Genuinely curious about why do so many men experiencing hair loss choose not to use Rogaine or go for a hair transplant? I get that the latter is expensive (though some insurers are starting to cover it), but Rogaine is fairly cheap. Seems like an easy way to keep a more youthful look.
As a woman, I feel a lot of external pressure to maintain my appearance. makeup, skincare, staying fit, all that. But I also like how I look when I take care of myself. So I’m wondering, why do so many of you decide not to treat hair loss? Personally, I love a full head of hair on a man and don’t really find balding attractive unless they’ve shaved it off completely. But I’d like to understand your perspective.
There are only three real treatments that aren’t scams: hair transplants, Rogaine, and finasteride.
Rogaine is the least effective of the lot. Most people only see moderate results at best, and often none at all. On top of that, you have to apply it twice a day, wait for it to dry, and deal with the mess. It can irritate the skin, cause blood pressure-related side effects, and it’s a constant expense. Worse still, it’s dangerous for kids to come into contact with, so plenty of dads won’t touch it.
Finasteride works better, but it’s pricier. It messes with testosterone levels, which puts a lot of blokes off, and one of the biggest risks is a serious drop in libido. There are plenty of cases where men never fully recover, even after stopping the pills.
One big downside of both Rogaine and finasteride is that they won’t bring back hair follicles that are already knackered. Some people think they do because they thicken up tiny, miniaturised hairs, but once a follicle is dead, that’s it. And the moment you stop using either treatment, your hair starts thinning and falling out again.
As you mentioned, hair transplants cost an absolute fortune. Plus, they won’t stop you from balding in areas that were fine at the time, which can leave you with a lovely balding horseshoe around the transplant site.
Just to add, topical finasteride has been shown to help prevent MPB and reverse miniaturisation, with fewer side effects. Also, the blood pressure issues linked to minoxidil are much worse when taken as a pill than when applied directly to the scalp.
For some of us, finasteride leads to permanent erectile dysfunction.
It’s a real dilemma. I’m in the very early stages of MPB and reckon I’d be a great candidate for HIMs or something similar, but that side effect makes it a massive risk.
Been balding since 27. By 30, the slight combover was making me look daft, so I switched to buzz cuts. Four months in, I realised it was cheaper and easier to just grab a razor and shave it every other day.
Women actually liked it more. Got a fair few flirtatious comments, and plenty of drunk girls rubbing my head in bars.
Didn’t stop me making money or dating. Bald or not, it made no difference.
Saved time, effort, and cash. No faffing about with haircuts or products.
Filtered out the wrong women. If someone was that bothered about my hairline, she wasn’t the type I’d want to marry anyway.
I really appreciate this thoughtful reply. I had no idea about all the side effects. If I’m honest, they sound a lot like the usual ones you get with mood stabilisers, antidepressants, and even women’s birth control.
My dad started using Rogaine when I was a kid, and it was incredible how well it worked. I reckon he must be on finasteride now. That probably made it seem normal to me, so I really value this response.
Sexual side effects from finasteride are extremely rare. Only around 4% of men experience them, and studies have shown that cutting the daily dose from 1mg to 0.5mg makes the chances of those side effects almost nonexistent, without reducing the effectiveness in any meaningful way.
I let the fear of side effects put me off taking finasteride when I started losing my hair in my twenties, and I really regret it. I lost a load of hair I probably didn’t have to, ended up getting a transplant, and now I’ll likely need one or two more.
If I could go back, I’d start taking fin at the first sign of hair loss. Would’ve saved me a small fortune.
Treatment is expensive, and there are no guarantees. I started balding in my mid-twenties, but once I saw how pricey it all was, I never really looked into it properly. I just didn’t have that kind of money. Over time, my little bald spot turned into a full-on patch, and most of the hair on top thinned out. By my mid-thirties, it was well beyond saving, so I committed to the look and started shaving it down regularly.
