Question for guys who were going bald young

[sq]

I was spending time with my little brother this weekend (I'm 40 he's 22).  He's really starting to loose his hair fairly quickly.  He's not accepting of what's happening.  Actually asked me about Rogaine, told him bad idea, espcially for someone who is as cheap as he is.

At a party someone told him that with my shaved head I looked younger than him (bad lighting I'm thinking, I'm not that young looking).  After that e started doing this fix his hair thing to "cover" his receding hair line more and more.  and he kept looking at my bald head. 

I guess I'm asking what would a 22 year old want to hear from his much older bro about just shaving it off.  He's got a lot on his plate right now and this seems like one that I can help with perhaps.

[Sean25]

I know there are a few guys around that age, me being one of them.  The only thing you need to do is convince him to shave it off.  Easier said than done I know but he'll realize it's the best thing once he does it.  Let him know that none of that crap works and even the slim percent that it does help ends up wasting thousands because it only sustains the hair.  Honestly the best thing to do would be to show him this site and all the success stories.  I know what he's going through and it really sucks so the faster the better so he can move on.

[FightFan]

Does he have a girlfriend? If not play the woman angle. The balding look isn't a good one, but the confident sly look definitely is.  I'm 24 and done the 'fixing' the hair thing and what swung it for me was worrying about the goddamn weather every day hoping it wasn't rainy or windy.

 Maybe you could make it easier for him by making him a bet of some sort that you know you'll win and the price being him shaving his head for a month, after that month he'll want to keep it shaved. Ultimately its his decision and he will come round eventually and complain how he wished he'd done it sooner lol.

[Morthen]

I was spending time with my little brother this weekend (I'm 40 he's 22).  He's really starting to loose his hair fairly quickly.  He's not accepting of what's happening.  Actually asked me about Rogaine, told him bad idea, espcially for someone who is as cheap as he is.

At a party someone told him that with my shaved head I looked younger than him (bad lighting I'm thinking, I'm not that young looking).  After that e started doing this fix his hair thing to "cover" his receding hair line more and more.  and he kept looking at my bald head. 

I guess I'm asking what would a 22 year old want to hear from his much older bro about just shaving it off.  He's got a lot on his plate right now and this seems like one that I can help with perhaps.

plenty of young guys do it now, its not completely uncommon . i shaved my head for a bit and im 19,

[Razor X]

Just lead by example -- like you're already doing -- and encourage him to give it a try when he thinks he's ready.  Don't push too hard, just make the suggestion and plant the seed and wait and see.  When I was going through the hair-loss  and shaving process, I always thought it would have made things a lot easier if I'd had an older brother who'd already gone through it. 

[mangosink12572]

How many guys in our group have been bald since they were 22?   

There are alot  - - - -and if your brother wants to look and talk to us  - -he will see - - he is not the only one in that boat

[Tyler]

You said he's cheap, bet him $100 he won't shave it for 30 days straight. 

If that doesn't work, just talk to him.

[deadohsky]

I was 20 when i started going bald; took me two and a half years to ditch the hair and then quickly the hats.  Like others were saying, find a way to get him to shave it, chances are he will love it and become very comfortable with it.  I just found out myself that going bald is a result of too much testosterone, he might like to know that as well lol.

[Morthen]

The way I see it too, is all the options for hair loss treatment are pretty bleak. Rogaine is pricey, and only keeps what you have left, Propecia is said to have regrowth but once again its expensive and has very detrimental side effects for some (impotency, decrease in sexual functioning etc.) Hair Transplant surgery once again very pricey and isn't a permanent solution AND it leaves you with a bad strip scar.

Im sure there are other treatments floating around out there now that may sort of work, but they will not be friendly to your bank account. The ultimate resoloution will be acceptance and just keep what you have left, or shave it off. Thats just my opinion though.

Hopefully he chooses one of the latter options, It sounds hypocritical from me but I'm just trying to help out a fellow young'un losing his hair.

