Ive Given Up

[Thin Jim]

Well the time has now come where I have had to make a decision. I have been on finasteride and xandrox 15% for pretty much a year and decided that its just not worth it. Although I think the xandrox has regrown a little amount of hair along the hairline, overall my situation is worse than it was a year ago. The whole of the top of my head has become more diffuse to the point where in certain light even dermmatch will not work. I look like a complete idiot, have severe depression, social anxiety, and live a huge part of my life under a hat. Getting ready for work takes two hours with the topicals and dermmatch. My whole week is dominated by hairloss, and its on my mind all day. I have simply had enough and I am not prepared to wait around being miserable until Ive gone totally bald. The enormous restraints that my regimen has put on my life is just not worth it, not to mention the cost. I realise that even if I was to continue the treatments, or switch to dutasteride I will not get the results that I want and can be happy with.

After heavy research I have now ordered 2 custom hair pieces online. Michigan Baldy's dvd was also a great help when coming to a decision (his hair looks great). Although its not ideal, getting into hair pieces is a permanent solution that I can live with as long as it looks good. I really don't think that I would even care if people found out. To me its no different from a women putting makeup on to cover up her ugly face, or getting liposuction to get rid of fat. I have taken a week off work to get settled in with it and I am also considering going to a well known salon in London just to get the initial cut in.

Surgery is not really an option for me. I have diffuse thinning all over and to be honest I have seen more poor results than good ones, even from the top docs. In my opinion its just not worth the money they charge. The great results that I have seen have all required several procedures and these people have been lucky with donor supply.

Also shaving my head is not an option. I tried this when my hair first started falling out and was horrified with how I looked. I spent the next 6 months wearing a cap permanently. I have light blond hair and that combined with being from England and having very white skin I looked like I had aids. I also have a baby face which did not help.

I only intend to wear wigs until HM comes out, and from what Ive read that will be in around 3-4 years, so really its not that big of a deal. I also intend to keep taking finasteride so my sides do not deteriorate.

I was expecting a lot of good things from my treatments, but to no avail. I know for some people they work great but I have just not responded in the way I hoped. For me its just come to a realisation that I have to begin living my life again. Hair loss has destroyed the last four years of my life and I simply have had enough. I want results and I want them now, enough is enough.

 

[perceptions]

How old are you Jim and whats your family history of balding on both sides of the family ?

Whats your current Norwood Level ?

 

[Thin Jim]

Perceptions I am 23 years old. The hairloss comes from my mothers side of the family. She herself has quite thin hair for a woman but gets by. My fathers side of the family all have great hair which I can see that my brother has inherited. My norwood level is hard to judge cause I still have hair eveywhere but its just incredibly thin. Worst affected areas are my hairline and temples and the crown. My only option at the moment in terms of styling is to comb it all forward with dermmatch in so I have a fringe. Any style which shows my hairline is out of the question.

 

[CCS]

Well, xandrox does not stop hair loss. It only gives more hair while you use it, while male pattern baldness continues. So I'm sure you'll be happy not to have that icky stuff in your hair.

I'm sure your hair piece will look a lot better than a hat. I forget where I read it on this site, but they have some that breath and have a clear surface so you can see your scalp under the fake hair, so it looks like the hair is growing out of the scalp. Not shiny. I replied to that post maybe a month ago.

Yeah, stay on the finasteride to keep your sides intact.

I hope your life becomes more enjoyable. Let us know if it looks real enough for work and real enough to fool women. Even if women know, they might think it looks better than diffuse hair. You might not do as well as a NW1, but you can take the hat off and still look decent.

 

[Thin Jim]

College I really have been amazed at how natural and great todays hair pieces look. Before I researched it I would never had even considered it. The lace that is used to make the top ones these days is totally undetectable both to sight and touch. Also from certain online dealers they are very inexpensive and I am told the adhesives will keep it firmly bonded to your scalp for weeks (and they are also waterproof).

Again this is only until HM comes out. Hopefully this will be around 2010.

 

[CCS]

can you wash your scalp daily while the lace is on? can I lower my hair line or move a temple forward with a small one, and not be noticed, just till I graduate and have money for grafts? I plan on spending another $2500 or so on grafts.

 

[Skaff]

You're in a difficult position...but I really think you're setting yourself up for some more heartache. The fact is, wigs aren't socially acceptable especially on young men. Have you thought about what you're gonna say when people comment that your hair looks suddenly different? Or what you'd tell a girlfriend if she met you with a full head of hair...it's not the baldness that would bother her, it's the fact you've gone to such lengths to cover it up. You can't just hide for 3 or 4 years (or possibly much longer) and wait for a treatment that probably won't be affordable for a futher 10 years. I know this is incredibly difficult to do but I think you should keep your hair short and tidy, work on you body, mind and personality, and the results will be better than any surgery or wig.

Also, I didn't see you mention anything about dutasteride...why not give that a go?

