I wanted to ask you guys: Am I already past the point of no return here?
My hair 5 years ago. Then one year later when it started to thin out. I’m sorry for not having comparable angles, I just wanted to show you my original/then hair to give an idea of its type and how you can style it (a receeding hairline is quite managable with long curl hair imo)
Realistically, how uphill of a battle would it even be to get decent hair back at this stage? Not perfection, just something that looks good and not like I’m constantly fighting a losing battle. I don’t mind putting in effort or committing to treatment, I just don’t want to be deluding myself if this is already too far gone. I’m not interested in a transplant either. I don’t have the money for it, and I’m not keen on something that invasive. Honestly, I’m more concerned about the medication side of things anyway, especially since a transplant would still mean being on meds long term.
For context/background:
Been dealing with hair loss since I was 19. First time I asked a doctor about finasteride she basically laughed at me and said the side effects weren’t worth it, plus it’s not really prescribed much where I live.
Three years later I ask a different doctor and he says the complete opposite, calls it a great drug. Funny part is he was bald himself. I was like screw it, let’s try it. Told my brother about it and he went off on me about how I don’t understand the science and I’m being stupid. Honestly, he kind of had a point. I don’t feel like I fully understand it either.
I’ve used minoxidil. It did thicken things a bit, but it never felt like an actual solution. Meanwhile I started getting bald spots. Not just one, but three. One I think I always kinda had, maybe from a bump on the back of my head. Then one that looked like a weird cowlick. Then a bigger one next to it.
Super embarrassing. I’d get compliments on my curly hair but also constant jokes about the bald spots.
At one point I told my dad it was his fault. He’s been bald forever. The guy looked genuinely hurt and apologized. That hit me hard. He’s always been confident, never cared about stuff like this, always told me to go out and face hard things head on. And here I am blaming him for my hair.
Eventually I shaved it all off. Honestly, people reacted way better than I expected. Got a lot of compliments, people said it suited me. My girlfriend at the time cried though. Since then I’ve dated other women and yeah… most of them prefer hair. Even the one who liked the buzz still wanted me to grow it out.
My mom also keeps telling me to grow it back because I’ve “erased” her Italian side. I used to have thick, dark, curly hair. Almost black.
Now I’m 27 and it’s gotten way worse, fast. At this point it’s basically just a sad little island in the middle and my temples are gone. I have to buzz it to zero all the time and even then you can clearly see the bald spots.
People always say “just shave it bro, it’s easier.” It’s not. You have to maintain it constantly. Miss a day or two and it already looks off. If I razor shave I end up with cuts and irritation.
And yeah I know the advice. Ignore comments, be confident, own it. In most parts of my life I actually am confident. People would describe me that way.
But this… this still gets to me. Some days I genuinely feel embarrassed just going outside.
Balding really sucks (or mby I suck at balding idk).