Hair Loss and I'm Not Even Thirty
Just after I had turned eighteen a close friend of mine looked at the top of my scalp and stated: "Dude, looks like you have a little bald patch!" But I was only a teenager and it seemed so outrageous that I didn't think a lot of it. That was until my early twenties when I realised in a picture that my widow's peak was creeping back higher on my forehead. The obvious widow's peak is a definite attribute for the majority of the guys in my family so again I dismissed it assuming that was as far as it would go. The closer I got to thirty the more evident it became that my hairline was getting much worse and that I was experiencing hair loss on my crown too. I was horrified. I was only a young man. How could this be happening to me? My confidence took a hit and I was feeling a little depressed.
It really is an awful sensation when you realise that you are going bald especially when you look around your social circle at all the full manes, you feel ripped-off and isolated. Furthermore there is the extra pressure on you from your peers because in modern culture a full head of hair is synonymous with youth. It has you doubting yourself. Might you look unfavorable to a potential employer? Or even more serious will you be overlooked by girls?
There are a number of misconceptions on the subject of hair loss. Wearing headwear is not going to make your hair fall out nor will using hair products. It is actually typical to lose hair; believe it or not, the typical person will shed between 50 and 100 hairs daily. However for some these hairs are not always regrown. The most frequent cause of thinning hair in men is the hereditary condition androgenic alopecia which is more commonly known as male pattern baldness. Men with this particular issue have higher levels of a hormone known as 5(alpha)-reductase, which changes testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT attacks hair follicles, slowly shrinking them which results in shorter, thinner hair until finally the hair follicle dies.
For those who have read this far and can relate then you have most likely come to grips with your hair loss… but what can you do about it? You can try your best to disguise it maybe using the good old comb over or in my situation the comb forward. But that isn't going to do the job forever and you will sooner or later wind up resembling Donald Trump.
Two commonly used hair loss solutions are Rogaine and Propecia. Rogaine is a solution that is applied specifically to the scalp. Rogaine functions to increase the size of shrunken hair follicles to enable them to produce lengthier, thicker hairs. Propecia is a tablet that helps to slow down the production of DHT (the hormone that we established is liable for shrinking the hair follicles in the first place). The trouble with these two medications is that the second you stop using these products your hair will go back to the original condition.
Another alternative is laser treatment in which a low level laser is used to activate hair follicles and entice hair growth. This is something which I have tried personally. I once gave a company thousands of dollars for a plan made up entirely of the previously mentioned drugs plus some laser hair consultations. There appeared to be minimal improvement. Be aware that the results may differ because obviously everyone is different; nonetheless, I surely couldn't see the justification of the multi-thousand dollar sale price.
The earlier treatments work on the premise that you catch your hair loss early. If it's too far gone for you there are some aesthetic solutions such as a hair piece. These can be expensive and difficult to maintain. And in spite of seeming natural, all it's going to take is for somebody to run their fingers through your hair to realise that it isn't real. You could also try hair transplants where healthy hair is gathered from the other parts of your head and relocated to the bald areas. It's often an expensive and painful process and there is the potential risk of scarring.
The last alternative and this is one which i began leaning towards recently is to just go bald gracefully. Shave your head. Look at a number of the guys out there making this look cool. Michael Jordan, Vin Diesel and Bruce Willis just to mention a few. True, it will be scary to take that first step, nonetheless you will find guys out there with faultless hairlines that choose this as a style because it looks hot and in some cases makes them look younger.
You need to realise that losing your hair is not the end of the universe although it is disheartening because it is something you do not have a lot of control over. Just remember you are not by yourself with reports demonstrating that one in four men will experience premature balding before their 30th birthday. It's not your hair style that defines you. It's your self-confidence.
It really is an awful sensation when you realise that you are going bald especially when you look around your social circle at all the full manes, you feel ripped-off and isolated. Furthermore there is the extra pressure on you from your peers because in modern culture a full head of hair is synonymous with youth. It has you doubting yourself. Might you look unfavorable to a potential employer? Or even more serious will you be overlooked by girls?
There are a number of misconceptions on the subject of hair loss. Wearing headwear is not going to make your hair fall out nor will using hair products. It is actually typical to lose hair; believe it or not, the typical person will shed between 50 and 100 hairs daily. However for some these hairs are not always regrown. The most frequent cause of thinning hair in men is the hereditary condition androgenic alopecia which is more commonly known as male pattern baldness. Men with this particular issue have higher levels of a hormone known as 5(alpha)-reductase, which changes testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT attacks hair follicles, slowly shrinking them which results in shorter, thinner hair until finally the hair follicle dies.
For those who have read this far and can relate then you have most likely come to grips with your hair loss… but what can you do about it? You can try your best to disguise it maybe using the good old comb over or in my situation the comb forward. But that isn't going to do the job forever and you will sooner or later wind up resembling Donald Trump.
Two commonly used hair loss solutions are Rogaine and Propecia. Rogaine is a solution that is applied specifically to the scalp. Rogaine functions to increase the size of shrunken hair follicles to enable them to produce lengthier, thicker hairs. Propecia is a tablet that helps to slow down the production of DHT (the hormone that we established is liable for shrinking the hair follicles in the first place). The trouble with these two medications is that the second you stop using these products your hair will go back to the original condition.
Another alternative is laser treatment in which a low level laser is used to activate hair follicles and entice hair growth. This is something which I have tried personally. I once gave a company thousands of dollars for a plan made up entirely of the previously mentioned drugs plus some laser hair consultations. There appeared to be minimal improvement. Be aware that the results may differ because obviously everyone is different; nonetheless, I surely couldn't see the justification of the multi-thousand dollar sale price.
The earlier treatments work on the premise that you catch your hair loss early. If it's too far gone for you there are some aesthetic solutions such as a hair piece. These can be expensive and difficult to maintain. And in spite of seeming natural, all it's going to take is for somebody to run their fingers through your hair to realise that it isn't real. You could also try hair transplants where healthy hair is gathered from the other parts of your head and relocated to the bald areas. It's often an expensive and painful process and there is the potential risk of scarring.
The last alternative and this is one which i began leaning towards recently is to just go bald gracefully. Shave your head. Look at a number of the guys out there making this look cool. Michael Jordan, Vin Diesel and Bruce Willis just to mention a few. True, it will be scary to take that first step, nonetheless you will find guys out there with faultless hairlines that choose this as a style because it looks hot and in some cases makes them look younger.
You need to realise that losing your hair is not the end of the universe although it is disheartening because it is something you do not have a lot of control over. Just remember you are not by yourself with reports demonstrating that one in four men will experience premature balding before their 30th birthday. It's not your hair style that defines you. It's your self-confidence.
