How Is It Really Like Living With A A System At Your 20s?

[DanDan]

Hey guys so this is my first time posting here. I am a 19 year old guy who’s always had a huge density and amount of hair. A year and a half ago I noticed I was starting to lose my hair at the front so I went to a dermatologist and I was diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia. I started taking finasteride 1mg/day.

Honestly it’s been 8 months and I don’t see any difference at all. I know you gotta wait two years for the full results but this is exhausting and I feel like sh*t it’s really affecting my self esteem and I don’t see myself attractive anymore... it’s everything I think about which pretty much sucks and I use concealer everyday... Not even therapy is helping me feel better. I guess it’s the same for all of us that are here. You guys know what I mean. The worst part is that because Im this young I cannot get a transplant which I hope I will get in 5-10 years as there are pretty amazing doctors in my country.

Ive been reading so much about hair systems and watching so many tutorials and results and I learned a lot about them. Im seriously considering wearing a front partial hairpiece (like the one the guy from the youtube channel stickonhair uses) throughout my 20s but still take finasteride so I can get a transplant one day. It would be a temporary solution to my problem. However... I want to ask you guys here whether you think it’s a good idea or not.

I want to still be able to go to the gym, go to festivals for a few days with my friends, party, go to the beach, idk I dont want to feel like my young years will be limited by it. Although they will because of the maintenance every week but I dont want to stop feeling like I can do anything I want to do. I want to feel confident again and I believe this could help me achieve that but I dont really know if its possible to have a normal active 20 year old life with a piece.

Have any of you guys done something like that at such a young age? Did it change your life for the better or did it not reach your expectations? I would love to read your experiences. Please let me know how it really is. Do you think Im too young for it?

 

[Noah]

Hi DanDan

Sorry to hear about your situation - 19 is very young to have to confront this. I have been very happy with this solution, which I feel has helped me enjoy the prime young years of my life looking reasonably good and feeling confident, rather than prematurely aged by baldness. It is absolutely possible to have a normal life wearing a hair system. None of the things you have mentioned are any problem at all. There are very few things that you can't do. I don't think wearing a system is compatible with intense sport involving head contact, such as rugby, wrestling, or some martial arts, so I wouldn't do those unless I had head protection, but pretty much everything else is doable. If you are going for long periods without any privacy, then you will have to plan ahead, but again no big deal. Of course there is maintenance (reckon about an hour a week), and you have to keep buying systems so that you always have a decent one to wear. For me these are minor routines and inconveniences, and it is well worth it to have hair again. In exchange, for a reasonably modest price you can get a look which is pretty much completely indistinguishable from having your natural hair back.

I don't want to sound like an advert. Hair systems are not for everyone. Normally the problem is not the price or the maintenance or the look; it is the psychology of wearing a prosthetic - something which is detachable and artificial. Some guys cannot get used to that idea, and feel they will be "fake". Definitely if you can live with shaving your head a being a bald guy, that is less trouble and expense, so in that sense it is the best solution. But if your hairloss bothers you I would argue that a system looks better and is healthier and more sensible than the alternatives - drugs, transplants and tattoos. The best thing is that for a modest amount of money you can try it out, and if you like it great; if you don't, you can scrap and you have lost nothing but the price of the system.

Noah

 

[new2this]

Hey man I am a new wearer and I am 22 years old. I made a stealth transition because although with concelears i basically had the illusion of a full head of hair, the lifestyle and constant anxiety over certain lighting situations was just too much for me. Not being able to get it wet, go swimming, take off a hat after wearing one, and having to shower and do my hair so it looked presentable before I did anything was just becoming too much. Not to mention the anxiety of sleeping with someone and getting fibers all over their hands and/or bed. Plus, I knew that I wanted to make a transition eventually and figured that I had to do it while I was still passing with "a full head" of hair, and that illusion was starting to take a lot more time and product each day than I wanted to spend on it.

So I've had a system for about 2 months. Chose a very pricey salon in NYC, the look has been an absolute 10/10. Nobody knows, I get compliments that my hair looks good, and when I had my first system, with longer, even I couldn't tell where the system started and my bio hair ended.

What youre saying about feeling like your life will be limited... for me this has been true and not true so far. Keep in mind that there is a huge learning curve with this stuff, even when using a salon, and if youre anxious about your hair (which I am) be prepared to spend a lot of time and mental energy on it in the first few weeks or months. I definitely dont think about it as much as I did with the concelear lifestyle. But, with my first system -- highly problematic, kept tangling and matting (it was an absolute nightmare to get it presentable) I spent whole days combing it out and trying to restore the look. Hours researching. This is an atypical experience but still something to keep in mind.

Overall, my goal, like you, is to not feel limited by this thing. I have been taking it easy in the love life since I'm still trying to figure out exactly how secure it is and what it can and cant handle. But I think once I figure those things out, I am not going to be thinking about it very much at all.

The big thing I will say is that there are more things to consider than just the attachment, which I wasn't really aware of heading into it. You have to worry about a good attachment, a good cut-in (at a length that doesnt require you to get new haircuts constantly but isnt so long that the hair is hard to take care of), and perhaps most importantly, the health and feel of the hair.

I'd be happy to discuss further with you man, send me a PM if you want. Ill take a look at how much hair you have rn and if its worth it in my somewhat-virgin opinion.

 

[Fanjeera]

On big parties and events like festivals you will feel super good and confident, because people won't probably come too close to you and touching your hair. I definitely started enjoying those like 100 times more.

What I can't imagine is going to a trip which would last more than 2--4 weeks. I can't imagine reattaching in a hotel room. But I guess one day I will just have to do it and that will be a big step forward. Then I could probably stay on a trip up to 2 months. After that I would need to clean the pieces there as well, but then I would already be living there anyway so I would know where to find a solvent and a good container for soaking anyway by then.

But yeah, you would have to accept that you are wearing hair and not try to make it a matter of life and death secret. Best would not be ashamed of it and maybe even open or atleast smile and not care when someone finds out, but that's a lot of psychological work. Being bald must be more depressing for you than being exposed. Then you will have a nice calm mindset.

I was 24.