How did you feel?

[dhuge67]

What made you feel that you had to get something done about your hair loss? What was it in you that told you that you didn't want to accept your genetic MPB and try to find ways to alleviate or fix the issue? Of course, many men go bald, it is commonplace to see bald or balding people in ages ranging from the teens to the elderly. So, why do we feel the need to do something about this physical (but not all that critical) issue?

 

For me, it was just a feeling of wanting to maintain my youth (being just 20 years old). It's true that the Hollywood stereotype of the young, ripped, and sexy male with a full head of hair, has an impact on our mental images of ourselves. It isn't right and it shouldn't make me or any of us feel like it's an image we have to live up to, but the reality is that it does make us feel that way to an extent.

 

In a world where men have as much of a physical image to try to live up to as woman do, balding is just one of those things that really can throw someone off physically and emotionally because it is out of their control. It's just a tough pill to swallow for anyone, but I think especially for young people.

 

I was always fat, all of my life. I used to weigh 220 lbs and today I weigh 170. It took me throughout high school to reach my ideal weight by the start of college. My high school days were dominated by a battle with my body, but I did lose the weight healthily, so hair loss had nothing to do with the gradual and healthy weight loss. I changed my lifestyle which took discipline, and eventually it changed my body. Sadly enough, I began to lose my hair in about the middle to end of 11th grade. I tried using Rogaine for a while and "special sham"poos. It may have worked for a while, as I did use it twice a day and consistantly for 9 months or so. I just couldn't afford to keep using it at the time and wasn't convinced of its success.

 

Since I got myself into good shape, and eat a healthy and balanced diet and exercise regularly and intensely, I felt that there wasn't something I was compensating for by wanting the HT. I have taken care of everything in my life, so the decision was not some mid-life crisis thing in which I felt the need to make up for some other physical weakness. I just feel odd even though it's not odd, to be losing my hair at the age of 20! I look around and I'm in the minority. Sure there are other kids losing hair in college, but I don't want to be that yet.

 

You only live once, and if you feel you want to live with hair, educate yourself and find a qualified surgeon and if you're a candidate....go for it! Be happy about your hair and it will be one less thing that you nag YOURSELF about.

 

I hope that my first procedure's results are good and then I'll feel very comfortable about scheduling the next 1-2 procedures.

 

Though all of your reasons may vary, we all have something in common: we take pride in our hygiene and the way we represent ourselves. People can call it vanity or they can say it is non-essential, but I think it is something more akin to a personal understanding of aesthetics. The human form is art and I see no reason why a person shouldn't make their own portrait look just a bit better.

[dhuge67]

What made you feel that you had to get something done about your hair loss? What was it in you that told you that you didn't want to accept your genetic MPB and try to find ways to alleviate or fix the issue? Of course, many men go bald, it is commonplace to see bald or balding people in ages ranging from the teens to the elderly. So, why do we feel the need to do something about this physical (but not all that critical) issue?

 

For me, it was just a feeling of wanting to maintain my youth (being just 20 years old). It's true that the Hollywood stereotype of the young, ripped, and sexy male with a full head of hair, has an impact on our mental images of ourselves. It isn't right and it shouldn't make me or any of us feel like it's an image we have to live up to, but the reality is that it does make us feel that way to an extent.

 

In a world where men have as much of a physical image to try to live up to as woman do, balding is just one of those things that really can throw someone off physically and emotionally because it is out of their control. It's just a tough pill to swallow for anyone, but I think especially for young people.

 

I was always fat, all of my life. I used to weigh 220 lbs and today I weigh 170. It took me throughout high school to reach my ideal weight by the start of college. My high school days were dominated by a battle with my body, but I did lose the weight healthily, so hair loss had nothing to do with the gradual and healthy weight loss. I changed my lifestyle which took discipline, and eventually it changed my body. Sadly enough, I began to lose my hair in about the middle to end of 11th grade. I tried using Rogaine for a while and "special sham"poos. It may have worked for a while, as I did use it twice a day and consistantly for 9 months or so. I just couldn't afford to keep using it at the time and wasn't convinced of its success.

