Where were you and what year was it when you found out you were going bald?

[Melvin- Admin]

For me, the year was 2007, it was in the spring the #1 song was MIMS- This is why I’m hot. I was a young 21 year old going through my first real breakup/heart break.

The  thought of going bald literally consumed me, it was a never ending torment. Looking at older guys in their 30’s and 40’s who had good hair left me feeling hopeless. Truthfully, much of my 20’s was spent either worrying about my hair loss, or compensating for my hair loss. 

If any of you guys are around the same age I was, my message is stay calm. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I’d love to hear some other stories, please share the year, where you were, and the #1 song you remember of that era. 

[karatekid]

Lol, this is actually funny because I can remember the exact (cursed) day it happened.

It was 10 years ago when I was 20 and served at the army. I have always been very concern about my look (which later I figured was bdd), but overall I was complete with it. I also never before even thought about hairloss.  People say you dont notice you losing hair until the situation already really bad. This is definitely not my case.

One day I wake up and look at the mirror, and I see that the frontal hair (my hair was brushed forward, kind of 'pony') is longer than I remembered. I thought to myself "how it got longer suddenly? weird.."  and just before I was about to brush it off and keep on with my day, I took one more second and that it hit me like a brick in the face - the frontal hair is not longer, it is the sides that went backward, and it make it look like this. In this moment all hell broke lose,  I completely freaked out, start read about it and looking for help, but very fast you understand there are no magics, this fight is brutal.

From that point my whole life was just around this problem that never ending and just getting worse. My hairloss progress quite slow but still with every cm I lost in my hairline, my depression jumps up, it really consumed my whole 20s. I could never accept being bald, never.

I guess it is kinda similar to your story. Im happy to hear it end well for you, I hope to get there soon with my upcoming HT.

[Westview]

I was 21 years old and in living in a college dorm when it happened.  I remember just getting out of the shower and seeing all these thin, bald lines on my scalp.  Thats when I knew the process had started

Edited June 25, 2020 by Westview

[Struggle]

It was in a 2013 morning, I stayed awake all the night to study for a school classwork, then, while I was dressing to go to school I looked in the mirror and I noticed that my temples were receding. I was 17.

However, hair loss didn't really bothered me much at the time until when I was 20 a girl I liked said that receding hairline and baldness were a deal breaker for her. 

[LaserCap]

2 hours ago, Struggle said:

It was in a 2013 morning, I stayed awake all the night to study for a school classwork, then, while I was dressing to go to school I looked in the mirror and I noticed that my temples were receding. I was 17.

However, hair loss didn't really bothered me much at the time until when I was 20 a girl I liked said that receding hairline and baldness were a deal breaker for her. 

How shallow.  Sorry you had to go through that.  Perhaps it intensified your "hair" stress level - which ended up causing more loss. Hopefully you started a medical regimen. How are you know?

[Melvin- Admin]

2 hours ago, Struggle said:

It was in a 2013 morning, I stayed awake all the night to study for a school classwork, then, while I was dressing to go to school I looked in the mirror and I noticed that my temples were receding. I was 17.

However, hair loss didn't really bothered me much at the time until when I was 20 a girl I liked said that receding hairline and baldness were a deal breaker for her. 

Ouch that’s a cheap shot to the ego. Unfortunately, girls that age are pretty ignorant and shallow. Its funny cause in 15-20 years, you might see that same girl with a guy as bald as a cue ball. I’ve seen this with my own eyes.

[Hawthorne86]

I was a junior in high school. I was in a shop class that was pretty much all guys. The teacher was really laid back and was talking about losing his hair and told everyone to enjoy theirs while they still had it and added that his started with a receding hairline before it got really bad.. So naturally all the guys started inspecting their hair and hairlines. I remember looking at mine in the mirror in the classroom and noticing that one of my temples was actually slightly receded. Maybe NW 1.5 on that side. Another kid saw my hairline and said "Oh man, you're definitely gonna be bald!"

