Alopecia Ruining my Life (28 year old male) - pics included

[Barco]

When I was 20 I had a full, thick head of hair. See pic below:

http://tinypic.com/r/2wftzrq/6

7 years later and my hair has been reduced to what is best described as an "unmanageable group of weeds". They look ugly, affect my overall appearance which has knocked my confidence hugely (see below links):

http://tinypic.com/r/ff4wnq/6

http://tinypic.com/r/2imb2ns/6


I know that life goes on, people grow older and we must accept that we're not going to be young forever BUT is it really that much to ask to have a full head of hair at 28 years old??

I am trying to find a style that will suit what is left of my hair. I thought a buzz cut would be a good idea but someone said it would emphasise my frontal balding (I once had it cut reasonably short and it looked awful, see following link: http://tinypic.com/r/11bsnlz/6).
A completely bald head seems rather drastic. I have heard that transplants are overpriced and dodgy. I am in my second month of using minoxodil and have seen no improvements (as yet!) but will give the medication at least 6 months. I will not use Finasteride as I believe the risk of impotence is just too high. Silicia Complex and Biovitamin tablets didn't do anything for my hair.

Please can someone offer comforting words of advice to help me through this living hell that my life has become.

(Oh, and if you're going to write offensive comments don't bother.. I've heard them all before!).

 

[AnberlinFan84]

Have you tried a concealer product like Toppik or equivalent? Might give you some temporary relief. Also I would get on finasteride and just stop if the sides appear.

 

[JustAnotherOne]

Well only being in your 2nd month of minoxodil I wouldn't think you'd see any results. Pretty sure it takes 4-6 months to start seeing any results at all. I think it probably looks better in the photo where it's shortest, but that's just my opinion. Also, if you can grow a beard and/or happen to wear glasses, those both take the focus off your hair. I'd suggest some implants for the front, but yeah definitely do heavy research before doing that if you end up going that route.

As for comfort, well, a friend of mine who has a similar amount of hair as you (and is 30 and been that way for the past 5yrs or so) recently got married to a woman who is quite attractive. So it really is about personality and not hair. Being in good physical shape helps too, so if your hair becomes too far gone, abandon ship and hit the gym. That's all I can suggest. Good luck!

 

[Quantum Cat]

OP is sadly another victim of the Propeciahelp.com propaganda machine.

If you had started on Finasteride a few years ago you would have likely not been this far gone. If you want to save what you have now you really need to start taking it

 

[ChrisW1980uk]

Agree with QC. I've been on finasteride 4 years now, and function sexually exactly as I did before