When did you start to lose your hair?

[collegedude19]

So for me I'm currently 19 and I noticed I was losing my hair towards my end of senior year of high school. While it was still thick my hairline was starting to go. Now as a sophmore in college I have diffused thinning on top and a slight receding hair line that keeps getting worse. Any one out there who was losing there age at my age? And if so how'd you handle it?

[Cave Dweller]

I first noticed thinning when I was 17. By the time I was 21, my hairline had receded to the extent that the "M" or peninsula of male pattern baldness was very apparent.

I was fortunate to have grown up with men in my life, including my dad, who were balding and never showed any problem with it. Because of the example they set, balding was not a traumatic thing for me. It was something I had expected and accepted.

I have to admit that I did get a sort of sadistic satisfaction when the guys who had made jokes about my hair loss suddenly started parting their hair in funny ways when we entered out late twenties. I would just look at their heads and tell them they were fooling no one. Some of them even asked in the most obvious attempts at being nonchalant what the first signs were for me.

[Sir Harry]

For me, I was about 26.....The hairline was creeping back, but I just got shorter haircuts....Michael Jordan was in his heyday then, so I clippershaved bald once ever so often. Back in Spring 2008, the crown started going, and I just decided to give up and go sly for good. Never looked back since.

[TheSlyBear]

My hair was always thin and fine, and started receding before I hit 20. Like Cave Dweller, I could have given a rat's ass. I didn't like my hair in the first case, so I just started buzzing it off (before buzzing was "in" -- this was in the 70's and 80's when pouffy hair was all the rage) and said "good riddance".

It would be another couple of decades before I decided to take a razor to it.

[isleepinthebuff]

My hair has been receeding for years, to be honest it never looked that bad and was thick enough to get away with but about 5 years ago I started to go thin on the crown and I hated it. It's that that bothers me more than the receeding

[Mikekoz13]

I was young when I realized I'd lose my hair. My Dad had MPB as did my Grandfather. I knew what was probably in the cards for me and it never bothered me. I started losing it around 20 or so and then the hair loss seemed to stall for about 5 years or so.

Anyway..... no big deal..... it is what it is.

[Timmer]

Let's see, I'm 52 now...so that means my forehead started creeping back and the hair on top of my head started thinning about 25 years ago.

[DanO]

Well, the hairline started going up when I was in my mid to late teens, and kept on going.  The bald-spot started sometime in my mid to late twenties, and the two joined forces in my mid thirties.

[Sean25]

I started at 19, shaved it off at 20.  Didn't want to deal with it at all and it was absolutely the right choice.  I don't think any male in my family has a full head of hair, so I knew my fate but still had trouble dealing with it at first but that ended quickly. 

[Blitzed]

I had thick, heavy hair into my late fifties that had only just started to turn grey but had not receded or thinned on top. That was when I shaved my head and have never gone back. Last Spring I had shoulder replacement surgery and before the whole process was over I'd grown a very, very short crew cut. It was all white with a bald spot and some thinning and receding in front. As soon as I could I shaved it. My only regret is that I waited as long as I did. When I was in the service I kept it virtually peeled and should have stuck with that until I just shaved it all.

[stasiu]

hmmm .... the year was 1971 and I was 16 when the comb had more than 12 hairs and the temples started looking prominent.  By age 22 I looked like Dr. Phil (yes, with a stache) and I tried HCM (Hair Club for Men).  Hmmmm funny ... I like shiny door knobs like Aunt Clara from Bewitched and use Mr. Clean around the house.  Hmmm ... SBG ... very nice logo on my head now ... LOL

[baldjoeg]

Stanislau, I Love your comment. Well stated.

I noticed losing a lot of hair around age 28. My Dad was bald. My Mom's brothers had thinning hair. I have 1 brother that had a thick head of hair but it is a little thinner now. My other brother has a lot of thinning but not as much as I had. About 8 years ago, I decided and was ready to shave my head and I did so. It was hard at first but I loved it and still do. Wish I would have done so sooner. I love being sly.

[Tim1776]

Hey collegedude19,

As former college dude who went through the same thing you are at age 19, I can relate to your situation.

It started a few months after my 17th birthday.  Woke up one morning to hair all over my pillow.  Naturally, my reaction was, "What the hell is that??"  As a guy who really loved his hair, I picked up on it right away.  I'm sure I got it from my dad's dad, who died before I was born - hadn't hit any other family members I knew, at least at a young age.

I dealt with it the way it sounds a lot of guys did back in the mid/late 90s.  I'd joke about it at first, before it was noticeable.  When I hit 19-20 and other people noticed (made clear by the jokes that started coming my way), it became a lot less funny to me!  Became the hat guy, and didn't talk about it much for the next few years.  With no sites like this around, I'd look for advice in magazines like Men's Fitness.  Guys were starting to shave a bit more, but all of the advice seemed to be aimed at guys in their 30s and 40s - I was barely 20, so it was hard for me to relate.  Closest point of reference I could think of was seeing a picture of the brother of a guy in my fraternity, who I had never met, who was balding in college and shaved before he hit 25.  Looked good enough, but at 21, 22, it just wasn't what I wanted for me.

As you'll see if you read any of my earlier posts, I rolled the dice and went for the hair system a few months after I graduated college about 10-11 years ago.  Saw TONS of young guys in there, including a number who wore t-shirts from my college (not nearly as many young guys in there anymore, now that shaving is more fashionable and you've got sites like this to help walk guys through the process).

I can't say that I regret what I did - different time, different person, I've liked the way I looked and done really well for myself.  But I've definitely regretted my attitude toward the whole thing.  There's no shame in having a bit of a rough time of it - most any guy who loses his hair that young will.  I think the big thing is accepting it's not the end of the world, whatever happens.   

Not too long ago, my one friend who was losing his hair back when I was (though not nearly as bad), took off his hat - he'd been buzzing for a good 7-8 years and shaving for at least 5-6.  We were talking about it, how he shaves a few times a week, etc.  I remember saying to him, "You know, you're the exact same guy as before - and looks good."  Kind of struck me, since that's the one thing I couldn't conceive of when I was 19 - that I'd still be the same guy as before.  So whatever you end up doing - buzzing, shaving, hair system (doubtful in today's world and not one I'm advocating, but not the horrifyingly ridiculous-looking option some might believe), so long as you're able to accept what's happening you'll be alright in the end.

Good luck!

[g_bald]

Like man others, it started to go in my early 20's.

At first it was the back, that didn't faze me as much (not being able to see it without going through calisthenics). But it gradually became thinner and I just took short clippers to it. I fluctuated in and out of different lengths, but the crown was becoming noticably thinner all the time.

Shoter and shorter I went, sometimes letting it grow out and realizing it wasn't coming back. Finally I had a barber take me super-short. I got home, looked at my really short buzz and was like 'this is it. I have to do this.' I got out the razor and went smooth.

I was never very popular with the ladies so if they loved it, great; if not, what was I losing? I found what I was losing I gained in confidence not to feel uneasy about the rampant hair loss and how I saw myself when I saw the thinning, receding hair (no longer having to do calisthenics to observe it, either).

Good luck to you and I hope that the support of a great group like SBG helps you "find your inner you."

[baldhighschooler]

I started loosing it at 14, and had lost most of it by 17. I'm 18 now, and my head is a follicular graveyard. :3