swayzedo

I've been reading a lot of news about hair growth and stem cells and it seems to be the hot topic right now, especially since a few companies ave started moving onto later phases of experimentation with the techniques (Although the old tag of "in 5 years time" is always hovering over it) I for one am greatly looking forward to this because in all honestly.......I really don't want a hair transplant. I want to be able to grow back my own hair and re-awaken the follicles that I already have. I'm sure most would agree that they would certainly prefer this to having grafts. While speaking to some beauty industry (for want of a better description) colleagues, a few said that it was a definite hot topic and that very soon you will be seeing hair and beauty salons with a small lab facility and technician who will easily take your blood, separate the stem cell plasma or whatever it's called and re inject into your scalp and hairs will grow. While I certainly didn't believe a word of what was said because I know the techniques are still in the testing phase and if it were to become available I'm sure most of the reputable hair clinics in the world would be offering it first instead of small businesses I am still rather attracted to the 'idea' that this could be a reality. While any final solution is a long way off, the actual technique employed seems to be rather a simple one. Far simpler than individual splicing and planting of strips as is the case with current HT's Take some blood, process it to get the necessary materials, inject back into scalp. I'm sure anyone familiar with botox injections could master it. Obviously it will cost a fortune when it first appears and only large clinics will be offering it but something in me can actually see it filtering down to this level. Even if it doesn't get past the level of large hair clinics I don't think it will affect HT's that much either. There will always be people who want to change a bit here and there and maybe lower or reshape their natural hairline so that side of it will still be sought after although maybe not as much but it could become a much more specialised technique rather than just 'growing back what you had' (A great excuse to bump the price up as well) Maybe I am being overly hopeful and totally barking up the wrong tree but still, it made me think. Thoughts?

Scar5 you and I are on the same wavelength. The alpha male stuff is totally true and is a sure case of 'get in there and make it obvious myself before anyone else comments on it and makes me look small' Some even going as far as to say "Doesn't bother me at all, I never wanted hair!" (Yes I've heard this said by some guys. Usually quite loud and brash ones!) I do realise that there are some guys out there that like to shave their head as a choice and these guys who say they don't care probably refer to that,but even then they 'shaved by choice' ones have some sort of visible hairline even with a close crop which makes your line of "Balding is not a choice, being bald is!" even more poignant and true! I would bet everything I owned that if a cure for baldness suddenly appeared in the form of a one time pill or injection and was offered for free to these guys who constantly say "man up, I don't care, it's only hair" etc. that they would jump at the chance. Or at least it would be interesting to see how far their macho bullshit would hold them back from something they want for fear of looking weak for showing desire.

I do completely agree. It's really just another vent for me as to why it's such an ill treated condition socially and it doesn't help that we're turned on by our own kind. I do enjoy a good rant on here as I've really no where else to do it!

I have recently noticed the alarming fact that the people who try to get you to accept/bully your hair loss aren't the people with full heads of hair (as I once thought, but they come in second) but it's more the people who have had hair loss, shaved their heads and went on and just "accepted" it. You will notice that I put accepted in quote marks because in all honesty, I think these people are really nothing but poor bitter souls trying to drag you down with them. I recently had an (online) battle with a close cropped chap who at the end of a discussion about hair loss told me to "Man up, just get it shaved!" as If my masculinity was somehow lessened by my concern for my head hair and this got me thinking about the minds of such people. This man and others like him have obviously gone through the whole desperation, worry, denial etc (if anyone says they haven't they are lying) and in my opinion, instead of hiding it or looking for a solution they have gone balls out and substituted their 'hair confidence' with a 'look at what I've done and how manly I am by caring so little about my appearance" by making a big thing about shaving their head due to hair loss. Of course with this faux show of power, any empathy shown to anyone else with hair loss wold break down their wall of confidence (and ego) that they need so badly to keep a check on what they have lost on their heads and so first comes the ridicule to any poor guy expressing his concerns and then the demands that you "Just shave it!". Perhaps to physically see, or to have had a hand in having another person take the plunge with the clippers would ease their sense of isolation. Maybe belittling another's struggle with the same condition he once had will give him some sense of victory and/or superiority which will further add to his wall of confidence. Then again I could be completely wrong!