 

[Guest]

giving up would be shaving your head. you're not giving up by getting a hair piece. i strongly urge you to re-consider the hair piece decision and consider transplants or shaving instead but it is your choice, thin jim.

do you have any pics that you've posted on here jim? if not you should post some. if so could you post a link?

college, don't even consider a hair piece.

 

[s.a.f]

Its a personal choice but I would rather be a NW7 than wear a wig. I've had hair transplant's which many would say is a step too far and they'd have a point but to me walking round with an object glued to my head is just too unnatural.

 

[Guest]

If people do find out that you're wearing a wig, you're gonna be a punchline for many more jokes than you would with a shaved head.

 

[s.a.f]

People are bound too notice if you just turn up for work one day with a much better looking head of hair

 

[Thin Jim]

At the moment with Dermmatch I am pulling off the look of a full head of hair anyway, the reality however is much different. When I get the hairpiece I am going to take it to get it professionally cut in. Also to throw people off I am going to dye my hair back to blond (I have been dying it dark brown for the last year), and totally change my hairstyle. The piece itself is only 65% density real human hair which will show plenty of scalp, so its not that I intend to go from very little hair to ridiculously thick hair.

I'm pretty certain people will just think I have got a different hair cut. I am going to tell people I went to a professional stylist and just told him do what he thought was best. Anyway like I have said before if people find out or ask, I really will not care if they stand there laughing their heads off. All that matters to me at the moment is that I start living my life again. I will simply say that I had a problem I could not live with and one that was beyond my control so I did something about it. If people are relentless I can always embarrass them with their obvious flaws in front of a big audience.

However I am really not concerned with people finding out, it will be their problem and not mine. How many of you guys can honestly say you have ever seen a guy and thought it was obvious he was wearing a wig. I know I have never looked at someone and thought "sh*t he looks terrible with that wig on", I have just never noticed, and think of all the guys you would have come across that were actually wearing (and bad ones at that).

I have found that people on this site generally have very negative opinions on hairpieces and just dismiss them straight away. I too used to do this, however since then I have done a lot of research and been blown away by what I have seen. In my opinion a decent piece gives far better results than any hair transplant I have seen. I think if people took the time to research these as I have done they will be pleasantly surprised with how good they can look.

Remember shaving my head is not an option (I have tried this and never again). Also I cannot afford transplants and really have not been impressed with the results I have seen anyway. Also the embarrassment of turning up to work after having a transplant to me would be far worse than turning up with a wig on. Also I will not just keep it short and have the balding look for the rest of my life. I want a decent head of hair now.

I think a lot of you guys will see pieces as a realistic option when you've' lost enough hair that it becomes such a hindrance on your life that it has with mine. You guys probably all have hair which is still livable and are just keeping hold of what you got with treatments. But trust me when its progressed far enough you will change your minds. I mean who really wants to be described as 'that bald guy' for the rest of their life, I know I don't.

 

[tchehov]

If a piece is the way you wanna go, man, then good luck, it's your call. I'm pretty diffuse and finding the meds (topical) increasingly frustrating and damned inconvenient. I doubt their effectiveness too. I envy anyone who has the willpower to make a decision about a piece, or a transplant for that matter. Good luck...

 

[Nathaniel]

Have you talked to people who have used a piece? You should discuss it with hair piece users, they are the best for this type of advice. I read a pretty extensive thread from the Gardener in here, you might want to make a search on that.

 

[Skaff]

I've read the blond wigs are the most difficult to maintain. They get the hair from asians and have to bleach the sh*t out of it. So by the time you've worn it for a few months, those little buggers look pretty beat up.

 

[Guest]

i jsut really thinka shaved head is better than a piece. if my hair loss gets bad and a transplant isn't feasible then i'm def going the shaved head route. i'll never wear a fake piece.

 

[s.a.f]

Best of luck to you (I really mean it). Its a personal choice I know that pieces can look awesome but for me having it on would be a constant source of stress. One thing for shaving it may not look the best but your hair worries are gone when you just shave it all off. No styling or worrying about if it looks bad or not. Also as I said just now it may not look great but people give balding guys more respect when they just shave it rather than try to disguise the problem or fight a losing battle.
No one can make any negative comments about your hair when there's nothing to see as its all been shaved off.
One final thing although the hair companies claim that they are just like having your hair back many wearers are frightend of walking into a strong headwind let alone playing any physical sports.

 

[IBM]

i find hairpieces lack of hygiene.

 

[Guest]

i find your lack of faith disturbing.

 

[Boru]

i find hairpieces lack of hygiene.

Yeah. I was so desperate at one point I tried the superglue wig option, and my so called best mate said it looked good, and it did for several days, until it started slipping. You need daily grooming with any wig, and have to change it every few months, or it begins to looks like roadkill.
In the end it becomes more expensive than a rigorous regimen, of finasteride etc. whether it works or not.