story of a 20 year old - page 1 -

• story of a 20 year old by nathan06 on 20 Jul, 2012 17:54
• Hi guys, I've only been lurking the forums for a week or so but saw straight away that this is a great community of supportive guys, and just reading a few posts helped me decide to take the first step in becoming sly.
  
  So I'm 20 years old and just finished my 2nd year of university. For the last 6 or 7 years I've had medium/long hair. I first noticed I was receding from the front when I was 15. It gradually got worse but I kept my hair roughly the same length and always styled it to cover my embarrassing hairline. My hair didn't start thinning until I was about 18. It starting slowly thinning and by the time I hit 20 it seemed to be going at an alarming rate. For the last 2 years I have barely went outside without wearing a hat or styling my hair and holding it in place with loads of hairspray. It's got to the point where as I don't have very many friends on my course, I've heard other people in my class refer to me as "the guy with the hats". I play a lot of sports and am captain of my university field hockey team, so when I play I use a hairband to keep my hair from blowing back and revealing my hairline. I guess I've always just been scared of how people will react if they notice.
  
  It took me ages to come to terms with my MPB, I think the thing that finally made me come to terms with it was when I was 18, myself and a group of friends all bleached our hair, and while they got theirs cut and the rest grew out in a few months, It took me over a year for my blonde fringe to grow out. I'm not sure how many people knew how badly I was losing my hair (after a certain picture I'll post below, I always made a conscious effort to keep it hidden) but very few of my friends have mentioned it to me, despite openly making fun of other friends who were only slightly receding.
  
  So I got a haircut a few days ago, got a bit brave and got it cut too short and ended up with a haircut that exposed my hairline and showed how much I was thinning. I really hated it so tonight I decided to buzz it all off.
  
  to give you an idea of how bad my hairline actually is, this was me just turned 16 at a foam party:
  
  
  hair then varied in length for a couple of years (i'm 18 here) but normally looked like this when caught on camera:
  
  
  then in may 2011 it looked like this (note the combover):
  
  
  nearly a year later (march 2012) the blonde was still visible:
  
  
  then a few days ago I got it cut and it looked like this
  
  
  
  which I really hated and after reading some stories on here, finally gathered up the courage to buzz it off.
  
  
  My hair on top is quite a light colour and very thin compared to the sides, so although you can't tell really from my avatar, it's actually a very short buzz cut. I'm going to keep it for a while to adjust to it and see how things develop but I genuinely think it will look better completely sly. Maybe I'll do it in a few weeks, but you guys will be the first to know.
  
  I am in the (very) early stages of growing a beard, which is why my facial hair looks a bit weird.
  
  Already I feel free and liberated, and a bit cold. I'm excited about my life now, hoping for the positive changes that will come with more confidence. I know my friends back at uni will make fun of me for a while, but that's only to be expected.
  
  I want to thank you guys for pretty much giving the inspiration to accept who I am and embrace my (nearly) bald head. Also, I'm sorry for this post being so long, I've never spoken about my hair loss before and it just feels like I've got a whole load off my chest.
• #1 by Bluebriz on 20 Jul, 2012 18:10
• Welcome to SBG Nathan! 
  
  Thanks for sharing your story with us.  I think opening up and sharing like that can be very powerful. 
  
  I think the sooner you shave it, the better.  Your friends and family will very quickly get used to it and they'll soon forget you ever looked any different, and I speak from experience!  New people you meet in the future won't even consider the "old" version of you because they never knew you looking that way.
  
  When you shave it you can look forward to a stronger, more confident future where you're in control of your life rather than your hair loss being in control!
  
  Good luck and let us know once you shave it off!
• #2 by KDusk on 20 Jul, 2012 18:17
• Hey Nathan, welcome to SBG!!!
  
  Your hair and hairstyles remind me much of myself in the past 4 years. I have exactly the same hairloss pattern as you do. When your hair starts taking over your life, you know the time for a change has come. You look great with a buzzed head, but I can only advise you to give the completely sly look a try. If you don't like it, your hair will be back in 1 week.
  
  And judging from you profile pic, your beard is already starting to fill in quite nicely.
  
  Enjoy the freedom of not having to think about hair or hats anymore  
• #3 by Frontier Guy on 20 Jul, 2012 18:32
• Nathan, yet another welcome to you.
  
  And another recommendation to go ahead and shave it all off. It's such a dramatic difference now from what it was last week I don't see the point in waiting. And there really are very few things as incredible as the feeling of a slick dome each day.
  
  In addition to the confidence boost, aren't you also feeling a huge loss of stress. No more worry about the work of ensuring everything is in place. No having to create stories to justify hats or headbands. Life just becomes so much simpler for a sly guy.
  
  As you've no doubt read elsewhere around here .. commit to the 30 days of Sly. That'll give you and others around you time to adjust to the new look before your make any hasty decisions. But if you've been reading the new posts this week there have been several guys who knew well before the 30 days had passed that they would be staying sly. It really is that simple.
  
  Stick around and continue to tell your story. It's always enjoyable to life the "new Sly experience" through the eyes of others.
  
  If I were near you I'd meet you at the pub for a pint (or two) in honor of sly guys everywhere!
• #4 by UVALee on 20 Jul, 2012 18:34
• Excellent new look on you. As the others have suggested, now is a good time to just take it down all the way. Good luck on your journey.
• #5 by Sir Harry on 20 Jul, 2012 18:49
• Welcome, Nathan! Good story and introduction....Once you decide to go all the way, give it a try for 30 days...if you don't like it you can always grow it back....Good Luck!
• #6 by BaldHDbiker on 20 Jul, 2012 19:32
• Welcome Nathan,
  
  You look so much better with it short. Shave it off and you'll love the look and feel. 
• #7 by kalbo on 20 Jul, 2012 20:44
• Welcome to the bald brotherhood Nathan.Its good that you have shared your story and you are now taking control. The buzz looks good on you and your avatar shows you looking shaved smooth and it looks great.
• #8 by stasiu on 20 Jul, 2012 20:51
• Hey Nathan !  Mate ... what a great photo essay showing your hairloss !  Not many guys your age have the confidence to show what's leaving the scalp like you did !  EXCELLENT POST !  Lead on ... and take your time for the full sly look as you already own it in a special sly way !
• #9 by Paul the Headblader on 20 Jul, 2012 21:05
• welcome
• #10 by Slyfive on 20 Jul, 2012 21:47
• Welcome! I know how you feel as our hairloss stories and baldness pattern are pretty much identical, I'm 23 now, and I wish I'd had the courage to do it at 20. Thanks for sharing, it's good to have you here.
• #11 by zetaeffe on 20 Jul, 2012 22:07
• Welcome and best compliments about your choice!!
  You're going to look great when you shave smooth! 
• #12 by Andrei on 20 Jul, 2012 23:22
• Welcome Nathan!
  
  Nobody asks for MPB, but it happens.
  I'm glad that you were able to move on and you're trying to get the most out of it.
  Looking great in your avatar photo.
  If you like the short buzz then you will love the shaved dome. Give shaving a try and enjoy the experience.
  
• #13 by nathan06 on 21 Jul, 2012 03:35
• Thanks for all the positive responses guys, especially Slyfive and KDusk, it was reading stories like yours about MPB at a very young age that I could identify with. Over the next few days I'm going to read up on all the tips on here for shaving smooth so I do it right, then keep it for 30 days like you recommend. I'll post some pictures when I do it. Once again thanks for all the support!
• #14 by marty22 on 21 Jul, 2012 04:58
• welcome