Hi, guys....I'm new here.
I've been thinking about this recently, and I've suddenly realized that I am growing increasingly weary of staring at the top of my head.
I am a 46-year-old man, with a Norwood 7, which is nuclear level baldness. I first experienced hair loss at age 17, and gradually lost more hair over time.....until experiencing extreme hair loss by age 33. For the past 13 years, I've lived with my hair loss....and I've long accepted it. Until now.
Until two years ago....I've had bigger muscles, better skin, less gray hair, slightly thicker eyebrows, slightly thicker sideburns, a younger face, and better health. My health is poor now, my muscles have shrunk, and my face has noticeably aged. So I feel like I cannot ignore being bald any more.
Basically, I've experienced a lot of stress-related aging over the past two years.....and it's high time that I facilitated some positive changes in my life. While there are many things I need to do to fix the recent aging of my neck and face (I look much older now than only two years ago), I'm thinking about my hair at the moment.
My hair loss is very extreme at this point. I have a low density "horseshoe", with hair loss at the nape of my neck, thinning and graying sideburns, noticeable recession at the temples and side hairline.......and of course, I'm completely bald on top. Even my eyebrows are thinning out.
I sometimes experience acne breakouts at the hairline at the nape of my neck, due to the loss of hair there.
For many years (since age 22), I took a medication (Depakote ER) that had hair loss as a possible side effect. I stopped taking this medicine about 18 months ago. However, both sides of my family have genetic hair loss....so this situation cannot be entirely blamed on medication. I even experienced folliculitis six years ago (causing more hair loss at the nape of my neck), and then also an extreme case of poison ivy on my head six years ago (causing even more hair loss).
So I do not have a lot of donor hair left. :mad:
At the very least, I'd like to use a hair transplant to thicken my EYEBROWS and my SIDEBURNS.....even assuming that I am not an acceptable candidate for a regular hair transplant.
I believe that I have two choices:
(1.) Hair Transplant: Maybe I could get myself a LOW DENSITY, mature hairline....and then just shave it into a buzzcut. I'd also try to get an EYEBROW TRANSPLANT, as well as transplant some of my darker hair into my SIDEBURNS and into the NAPE of my neck.
It wouldn't be anywhere close to perfect, but maybe I could have a subtle halo of hair framing my face. The thicker eyebrows would be nice too. This would (theoretically) be a subtle improvement.
(2.) Hairpiece (enhanced with transplant): If I were to get a HAIRPIECE, I would still need to transplant some hair into my SIDEBURNS and into the NAPE OF MY NECK. I'd probably have to transplant a little hair into my TEMPLES too, in order to properly frame my face for a hairpiece. And of course, I'd also transplant hair into my EYEBROWS.
However, hair systems can be a bit of a pain. I'm in my mid-40's, and my friends and family have already seen me bald for the past 13 years.....so it doesn't really matter to me that much if people know that I'm wearing a hair system. But this would mean that I'd have to deal with regular hair maintenance and upkeep, and maybe even have to deal with traction alopecia.
So basically.....my health, youth, and looks have deteriorated over the past two years....and I now need to take steps to fix things. Here are some pics that I took today. Take note that my hair is buzzed down, so I don't know if I should grow it longer to give you guys a clearer picture of my true level of hair loss. Of course, I don't even know if I am a suitable candidate for hair transplantation.
I hope you gentlemen have some good advice.