I think with us being guys we'll always have testosterone floating around our bodys which will over time be converted to DHT to supply all the receptors we have to suppress hair growth. How much hair you will lose is down to how many of these receptors you have. There are guys in their 70's with some receding at the temples and that's it so they must have a few peppered around there while I also see guys in their 20's with full NW 7's and they must have the full set.

I wouldn't say processed food cause hair loss. Eating burgers and pizza isn't going to grow DHT receptors on hair follicles that weren't there before but I certainly agree that it can't help. In both hair loss and anything else for that matter. Although eating crap could cause unnatural chemical imbalances in the body and maybe lead to more DHT being manufactured. At the end of the day some folk have attached ear lobes, some people are double jointed, some people have these receptors in their hair follicles (Which by all accounts are still there and able to work but have just been turned off). Luck of the draw some might say!

TakingThePlunge has nailed it right on the head, it's getting back what we once had before. Society seems to view loss as some sort of strength test for the macho man, be it hair or any other kind. The less you are bothered by it the more of a man you are. Women seems to get away with anything simply because they are women and are allowed to do so by society. (This is just an comparative observation, not a misogynistic remark) I'm sure I've expressed on this forum before that I regard hair loss as a genetic fault that serves no purpose nor gives any evolutionary advantage and hence should never have been there in the first place. So, not only am I trying to get back what I once had, I am trying to put things back the way they should have been in the first place.

Thanks of the reply's guys. Zenmunk you've got it in one. Guys have this macho bullshit force fed to them from birth that nothing, and I mean noting should bother them. It's an outdated point of view that most men and women alike share and it's a load of rubbish. Hairshopeing made a very good point, if someone is overweight then some discipline, a good diet and exercise can sort that in a matter of months. With hair loss it doesn't matter what you eat or how many pushups you do it's not going to grow hair back and is such beyond our control, which pisses me off more than the taunting I have to admit so in this field we HAVE to ask for help and I maybe fear that's part of the problem because I for one like to do things on my own steam if I can, but I can't so I don't mind asking for help, but it seems others do and will make a joke out of a sensitive issue. Keep em' coming folks, it's great hearing folks tales and opinions on the subject!

Thanks for the reply and the story! That's exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about! It's a shame that there isn't some rule, even a social one that prevents this sort of abuse, and it is abuse at the end of the day. What's more saddening that even if there was one the amount of men that would stay silent rather than support it for fear of taunting would probably outweigh the ones that would, but then again you never know.

After having a discussion with friends and friends of friends about all things personal we got onto the subject of physical things we'd change about ourselves that would make us so much happier. All manner of subjects were discussed from being taller, breast enlargement, botox, nips tucks in certain areas etc and it was all good fun and quite enlightening about what people think of themselves. It turned sour when it came to my turn and I honestly only had 2 things I'd change about myself. I'd have some pock marks from teenage acne on my face removed and I'd have my hairline restored. This caused an absolute barrage of taunts, verbal prods and rather soon deteriorated into insults and argument. I was accused of being vain as per the normal but what I couldn't get over is that these people really couldn't get the idea out of their head that I wanted my hairline restored so I could get more women. That's it, that was their sole idea of what a man who is losing their hair thinks about. They really couldn't understand the fact that it was ME who didn't like the way I looked and if I did anything about it it would be for ME and no-one else. One of the girls also said one of the most ignorant things I have ever heard, she said "I can understand being upset if a woman goes bald but a man? Grow a pair and just accept it!" This was also the girl who wanted bigger boobs, liposuction (instead of diet and exercise) and get's a fake tan every week. Equality is not alive in this day and age. The taunts and insults don't actually bother me personally but It really sticks in my craw that it's socially acceptable to mock someone for this affliction, or to be more accurate for showing that it bothers you. I would never insult someone for being fat, for having a birth mark or for having some condition that is beyond their control affect their physical appearance. I'd like to hear about anyone else who has been witchhunted for opening up about their hair concerns and if you have any funny quotes from people like my bronzed female friend above then please feel free to post them!

