Advice Needed

[ClarKent77]

Hello there, everyone.

This is my first post, so please be gentle! I apologise if I make any rookie mistakes, or if any of my questions are daft.

At the moment, I am 35 (I'll be 36 in May). When I was younger, I had a thick head of hair. I noticed some thinning when I was 29/30 (I had short, spiky hair back then), and I was fairly alarmed. I had just taken a course of Roaccutaine (a strong acne medication), so I hoped that this was the cause, hoping that my hair would revert back to its original thickness when I stopped Roaccutaine.

In the five / six years since then, I grew my hair (like this https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...7812f48b32.jpg) and it looked thicker than when it was short.

My friends, family and wife think that I'm fine, and to the untrained eye it might look like I have a decent head of hair, but I know that it is thinning. It would be obvious if I got my hair cut shorter. I wouldn't wear a middle-parting or a normal side-parting, as the parting area looks thin under light. At the moment, I have a wide parting (kinda like this http://cdn1us.denofgeek.com/sites/de...nder-woman.jpg) to give it a thicker look, and I use thickening products (shampoos, volumising styling powder).

I realise that it is difficult for you guys to judge all this without seeing my hair, but I haven't quite worked up the courage to post a picture. Apologies.

Anyway, my hairloss is occupying my thoughts most of the time, and I am becoming increasingly anxious. For a while, I was having trouble sleeping, and I completely lost my appetite. I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that I am obsessed with the matter.

I have done some reading on various websites and a couple of forums, but I am looking for help and advice from some of you experts. I don't know what else to do.

It seems that the two best things to try are Finestride and Minoxidil. I don't want to sound cowardly, but I really don't like the idea of the Finestride, as I've read that it can cause shedding, and I don't think I would cope very well with that. I've also read that it can cause erectile disfunction and a decreased libido, which also puts me off.

As for Minoxidil, I have a few concerns. Please don't laugh or mock! I use a hair dryer to dry my hair (not too warm) as it makes it look thicker. I have been told that Minoxidil is flammable, so I'm worried that it is a bad idea to put a flammable ingredient into my hair and then use a hair dryer on it. Also, is it possible to style your hair after applying Minoxidil? I style mine a certain way (again, to make it look as thick as possible), so I'm wondering if this is possible after putting in Minoxidil. I'd like to think that Minoxidil could slow down my hairloss, but I'm worried I will have to walk about with no product or styling, which would make my thinning more obvious.

At the risk of sounding like I'm getting ahead of myself, I have been looking into a hair transplant. I don't think I need one at the moment, but I want to be fully prepared and informed if I ever decide to get one, maybe when I'm 40.

I keep reading that research is key, but I'm not entirely sure what you mean by research. Does this mean perusing forums? If so, how do I know which forums are reliable?

Does research mean going to have consultations? If so, I went to a local cosmetic clinic just to see what the process is like (dipping my toe in the water), and I am planning to visit a few others. I live in Scotland, so I thinking about going to clinics in the UK.

I know that many of you say the best HT doctors are in the US and Canada, but I am going to have a look at UK ones first, just so I know what I'm dealing with. At the moment, I am thinking about going to one in London (any recommendations?), the one in Manchester (can't remember what it is called) and HRBR in Dublin.

If anyone has any other recommendations in the UK (for now), I'd like to hear them.

Is there any other research that I can do?

Again, I'm sorry if I've done anything wrong on this post (wrong place, too long, too many questions), but my mind is all over the place.

Any help or guidance would be much appreciated.

[hanginginthewire]

Some say the best FUE doctors are in Europe.