hi

[Andy007]

hello guys,

two days ago i shaved my head sly bald.

i am 23 1/2 years old and i got a little bit of hairloss. i use some treatments against baldness. please dont get offended that i do so, but i think at my age hair is a benefit even if you shave. and there is another reason why i will go on taking these treatments. because i hate being shaved bald!  ......but lets start at the beginning......

my hairloss started with 18 1/2 i think. with about 20 the first i really realized it because before i had long hair which covered it. then i got on finasterid. but my hair was already very bad and finasterid didnt improve it , only hold my hair. i went to get a haircut the day before i started with finasterid. i hated it when it was short because could see my balding. so i let it grow again and covered the thinning. later i even once wore a really weird hair style which was there to hide my balding.

ok but back again to the time 3 month after i started using finasterid. at this time i first went into a hairloss forum. i dont know if you are familiar with these forums, but there so many guys who tell you "baldness is the worst thing which can happen to you in life". you hear it over and over again. over and over again... so i got a depression.  and you know, if you hear something often enough you believe in it.

then with 21 1/2 i started using "toppik" , some pouder you put into your hair to make it look full. but it looked like a mess on me. i didnt care and i was happy with it, but not my parents. they told me over and over again how shitty it looked. so i didnt go out much anymore and had problems. not a depression again, but problems with my life.

then with nearly 23 i started with minox foam and nizoral shampoo and now even eucapil.

in the last 10 month my hair got much much better and is now nearly "perfect" again. i wont get brad pitt density again (its still improving) but i think i will get a full head of hair again (if its grown out  ) . only the temples will stay , but whatever. thats ok.

now 2 days ago, i saw some photos of bald celebrities like bruce willis or vin diesel. i thought looked cool. before i always really disrespected bald guys  i dont know why....or well actually i know why....i was 3 hours a day in the hairloss forums and there you get told "bald guys are sh*t" or something like that  and baldness is sooooooo bad  . it destroys your life!!!!!    . now i think other. i think it looks cool and its just a style .....if you are really bald or not.

so well, i was drunk and so i catched my razor and did it.     first i thought it was cool but now i cant handle it.

you hardly see my balding and i think thats not my problem anymore.....its more the look i got now. first it was sly bald.....now its more little stubbles. i already feel a bit better.

its 2 days now. and well i dont know why , but i havent met someone i know since then. so i cant get real reactions. the only reactions i get are interesting looks from other people. i dont get more glances from girls, but if they glance its other than before. i cant tell what is other , they somehow look as if they want to fall over me  .

the last time i saw my hair i couldnt really tell my balding anymore. so it wasnt "needed" or something. i just did it for fun. not coz i had to. but now i hate it!!!!! 

i think all the time that i look like 1. a skinhead (im even from germany so thats even more a problem than in other countries) 2. first i looked like someone with chemo therapy when i was sly bald  .  but beware....i only *think* that. its only in my head. ohhh and 3. i think i look weird and other than "normal" people.

what doesnt help either are the (less than in the past) thoughts about my balding, i dont understand what the looks i get from other people mean and i dont know how they see me now and i nearly dont see other shaved guys. 

all this together makes me hate the bald look.  all these thoughts!!!!!!!! 

thinking about nonesense is anyway my biggest life problem. 

hm.....can you help out of this situation?

well to sum it up. i hope you can give me some input so i can handle my situation better and how to get used to it.

but though i think i will let it grow out again anyway. a friend of mine who got a buzz cut says in about a week my hair is a buzz cut again. i cant wait until this happens and i cant wait until my hair is 4-5 cm long again. i already decided this. because i got enough hair to wear hair (not *wear hair*  ......like this .....           lol) and so will let it grow again.

but this will take time and i dont want to lose this time. your thoughts?

[Razor X]

Hi, Andy and welcome to the SBG forum.  From what I can gather, the short version of your story is that your hair started thinning so you've been using finasteride and minoxodil and a few other products.  Then you got drunk and shaved your head and don't like it, so you're going to grow it out again.  What exactly are you looking for input from us on?

[Andy007]

well, i am shaved now. so i want to know how you handle it. because it will need time to grow back.

and i want to know how to handle hairloss. or well, maybe i even just wanted to tell you guys my story?

please give me some advice.

[Razor X]

well, i am shaved now. so i want to know how you handle it. because it will need time to grow back.

and i want to know how to handle hairloss. or well, maybe i even just wanted to tell you guys my story?

please give me some advice.

Stop shaving and it will grow back.

[wpruitt]

Andy:  The long and short of it is that within 7 days of a head shave, it will appear you have a short cut.  That is not a long time.  This time of year, short cuts are the norm so nothing will stand out.  

I am thinning quite badly one top.  I had the barber once buzz everything off (down to the skin).  That was on Monday.  By Friday, no one could tell.  I don't think you have anything to worry about.  If you are extremely self-conscious .... CAPS.

