What was your "Oh S**t" moment?

[firstpost]

You think? Well, it's only been about 5 weeks on RU and about 2 months on 15% minoxidil. I dropped the dutasteride like a rock. I have been on 5% minoxidil for 4-5 years. I am hoping that the 15% will jump start some follicles, lol. What about OC, firstpost? I want to try that.

I never tried OC, so i cant tell you if its worth it. But pg protocol is working for me without any AA or minoxidil.

Lets say my worst before any treatments was 40-50% of initial density. In these 2-3 months of blocking pgd2 i gained around 10%. I also feel my hair feels a lot thicker, and not as wispy.

Hope this helps!

 

[GoldenMane]

Age 22 one night I started panicking about how high my hairline was, then I looked at old photos and realised it was always high. Grew my hair out super long over the next 4 years, it was getting thinner but I thought it was just because of length. Always wore it down, never paid much attention to my hairline. At age 27, after a day out in the sun my mam told me my scalp looks a bit red... That's not right I thought... Grabbed 2 mirrors, went to the bathroom to try and look at the top of my head and FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU*&....

Got on finasteride, recovered and thickened a bit, but not as much as I'd have liked. According to my first hair loss specialist, I went from an NW3V class patient to an NW2 class patient, but I'm a bit more than an NW2. NW2.5 most here would call it. Going to have a hair transplant this summer, hopefully restore my hair to a proper NW2. Hair is a bit thinner than I'd like but I have no problems with coverage. I've been using 15% minoxidil for 8 months, noticed a slight improvement in my hairline thickness, nothing mind blowing, but to me its noticable.

 

[axl617]

Noticed my the insidious temple triangle in a new years photo last year. Didn't think much of it. Slowly began to notice it more and more. One year later I took a shower, and could see my scalp under lighting. Now balding consumes my every action, every thought. I have yet to try anything other than Regenepure.

I thought mid 20's should be my peak. I look handsome, I'm tall, muscular, great skin and I'm healthier than ever when it comes to diet, exercise and all that stuff. However my hair losing makes it all a moot point. My body is starting to decay as far as I'm aware, I feel old and worthless. **** you DHT.

 

[Dench57]

Mine was a Facebook photo of me and my friends at a festival. Ah those were the days. I was stooped over with my head tilted and you could see my bare temple behind my fringe. You all know that moment of realisation. Innocence lost.

 

[Folliman]

I always had a fivehead... at 14 people started commenting on my receding hairline. I just assumed it was a weirdly shaped mature hairline and I started looking at it every day since then trying to spot more recession just in case. It didn't recede at all in the next few years. The problem is that in my mind recession was the only way you could lose hair; it didn't occur to me that I could be thinning. Two months before my 23rd birthday I was looking at the mirror and noticed I could see my scalp through my now clearly thinning hair. I freaked out and 6 months later I got on finasteride. I wish I had gotten on it two years earlier but I can't do anything now.

I've been hoping for a cure for 10 years now.

 

[RD03]

Age 17... I looked in the mirror as I was about to get on the bus and saw one hair line corner being thinner than the other. Last day I felt happy.

 

[Iopu]

My hairline receded from nw0 to like nw4 within a year (23 years old). Almost lost the crown too. Good responder to treatments tho. I'm maintaining a full head with them. Just with kinda still receded temples and a bit of crown thinning. I'm always trying to improve my regimen and am working at growing in that crown ATM.

 

[shookwun]

Mine was a Facebook photo of me and my friends at a festival. Ah those were the days. I was stooped over with my head tilted and you could see my bare temple behind my fringe. You all know that moment of realisation. Innocence lost.

Same **** happened to me at a rave.

I head my head stooped over and it literally looked like I had a small bald spot on the crown from the flash being so HD-esque.

Sweating all night, even the temples had a minor see through appearance over my comb over.

 

[ossrey]

Well, if I had been smart, my moment of panic would have been early college when I realized my old hairstyle no longer seemed to be working for me. A female friend of mine kept saying something about how I needed to work on my hairstyle (not realizing I was actually losing it!). I was actually naive enough to think my head shape was changing or something and getting annoyed with how my own "nature" seemed to be oddly taking its course.

Fast forward to age 24, when i visit my dad for Christmas. He and I took a picture together, and when we looked at it he said (actually in a really kind and non-mocking kind of way, kudos to him) "ah, you may be losing some of your hair" or something like that. What I hate is that he has an enviable Norwood-1 pattern almost akin to Ronald Reagan or George Clooney, and here I am losing it. After that, the thought of baldness consumed my every thought for the whole day. I was looking in mirrors nonstop, and even called a close friend of mine to say "yo I think I'm balding."

Here's to hoping Histogen or something will at least help us to quit LOSING hair (regrowth miracles aside) so we can put an end to these crappy side effects (or fear of potential side effects) of finasteride/minoxidil.

 

[shookwun]

Well, if I had been smart, my moment of panic would have been early college when I realized my old hairstyle no longer seemed to be working for me. A female friend of mine kept saying something about how I needed to work on my hairstyle (not realizing I was actually losing it!). I was actually naive enough to think my head shape was changing or something and getting annoyed with how my own "nature" seemed to be oddly taking its course.

