M21, lurker here. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I expect from this post, but I’m not doing well at all. I started losing my hair at 19. I’m nearly 22 now and it has sped up fast. When I started finasteride seven months ago I was full of hope, but things kept getting worse. I’ve just started oral minoxidil a couple of days ago, but I feel like if it doesn’t work, that’s it for me. I can’t cope with the idea of being bald at 21, I really can’t.
My life feels like it’s falling apart. I barely go out, and when I do I don’t enjoy it. My studies are slipping. I was doing well, but it’s hard to live normally when this is buzzing in your head every day and every hour. I can’t stand it anymore. If oral minoxidil doesn’t help, I don’t see many options. I’ve even had thoughts about disappearing or ending my life. I don’t know why I’m writing this and I don’t expect anything from you. Nights are worse and these thoughts get louder, so I had to do something. I just can’t keep going like this.
I started losing my hair at 20 and it knocked my confidence badly, but I wasn’t about to let it stop me living my life. Instead, I used that time to focus on myself and the things I cared about, even though it felt like a pretty dark chapter. When you’re hit with something tough, don’t waste the chance to grow from it. Fast forward to now, I’m 57, had a single hair transplant a few years back (from a Norwood 5/6), and life’s good because I made some big choices in my 20s when I felt most insecure. Going bald in your prime isn’t easy, but letting it hold you back is even worse. Suck it up, move forward, and if you need a bit of advice, drop me a message.
Beautifully put, mate, it’s just what I needed as well. Sometimes it feels like, “if only I could sort my hair out completely, I could finally live life properly and chase everything I want.” But it really shouldn’t be that way.
Hang in there and keep your chin up. I know it can feel like the end of the world, but I promise it isn’t. I wouldn’t wish balding, especially when it hits early, on anyone. Still, the experience pushed me in a strange way to build some really valuable skills – learning acceptance, recognising what’s in my control and what isn’t, feeling more empathy for others going through struggles of their own, and gaining perspective on how much there is to be grateful for once you stop obsessing.
It might not seem like the most important set of tools compared to a full head of hair, but as you get older, those qualities become far more respected and necessary.
For now, set yourself a routine, stick with it, and give it a proper year before you look back and evaluate.
I don’t care what anyone says, balding feels like a genetic disease. Your face ends up looking completely different to how it used to, and that almost always brings some level of mental struggle with how you see yourself.
I started losing my hair at 20 and went straight on 5% topical minoxidil. It pretty much held things together for 14 years, with only a bit of thinning here and there, which felt like a miracle considering my dad was completely bald by 34.
Recently things sped up, so I stepped it up too – added finasteride, a dermaroller, a laser helmet, and an oral DHT blocker. Things are looking a lot better now. (For the record, oral minoxidil didn’t do much for me, but I reckon it works better for some people.)
Dut, dermaroll, minox – stop complaining. We’re lucky to live in a time where hair loss can actually be treated. Stick with it for 1–2 years and don’t stare at it every day. Watched grass never grows.
I had the same thoughts a couple of years back. Never in a million years did I think hair would end up being this important to us. I tried minoxidil and it did nothing for me. Hair loss was constantly on my mind, and I actually had suicidal thoughts, something I never imagined I’d ever go through.
Mine wasn’t even that aggressive really, mostly thinning at the front. I’m black, so I usually keep my hair short and use fibres, which thankfully takes a bit of the stress off. But some days it still hits me and I feel low. The best advice I can give, if you’re not ready for a transplant, is to go for an undetectable hair system. That’s what I’m planning on getting when my hair gets worse.
First of all, don’t give up and stick with the process. Remind yourself that results won’t come straight away, it’s going to take time. Secondly, start going to the gym and make it part of your routine. Watching my muscles grow while I was working on regrowing my hair helped me so much, I can’t even explain it.
When I saw my body changing and my muscles starting to come through, it gave me a massive boost of confidence. Regrowing my hair was still really important to me, but I could handle it better while looking stronger. I actually got really into it, learning about different exercises for different muscles, pre-workouts, protein shakes, creatine, and the timing of supplements. It turned into a fun, healthy habit that filled my day in a positive way.
You know what, fck people like you for letting insecurities take over. Fck you, mate, seriously f*ck you. There are plenty of reasons to live, and over a small insecurity this bloke has decided to end it.