Thanks for the reply. 1 is definitely the strongest case if there was a reason but I still find myself drawn to number 5. I'm sure there are a million others as well!

I've been doing a bit of online reading as to whether baldness offers or used to offer some genetic advantage and I must say it's been interesting. Some....in fact most of the results I have turned up have been written by obvious morons who do not have a clue about the process but it is an interesting topic, or at the very least something to make us all feel a little better. As far as my opinion goes I still think it is simply a random genetic fault that happens by chance to people. The variety of different ways it can happen plus the obvious fact that so many men out there have full heads of hair pretty much rules out that it is a 'standard' factor that men must put up with and go through. We all know the story. DHT binds to a receptor in the hair follicle and makes it shrink until the follicle stops producing hair (Whether the follicles is actually dead or dormant or not is another piece of interesting research). Hair style, texture and race all seem to be vulnerable to the distribution of these receptors in the scalp which follow a pattern but vary in their numbers as show by how much hair is lost via the norwood scale. But if it is a planned human genetic trait what of the advantages? If all men went bald there would be some solid evidence for reasoning but look around and you will see lots of men of all ages sporting full thatches so again it all seems too random to have any purpose for humans as a whole species other than something that shouldn't have been there in the first place. If there are advantages the most interesting arguments I've heard for it are 1. Receding and showing more of the head shows maturity and is a sign for a female that the man is calming down and ready to settle with a family (Cave man rules apply here) 2. 50, 000 years ago humans weren't designed to naturally live past the age of 25 so some of the humans body's do not know what to do with themselves after that. 3. Showing more of the head/brain shows more wisdom and could add to a primal hierarchy system. 4. Man knows how to make fire and doesn't need hair for heat anymore (that one did make me chuckle a bit!) 5. Shit happens. I know DHT largely gets the blame but I think it is these damn receptors on the hair follicle that are the culprit. If there was a way of shutting them off then the DHT would be rendered "harmless" for want of a better word which sort of takes us back round to the case of whether the follicle is dead or dormant or not and could it be awakened (I have seen many people arguing the case for both sides) As well as being a hair loss sufferer I do find the subject of genetics rather interesting so this is actually quite a fun topic for me. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the reply's folks. I wasn't implying that money is the only factor, I'm aware there is a lot of different feelings out there I was just stating that was my reason and perhaps it came out wrong. I could get it done tomorrow but I refuse to get in to debt so I am saving instead. I suppose I am fortunate that I work from home and can afford to be 'out of sight' long enough for things to heal a little but the procedure itself has never frightened me at all. Even the shaving part I've prepared myself mentally for (and for a rocker like me who's had long hair since my early teens it was a big factor) Scars and such don't concern me because if I was to get it done it would be FUE, no question. I want the freedom to shave my head at will if the fancy takes me and know I can grow it back (although I doubt I ever will) But please keep on coming with your fears, reasons, holdbacks and whatever else may be standing in your way. Thanks!

I've noticed that a lot of hair surgeons and clinics seem to be under the impression that people are unsure about transplants because they are unsure of the procedure involved. They seem to constantly wish to reassure the patent (no bad thing of course) as if it is the only factor. I don't know if this is the norm but for me it's the cost that is prohibitive and not the procedure itself. To my mind, anyone with internet access can learn about all the ins and outs of FUT, FUE, medication, non-surgical treatments etc. so to be unsure of the surgery itself seems a little odd. Even if it is the surgeon that is in question a bit of carefull research goes a long way. I know in my case if I could afford it I would be booking my appointment with my surgeon of choice (Farjo) today and would have it done tomorrow. I'm interested in opinions about this subject. What is stopping you from going ahead with a transplant?

