I'm 17 and am going through a crisis.

[leighmundo40]

Good advice from the other guys. See what the specialist says, it might be temporary. You actually look OK in your photo.

I know what you mean about breaking the mold at High School. I guess it's about confidence in the end and what you feel happiest with. You never know, you could start a trend!

[Bald Hobbit]

So after the advice, what are you going to do? Keep it buzzed? Find if it's permanent? Shave it? Wait to shave it?

[Abach24]

Wow, I was not expecting so much support so quickly! Thank you everybody, I highly appreciate it!

The medication I took was called Zoloft. I'm going to see a specialist as well about this as I really don't understand how this is permanent loss... I stopped taking it, so why wouldn't my body return to normal function..?

The dermatologist I saw told me that the Zoloft brought on genetic hair loss.. and we all know that genetic loss is permanent loss. So until I see a specialist and I am 100% sure that it is permanent, I'm not cutting the area of thinning and am shaving down the thicker areas to make everything blend in shade of color.

I turn 18 on January24 and graduate in June. It'd be a lot easier to wait until June..but I'm not sure I have 6 months of hair left! I also like the idea of shaving it the first day of winter break. I have an 11 day break so I guess that would be a nice transitioning period.

What I am really struggling with is coming to acceptance with it. A few months back... I had a full, thick head of hair. This loss was such an unexpected shock to me, and honestly its still sinking in. High School kids can be brutal, and i just don't want to have to deal with any criticism when I do decide it is time to take the plunge.

Thank you again to everybody. It feels great to have a community who can relate to me.

[Bald Hobbit]

Eh, high school kids like that are immature. Regardless, whatever you choose, I hope it goes well. Just be careful cutting your own hair to even it out, that could easily go bad.

[Slyfive]

Hi Abach, I also lost my hair due to a reaction to medication and was also balding at 17, it's not awesome, I know the feeling sucks, but freeing yourself from it feels amazing. My major, sudden hairloss came after a surgery when I was 21, so I know it is a different situation being at high school, but trust me, a man who takes control is one who will far more easily command respect and admiration, than a man who hides... but in the end, the respect of others is not that important, compared to self-respect, and being comfortable with oneself, you do what feels best for you, because it's you that lives in your skin 24/7. I'm with Myke, try it over the break.

[Bald Hobbit]

Aside from all this, check around the site while you're figuring things out. Check out the "To be or not to be bald" and reactions sections. You can get a good perspective on what it's like after the deed there.

[Sir Harry]

Welcome, Abach and good luck with everything, man...I gotta say it's pretty cool how all the "young bucks" look out for each other on this site....

[Switchy]

Welcome, Abach and good luck with everything, man...I gotta say it's pretty cool how all the "young bucks" look out for each other on this site....

also some of the old RAM's to 

[Gary~]

After looking at your pic I reckon that it looks really good the way it is.

Yes, it is thin but that looks good too and could be the result of styling it that way. If you want to keep it then just tell others [if they ask] that that is how you like it. You  seem to have a really pleasant skull shape.

If you think that you have a "massive" head then I guarantee that you will be very pleasantly surprised when you finally decide to do the deed. You do not have a massive head. If you don't believe me then get it measured with a tape measure against some off your mates.

Even better -- post the measurements here so we can all post ours and you will see how things really are. It would actually be interesting to see how much head size differs especially according to age. It seems to me that older blokes noses [independent of whether one tells the truth or not] and ears keep growing larger until they die but perhaps it is just of the rest of the facial structure collapsing.

Anyway, shaving it off feels liberating -- it's up to you to decide when to free yourself of "the tyranny of hair".

[Bald Hobbit]

So I assume it's winter break for you... are you going to wait longer, or are you just going to tell everyone that their opinions on your hair doesn't matter and just shave it off? Because when you've shaved your head, you find that you don't worry so much about what others think. But yeah, if you don't feel comfortable with it, you can just choose not to. Of course, I guess that a good amount of those here didn't feel comfortable with shaving it the first time... but not the times after...

[gutsygirl]

Hope I'm not just totally butting into a man-zone. 
I'm a slyette, 28, shaved because of allergic skin reactions to chemicals which make me itch and get rashes so I feel more comfortable with no hair and being able to directly apply meds to my scalp.  It's not always easy being a slyette.  It's less socially acceptable than being a Sly Bald GUY.  But I found that I actually have a very nice head shape!

You too seem to have a nice head shape for going sly.  I think taking it down to a #1 or 2 may help it blend and your hair isn't very very dark so that will help too.  Unfortunately, I think it looks MORE obvious that a guy is losing hair when he tries to grow the hair around the bald spot longer than everywhere else...  .  (What was it the  used to say when they came into school for DARE programs?  "Say No To Combovers"?  Yeah, I think that was it...    ) 

I wish you the best whichever way you choose to wear your head!  It's what is in the heart that counts. 

[OzSly]

Crikey GutsyGirl Sister!!

There is no man-zone here....ummmmm except the men's room down the hall...anyway I digress lol

You and all the Sly sisters are welcome here, don't think Tyler or the other people who set up this website wanted it to be a men's only club.

Speaking personally I enjoy having you and the other sisters (Slyettes) here and joining in, gives me and the other people a different view on things.

So Gutsygirl, post often!! 

[gutsygirl]

[Beardman]

What Oz said! We always love the opinions of the fairer sex 

[eric79]

I know I am late to the party chiming in, but if you have some questions about the medication and what it does I can explain it more in a PM. I work with patients on it a lot and have seen this before. Going to you problem at hand hmmm, well High School is a strange time and I never was the social norm there anyway I was the kid the was always walking around with the jeans and a leather jacket and t-shirts I never bought into the styles, and having to have this and that. I was more worried about my Car or Truck I had and what girl I was interested in. What ever you decided to do do it with confidence. Any woman young or old respect a man that can make a decision and stick by it. Be ready to hear some comments because it is High School and some kids have nothing better to do  then to make stupid comments. Always remember when that 10 year reunion happens a lot of those kids that made those stupid comments are the ones that don't do much with there life because they never took the plunge.  Good luck and keep us updated.

Eric