22 and suffering receding hairline and thinning

[GKSchneider]

Hello Ya'll,

I'm a 22 year old guy living in Melbourne, Australia. I've been suffering thinning for around a year and a half and when I began to notice this, contacted Advanced Hair Studio and invested in a topical treatment system (Tablets, Monoxodil, Shampoo and the such).

I unfortunately work in entertainment - an industry that is particularly unforgiving to physical imperfections of any kind. I'm currently rehearsing an opera in Adelaide and a peer (26 and with a wonderful head of hair) today remarked that maybe if he rubbed his head against mine I may be lucky enough to gain some of his hair. Though I dismissed the comment, I have to admit that it made me somewhat despondent.

At the moment, I do my best to hide thinning with theatrical make-up but this is a soul-destroying daily ritual that will only work for so long.

I have the cashflow to afford a HT and the relevant medication to somewhat arrest additional hair loss for the time being - is this treatment suitable to my predicament?

I take pretty good are of myself and don't think I'd look awful if I shaved my head and grew a beard out but I want to look at all the options available to me!

Any advice? Whether it be hairstyles, treatments or personal experiences?

Thanks!

[Fixed by 35]

Bald with a beard is a terrible look, especially a goatee beard. I thought Vladimir Lenin ought to have put others off the look in the 1920s but it seems the goatee only became really unfashionable when David Brent sported one. If you feel nature should take its course, glasses rather than facial hair will give you the best available look.

To be honest, I think you're lucky to be in Australia because you guys seem far more forgiving towards those with hair loss. You elect bald men as leaders and have bald men presenting prime time TV shows for example; an example to the rest of the world perhaps? Indeed, your main worry from baldness is probably skin cancer rather than prejudice, which is far easier to avoid with the old slip, slop, slap. Try slapping in response to prejudice and you'll face all kinds of difficulties.

In terms of entertainment, I sometimes wondered whether baldness was an advantage outside of Hollywood because with the right wigs bald men can play a much wider range (although they miss out on being considered attractive off stage). However, that is probably limited to character acting rather than opera, so let's talk about how to deal with it.

Now, treatment options. I need to be careful with my advice because you're at a critical stage in your battle and the plethora of treatment options is huge. I'm not a doctor but I am an experienced campaigner against this curse!

The first thing I would say is forget a hair transplant until you're thirty. The donor area is not enough to cover a whole scalp; take a look at those in the Norwood V - VII bracket to see how they're seldom successful. You need to know how far your hair loss is going to progress before you opt for this treatment, otherwise you might end up looking like Joe Biden. Also, I'm a hair transplant sceptic, not because they can't be done well (see Hassan and Wong for excellent results) but because I think they're going to go out of favour faster than Carl Daimler's blacksmith. Histogen has created a formula expected out in Asia by 2013 (and probably in Oz around the same time) which when injected into the scalp can induce new hair growth. No scarring, just growth. I'd definitely wait until then to see if it works before getting a HT.

The second thing is to definitely use propecia, minoxidil and revita shampoo. This 'Holy Trinity' can work wonders on thickening up your existing hair. It can also prevent or delay further loss.

Third, use Toppik to thicken your hair. They're little fibres that attach to your existing hair and makes it look thicker. It is extremely effective and better than using make up.

Fourth, monitor the progress of Aderans, Trichoscience, Follica, Histogen and TRX2 for their latest news and results. TRX2 is less trusted than the other four as a possible treatment, mainly due to Anglophobia in my opinion by arrogant Yanks, but I think they're onto something!

One final thing. Do something, because baldness really does look crap on every victim.

[Winston]

Welcome to the forum. I think the first thing to know is that if you think you’ll look good with a shaved head and are seriously considering this as a option, a hair transplant is out of the question. Fixed is correct about using medication, especially Propecia to attempt to keep and possibly thicken your existing hair. It’s difficult but try not to let hair loss control your life. We are all here because we are unhappy about losing our hair, but some deal with it better then others.

[mattj]

I believe the theater is somewhat more forgiving of physical flaws than TV and film, is it not?

Definitely start treatment and perhaps try out the shaved head look and see if it actually does work for you. The most important thing would be not to let your confidence and you performance on stage be affected.