I really don't get why hair loss is not considered a proper medical condition, for some at least. My best friend of 17 years has become a recluse. This is a man who was the life and soul of the party and now he won't set foot out of his front door because his hair loss has gnawed away at his confidence so much that his whole perception of the world has changed. He is also the most un-vain person I know so images of a raging narcissist can be put firmly to rest. It didn't help that it took all his courage to go to a doctor to get some advice on what to do and was basically treated like a spoilt child and told to 'deal with it' in the most humiliating way. It sickens me that all hair loss sufferers are lumped into the same category. People deal with death in different ways. Some can deal with it well and continue on in life while others need severe therapy and/or treatment. There is a gradient for hair loss trauma as well. These people who think it is pathetic to worry about hair are nothing more than bullys. It's true, some men are comfy and even suit a bald head, which is superb for them but to ridicule others for not only losing their hair but to be concerned about it is nothing more than macho bullshit off the leash. I suffer from these same concerns as my friend although I am able to go about my life as usual, but I can feel the path to that extreme train of thought is easier to fall down that you might think...for anyone. Our society needs a good look at itself in regards to this matter, because it's far uglier to see a grown man become a shell because of the mental issues brought on by hair loss than the perception of the whiney mirror lover that we all get tagged with. If or when I get a hair transplant it will be for my pleasure only, not because I think other people will view me differently. Thank you for letting me rant.

Well it's late on a Friday night and I felt like writing something down so here we go. It's not an update (much) or my usual moan but just some thoughts. I've come around to the fact that hair has become an obsession with me. Not that it's anything new, I've always had a thing about hair since the days of watching He-Man as a child in the early 80's and I've always had long hair. I just like the way it feels and it suits my head and face. Seriously! I wouldn't suit short or no hair. With that in mind I do put this obsession that has developed now down to a combination of my early love for hair and a slight but all too real form of mental trauma. I don't kid when I say this, many peoples obsessions are the result of trauma and for a man, losing your hair can be extremely traumatic indeed. Even all the scam websites push this fact, albeit for the wrong reasons, and I'm sure everyone on here would share this feeling but yet it is still seen as a cosmetic luxury. Why? It comes down to the opinion of "You can function properly without any hair!" Well, you can function properly with one leg as well. This may seem like an extreme example but the end result is basically true in this modern world. People who worry about losing their hair are branded as vain with no real problems and this simply is not true. It is the opposite in fact. I personally feel that if I could reverse my condition and grow hair back in the places that it is missing that my work productivity would increase tenfold, my confidence would grow even more and my general wellbeing would rise to heights that I can't even imagine becasue of the simple fact that I wouldn't have to think about my hair as much! It's true! Most of my time is spent worrying about that gust of wind, or that spout of rain or that one annoying person who insists on ruffling your hair as a greeting and praying to whoever that it doesn't expose that horrible receding that I took great pains to style to make less noticable. if i had my way, it would be a quick wash and dry, a few strokes of the fingers through the hair and out the door without giving the locks a second thought. It would also allow the sort of therapy women have been privy to for centuries. A change of style! There's not much you can do with (in my case) longish hair and a receding hairline bar a middle parting or slightly off centre and then tuck the rest behind your ears. What about a "straight from the pool" combed right back look, or even a clean cropped trendy style with a spike or some such or maybe a big sweeping side shed straight from the 1980's (my personal favourite) It is true, a new hairstyle like new clothes can be like a change of character. Very helpful if you have some other sort of trauma going on in your life. It can completely transform the way your face is shaped, reflect your mood and make you feel like a new chapter has started. This is the choice that is denied to millions of men around the globe due to a genetic defect that has absolutely no relevence OR advantage to anyone in this day and age, not that it ever did of course! So why is everyone still treating this condition like a case of bad vanity? Is it vanity to want to look your best and therefor help you be your best? If I suffered facial burns and wanted to get it sorted would it be vanity then? No? Why? I could still function. These examples must seem rather heartless to the poor souls who have had to really suffer them, but I only use them becasueI have had them flung in my face when trying to discuss my hair loss with others only to be met with the response of "You don't have a problem, poor people with burns on one leg have problems!" This is of course absolutely true, but just because one persons trauma is more extreme does not make the other persons any less of a trauma and this should be fully recognised by everyone! We can grow a human ear on a mouse but we can't figure out how to regrow hair? Pull the other one!!! Thanks for reading! P.S. Just a small update on the derma roller. It's coming up to the 3 month mark now I think (or was that last month) and I'm still plugging away every night. My right temple which has the most receding has more darker longer hairs regrowing than the left which isn't as bad but only has a patch of dark hairs. Both sides seem to have ample vellus hairs in the form of what looks like downy fluff and again the overall result so far looks better in some lights than it does with others, although lately it feels like things have sort of slowed down a little in the progress department. I have noticed that any new dark hair that starts growing has an invisible tip that looks like an old vellus hair that is only visible in certain lights so I'm very much hoping that the rest will be going through their cycles and will follow suit. Until next time!

