Anyone else overly paranoid about going bald?

captainballs · 11-02-2008, 23:50

The key term here is "overly paranoid." For a period of about two years starting in 2005, I was just about losing my mind imagining that I was going bald. I could swear that my hairline was receding and my hair was thinning over stress and poor nutrition.

Yet here I sit in front of my vanity mirror, one year later, head full of beautiful hair, and a regular hairline!

Was I just going crazy? To this day I don't understand what was going on for so long inside my mind. Is it possible that my hairline receded a little bit and I just blew it out of proportion? I know I'm not the only one that goes crazy over this, but it feels like I was just going crazy - I was buying Nioxin conditioner and shampoo, which made my hair really fluffy (plus the conditioner feels great going in), but I think that the entire hair loss industry is built on this kind of irrational fear...

(I got over this problem, by the way - I decided that if I go bald, at least I'll look as old as I feel).

...but I'm not going bald!

thujone · 12-02-2008, 00:05

keep thinkin like that and you'll fuck yourself psychosomatically. but yes, poor diet sure does lead to hair loss. supplementing with silicon dioxide will lay those fears to rest.

Johnny1 · 12-02-2008, 00:18

I thought I noticed a bit of thinning on top a few years ago, so I started taking Propecia. Or more accurately, taking a Proscar tablet cut into four pieces, with four days on and one day off. Propecia is 1mg finasteride; Proscar is 5mg finasteride. I used an online pharmacy to buy the Proscar tablets at a cheaper price than is available in the U.S. where I live. Cutting Proscar tablets and buying them online is 1/3 the price of taking Propecia. Note that Proscar and Propecia both require a prescription (very easy to get, you can explain to your doc what you are using the Proscar for and that it's to save money). Whatever you do, do not have your insurance company pay for the Proscar. This could lead to a denial of benefits in the future if you have a big claim; they generally do not cover drugs used for cosmetic purposes.

Some people notice a reduced sex drive due to Propecia, but I haven't noticed any difference. And I still have a full head of hair on top. It doesn't stop receding at the temples, though.

Can't say one way or another whether it's better than silicon dioxide as thujone mentioned, but I can tell you that it has worked for me and other guys I know who take it.

michael · 12-02-2008, 04:07

i was for a while when i was about 21. i'm pretty sure that i'm past the point of worry now.

Akoto · 12-02-2008, 04:25

I'm prolly going bald and any time I worry about it, I think of Capitain Jean Luke Picard...that handsom devil

PARooolller · 12-02-2008, 04:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainballs

The key term here is "overly paranoid." For a period of about two years starting in 2005, I was just about losing my mind imagining that I was going bald. I could swear that my hairline was receding and my hair was thinning over stress and poor nutrition.

Yet here I sit in front of my vanity mirror, one year later, head full of beautiful hair, and a regular hairline!

Was I just going crazy? To this day I don't understand what was going on for so long inside my mind. Is it possible that my hairline receded a little bit and I just blew it out of proportion? I know I'm not the only one that goes crazy over this, but it feels like I was just going crazy - I was buying Nioxin conditioner and shampoo, which made my hair really fluffy (plus the conditioner feels great going in), but I think that the entire hair loss industry is built on this kind of irrational fear...

(I got over this problem, by the way - I decided that if I go bald, at least I'll look as old as I feel).

...but I'm not going bald!

I've been EXACTLY where you have been and I still have a beautiful hairline!!! Here's what happened to you..

You matured....during the last few years you've noticed that other very young people have receeded hairlines and thinning hair. (Can't everyone fondly recall the kid in your highschool who was almost completely bald by graduation?) and there's really absolutly nothing you can do about it except maybe prolong it for a few years...but even that's a long shot.

Just shave your head.

SA · 12-02-2008, 05:42

I thank heavens every day that I am not losing hair at a faster pace than I already am. I could never go bald! Someone used a totally wrong set of salad spoons on my head when pulling me out and left some major imperfections which only hair can hide. I envy people who have perfectly formed heads, because I would have loved to have gone through a shaved bald period.

I did go through a bald period when I was nine or ten. Stupid tradition to shave kids' heads to make their hair thicker. We were travelling by train from Rome to Milan (or to Genoa, I forget). I was bald, in a cap, sticking my head out of the window and waving at the people sticking their heads out at the rear of the train, whom I could see as we were rounding a wide turn. A gust of wind, my cap flew off, exposing my convict look and I quickly retired to the private cabin for the remainder of the trip.

Impacto Profundo · 12-02-2008, 06:27

never. my hair was always healthy and full, and so is my dad's. any hint of thinking in that direction was that i'd shave it all if it came to it, and that doesn't worry me one bit, despite my extra big melon.
i've been bald before.

ebola? · 12-02-2008, 06:33

beginning to actually go bald has abated all unfounded paranoia about going bald.

