Balding/Thinning Hair

I couldn't find a thread on this so here it goes.

My hair has been thinning since I was 19. I'm 28 on Saturday. It doesn't bother my gf but I had a great head of hair when I was a teenager, and wouldn't mind having it back. But for the time being, how do you style/deal with thinning hair? I don't want to shave it. I've been keeping it pretty short. But even then I still have hair on my the top of my head and feel I need to do something with it, or I just look disheveled.

And beyond that has anyone done hair restoration? I've heard people some people say "don't do it" etc. But If I can have a head of my own hair that I can style why the hell not? I know that on a board of a lot of men, I'm not the only one with this problem.

I've been bald since not long after HS.. (had a great head of blond hair in HS) just go with a tight buzz and forget it. hair pieces look silly, plugs look like plugs.. and PLEASE don't do the comb-over!

A friend of mine got hair transplants, 5 treatments, where they put a small slit in the scalp and insert a few individual hairs very time consuming and at $10,000 a treatment, way out of my price range. However when it was finally done ( took around 2 years) it looked amazing and would be the option I would choose if finances allowed. For now I just keep it closely cropped.

I have a shaved noggin, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Hair transplants - no thanks. BTW, I'm 27.

If you don't want to shave it, get yourself a set of nice clippers and keep it buzzed short all around. A manly look, IMO.

Join the club... and not THAT club. Shave the old head, DE should do fine.

Shave your head and never look back,next time around pic differant parents,ya got what ya got.

I started to lose my hair when I was 18. I really appreciated all of those wonderful folks who told me - as if I did not know it - that I was going bald. My shedding stopped - until recently when it started again. I looked at the options and talked about it with my wife. She left it up to me - but just said be proud of how you look.

Like the folks above said, trying to cover it up rarely works.

The new transplant techniques are individual hair transplants. A strip of skin is removed from the back/neck area and sutured closed to it heals very quickly. The individual hairs are harvested from the strip, oriented and implanted in tiny punctures so they heal very fast. The result can be excellent if an experienced and somewhat artistic operator does the job. If it really bothers you it is cheaper than psychotherapy to convince you it doesn't bother you. Baldness only bothers the bald guy-no one else cares. But, if it really bothers you transplants are a very good option. It is an individual choice.

Just keep your remaining hair cut short and you'll be fine.

Embrace your baldness as I have mine.

Well, I'm glad to know the dollar amount of the treatment. that's definitely not in the cards right now, but may be within the next five years or so. I totally understand the whole accept it thing. Mostly I do. But once in a while, I really wish I could style my hair even if it is just a neat part on the side with a wave in the front. Meh. I may never actually get the treatment. I'll probably just start doing the close buzz. The completely shaved look just doesn't fit me. (tried it before, kind of a lumpy head). Thanks for all the info. Just out of curiosity, when you shave your head with a DE do you just lather up like a normal shave?

Rogaine is supposed to be fairly effective at helping regrow hair that's been lost.

I've seen roughly half a dozen friends who shaved their thinning hair - and ALL of them looked better bald. Just give it a try; you may find it hard to do, but usually it looks much better than the alternative.

Go West Young Man said:

Rogaine is supposed to be fairly effective at helping regrow hair that's been lost.

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I've recently (the last month or so) been using minoxidil and taking biotin. Someone suggested it and it seems to be helping a little. My hair is a little thicker. But it's one of those things that would take months to see the real effect. I took a before picture. I think I'm going to take another one to see exactly how much has changed.

I dont know what happened with me. When I was in grade 12 all of a sudden my hair started falling out. Weird because my dad is 50 and still has a full head of hair. Anyways, I'm 23 now and still have my hair but I have a bald kind of line running through the middle top of my head vertically. It's kind of like Nadal's if I kind describe it. Don't know what to do with it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Rogaine and Propecia are more effective at stopping hair loss than at regrowing new hair. Of course, results vary from person to person...

Ketaconazole shampoo is said to be effective at stopping hair loss, as is Saw Palmetto. Not saying they actually do, but a lot of men swear by it.

I shave my head. Close buzzed it for a while, but find it easier to shave it every morning...

Dozer said:

Just out of curiosity, when you shave your head with a DE do you just lather up like a normal shave?

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Yeah. If your technique with a DE is decent, it shouldn't be a problem. Same principles apply, including prep.

Just shave your head, leaving on bits and pieces of hair is not sexy, why leave on hair that is bald in the middle or thinning out, just shave off the whole thing, looks sexier.

Dozer said:

Well, I'm glad to know the dollar amount of the treatment. that's definitely not in the cards right now, but may be within the next five years or so. I totally understand the whole accept it thing. Mostly I do. But once in a while, I really wish I could style my hair even if it is just a neat part on the side with a wave in the front. Meh. I may never actually get the treatment. I'll probably just start doing the close buzz. The completely shaved look just doesn't fit me. (tried it before, kind of a lumpy head). Thanks for all the info. Just out of curiosity, when you shave your head with a DE do you just lather up like a normal shave?

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FWIW, i started losing my hair when i was 17 or 18, so cut my hair short then with clippers and a couple of years later started shaving it a few times a week. I'm 37 now. I always thought (and still think) my head is lumpy, but people frequently tell me what a nice shaped head I have. I think we worry about our head shapes too much. There's a good support forum at http://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/ with guys who've been through it all and guys who've tried various treatments. Maybe you'll find the answer you're looking for there.

Just do a close buzz once a week and you'll be fine.

Thanks,
Mike

Dozer said:

...I'll probably just start doing the close buzz. The completely shaved look just doesn't fit me. (tried it before, kind of a lumpy head)...

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