday for the rest of my life.

Painfully depressing shit, but thank god places like this exist. Id go insane otherwise.

Stay strong everyone, believe change is coming, even if it isn't.

[Parker317]

Hey guys, just to clarify. I'm 27 now, I started noticing the temples around 23...then came the crown.
It's pretty noticeable now and I can't really go out in public without toppik on to really feel comfortable around people I know.

Notgivingup2, nice to meet you - sorry we are in the same boat but at least we aren't drowning alone! haha

[Notgivingup2]

Nice to meet you too bud.

I feel your pain, I was 24 when balding hit. Without sounding like a dick, I've always been pretty good looking like yourself, always had female attention. 6ft1, VERY strong jaw line, I've modelled and worked as a topless butler. So it's fair to say my ego was huge haha.

Always had the thickest head of hair going and thought I was destined to have this forever. And probably would have, at least until my 50's judging by my dad's hair which didn't start thinning until then.

I've always been in good shape, six pac and all that jazz, and after the topless butler thing with a bunch of drunken chicks saying how hot I was I got carried away, I wanted to get to the next level, thought I could be a successful fitness model, so I decided to help myself along and start a course of anabolic steroids.

4 weeks in and my hair starts to pour out my head about 30 years too early.

Fast forward 2 years, I'm about to turn 26, the hairloss continues despite stopping steroids there and then and never touching them again since, and I'm at a point where even propecia isn't slowing it after 9 months use.

I'm a diffuse thinner and the density is pretty rough. Receding at the crown and temples too with the dreaded MPB itch and burn.

Still have a seemingly full head of hair proving the wind leaves me alone or the lighting isn't too harsh. But I don't think I'll get to the end of the year without jumping on the topik bandwagon.

so it could be worse bud, you could have done it to yourself like I have. No hairloss, took steroids, triggered unstoppable hairloss, awaiting baldness and the end of my social life.

Still, who knows, tomorrow they could invent the miracle cure and we all live happily ever after... Haha.

[Parker317]

Wow! That is quite the story you've got there, Notgivingup2.
So it sounds like you're still hanging in there. Can I ask how old you are right now? 26?

What's strange is I also messed around with Testosterone boosters. No steroids, nothing illegal, but stuff that came in bottles from supplement companies. I do feel like that definitely made things worse.
I also dislike the wind..It literally has to be blowing in the right direction or it's going to screw me over.. I might mess with some kind of hairsprays or something, but it's rare that it's an issue.

So you're saying 9 months on propecia you haven't seen any positive results? What else are you using if you don't mind me asking?

Also, what's holding you back from trying topik?

[Notgivingup2]

Yeah I've heard stories of people saying their testosterone boosters messed up their hair and sped it up. It just depends how sensitive your folicals are.

Yeah I've been micro dosing tbf. So I'm 0.25mg Mondays, Wednesday's and Friday's. A guy on here had great results doing this routine but tbh propecia has only made my situation worse. It seems to add to the burn and itching when I take it. I've read a few other people's stories like this, it apparently just doesn't agree with them and I think I'm unfortunately one of those characters.

As for toppik, I've used their shampoo and was very impressed, and I know it's an amazing product, but up until the last few days actually I would say I've just been about able to get away without. Recently however I'm noticing my hairloss is rapidly speeding up, I'm not sure why, but I'm shedding a lot more and it's getting pretty noticeable. So I think it will be time to take the plunge soon as I won't be able to hide it much longer.
My only concern is I've read some people say it seems to make their hairloss worse and that they notice more shedding when using it.

You noticed this?

[Parker317]

Hmm.. Interesting. I'm just sticking to the 1 mg a day pill every night. As for the Toppik, I've never tried their shampoo. I have tried the hair pills which seem to work in making your hair appear healthier after a month but not worth spending $30 a month in my opinion.

I haven't noticed Toppik make my situation any worse. I've tried both the powder and the spray (spray gives you better coverage and lasts longer but is also a lot trickier to use and may not match your hair color as well) the powder seems to bind to your existing hairs in a way and make the area seem more full.

I would say the only downside of Toppik, besides spending $20 or so a month, is that when you don't have it in - you definitely feel more self conscience. But I'm sure I wouldn't wanna know life without it , lol. It's definitely a crown saver. I'm using medium brown.

Also, side note. Another downfall of using Toppik is the false sense of reality I've luckily noticed. When you have it in you can kind of "forget" about your problems and maybe skip a rogaine application here or there or skip a shower because you don't wanna waste it for one day. I would say a small size lasts about a month or so. Definitely worth it still, though.