Well it's been a couple of months now since I started using the derma roller on my receding hairline and so far.......I'm really impressed! There is definate new growth happening and every day I seem to be finding new hairs and they are getting quite long and thicker by the day, and this is just with derma roller 0.5mm, no creams or minox or anything like that. Make no mistake though, it's slow...slow and drawn out but the progress is there and noticable. The hairs are still quite thin and in some strong lights they disappear altogether but in others they look dark and getting thicker. The other day in a brief flicker of sunlight while looking in the mirror I noticed quite a few vellus hairs which were a bit longer than the others and a 'touch' more golden looking. I can only assume (or hope) that this is the hairs in their early growing stages, much like baby hairs and they will become thicker and darker as time goes on. My receding patches are covered in small vellus hairs anyway, a touch thicker than on my forehead but I think it was like that anyway so I'm hoping that if I keep stimulating them they will grow into nice thick hairs. I've decided to give the derma roller a year. It's a good length of time to determine what will happen. My new hair growth may stop at a certain stage, or it may become patchy with growth only in certain areas but I'm hoping for the best and TBH I don't need my hairline ultra straight to acheive that great Kurt Russell look which I am after. One thing I am shocked about is the complete lack of treatment results on the internet. There are scores of site promoting derma rollers in combination with minox with some (pretty shady if I'm honest) photos of 'results' but these sites are comletely geared towards selling you something and as such I don't trust them, but just cases of normal people doing what I'm doing and documenting it seem to be zero. Like I said, I'm not using any minox or chemicals, I'm simply running the roller over my hairless areas very gently twice every night and that's it. No blood is drawn and no pain is felt although i do get the 'sunburn' effect straight after but I put a touch of moisturiser on after and it's gone in the morning. The person who derma rollers my face is the one who told me about how to go about it. He says that the whole roller/minox thing is just companies trying to sell you something and that the body is more than capable of regenerating the follicles on it's own providing you have a good blood supply and that excessive force with the roller can damage the follicle and as such it must be used for gentle stimulation on the thin skin that is on the head. I'm quite a keep fit fanatic and I've taken to putting a pillow on the floor and doing a headstand for 30 seconds a few times after a workout, just to blast a bit of blood to the scalp to help the process along. I have no idea if it works or not but i recall seeing a program years ago about a bald man who did inversion therapy (hanging upside down) and he had new growth appear on his head so I'm reckoning that it can't hurt. I hope someone reads this and tries it out as well as I'd like the comparison but if you do then I'll tell you exactly what I was told. You will reach a point where you will thnk "This is doing nothing for me!" but just keep at it and I'm pretty sure you will see something as well.

