Hi, I'm Fletch. This is my first day off in a couple of weeks and I decided to use some of my free time to surf the web about baldness. That is how I found this forum. Then after reading a few I decided to join and see if there are many others who like me started balding in wierd ways.
I'm a 23 year old college student and Marine. I like to play music and video games, excercise, and recently I've started liking to shave my head.
About 3 years ago, I started losing random patches of hair on my head. After a year of answering awkward questions and explaining to my then NCO's that 'no, my barber didn't jack up my hair' 'no I didn't get too drunk the night before' and 'I don't know wth this is' I finally went to a doctor. They called it alopecia areata and said it wasn't exactly uncommon. Just not common either; according to wikipedia 0.1-0.2% of people develope alopecia. They gave me creams like clobetasol and steroid injections, which by the way a dozen shots in your scalp really suck. It worked once, but then came back worse than before. My friend said I looked like a gerbil; I agreed. So I started shaving my dome. Now the patches of missing hair have extended to my beard and one dollar coin sized spot on my chest. When I was in the field last week my fellow Marines saw me in the in-between shaves stage and said it looked like designs in the back of my head. Oh well. I rather like shaving my head, even if my options were rather.. absent. I think that sometimes, you just have to learn to live with yourself. I'm quite comfortable with my new look and indeed it's brought to me a noticeable jump in self-esteem and confidence. Well, thats my introduction (maybe a bit long.. sorry). If there are any others on these forums who have had these kinds of experiences I'd like to hear from you; I've never actually met anyone else with alopecia.
Welcome to the club, fletch. Glad to hear you're embracing the situation rather than whining about it.
Welcome Fletch and Semper Fi. Even if there should be no other members here who have dealt with alopecia, you'll find loads of support here.
Welcome to SBG ! You have accepted another uncontrollable hair loss issue called alopecia areata. Sly smooth is your new hair style and it sounds like you embrace it with more confidence and positive attitude. Congrats !
Welcome, Fletch! First, thank you for your service. Second, I was in the Army with a guy that had 100% Alopecia Areata, which meant he could not grow hair anywhere on his body. There was this guy I went to high school with that would show up with a bald spot in a different part of his scalp every week. At first I thought this guy was going to a bad barber too, but more than 20 years later, I ran into the guy and he still has this problem. It seems like the people I know that have your condition simply shave it bald and look good.....and I'm sure you do too. Thanks for posting and post a pic if/when you can!