I have always been extremely confident in my work life and appearance, so when it started dawning on me that I was thinning, I simply shaved my head grade 1 and shrugged it off.
That was 4 and a half years ago. Ever since then the comments on my baldness have increased and ultimately my self confidence has plummeted, so much so that it has cost me a relationship (who always skirted the conversation about my hair, but every now and again slipped up, causing me more anguish and a further drop in confidence).
2 years ago I found a good look by wearing certain hats which went well with the outfits I was wearing, however, I wear suits to the office where hats are out of the question, and in many social environments - restaurants, pubs, bars, etc. hats can be seen as socially unacceptable and I dreaded the moment I would walk in and the bouncer/waiter would ask me to remove my hat.
Around the same time as I started adopting hats, I decided to try and take matters into my own hands by searching for "cures" to my ever increasing baldness. Firstly I tried the Belgravia Centre to look into Minoxidil and laser treatment, who were actually very helpful and informative. Unfortunately I was told that although it would help to thicken and maintain my remaining hair, it would be unable to regrow hair in the follicles which had stopped producing hair; this to me was unacceptable as I wanted to replace the hair at the front of my head, not over-compensate the remaining hair I had.
The next option I tried was with Advanced Hair Studio who I believe, from reading posts in this forum, many of you have already had poor dealings with! The experience for me was dreadful. I was quite excited about going for the consultation as their "strand-by-strand" technique certainly didn't sound like "a wig" on their website.
The salesman there was very forceful and seemed very put out that I wouldn't be parting with £4,000 there and then (obviously that's when the alarm bells started ringing!), I then read more AHS reviews online and was shocked and appalled at the treatment and service many clients had received. That's when I started to realise just how ruthless the hair treatment industry really is!!
I'd reached a very low ebb by this point as I truly couldn't see a solution to my problem, that was until I found Spex's website and started reading all of your posts in the forums... The information provided has given me a light at the end of the tunnel, and even before booking a consultation, I already felt a huge weight off my shoulders that there actually IS something I can do about my hair loss!
It's been a year now since I decided to do something about my hair and chose which solution would best fit my situation. I have therefore decided to write this step-by-step blog to show you my progress over the coming year.
My current routine is: Regaine 5% twice daily, which I have been using for 6 months, and I will now be adding the following into my routine:
- Nizoral Shampoo every other day.
- Alpecin Shampoo on alternate days.
- 1mg Finpecia daily.
From having several conversations with "Spex" (what a great guy!) I have decided to also go for 3,500 - 4,000 strip surgery with Dr Feller. I'm hoping to book this in for either September or November, providing I can get the time off work.
I have also included some pictures... The first two show where I was in May 2011, and the last three show where I am after a few months growth and 6 months of just Minoxodil. I plan to put more photos up once I have been in the routine of Nizoral, Alpecin and Finpecia for a couple of months.
Thanks all and take care for now!
Morgan
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