Alright. First of all let me say I am sooo glad to have found this forum, and I thank and (kind of) love all you guys and the fact this exists and that you have all put so much effort into this.
To explain about myself, I am probably what you would call a lurker. I have been aware of this forum for a couple of months and have read many of your posts, links, battles (and victories). You have all given me some additional confidence in dealing with hair loss.
I am 34 years old, live in Canada, and have always hated my hair. Not that I have lost a ton of it (I am probably somewhere in between a NW2 and a NW3 with temporal recession only) but my hair has always been fairly flat and has never really looked awesome. I have been aware of my high widows peak since I was in my late teens, and was told by many people at that time that I would surely be bald by the time I was 25, then 30, and now people don't really say anything about it anymore. I can't say I lose many hairs either on my pillow, with a comb, a brush, or anything else, but still don't really like my hair.
So I have been through the somewhat normal routine of experimenting with Minoxidil (which sucks, and makes my head itchy and oily and hair look even worse), toyed with the idea of finasteride but read too much about it and no freekin' way in hell I'll ever put that stuff anywhere close to the inside of my body, and of course have examined hair transplants.
I have found much out about each of these subjects, and while it is possible at some point in time I would further revisit the idea of a hair transplant (like if my hair continues not to change over the next x number of years) I am terrified of any sort of scars on the head (the linear scar is unacceptable to me, but even the little white FUE dots are... uhhh... I'd rather be shaved), HST (which leaves no visible scars but doesn't really seem to give very good hair coverage either), and of course finally at the various options available to people with BHT coverage (Dr. Sanusi Umar has done some amazing work like this) - but again, FUE scarring on other parts of the body instead of the scalp.... not so sure.
So this option is currently out. I am sure I have the resources for it, but of course have the usual fears of increased hair loss, poor work done, as I mentioned earlier, the FUE scarring.
So. On to head shaving.
I am currently in the process of leaving my job in Ottawa and going for the not-so-sunny but resource rich lands of Alberta in quest of delicious oil monies. Why would I leave the beauty of eastern Canada for the somewhat dubious beauty of Alberta? (Actually this isn't true its beautiful too, but a heck of a lot colder and less populous) - well quite frankly I am not that impressed with what we have grown to accept as normal good salaries and want to retire early and take to the world with a backpack and a camera (two of my favourite things) and just do whatever. So I need a lot more money, and the oil fields are prone to that. So (God-forbid) I am becoming a tractor-trailer driver in search of six figure salaries. Heh. Wish me luck.
Now, on to the shaving of the head. I am not going to attempt this right now. I have a bit too much body fat on me (not huge, but enough to make my chin larger, face a bit puffier than it should be, and a love handles), not to mention a lack of muscle tone (which I am fixing as we speak), and a lot of friends and family who may just not be fully understanding if I show up with a bald head. They'll get used to it for sure, but for this reason I am going to wait until the end of December to sacrifice my hair.
I actually love the bald look. I am very much attracted to women but I see guys all the time with all sorts of hair of various styles and most of the time it just looks poorly kept and not that pristine. A cleanly shaven head however is the pinnacle of the crisp look, requires low maintenance, and wind, rain, sunshine or snow it always looks good. You also have the joy of rolling out of bed looking just as good as you did when you went to sleep (okay maybe not quite, but close).
So the next issue I had (I have felt my scalp many times) was the sense I had that there is a rather large protruding ridgeline where the parietal bones join together at the top of my head, and also a rather large occipital bone. At least this is how it feels. Of course with hair it is very difficult for me to determine exactly how large these bones are, and I am (like many of you were) concerned them I have a hideous head shape.
Now truth be told you can feel these ridges far more than you can see them of course as there is skin, and fat, and other things which tend to round out our bones and their connection points on our skulls but to the paranoid newbie you just don't know.
So today I took a whole pile of conditioner and saturated my hair with it to the point where it lies almost as flat as the skin on the scalp does itself so I could have a good look at what it is likely my shaven head will look like. And guess what???
I think I have a pretty normal head
This was actually a great exercise and I feel much better about it.
Now I have also read all the crap about women finding you less attractive, blahblahblah without hair. And amusingly enough with many different hairstyles I have never found women to worry about it too much at all. If you exhibit a sense of self confidence then they will find you attractive no matter what. I think many people run into trouble with the hair loss because it destroys their confidence and then leaves them as a sort of emaciated version of themselves and that in itself is what causes the lack of attraction they have found women feel in them. Not the lack of hair. Actually most women I know don't care much at all (the younger girls are different, it is fair to be said).
However, I have already been blessed with one extremely nasty physical (deformity)? And that is some glorious psoriasis. I know how to fix it without medication (it requires a lot of vegetables, no bread, no sugar pretty much) and have done it before to the point where it had pretty much entirely left my body and then relapsed and slacked off and ate pizza and burgers and drank a lot. You know how this is right? But having had the ability to remove it I the past made me feel free enough from it that I can just explain it to girls I have dated since and WONDEROUSLY none of them give a crap about that either!! Incredible right. Confidence. And make them laugh. That's it.
So now you guys know a bit about me, I won't swear at you too much, although I have a tendency to the vulgar side from time to time albeit it is as a joke and I mean no maliciousness. I am looking forward to meeting all of you and getting to know you better and will be asking you questions from time to time and contributing to your posts as I see fit.
That's it for now, wishing you all a wonderful morning/day/evening/or night and the best to all of you!
Thanks again,
George