I thought I'd do a short post as an update. Well after the less than encouraging appointment with Vinci I decided to give the derma roler a go. TBH I didn't hold much hope for it. I'd seen gimicks before and I thought it would just be one of them but I decided to give it a shot based on the reccomendation of the person who derma rollers my skin. Well I'm one month in and I have to say.......I'm quite impressed. I'm definetely seeing growth of new hairs and this is without any other chemicals or product being rubbed in afterwords (apperently it's a scam and all you need s the derma roller itself) I'm using a .50 length roller and I was instructed to go over the area that I wanted treated sort of like painting. I'd do it upward once beiong careful to avoid any overlaps and with minimal pressure (it can damage the follicle apparently) then repeat and put a touch of mousturiser on after. I've also got back into my old bodybuilding routine and diet and started cardio as well so there should be plenty of nutrients flying around my body and a nice healthy system to transport them to the head. I'm thinking of getting gravity boots and trying some inversion as well as I've heard good things about it and it can't hurt to shunt some blood to your head. It's still a long ways off of course but even when I was on propecia and I got a tiny little amount of spurts it was nothing like this. It's baby fine hairs of course and not many at the moment but they are there and I seem to be finding new ones every day. I'm hoping that the fine hairs will thicken up now that the follicles have been re-activated and are going through their stages again. If this is just a month in then I can't wait to see what my hairline will be like in a year. I'll report back ina month or so.

Well I have just come back from my consultation with the Vinci hair clinic, and I must say I am disappointed. My appointment was at 2pm and I met my consultant (a nice gentleman who has had many experiences of hair transplants since the 70's) and the first thing I realised that it was not a Surgery I was in, but a hired confrence room in an office building. I then found out that the clinic actually had no surgerys in Glasgow at all and the main ones that I would need to travel to for the procedure were in London or Malaga. The consultation was pleasent enough I suppose. My consultant asked me about my family history of hair loss and gave a small lecture about FUT and FUE (all of which I'd researched before anyway but it was nice to be reinformed!) He then examined my donor area with some sort of camera hooked up to the computer and told me what I really already knew that I had lots of thick full doner hair with lots of 2&3 hairs sprouting from a simgle follicle ripe for the taking. All was going nicely then I got asked to draw on my head where I would like my hairline, and I did quite a good job if I do say so myself, but then it turned a touch suspicious. A photo was taken then I was told that my receding area was going to be examined to see how many grafts that I needed. I had images of a nurse coming in with some sort of skin area measuring machine or some way of counting hairs per sq. inch that would be suitable for my thickness, but no. My consultant took a look at one side of my head for all of 6 seconds then sat down and told me that I needed 1500 grafts to achive the look I wanted. Now, far be it from me to argue but I know my area that needs fixed is next to nothing especially when compared to others, even more so due to the fact that my original hairline was slightly curved upward and didn't begin it at the lowest point and I got that bang on with the pen on my head so 1500 seemed a bit excessive a number for what I thought I needed and for the quickflash examination by someone, albeit experienced, was not a doctor or qualified medical professional. After some scribbling he got out his calculator and got down to prices and that's when my jaw nearly hit the ground. For the procedure to be performed in London it would be £8000 and in Malaga it would be just over £7000. I nearly walked out there and then. I know HT's are somewhat expensive but for someone who can still walk around quite happily in public without a hat having enough hair at the front to comfortably hide any of my small recdeding and knowing the surface area that needs fixed I just thought that this was a complete rip off. If it costs 8 grand for someone like me to get a small bit of hairline straightened out at either side of the temples (none in the middle, that is still there and very thick) then what must they charge for someone who is really going bald? My heart did sink afterwords. I still don't get how people can charge £3-4000 for HT let alone £8000. It's just far and beyond the reach of you're average normal person. I was expecting 900-1100 grafts and maybe a cost of about £2500-3000 which at a stretch I could pull off (I refuse to get into debt, has to be a one off payment!) but these prices are just greed plain and simple becasue they can charge it, and after the rather speedy 'examination' and arrival of the amount of grafts I needed I'm finding the trust in the whole buisiness and concern about my well being and result rather than bagging another client rather hard to find. I would like to shop around and try other clinics such as Farjo, just even for a second opinion but right now I'm feeling rather sour. Well for now I am trying the derma roller on my receding hairline as recommended by my skin consultant who says it is effective in regenerating sleeping follicles and I hope he is right as right now it seems to be my only option.