So that triggered my "awareness" of my hairline. Before that I never thought about it. By the time I was 19 or so I had noticeable recession on both sides but still very thick density. I wore my hair down and it didn't look like there was any hair loss at all, so even though I was a bit freaked out, my appearance still looked good. 

By 21 I was NW 2.5 and panicking. That led to me going on and off of finasteride multiple times over the next few years. At 24 I met the girl who is now my wife and I stopped worrying about hair loss so much. However, I did have to quit fin for good because it was messing with me, and in fact, I was still dealing with some side effects when I first met her. 

Fast forward to 2020 and I'm turning 34 soon and NW 3. No meds. So thankfully my hair loss has been slow. Unfortunately, it has continued to progress, and now I have to be really creative with my styling and haircuts for it to look decent. I'm waiting until age 35-36 to get a HT to fill in my temples, as I believe that's a pretty good age to determine exactly what type of hair loss I will have and to be a little more assured that I won't be super bald at 45 or something.

[Melvin- Admin]

57 minutes ago, transplantedphil said:

My story might be considered a little strange.

I think I first noticed I was losing my hair at 20. My doc put me on finasteride and I relied on that and toppik for around the next 10 years. 

I have a progressive eye disease and actually lost most of my vision in my 20s, so didnt really “know” how much hair i had lost until I hit my 30s when using toppik became more and more time consuming (I can only really see shapes, but have little capacity for detail). I then decided to get a HT about 5 years ago and lucked out by finding an incredibly ethical doc who literally took care of everything. I only recovered my vision sometime after that.

I guess the moment I actually realised i was going bald then was around 3 years ago (after my first HT lol) when i was sitting on the beach with my girl and she told me i was losing my hair and should shave it off so id "look like a bad boy". The next day I tried to book another appointment for a 2nd HT.

Funny how you can still care about something as vain as hair even when you cant even see it properly yourself. 

Lol so you didn’t shave your head? 
I thought the same, I shaved my head and thought I’m gonna look like a “bad boy,” but boy was I wrong haha. 
 

Expectations

 

Reality 

 

😂😂😂

[Melvin- Admin]

56 minutes ago, Hawthorne86 said:

I was a junior in high school. I was in a shop class that was pretty much all guys. The teacher was really laid back and was talking about losing his hair and told everyone to enjoy theirs while they still had it and added that his started with a receding hairline before it got really bad.. So naturally all the guys started inspecting their hair and hairlines. I remember looking at mine in the mirror in the classroom and noticing that one of my temples was actually slightly receded. Maybe NW 1.5 on that side. Another kid saw my hairline and said "Oh man, you're definitely gonna be bald!"

So that triggered my "awareness" of my hairline. Before that I never thought about it. By the time I was 19 or so I had noticeable recession on both sides but still very thick density. I wore my hair down and it didn't look like there was any hair loss at all, so even though I was a bit freaked out, my appearance still looked good. 

By 21 I was NW 2.5 and panicking. That led to me going on and off of finasteride multiple times over the next few years. At 24 I met the girl who is now my wife and I stopped worrying about hair loss so much. However, I did have to quit fin for good because it was messing with me, and in fact, I was still dealing with some side effects when I first met her. 

Fast forward to 2020 and I'm turning 34 soon and NW 3. No meds. So thankfully my hair loss has been slow. Unfortunately, it has continued to progress, and now I have to be really creative with my styling and haircuts for it to look decent. I'm waiting until age 35-36 to get a HT to fill in my temples, as I believe that's a pretty good age to determine exactly what type of hair loss I will have and to be a little more assured that I won't be super bald at 45 or something.

