Am I balding? Should I consider the clippers!

[TexterXDY]

Hello everyone!

I’m currently 17 (turned last month) and I have been noticing what I would consider substantial balding. It is not particularly noticeable,but I reckon it could get worse relatively quickly.

I see five options that I could do. Be free to suggest one or come up with another.

1) Keep it. This may be the most socially acceptable and least recognisable for now,but I believe it could get worse.

2)Shave/buzz it off. I do actually really like the look (never been bald for at least fourteen years now) but I fear it may be seen as weird or against school policy.

3)Try the likes of rogaine,finasteride,Minoxidil etc. These may work,but I am skeptical as they are rather expensive and may not work.

4)Hair therapy. This is probably the one I am most vehemently opposed to. It would be very expensive,probably painful,it would mess up my life for half a year and may still not work.

5) Wear a wig. This would be the most practical and potentially one of the cheapest,but it may get awkward due to falling off and a clear sign im balding.

[Quiet_Dan]

Welcome Mate!

I would say you have years of decent hair, but these days bald is just another hair-style.
Of your choices, naturally from the name of this website we tend to be major proponents of the shaved dome.
If you want to be close cropped to lessen the impact, that's cool.
I certainly wouldn't consider the hair therapies or medications (one for the side effects and the fact that it's pretty pricey.

I personally balded myself very young, was probably more advanced at your age (and going by my father I thought I knew what to expect) but by the age of 25 my hairline had reached what my father's had at 60, now at 33 I can just grow a patch on the back of my head.

[Dragon]

You don’t have a problem just yet.  Don’t worr6 about the hair. 

[reddog]

Sorry, but you are not balding, so find something else to worry about. If you're looking for a reason to buzz of shave your head, to for it. Perfectly acceptable hairstyle these days.

[chrisphilly123]

Hello everyone!

I’m currently 17 (turned last month) and I have been noticing what I would consider substantial balding. It is not particularly noticeable,but I reckon it could get worse relatively quickly.

I see five options that I could do. Be free to suggest one or come up with another.

1) Keep it. This may be the most socially acceptable and least recognisable for now,but I believe it could get worse.

2)Shave/buzz it off. I do actually really like the look (never been bald for at least fourteen years now) but I fear it may be seen as weird or against school policy.

3)Try the likes of rogaine,finasteride,Minoxidil etc. These may work,but I am skeptical as they are rather expensive and may not work.

4)Hair therapy. This is probably the one I am most vehemently opposed to. It would be very expensive,probably painful,it would mess up my life for half a year and may still not work.

5) Wear a wig. This would be the most practical and potentially one of the cheapest,but it may get awkward due to falling off and a clear sign im balding.

I wouldn't worry about a thing. You have all kinds of options for hair at any length. Short buzz (#2, #1, zero) is an option to see how you would like the bald(ish) look for yourself. I think the younger you are, the more free you are to exercise any option.

[Barbero Pelón]

Sorry, but you are not balding, so find something else to worry about. If you're looking for a reason to buzz of shave your head, to for it. Perfectly acceptable hairstyle these days.

Exactly.

[Semi-Sly]

While it appears that your hair loss may have begun, I think that you have years of hair left.  That said, you can test fly a bunch of different hairstyles and you can easily grow it back at this stage.

So if you want to test fly a smooth shaved dome - then by all means go for it.  But remember the 30 day rule; when you try it out for size you must commit to keeping it smooth for at least 30 dys before you decide to grow your hair back or not.

[Miller1989]

You may be losing it some, but it's barely noticeable now. I suggest trying a close buzz, #1 or #2. I don't see where that would be against school policy. I got buzzcuts when I was your age. You might find that you really like it! But if you like the shaved look as you say, you won't be satisfied until you've tried it, believe me!