It's been a while since I've posted a blog on here. been concerned with other stuff right now. My hair loss journey continues and I'm close to actually booking a consultation with the Vinci clinic here in Glasgow. I didn't know much about them at first but I've seen their results and for what I need (which isn't much) it will be ideal for me. As I've said before, I'm lucky! I'm 34 years old and I have a good head of hair with no real signs that it's getting any worse. I've been off propecia for about 3 months now and I can't really see much difference either way, but my receding hairliine still plauges my mind at every turn. I'm a rock and metal guy and even though I've been wearing it reasonably short I have the urge to grow it again so it's basically now or never as I'll probably have to get it shaved to complete the procedure. After looking at old pics of myself I realise now that my receding is nowhere near as bad as I thought it was. I have what I call my 'dracula' point in the middle and I've always had it which gives the appearence of much more receding than what actually is. I can safely say it's just over an inch from my original hairline that I've gone back which for my ages is damn good and its reasonably thin as well and should be easy to straighten off. It doesn't in any way take away from the horrible pain and torment that I share with everyone else on this forum, but It seems so much more in reach now than it ever did and I can't see the entire procedure being any more that 800 grafts max (FUE) in total which is both affordable and less time consuming. I still refuse to take out a loan so I have a number of posessions that I can sell to get me going, I just need to take that final step and book a consultation and find out what the score is with pricing and procedure. Wish me luck.......it begins here!!!

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has any information or has had experience with the Vinci clinics? I stumbled apon their website as I noticed they had a clinic where I live (Glasgow) and lot's more around the world and as always I like to do my research but as yet I can't find much opinion about them. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks!

Some folk suit being bald. They really do and they look both stylish and distinctive. Some people choose to be bald by shaving their head right down to the scalp and all power to them. To have the choice must be wonderful. I however absolutely know that I would not suit being bald or losing my hair. It really is amazing how much of your personality and character lives on the top of your head and how it can change the way you look by framing your face. I look at balding actors on the TV and I always put my thumb up so it covers their head and just shows their face and BAM! It instantly knocks about 15 years off them. There is no getting away from it, losing your hair makes you look OLD. No sorry I will rephrase that, old is good and can look great. To my eyes It makes you look like you are malnourished, diseased and past a certin point of virility that most men do not hit until their early 50's now (if at all) I lead a healthy lifestyle. I work out, my diet is a protein rich, vitamin laced menu of real, whole organic foods and fruits and I feel great in the fact that if there is a part of me that I don't like then I can change it with excercise, good nutrition and patience (this goes back to my teens when I suffered from bad acne and a good diet all but cured me!) Now I'm no control freak, but I do like to have options and losing my hair is one of the biggest frustrations I thnk I have ever encountered. No amount of working out or good food will grow my hairline back and that really, really angers me. I'm lucky in the fact that I am just receding at the temples and I can still go out and look perfectly fine with a bit of combing, but my hairstyle is limited to a middle parting or slightly off centre. I'm a rock man so I wear it long but there is no variety at all that I can do and this frustrates me even further. I've been on Propecia for three months now and I am slightly confused about what the drug is meant to do. I have heard so many different reports from different people and I am wondering what one is correct? I've heard people say it halts receding altogether while others say it only slows it down. Others say it will promote new growth and others say that new growth is impossible on it. 3 months in I have had a few tufts of very fine but dark hair grow in aroudn the edges of my receding. This occured quite soon after taking tem so I was understandably excited but not much seems to be happeneing now. I'm just wondering if it is worth paying £40 a month for a few baby tufts of hair that I can do nothing with. I am becoming increasingly disilusioned with hair transplants because of the highly overblown price of them. There's no arguing about it, it IS far too expensive. There are many skilled and artistic jobs out there that are both time consuming and require a flare for style and none are as expensive as HT. I find the term 'cosmetic' in regard to hair restoration both insulting and devious. No one knows the tramua that a man goes through when he loses his hair exept that man and it is deep and distresing yet to do something about it is seen as a luxury treatment, a frivolous expense to rub one's own ego and the medical community has pounces on this like a pack of wolves on a wounded calf. Paying isn't a problem. It really isn't. I don't know wany man who wouldn't fork out a bit to look his absolute best when it comes to hair, but the only reason that these prices are as they are is because they can be and that is all. No one denies doctors their living, but for me it will have to come down by at least half before I am willing (or able) to pay out. A reduction in price would enable the more common man to afford the treatment WITHOUT landing himself in debt and surgeries would be swamped, guarenteed! I have high hopes for the future though. HT are becoming much more widely accepted and public which will hopefully drive competition up and prices down. I remember when Botox was a celebrity only treatment that you really had to pay for and book in advance. Now any hair saon has a botox booth for a reasonable price and, altough I wouldn't like it to go that 'cheap' I am hoping that good quality HT will become much more affordabe for the billion+ laymen that are out there and can seriously consider it in their budget instead of desperatly seeking out credit cards and paying money that they don't have! I just hope it's sooner rather than later!