Damn that’s crazy you’ve maintained so much without fin, were only a year apart too. I was about a Norwood 2.5 at 21 as well, but by 29 sayonara to my hair 😭 

[Hawthorne86]

On 6/25/2020 at 1:45 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Damn that’s crazy you’ve maintained so much without fin, were only a year apart too. I was about a Norwood 2.5 at 21 as well, but by 29 sayonara to my hair 😭 

Yeah I got "lucky" for sure. At 21, I was pretty sure I was going to be bald by 30, or even 25. My temples went from being a little receded and weak to GONE almost overnight. But my density was still really good so I could style to cover it. But having a full-on receding hairline that young and that quickly was terrifying. 

At 33 I've lost some density in my forelock and my temples have gone back further. I also think I have some minor thinning directly behind my forelock. So I'll probably end up with the true "island" in the middle. My dad had a thinning crown and is now NW5 in his early 60s, which my brother inherited. Seems like I got my maternal grandfather's pattern, which was a Jude Law pattern. Super receded but an intact crown. 

It's funny...my college roommate at the time also started noticing hair loss around 20-21. We both had some creative styling going on and would joke that we would have combovers by 25. But his hair hasn't changed much either since his mid-20s. It's a little thinned out but he has a better hairline than me. 

[gillenator]

For me it was 1980, age 25, and it was a song by "The Police"...can't remember if it was Roxanne?..."Every step you take'?

[Gabreille Nelson Mukhia]

Lord Jesus, the horrific memory of losing hair...

I was 23 years old and in college. It was one of the most traumatising experiences in the world. And people commenting on how horrible it was didn't help either. 

It was the most frustrating thing in the world because I couldn't control what was happening. 

[Melvin- Admin]

17 hours ago, gillenator said:

For me it was 1980, age 25, and it was a song by "The Police"...can't remember if it was Roxanne?..."Every step you take'?

Oh man, Sting happened to lose his hair as well. Was it that song that goes "ah do do do, ah da da da, all I want to say to you" my dads favorite song haha

[Melvin- Admin]

16 hours ago, Gabreille Nelson Mukhia said:

Lord Jesus, the horrific memory of losing hair...

I was 23 years old and in college. It was one of the most traumatising experiences in the world. And people commenting on how horrible it was didn't help either. 

It was the most frustrating thing in the world because I couldn't control what was happening. 

I agree 100 % feeling helpless is a terrible feeling. That is why I'm passionate about this site, because I feel that together through our collective knowledge, we empower each other. 

[Hawthorne86]

5 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Oh man, Sting happened to lose his hair as well. Was it that song that goes "ah do do do, ah da da da, all I want to say to you" my dads favorite song haha

Sting has rocked the heavy recessed temples look for decades. 

By the mid-80s he was already NW3 and somehow has held onto most of his hair for 35+ years afterward. 

I'm not even sure he's had a transplant because he's got extremely recessed temples now, so maybe he's just that really rare guy who holds onto a NW3 for half his life. 

Edited June 27, 2020 by Hawthorne86

[Britanium]

On 6/26/2020 at 10:38 PM, gillenator said:

For me it was 1980, age 25, and it was a song by "The Police"...can't remember if it was Roxanne?..."Every step you take'?

That would be “Every breath you take” classic tune right there.... 

[home1212]

maybe 1990-91, before graduating college, I'm not sure but I envision Madonna songs were still popular at that time?? Dress You Up, Like a Virgin, La Isla Bonita - in high school I had a nice head of hair, then all of a sudden diffuse thinning, I clearly remember playing catch with my god-daughter who must have been 7 or 8 at the time and she blurted out so matter of fact "you have a bald spot on your head"! so of course I started with the creative styling (coverup), wearing it longer, covering the bald temples on the sides, in the beginning it was ok, but as I lost more hair it was so time consuming with gels and hair sprays trying to get it "just right" before going out, and then there was our worst enemy - the wind... God I would literally freak out on really windy days being outside alone and even more with friends and family! There were no forums like that at that time, and of course I panicked, became more isolated, and unfortunately in 1993 went ahead with my first HT surgery which basically put "plugs" in my existing hairline - fast forward 20 years until most of my native hair was basically lost and all I had left in the front were plugs. It was this forum that introduced me to great doctors to consult with, newer extraction methods such as FUE, and a ton of other helpful hints. After 2 FUE surgeries split a year apart, I started feeling "normal" again, so I couldn't be more grateful to this community. As others have stated, dont fear, don't panic, don't get depressed, but do the research, take in the knowledge and experience of others and you'll be on the right path to better yourself. 