[Gambrinus]

I started losing mine about 25.  I didn't take much convincing.  I always told my self when I was growing up that I wouldn't fight it.  Nothing dumber looking than a comb over.  I knocked it down with clippers with no guard for a couple of years.  My wife hated it.  I started shaving it smooth.  Now she likes to rub on it.

[fcb2001]

I was 27 going on 28 when i started both receding and thining, i shaved my head within the week, and ive kept my head shaved since, all the male relatives on my moms side of the family lose their hair, iam the only person in my family that maintains a razor shaved head.
i still have family memers that say i should use rogaine, NO WAY ILL USE THAT STUFF.
ID RATHER HAVE A RAZOR SHAVED HEAD. im smooth for life.

[Mike]

There are a few things that have worked for me. Peer pressure is always good, a coworker shaved his head because us bald guys kept messing with him about it until he shaved. Pointing out the money part is always good, if you add up the cost of rogaine, shampoo, hair styling stuff, and haircuts for a year then show him the low cost of keeping a smooth bald head that might help. Point out the 'side effects' of thinning like it makes you look older while Sly makes you look younger, women love a bald head, not a balding head, the extreme boost of self confidence, sunburn-with his thinning hair he will be more likely to get a sunburn because it seems pretty hard to put sun block on when you have hair in the way, if he is looking for work/unemployed point out that smooth shaved bald looks better/more professional to bosses than nasty thin hair (thats what my boss told me after I was hired). There are other things too, I just had to post the obvious ones. Remember bald isnt just a hairstyle, its a lifestyle.

[DuffRyder17]

I would say just be encouraging, and prompt him to give shaving a fair shot...
is he adverse to shaving his head? he needs to know that it's just hair and its not worth obsessing about.
and the grass really is greener on our side of the fence

[Ian]

I was about 22/23 when started going 'thin on top',people were looking at my thin hair & i thought i would give them something to look at.
With the backing of my mum (R.I.P) i went & got it buzzed down to about a No2,straight away i felt like a massive cloud had lifted,i was the only one in my group of friends like this at the time (should see how many now at 37 LoL)
Anyway over the year i went closer & closer untill a few years back with the backing of this forum i got the razor out & went SLY 

I really think it depends on the person if they want to buzz it off or not,i think gentle push in the right direction can help,but ultimately its up to them

[Polarbear]

That's a difficult question really!

I was 17 when I started losing my hair, but shaving it off was entirely my decision. I had no examples; I just knew that I hated all the long black hairs that were chilling on my pillow everyday, laughing at my face: it really upset me every single day. I knew if I would buzz my hair, the hairs that fall out would be less noticable. I always wanted to be the best guy possible (from inside rather than outside) and I thought: this is not worth all the worries that I have over it.

Of course, my mom was against it. She was my main enemy during that period really. But I knew that all she wants is to see her son happy.

At a certain moment, you realise that there will always be people that won't like you, no matter how great you think you are. You cannot understand why they don't like you. YOu do everything right, right? Well, that's the reason they don't like you. You are not an interesting person if you want to please everybody all the time. You become a push over. There's a famous quote: "I can't give you the formula to success but I can give you the exact formula of failure: Try to please everybody all the time" You have to please yourself first. Others second.
So I decided that I needed to set my mind free. I wanted to worry less about my hair loss so I thought a buzz cut was a great way to start. Also, my scalp was always itchy. It was horrible. When I shaved it, it disappeared.

But, to come back to your question, I really don't know what I wanted to hear back then. I think I would have loved people saying to me that it is a sexy look and that the girls like it. And they do. But none of my friends could tell me that, because they have never been there.

What you could say:
If you are 22 the last thing you want to do is worry. You just want to get rid of this non issue and get on with life. Chat with girls and stuff. Shave it and become confident. I did it, others can to. Look at my picture, maybe you can show it to him.

But then again: if your brother does not have a problem with his hair loss, than let him. The decision is up to him. Main thing is to talk him off the drugs.

I don't know if it is going to help you. I hope it does.

Polar Bear