I'm beautiful. Not sure if I'm ready to be bald and beautiful yet though.

[Hotpocket]

Yeah, so I'm 19. Found out I had MPB when I was 16 from a dermatologist. That really sucked and was kind of a shocker but it wasn't really noticeable so long as I had my hair at a shorter length so I wasn't too worried about it. Now though, it's really starting to set in. It's mainly just thinning right now but it bugs the hell out of me. I used to have great long hair but those are days of the past now

Soo I'm not really sure what to do here. I've been using rogaine to try and help maintain what I have but I can tell my hair is going slowly but surely. I've been thinking about getting a prescription for Propecia but some of the side effects scare the sh*t out of me. I'll take being able to have sex over hair any day.

Has anyone tried Propecia and have any comments on it?

Here's a recent picture from Christmas



As you can see it's thinning on the top, and I was laughing at a bottle of champagne I got from our family's white elephant   

Any thoughts my sly's?

[Noodles]

I, for one, say GO FOR IT!!

After all, if you decide you don't like being totally shaven (sly), you have enough of a crop on your melon whereby you'll be back to where you are currently in a few weeks.

Let me just say this, Going SLY is FREEDOM. There's NOTHING else like it. No rugs, plugs, or drugs to worry about - just PURE FREEDOM!

Don't want to shave all the way down to the scalp? Ease into it. Use clippers with no guard and buzz your hair down as much as you can. Keep it buzzed down at that length for about a a week to get accustomed to it. Then gradually, ease yourself into the next step, which is going totally SLY.

You've got nothing to lose but your hair (and as mentioned, if SLY isn't your thing, regrowth to where you are now will return in two-three weeks or so.

Check out "Tyler's 30-Day Rule" video on our forum here. (the link to the vid should be listed somewhere on the main forum page).

 - Cap'n Noodles -

Just read an article that Tyler Smith (moderator and founder of SBG) wrote on why men should NOT FEAR going BALD. You should read this, dude.  It'll put thngs in perspective for you.

Check it out here: http://www.helium.com/tm/100895

[TheSlyBear]

Has anyone tried Propecia and have any comments on it?

Read up on what that poison can do to your body. Then decide if something frivolous like hair is worth it.

[Jack21]

I took propecia for years and it did absolutely nothing. My hair continued to thin. I kept taking it because I thought that it was perhaps slowing the rate of thinning/ balding. It wasn't. You've been given good advice that I wish I had heard when I was about your age. I would recommend going gradually shorter and shorter. Get used to having shorter and shorter hair. You can stretch this out over weeks or months depending on your comfort level. Eventually you'll reach the point where you'll be comfortable enough to just shave it all off or at least go down to a clippers with no guard.

[schro]

Has anyone tried Propecia and have any comments on it?

Read up on what that poison can do to your body. Then decide if something frivolous like hair is worth it.

Bingo!

[Hotpocket]

Yeah I've done quite a bit of research on propecia. It seems for some it really works well and others a possible life ruiner. I suppose the only reason I'm even considering it would be for the ladies. I really wouldn't mind being bald but at 19 it's a little difficult and it definitely does reduce the playing field. Not to mention I'm only 5'9 and 140 lbs (not from a lack of trying. I got screwed on the genetics) and the outlook just doesn't seem that great. I just wish this had happened like 10 years from now when I've got my life set up then I probably wouldn't care.

I want to shave it... but I'm afraid  

[Troy]

If you think in the long run you're going to be bald, I'd skip trying to delay it by using propecia or any other method, and keep your hair short until you're ready to shave it off completely.  I was also thinning at age 19 and can remember the anxiety I had about being different.  At the time, no one was shaving their head that I knew of so that wasn't an option but I think even if it had been something guys were doing, I would have waited until I was a bit older to do it.  I'd say gradually work into it and keep your hair short until you think it's time to shave it. 

[TheSlyBear]

the only reason I'm even considering it would be for the ladies.

So you're considering a drug that can make you impotent? Really?

Sounds like a "Gift of the Magi" (O Henry) situation.

[Vash]

MPB is not about age, it's not about environment or habits. It's not about what's fair or easy. It's a matter of genetics. it is a fact of nature. Some people are heavier than others, some taller, some shorter. Some people go grey far earlier than others. And some go bald.

A lot of men find the transition from balding to shaved a kind of tough one to make. But by and large, most of the guys who try it, like it and ultimately keep it shaved. And, if the guys here are any barometer (and we are), most wish they'd made the change sooner than they did.

You are 19. You have many many years ahead of you. You might want to at least try the SLY way out, take the 30 day challenge, sooner than later. Give the freedom and confidence a test drive and see if you still feel like taking drugs or getting surgery to try and slow down the inevitable. You might just find out what a lot of men here and around the world found out later in life. SLY is the way to go.

Good luck with whatever you decide. These guys are among the greatest you'll find and they give great advice and support. Welcome abord, we're here for whatever.

[Hotpocket]

MPB is not about age, it's not about environment or habits. It's not about what's fair or easy. It's a matter of genetics. it is a fact of nature. Some people are heavier than others, some taller, some shorter. Some people go grey far earlier than others. And some go bald.