I'm reading a lot about other people Propecia stories, particularly if anyone has had regrowth in the temple region because, obviously that's where my problem is. The overwhelming opinion is that it's rare to see any regrowth at all and it is simply a stabalizer for teh loss. I find that interesting becasue I am still finding new tufts of regrowth almost every time I look in the mirror. As I've mentioned before it's not thick and it's quite sporadic but it's starting to become noticable now. I can clearly see a slight widening of my hairline and the tops of my receding 'horns' are starting to get darker with the finer tufts that are growing in and so seems to be blending much much more with the rest of my hair. I guess I am one of the luckier ones becasue I neverexpected this to happen at 2/3 months in. I'm considering getting some regane foam to use as well since the propecia is working so goo I thought I might give it a hand and see what happens. According to writings the fine hairs caused by the propecia should thicken up and if I can encourage ore with the regane then it may just save me a bit of money when I do go for my HT. Even now with this small improvement I feel more confident and ready to deal with life in a much better state of mind. I still feel very outraged that this horrible condition that affecst men is still seen as trivial. It is not, it is a MAJOR psycological handicap and really should be recognised as such in the interestes of metal health. I was discussing this issue with a gentleman who is a fairly bald, matcho type and he says that it doesn't matter and real men should just accept it. I would bet every hair on my head that if an affordable, non invasive cure was found tomorrow for baldness that he would be first in line. Similarly the attitude of women has to come a long way as well. Listening to a friend of a friend go on about it you would think that to have any kind of hairtreatment if you are a man is the same as admiting you are not a man, but if you are a woman and suffer hair loss it is somehow more distressing and tragic. Opinios are just that though and I am delighted to see that celebrities are bringing these treatments into the spotlight and hopefully oen day I will be able to visit my local heirdresser for a quick touch up of my hairline!

Ok thanks I think I'll use that website and order some MSD brand proscar when I run out of Propecia in 2 months and just cut it in half. ?500 a year compared to ?120 for the same drug is just no competition. It really is disgusting how quickly companies will jump to take advantage of people who just want to look and feel a little better.

Thanks for the great replies everyone! It is a pain in the arse getting it and I just shelled out ?80 for a 2 months supply so do you think I'd be better off getting a supply of Proscar (non generic of course!) Out of curiosity why is taking 1mg Propecia (or 1mg proscar) a better doseage for hair loss than just taking the full 5mg Proscar tablets? I'm not for a minute thinking of doing it but I'd like to ask! Thanks again for all the great help and information folks!