Turns out, I actually really liked it. I’d always had a full beard, and the bald head suited it perfectly. Made my hygiene routine much easier too. I’d always struggled with dandruff, but with my head shaved, all I need is a bit of lotion to keep my scalp sorted. Saves a fair bit on haircuts as well.
Now, as I’m pushing 40, I’ve come to appreciate that I am getting older. If I spent my time fighting every little sign of aging, I’d have no time or money left for anything else. My beard’s going grey now, even got a bit in my chest hair. There are wrinkles on my forehead and laugh lines on my face. But if we’re lucky, aging gets us all in the end, so I’d rather accept the changes that come with this next stage of life.
That’s not to say I don’t look after myself. I still hit the gym and work on my fitness, but looking better isn’t the goal. It’s just a nice bonus.
The main reason was looks, yeah. No men is happy about losing his hair, and no one looks better bald or balding than they did with a full head of hair.
The other reason was that shaving or buzzing it is a hassle in itself, with its own downsides. Didn’t fancy dealing with that for the rest of my life.
I appreciate you sharing, cheers! Plenty of lads here have talked about shaving it all off, but you’re the first to mention getting a transplant. Sounds like you’re glad you went for it, which is great.
You asked, “Why don’t men with hair loss get transplants? I really like a full head of hair on a man and struggle to find balding men attractive.”
I reckon the answer is similar to what a bloke might get if he posted, “Why don’t women with small breasts get boob jobs? I really like a big rack on a woman and struggle to find flat-chested women attractive.”
In my case, the answer is simple. I don’t get hair transplants because I’ve accepted that my lack of hair annoys me, and that’s about it. I don’t care whether you find it attractive or not, because I’m not here to be attractive for you.
Along with what others have said, there is a lot of pressure on men not to let insecurities get to them, especially ones seen as “superficial” like appearance. Think of how often men get mocked for trying to cover hair loss with wigs or toupees. It is a bit of a double bind. You are mocked for having these traits and pressured to do something about them, usually by the same people profiting off insecurity-driven consumerism, but you are also mocked and pressured not to show any insecurity about them. Even well-meaning people tend to focus on “just being confident” rather than allowing any space for visible insecurity.
This applies to most, if not all, body insecurities men have. You are expected to be confident despite them, compensate for them, and just take whatever insults come your way.
That said, I do not think it is wildly different from what women deal with. The main difference is that people tend to expect women to feel insecure, whether they are compassionate about it or not, while men are often seen as above those issues, which makes people less sympathetic when they do struggle. The upside is that it is harder to sell things to men through the same tactics that work on women, though that seems to be changing.
I mean, to be fair, I think that is a valid question. Also, I said treatment in general, not just transplants. I was not trying to be insulting. I was mainly asking as a woman who has grown up being told all the ways I need to maintain myself, while knowing the messaging for men has been different. It was genuine curiosity, not malice.
If a man asked why I did not get implants, I would be able to answer. It is not personal to me if he prefers a giant rack.
That said, I do genuinely appreciate your perspective and response. Thanks for taking the time.
I started losing hair at the crown in my 20s, but I genuinely didn’t notice until it became more obvious in my 30s. I couldn’t see it in the mirror, so by the time I realised, my friends and partner already knew and didn’t care. My self-image had shifted, but to them, I was the same person.
Now in my 40s, with a different partner who is really into me and vice versa, I occasionally think about trying a treatment. Not sure what it would change beyond how I see myself, though. Hair loss is just more common at this age, so I am another middle-aged bloke in a hat covering a bald spot.
In the end, I suppose I never cared enough once I really thought about why I would even try to fix it.
This is a really interesting take. It suggests that men are under pressure to suppress insecurity and “fix the feeling, not the problem,” while women are pushed to fix the “problem” rather than their feelings about it. That is such a massive shift from the usual gender norms.
I do not think I fully realised this was the case for men. I appreciate you sharing, thank you!