[Paul]

Welcome Andy, glad you are here.  It sounds like what you need to really do is keep it buzzed short if that is how you like it.  In the mean time it would seem that your biggest problem is that depressing hair loss forum with all of its negative talk. Avoid negativity and things that are getting you down.  Keep checking in here with people who are upbeat and positive about being bald and will support you. 

[Stu]

it would seem that your biggest problem is that depressing hair loss forum with all of its negative talk.  Keep checking in here with people who are upbeat and positive about being bald and will support you. 

Amen to that!  You've got to get the hair loss forum people out of your head.  If your destiny is that you will be balding, don't try to do all the money-sucking things like hair pieces, drugs, etc. (or, ugh, the combover).  This is the best time to be bald.  It is mainstream, and is extremely liberating.  At the very least, a very short buzz is a good option.  You want to settle on a hair style that is easy, and one that you won't constantly obsess over.  Wash or shave, and go.  The less you think about it, the better off you will be.  You are young, and though that may be tough to some who are balding, the worst thing you can do is wallow in self pity.  This is the place to be 'pumped up.'  If you can, post a picture so we can let you know our thoughts on your look.

[OzPete]

Welcome, Andy! If you don't like the shaved head look it does grow back...

[shyslyguy]

Hi Andy007,

It can be depressing for a young guy when he starts losing his hair ... it's an uninvited & (to begin with) an unwanted change that is forced upon you, but don't worry, it's not the end of the world & though it may be difficult for you at the moment it does & will become easier.

If the minoxydil works for you then that may be the answer for a while but bear in mind that (from what I understand) it's a life-long commitment & is probably not cheap! Far better to, in the long run at least, learn first to accept the new you & if you can do that, then in time ... you'll genuinely come to like the new look as well.

I think you probably know this anyway which is maybe why you decided to post ... I think Paul's given you some great advice. 1) Stay away from those depressing forums (& you are right, they're awful depressing places!) & even more importantly 2) "Keep checking in here with people who are upbeat and positive about being bald and will support you."

Anyway, welcome to the forum - check out some of the old threads too ... you may find some helpful stuff on them.

Good luck. 

[herronm]

Welcome Andy!!!  I suggest you give the SLY look 30 days.  That will give you time to get used to the new look and get your shaving technique down.  I know you are young and that can be rough, but don't get started on ways to re-grow or cover up.  Read the threads about those solutions.

Max

[Timmay]

I dunno he really lost me on that one.  I just say if you dont like going bald...then let it grow back...simple

[BALDANDRE]

I think you should grow it back...

hopefully it wont take 2 years, like is normally does when you first shave it...

too bad you didn't know that before you shaved it all off!

[outsider82]

Hey Andy007

I agree with Paul and the others, I've myself read and even posted on those hairloss forums. They are indeed a very negative place. If you don't like being sly bald, you can always let it grow and go for the legth i currently have mine at (#2 on top #1 onsides). I can also tell you that hair when its that short can seem to grow quite fast. For me to maintain this length i need to get it buzzed at most every three weeks.

I intend on going sly eventually, but i am still working up the courage to do the deed.

I know that most people aren't bothered by buzzes/shaved guys these days. When i first decided to buzz my hair which was 12 months ago, I first got the tounge in cheek Jokes from work mates and friends but they were all cool with it.

I hope i make sense. he he he (its 20 mins to midnight).

I encourage you to post some pics as its easier for us to give advice.

Have a great one

Out  

[KALBO]

Welcome to SBGs, Andy!

Think you should post a pic here, maybe before and after, to get more feedback.  Your mind seems made up, but I was in the same situation when I was your age...wish I would have shave it then, but it took me many years later.

[Andy007]

well these were nice answers! thank you guys! 

not like in the hairloss forums. i think one big reason why i came here was even because i want to get a new insight on balding from more normal people like you.  if you read these hairloss forums 3 hours a day, for 3 years you cant imagine what that does to your mind. 

well, the meds are working and well yes i spend some money every month in them but i want it this way. im young and i want hair (shaved or grown out). please no discussion about kicking the meds.

i hope for hair multiplication to come out in the next 5-10 years and i hope i can hold my hair until that.

well, but my hair is NOT perfect. if you are familiar to hairloss you still can see it. even if hardly. so i need to handle this. especially while this "balding is the worst thing in the wolrd" is in my head.

ya let me tell you, i prefer hair over no hair and most people would i think. i dont have side effects from the meds so its ok for me to use them. but i still think about my baldings signs because for me its still there as little as it is. 

so again , thank you very much guys for your answers, they really help. you know in real i nearly cant speak to anyone about my hairloss because noone understands it. i even cant speak about my hairloss to the guys in the hairloss forums coz they are negative and bring me down.

so maybe you guys are the answer! i hope you even let me stay here and we can make friends if i let it grow again.   

i want to get rid of these stupid thoughts of hairloss. lets see how my hair looks in a few days when i got a buzz cut. actually you dont see it on a photo that i got balding (but sorry, my handy cabel is defect so i cant upload the photos . but i will make a photo on saturday when my dad is back with his digital camera.  ).