21 and balding rapidly please give me some advice.

[paddymaddison]

I have been well aware of the fact that I am loosing my hair since I was 18, but when I look back at pictures of how it looked back then it really hits me just how bad it has become. My hair is still full and thick on the back and sides but on the top it is thinning very quickly, mainly in a horseshoe pattern, leaving a small tuft at the front. I have had a shaved head for the past year, but I let it grow back in recently as i realised one day, standing in front of the mirror, that I just looked like a big pink Weetabix. Now that I have let it grow in, I fear that I have only made myself look more ridiculous. My friends constantly make jokes about it, I join it because I have always been confident and outgoing and I don't want people to think that it gets to me but secretly i feel like tearing my hair out (if i had any) every time I look in the mirror. I have an amazing girlfriend who is the only person that knows how much this gets me down. She says that she still finds me attractive but I honestly just can't understand how anyone could anymore. I used to be so proud of my hair and now it's swapped from being on my head to being everywhere else it possibly could be. Can anyone offer me some advice? Does anyone else remember feeling like this? Is there some kind of miracle cure that my hundereds of hours of internet research have not uncovered?? Help!!

[UK_]

If there were a cure none of us would be here.

Sorry pal... but this is it... I know how you feel... I remember lifelessly sitting back on my bed after looking at my crown in the mirror a few months back... the crushing depression has been with me for years but it just gets worse as the hair loss progresses...

[paddymaddison]

Cheers pal. I feel better already.

[8868alex]

No miracle cure just yet I'm afraid. However, there are effective treatments, Principally, Propecia and Minoxidil. Do your research, but move with haste if you want to keep the hair you currently have. Get yourself to a IAHRS doctor and get an individual assessment. I wish you the best.

[scar85]

**** hairloss..I went from a NW0 or NW1 last november, to an approaching NW2 with all the hair I shed within the past 9 months. Im 26 years old, no prior hairloss ever, but I got diagnosed with a ****ed up scalp condition which I can blame my father for...I have seberrheic dermatitis from excessive sebum production..oh yeah i got that from my dad too. No matter how well i scrub my head, the shit always come back. Ive been on proscar for 6.5 months now, at month 6 hairloss stopped..but now the last 2-3 days it has really picked back up. My hairline now has a dime sized thin spot..at this pace ill be bald within 2 years max. Talk about looking at pictures? I just looked at pictures from october 2010 at a halloween party, with thick full dense head of hair..talk about losing hair overnight. Im at the point now that im sick of it..yes i still have alot of hair..but seeing that hair die everyday has left me scared to hell..it seems like i have to live for today not for tommorow..because tommorow only promises nothing but baldness. If you knew how fast im losing it now, you would understand my pain. I feel like I have to approach girls now..because tommorow ill be scared shitless to approach anyone..LIFE just sucks for people like us..but what can you do? Nothing..we just have to accept this

I will say hairloss is very tough on a mental/emotional standpoint..and perhaps im just very pissed right now and negative about it because im sick of it. Life for me went down south quick..ive shaved my head before and believe me..im not one of those that looks good with a shaved head IMO..others think so but not me. Thats why i have a tough time accepting it..but if you look fine with a shaved head..dont sweat it..just get used to it.

[scar85]

If there were a cure none of us would be here.

Sorry pal... but this is it... I know how you feel... I remember lifelessly sitting back on my bed after looking at my crown in the mirror a few months back... the crushing depression has been with me for years but it just gets worse as the hair loss progresses...

Well said my friend...i too remember lifelessly sitting back on my bed in disbelief when I saw my slightly thinning crown in the mirror after a haircut. I knew as days went by, it would get worse. The crushing depression sucks the life out of you day by day. Never thought it would happen to me..but it did. I miss those days when i woke up, showered, went to work, partied, etc without ever for a second even thinking about my hair. Now its all i can ever think about.

[juicedz]

Well said my friend...i too remember lifelessly sitting back on my bed in disbelief when I saw my slightly thinning crown in the mirror after a haircut. I knew as days went by, it would get worse. The crushing depression sucks the life out of you day by day. Never thought it would happen to me..but it did. I miss those days when i woke up, showered, went to work, partied, etc without ever for a second even thinking about my hair. Now its all i can ever think about.

Boom, you got it on the money maker. Hair loss defines those it effects. It's pretty much the number one thing on their mind once it's been detected. I'll join you in the band wagon of guys that don't look good with a shaved head. Sucks, at this point I have to wonder at what point it will look so bad I have no choice but to shave it!

[scar85]

Boom, you got it on the money maker. Hair loss defines those it effects. It's pretty much the number one thing on their mind once it's been detected. I'll join you in the band wagon of guys that don't look good with a shaved head. Sucks, at this point I have to wonder at what point it will look so bad I have no choice but to shave it!

Whats quite sad is just last october one of my friends in his 40's who has been bald for 15 years came up to me and said.."man what are you going to do with all that hair..my goodness you are blessed". I told him that hair isnt a necessity, and he will be just fine without it. I guess its easy to say when you dont experience it..like me who never did..untill now.

Anyways, it wont be long till I have to shave it all off. What hurts the most is that a "cure" is still atleast 10 years away..if there ever is a cure.

[8868alex]

Hey guys, listen I know EXACTLY how you feel. I was pretty much on my way to a NW 3V by the time I was 20. However, nearly 13 years on and I'm not that worse off at all. In fact, with a little styling of say, 30 seconds each morning I just look like a guy with a mature hairline (generally the norm for a guys late 20's +). I've only really taken meds seriously over the last 3 years and I count myself lucky that I don't have an aggressive state of loss. You have to stay positive with this. Please don't think I am condescending as I still have my dark days and it's shit!!.. However, if you are a NW2, then it is all to play for. Get off your ass, research treatment, get proffesional advice and know that better treatments are on the way. Forget the talk about a cure and focus on keeping what you have for now as bright things are around the corner. Even If this takes ten years, then you may not be as worse off as you think. I am proof of that!!

[gravity]

It's ok, man. I'm in the same situation. Just buzz your hair off and look like a badass. If your friends are bugging you about it just play it off cool or tell them how you really feel. At least you have a girlfriend. I find that no one cares what my hair is like as long as I have a positive personality and can make it look less "balding" by shaving it.