A lot of men find the transition from balding to shaved a kind of tough one to make. But by and large, most of the guys who try it, like it and ultimately keep it shaved. And, if the guys here are any barometer (and we are), most wish they'd made the change sooner than they did.

You are 19. You have many many years ahead of you. You might want to at least try the SLY way out, take the 30 day challenge, sooner than later. Give the freedom and confidence a test drive and see if you still feel like taking drugs or getting surgery to try and slow down the inevitable. You might just find out what a lot of men here and around the world found out later in life. SLY is the way to go.

Good luck with whatever you decide. These guys are among the greatest you'll find and they give great advice and support. Welcome abord, we're here for whatever.

Yeah, I'm aware that it comes down to genetics and I'm really fine with that, it's just that it particularly sucks at my age. Hair transplant was never in my consideration and more and more I'm learning how potentially harmful propecia can be. I might do the 30 day challenge just to see but I'm going to weigh my options first.

I definitely like the community and I'll be a part of it some day, just not quite sure when. 

[TheSlyBear]

You're here and engaged. You're already part of the community. Welcome!

[TheBreeze]

Hey Hotpocket.  It really does suck to start loosing your hair at such a young age.  I was only a bit older than you, 20, when my hair started to go.  It sounds like you have a pretty good attitude about it though. 

I started taking rogaine at age 20 and propecia shortly after, and took them for a few years.  I got absolutely nothing out of them.  The truth is rogaine, propecia and surgeries only work on a very small portion of the balding population.  The guys in this very marginal section where their hair is falling out very slowly and only to a small degree, might get a small, temporary improvement.  Most people don't fall into this category and the fact that you are losing your hair at a young age (like me) means it is going and there is nothing to stop it or probably even slow it. 

I'm glad that I realized this at a young age and got off the drugs. I also knew that surgeries wouldn't work for me either (not enough hair).  Unfortunately, at age 23 I got a hairpiece and wore that for 10 years before going sly a month ago (love it).  You won't find many people who would go the rug route if they had to do it all again, and that includes me.  They are a huge pain in the ass, they don't look all that great and they are expensive as hell.  In hindsight, I just wish I had kept going shorter and shorter then started to shave when I felt that I would like that better.

It really does stink, but I recommend trimming it down more and more, until there is nothing left.  There are some young guys on the forum too and hopefully they see this thread and weigh in.

Good luck, it's not the end of the world!   

[RyanJP]

Propecia along with Avodart ( Dutasteride ) come at a heavy toll IMO, it's pretty much a DHT inhibitor/Killer, I've said many times along with BootedBear that it's poison.

DHT is the most critical hormone for a male, it is what provides and gives you all your male characteristics so imagine what something like Propecia will do to a full healthy male, it will kill your manhood ( literally ) the side effects are horrific to say the least, loss of muscle mass, gyno, huge libido loss and depression, also there has been numerous reports of suicide.

[Nonick]

HotPocket, welcome to the best bald forum on the Internet 
If you look around at what the media and world tell you, and then come here, you should see that what is being said here is the truth.  You won't get that in most other places.  The companies of the world want your money.  The folks here want to give you your freedom.  A chance to start a better mental life. Yeah, you'll probably end up cutting shorter and shorter, and at some point shave. So why prolong the mental anguish.  Do the deed.  Belly up to the bar.  Man up.  Whatever the phrase you want to use.  It's up to you.

[MikeBrke]

I know that a lot of the guys on the forum will disagree with me on this issue but I will proceed anyway.

Propecia is not "poison" anymore that ibuprofen, birth control or any other drug.  All drugs alter your blood chemistry to some degree and all drugs have side effects.  Propecia is a heavily researched drug and multiple studies show it is an effective treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia and androgenetic alopecia with minimal side effects in the MAJORITY of people.  Multiple randomized double blind, placebo controlled trials (i.e., the "gold standard" in science) have been carried out on propecia, and time after time, 98% of men who take it experience no side effects.

Now, some men legitimately do experience side effects, but you have to remember this is only 2% of men who take it and even then, for most of them, the side effects disappear after use has ceased.  It is up to you and your doctor if the benefit of propecia outweigh the risks.  A small percentage of people are severely allergic to aspirin, but that doesn't mean no one should take aspirin. 

So you can trust science or you can trust "pseudo-internet scientists" who have no evidence to back up their claims other than "they just think it is poison."

With all that being said, I personally don't think taking propecia is a good thing to do for two reasons.  First, it will only slow down your hair loss and not prevent it.  I think it is a much better idea to deal with the issue NOW rather than take a drug that will only postpone the inevitable.  Even if you take propecia, you will still obsess over your hair and think about it all the time.  Also, the placebo effect is a real side effect.  In other words, if you think  you will have impotence or loss of libido, you most likely will.  Not as a result of propecia, but as a result of your psychological self-fulfilling prophecy.   

Second, I like to put as few drugs in my body as possible.  That goes for OTC pain relievers, allergy medicines, and antibiotics.  Only take drugs when it is necessary and be well informed about what you are putting in your body.  Personally, I don't think taking propecia is necessary and therefore I don't take it.

Instead of thinking you need hair in order to be fully confident, live a healthy lifestyle (e.g., gym and healthy diet), be a genuine person and learn everything you can.  Those things will do infinitely more for your confidence and well being than taking a pill to hold on to something you are going to lose anyway.