>>never. my hair was always healthy and full, and so is my dad's.>>

Because male-pattern baldness is carried on the X-chromosome, you actually wanna look to your maternal grandfather, not your father.

ebola

~~recons~~ · 12-02-2008, 06:37

nope. I keep a stock pile of hair just in case tho, so I can glue it back on.

igotthatwork · 12-02-2008, 06:43

My dad is and my mom's dad was bald so I'm fucked either way genetically, it runs on both sides. I'm 25 and my hairline has receded 1 1/2 - 2 inches already as well as noticeable scalp on the top-back of my head, I'm by far the baldest of anyone I know my age. None of my girlfriends have cared (yet) so it hasn't bothered me too much. I also think my constant state of nervous anxiety is speeding nature right along...

Think of it like the guy who said something about Picard, lots of sexy, distinguished bald guys out there.

Impacto Profundo · 12-02-2008, 08:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebola?

Because male-pattern baldness is carried on the X-chromosome, you actually wanna look to your maternal grandfather, not your father.

ebola

the only photo i've seen of him, he is balding, but so far, now in my thirties, i've had zero indication of it, despite the horrible shit that i've done to my scalp over the years.

in fact, i've been complemented on my hair many times, regardless of length and style.

pennywise · 13-02-2008, 07:44

Pretty much every male on my mom's side is bald, and went bald in their early 20's, so I figured I was fucked. But I am already almost halfway through my 20's and I can't notice any hair loss whatsoever. I may have dodged the bullet *knocks on wood*. Sometimes I wonder if my hairline is receding, but I definitely don't think so. It just looked that way one time because I have a really weird hairline (I have a widow's peak so it curves into a point in the center of my forehead).

I def. agree with everyone else that I would just shave my head in the event I started losing my hair. The comb-over is just obvious, and I think the idea of a wig is ludicrous.

Impacto Profundo · 13-02-2008, 08:26

the king of all widow's peaks

penny, does yours look like this?

pennywise · 13-02-2008, 09:09

sorta, but not nearly as awesome.

Mariposa · 13-02-2008, 09:30

Ebola is correct. Alopecia is trasmitted genetically through the mother's genes. My father is a silver fox, has not lost one hair, and his mother's father was the same. We are a family known for hair, if I have a son he'd be set

Baldness is not a turnoff to me. I know men who have successfully used Propecia, which carries a risk of sexual side effects (i.e., not being able to get or stay "hard").

Fuzati · 13-02-2008, 11:52

I'm 21 and i'm starting to lose my hairs... Not to show off, but i'm a pretty handsome guy and i'm really scared about turning bald

Because of stress i guess, as i has anxiety desorders >___<

I don't know what to do about that.

blissfulMenace · 13-02-2008, 17:44

it has concerned me, but im more worried about the beer gut im going to have in a few years

Amebix · 13-02-2008, 23:35

Ive already decided i am NOT going bald. I dont care if i have to rob a bank to pay for a hair transplant. Its not happening.

captainballs · 14-02-2008, 00:02

Depending on how bald you are/plan on getting, it's going to run you $3k-25k. At the peak of my paranoia I went and saw a guy. After hearing the prices, I decided I'd rather save those dollars for when somebody knocksa few teeth out of my mouth.

alasdairm · 14-02-2008, 00:07

whats' so bad about losing your hair anyway?

alasdair

pennywise · 14-02-2008, 00:10

bad social stigma. makes you look "old" or "unhealthy" or "ugly". some people have weird shaped skulls too.

captainballs · 14-02-2008, 00:11

^ (to alasdair)
Nothing, I've come to realize, which is the only positive outcome from all this analysis paralysis I was afflicted with for so long.

captainballs · 14-02-2008, 00:14

Then again there are some bald people that play it off really badly. Like, the first thing you think about them is: he's bald. But then there are other guys that seem to use it like an extra joker in their deck, pulling all kinds of unfair pussy just because they're confident.

SorbetCitron · 14-02-2008, 00:39

I agree that if men are losing their hair 'less is more' - buzz it off boys.

As for wigs, I used to work in a motorway services, and when ever we were lucky enough to get the opportunity we would play the Wig Game.

I worked on the cash till (at the end of the torturous process that is buying shit over priced food at Welome Break Service Stations Ltd).

It used to get really crowded with customers but sometimes when a guy came in wearing a wig, one of the boys I worked with would tell me 'Wig Alert'.

They would never tell me who it was exactly, so between customers I would have to scan the crowd looking for the culprit.

If I spotted and correctly identified the wig wearer, I won.

If the wig wearer got past me, the boys won, but this happened very rarely.

A few times when it was busy I didn't spot the WW until they were standing right in front of me and I glanced up to ask for the money, and could not help exploding with laughter at the obviousness of what was sitting on their head which was awful for me but probably worse for them, very funny for my colleagues, i did always try to pretend i was coughing though. Very tense.

Wigs are bad, bald men can be just as sexy as hairy men.