Fast forward to age 24, when i visit my dad for Christmas. He and I took a picture together, and when we looked at it he said (actually in a really kind and non-mocking kind of way, kudos to him) "ah, you may be losing some of your hair" or something like that. What I hate is that he has an enviable Norwood-1 pattern almost akin to Ronald Reagan or George Clooney, and here I am losing it. After that, the thought of baldness consumed my every thought for the whole day. I was looking in mirrors nonstop, and even called a close friend of mine to say "yo I think I'm balding."

Here's to hoping Histogen or something will at least help us to quit LOSING hair (regrowth miracles aside) so we can put an end to these crappy side effects (or fear of potential side effects) of finasteride/minoxidil.

cuckolded by your own dad

 

[Tottenham]

When I was a 16 and an apprentice, my boss said to me "your hair won't last long with that hairline" and it's stayed with me since. I've never had an A1 NW0 hairline, but hearing those words kept me on my toes, and thankfully I was able to jump on the finasteride as soon as i started noticing receeding at the temples. At the time him saying it wound me up, but now I couldn't be more thankful as I'd still probably be in denial.

 

[kmm179]

i think I noticed mine at 24. I was getting ready for a work meeting stepped into the bathroom and notice a ton of hair on my suit jacket collar. I think that is literally why I disintegrated performance wise at that job.

 

[mikey0963]

When i saw my crown with wet hair and light was shining off my scalp >_<

 

[firstpost]

My OH S**t moment happened a few years ago. I tried to suck my own dink but couldn't reach. Not even to give it a lick!

It's not because my dink is short, but mostly because I'm tall and not very flexible. Anyways, I tried to bend my back really hard and then something cracked!

I'll never forget that sound. Long story short, my lower back still aches from time to time.

 

[Ag87]

Not really one pivotal moment, it had been creeping up on me gradually and I knew it was coming because my brothers are bald.

 

[KO21]

I actually don't recall the exact moment, it was more like a month's worth of observation of my crown. As soon as I realized it was thinning, I was on Rogaine immediately. A year or so later, I was on Nizoral and finasteride (which had only just been released for hair as Propecia). Twenty years later, I still have a lot of hair, and am about a Norwood 2-2.5. The fear of sides is irrational, and probably cost lots of kids tons of hair.

This is the kinda stuff I like to hear. Long term success stories give me hope.

Great stories so far everyone. I feel your pain. Would be lying if I said some of the GIFS didn't make me die laughing though.

 

[Paulf172]

I first noticed when I was 20 - saw a picture of my older brother with a clearly receded hairline and that was it! That was 17 years ago. I'm now nearly 38. In hindsight I don't think I was but I believed I was. Roll onto the present day, I'm a NW2 maintaining with generic finasteride. My brother who is 40 is almost fully bald. Early stages are the worst, by a long shot. That 'Am I balding' plea I see so much on here. I'm a lot more comfortable with it now but I went through years of agony.

 

[Eren]

At 19, woke up took a shower and saw approximately 100 hairs on my hand. Slicked my hair back and saw that the hair at the left temple only was gone. Went to my general practitioner immediately and he said that it was alopecia areata as the other side was not receded and the bald patch had a circular/oval shape.

I wanted to get on treatment, but the f*cker lied to me and at 19 I did what most 19-years old do, trust their general practitioner.

In the end, biggest mistake of my life. Wish I had another chance. Started treatment at 21 (a month shy of 22 though) when my hair looked like f*cking pubes, hair characteristics are f*cked forever!

You can imagine what I think when I see that f*cker of a general practitioner.

 

[PappinAce]

Every day for the last two years has been my oh **** moment. Had good hair, got a transplant because I wanted more... then it was as if the hair Gods slowly started torturing me for my greed and vanity. Telogen Effluvium, followed by Telogen Effluvium followed by Telogen Effluvium with a dash of aggressive male pattern baldness. 31 years of thick hair eaten away to resemble a birds nest in one year. Still in denial. Comb over artist like Shookwun stated. Maybe finasteride will bring some of it back? made it WAY worst. Now, maybe RU will bring some of it back? I am definitely privileged to have lived my 20's without even thinking about my hair. Very lucky. I wish I had locked down one of the girls I dated. I don't know how people survive this bullsh*t in their twenties. It feels like I am living in purgatory. Unless there is a miracle, I will have to go completely bald this summer, because hiding these transplants will not fly for another f*cking summer.

Do you have scars? Is shaving an option?

Stay strong bro

 

[bainn]

About a year and a half ago I started noticing that that a small patch of hair to the left of my crown always "stood out" for a reason, even after showering, combing and blow drying. It was as if it was one of those "hedgehog" moments when you wake up and your hair is a mess. However, it only stood out over there even if I washed, combed etc. I didn't pay any attention, but I think that is where the hairs started falling out and why they appeared to be standing out more, since there were fewer ones to create pressure to hold them all down.

Long story short to August 2015 when my grandmother asked me whether I specifically asked my hairdresser to thin my hair (it was very very thick before), to which I said yeah (which was true). One month later, my girlfriend started mentioning that I shouldn't ask my hairdresser to "thin" it anymore, since it wasn't looking that good. At that point, I realized that I had not asked her to thin it since my last cut and it did not grow back into its normal "thick" state anymore...

Half a year later here I am, losing hair all over my head (can see through to my scalp) and eyebrows...

Is it possible that somehow the hairdresser "altered" the structure of my hair growth? I know it sounds stupid, but I have always had super thick, messy hair and I had to always ask her to make it a bit thinner, since it was more manageable during spring and summer. This whole thinning coincides with when I started asking for thinning to be done...