 

Since I got myself into good shape, and eat a healthy and balanced diet and exercise regularly and intensely, I felt that there wasn't something I was compensating for by wanting the HT. I have taken care of everything in my life, so the decision was not some mid-life crisis thing in which I felt the need to make up for some other physical weakness. I just feel odd even though it's not odd, to be losing my hair at the age of 20! I look around and I'm in the minority. Sure there are other kids losing hair in college, but I don't want to be that yet.

 

You only live once, and if you feel you want to live with hair, educate yourself and find a qualified surgeon and if you're a candidate....go for it! Be happy about your hair and it will be one less thing that you nag YOURSELF about.

 

I hope that my first procedure's results are good and then I'll feel very comfortable about scheduling the next 1-2 procedures.

 

Though all of your reasons may vary, we all have something in common: we take pride in our hygiene and the way we represent ourselves. People can call it vanity or they can say it is non-essential, but I think it is something more akin to a personal understanding of aesthetics. The human form is art and I see no reason why a person shouldn't make their own portrait look just a bit better.

[Guest]

42, two young daughters, younger wife, growing forehead, growing hole in the crown, 2500 fu's two years ago....perfect

[MrJobi]

Best thing I ever did. I will probably have a 3rd to complete it ..Nice to have hair again

[jason_d]

You know, loosing hair is such a problem. I mean, some people are okay with it, and some people just dont give a damn, but for others its a big problem. Seriously, sit down and think about it, I have. Remember when you were young and had a full head of hair, remember looking in the mirror and saying, wow I have such great hair. Well loosing that, loosing your hair is like loosing or having all those memories become vague. Thats how I felt, I felt so depressed, I felt so unhappy, unattractive and any other word you can think of. I dont want to loose my hair, why do I have to loose it. It makes me feel young, it makes me look good. I just dont have any words to describe how I felt when I first noticing that hair looss was becoming a problem. I had my first HT about a year ago and feel so much better seing all this hair on my head. I am having my second HT in April and cant wait for the outcome of that. Going bald is a big problem, at least for me it is.

[Doc Patient]

dhuge67,

 

Well written! Thanks for sharing your personal feelings about your hair loss. This is an exercise we all probably would benefit from doing.

 

I started losing my hair around your age (early 20s). Felt terrible about it. There was nothing that could be done for it back then (no meds, and only really bad HTs were being done). I sort of accepted it and moved on. Not till middle age did I decide to do something about it. Turns out that waiting was for the best in the longer run since the procedures are so much more advanced now and I was able to avoid getting a pluggy looking mini graft result and needing repair work and wasting donor.

This is a very personal decision (getting a HT). There's no right or wrong answer. For me I finally had to confront being bald once the frontal forelock finally disappeared. It was easier to deny it while it was still there. There was no mistaking that it made me look older. I am so glad that I did the HT. I'm just over 7 months out on procedure 1 (and 8 weeks on 2). The frontal forelock is back and I am no longer bald! Over the next year things should get better and better.

 

You are right about the human form being a living art form! Making ours the best possible is ultimately a means to getting to know ourself better, and hence others as well. Best wishes.

[Doc Patient]

How do you feel about losing your hair??

Does any man really want to be bald??

Very, very few I imagine would choose to be bald if they had a choice. Many I suppose just accept it and go about their life shaving their head and looking like Kojak. Does this mean that they like it? I expect it's a very small minority that actually "like" it that way (similar to the number of men with full heads of hair that choose to go ahead and shave it all off and keep doing that - not many). If a magic wand could be waved instantly taking away baldness nearly everyone would do it, don't you think? Some a afraid of surgery, medications, or simply don't have the means to do something definitive about it. Doesn't mean that they "like" though....

[Guest bro66]

I really hated balding and thinning, I especially hated shaving my head, and the way I looked, other people loved it, I got compliments all the time, I never got use to it. After 5 years of going through this I decided to do something about it. I only needed 1500 graphs to fill in the areas. I wanted to keep my natural slightly receeding hairline, since I will be 40 this year, I wanted it to look natural, and appropriate for my age. I am 3 months past my HT and very anxious to see the results. I was mostly concerned about the donar scar and having to lay low and wear hats for a few months, so far it hasn't really been an issue. If people ask why I'm wearing a hat I tell them the truth, nobody believes me anyway.