[Aftermath]

On 6/27/2020 at 4:34 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

I agree 100 % feeling helpless is a terrible feeling. That is why I'm passionate about this site, because I feel that together through our collective knowledge, we empower each other. 

We all appreciate it mate, great site, and it comes across how passionate you are about helping people 

[Aftermath]

I was probably 18 on the way home from college on the bus and a classmate commented on my receding hairline which was minor at the time. Obsessed over it for about 10 years as it progressively got worse, used to bother me when I saw people with no hair loss that didn’t give a shit about their hair. Didn’t find out about meds until I was 27 so I lost a lot. Modern HTs are great and can be life changing if you make the right choices, that’s why this site is so important, because there’s is a lot of BS and false advertising in this industry and this site at least gives you a great deal of unbiased information, especially in the patient posted results section. 

[Melvin- Admin]

23 hours ago, Aftermath said:

I was probably 18 on the way home from college on the bus and a classmate commented on my receding hairline which was minor at the time. Obsessed over it for about 10 years as it progressively got worse, used to bother me when I saw people with no hair loss that didn’t give a shit about their hair. Didn’t find out about meds until I was 27 so I lost a lot. Modern HTs are great and can be life changing if you make the right choices, that’s why this site is so important, because there’s is a lot of BS and false advertising in this industry and this site at least gives you a great deal of unbiased information, especially in the patient posted results section. 

Those guys who don’t care about their hair, will care if they start to lose it. You’d be surprised how many guys talk to me and say they used to never style their hair or anything, and never really cared about hair until they started to lose it. “You don’t know what you got till its gone” lol

I was definitely not like that though, I always took 30 minutes to do my hair, it was very important to me, I suspect you were the same way. 

[gillenator]

I remember working with an older man in his mid 70's, a widower who was very lonely and just wanted some self confidence back to start socializing with women again.

He was a true NW 5a and the doctor grafted a new hairline for him...he looked awesome once everything grew in.

So, regardless of age, I think every guy would like to have his hair back.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, gillenator said:

I remember working with an older man in his mid 70's, a widower who was very lonely and just wanted some self confidence back to start socializing with women again.

He was a true NW 5a and the doctor grafted a new hairline for him...he looked awesome once everything grew in.

So, regardless of age, I think every guy would like to have his hair back.

That's true, at 75 I would imagine having some hair is better than no hair. Certainly a decent mature hairline with open crown isn't bad, especially when the hair is white.

[gillenator]

His hair was all snow white and when he came in for his 6 month follow up, I was amazed at how positively different he looked...he also stated that the ladies in his senior social groups loved his new hair!

[Al - Moderator]

For me it was around 1982 when I was 15. My mom was cutting my hair and was yelling at me that I better stop pulling all my hair out because I'm making a bald spot and if I didn't stop making my hair fall out she wasn't going to cut my hair any more. I had no idea what she was talking about, but she insisted it was my fault and she continued to blame me for years for pulling all my hair out.

 

[Melvin- Admin]

2 hours ago, BeHappy said:

For me it was around 1982 when I was 15. My mom was cutting my hair and was yelling at me that I better stop pulling all my hair out because I'm making a bald spot and if I didn't stop making my hair fall out she wasn't going to cut my hair any more. I had no idea what she was talking about, but she insisted it was my fault and she continued to blame me for years for pulling all my hair out.

 

Wow, I had a similar situation with my mom, except she blamed the “gel” she would say “you’re not balding, its all that gel you use in your head making it fall out.” 

I can see how myths and old wives tales’ get popular. Still today, she thinks it was the gel lol.