Sandovalusa's Story - (24 /Rogaine Use - Now Shaved w/pics!)

[sandovalusa]

This is my first post. I am 24 years old. I'm in college.

THE FIGHT
I started noticing my hair loss when I was 19 years old. When I was 20 years old I started taking Rogaine (5% minoxidil). I briefly tried Propecia around the same time, but I stopped the Propecia because of sexual side effects.

THE COVER UP
When I was 22 I started having my hair cut very high on the sides, and I let the top grow a little longer. You can see this hairstyle in picture 4. This was an attempt to hide the hairloss.

THE DOWNFALL
I kept losing my hair, despite using Rogaine. I was fed up with having to put Rogaine on my head every day. It made my hair sticky when friends/women would touch it. I stopped taking Rogaine at 23 years old and I started shaving my head. Since stopping the Rogaine, I have lost a LOT more hair.

THE SCARS
2 months ago (at 24 years old) I decided to remove some of the moles on the top and side of my head because they were getting nicked when I shaved. Another reason I removed them was that people would notice the moles and comment on them. Now that they are removed, I have scars on my head which do not look good. (Edit: the moles were removed by a high end plastic surgeon. I did not remove the moles myself.)

NOW
I've pretty much accepted that my head is oddly shaped, that I am bald, and that I have scars. I think it looks unattractive, and I have been told so by some friends and family. It makes me less attractive, but I will still have a great social life. I still plan to have girlfriends, and I have always been known amongst my friends to do a lot of dating. Oh, and I plan to keep working out too. Any comments/questions? Please share.

 

[andrei_eremenko]

you are a norwood 6 pattern..but you still have back and side's hair...you would have the possibility to wear a hairpiece and to do a great job...it is a shame to lose your good appearance becuz of this!

 

[Cassidy]

Dude, your head looks fine. I don't see it as oddly shaped.

I'd say keep the facial hair too.

Also remember that your new look will seem weird to people who were used to you with hair and they may say hurtful things about it. f*** em though...to others you'll just be a dude who decided to shave his head.

No big deal...it's not like you're short or fat or anything, right?

 

[Vanzzzz]

Holy crap you really lost some hair within 3 years. But dun worry dude you look great with a shaven head.

 

[Nene]

Damn bro, story broke my heart. So much hair loss so fast. I don't think you have a bad head shape though, and good for you that you still plan to have a good social life and date. Thats the most important thing.

 

[grumps]

Yeah like everybody has said, i think you look fine now so don't stress too much about it.

You're lucky to have such a well shaped head!

 

[andrei_eremenko]

yea the shape is good...and if he feel confident this way everything is just ok...
but looking at the first picture and the last one...looks like 2 different person...

 

[Obsidian]

I am confused, did you go to a Doctor to get those moles removed or did you remove them yourself?

 

[Oknow]

Were you a diffuse thinner mate?

 

[sandovalusa]

@Obsidian - I had the moles removed by a plastic surgeon. He is a high end surgeon that does breast implants, etc. He did the best he could do. Unfortunately I do not scar well at all. It has been 8 weeks since the moles were removed. Hopefully the scars fade a lot more.

@Oknow - What is a diffuse thinner?

I plan to get a nice tan on my head too in a few months from now once the scars have healed more. The skin on the scars is so new that if I get sunlight, it will make the scars worse (according to doctors).

 

[Obsidian]

So recent ones are eight weeks ago? If so, have you thought of using Neosporin scar solution if you are not using it already? Plus, you have a great head-shape.

 

[sandovalusa]

@Obsidian - The scars on my head are from 8 weeks ago. I consider that to be pretty recent. I used Neosporin Ointment religiously for the first few weeks and then stopped.

I lotion my head every day or two with Shea butter. I have a CVS (generic brand) Scar Gel, specially formulated for scars. It is a topical gel that is meant to be applied to scars 3-4 times a day. I haven't really been using it but thanks for reminding me.

 

[Oknow]

What was your hairloss pattern like?

 

[sandovalusa]

@Oknow - Photo 6 that I attached should show it. I believe it is a Norwood 6 pattern. I am pretty new around here but I beleive it's NW6. I haven't grown my hair out in months but at the rate I was losing it, I probably look like Dr. Phil by now.

 

[sandovalusa]

In the bottom picture my hair is grown out a little bit. I went maybe a week without shaving. I reckon that it gives a pretty clear indication that it's a NW6 even though it isn't grown out very much at all.

 

[Oknow]

@Oknow - Photo 6 that I attached should show it. I believe it is a Norwood 6 pattern. I am pretty new around here but I beleive it's NW6. I haven't grown my hair out in months but at the rate I was losing it, I probably look like Dr. Phil by now.

Were you putting rogaine all over your hair or just on your hairline when you was using it?

Diffuse thinning - when your hair thins out all over your scalp.

 

[sandovalusa]

Were you putting rogaine all over your hair or just on your hairline when you was using it?

Diffuse thinning - when your hair thins out all over your scalp.

I was putting Rogaine on all of the areas where I suffered hairloss. I would mainly put it on the crown and on my temples where my hair was the thinnest, but I put it in between too where my hair was also thin.

As far as diffuse thinning... I only have thin hair in the NW6 pattern area. The sides and back of my head still have thick hair.

 

[Thickandthin]

Wow man. I feel for you. The good news is that you have a lean face and a good head shape (as others have pointed out).

It must have been traumatic to lose so much so fast. Did you handle it well at the time?

And to put a sort of morbid twist on it - at the very least, it won't really get any worse. It's done. You've reached the stage most of us will end up at some point anyway, so you can get on with your life.

 

[sandovalusa]

The balding from age 19-23 was fine. It was hardly mentioned and it didn't seem to hold me back socially whatsoever. When I started shaving my head about a year ago is when it really hit me. I had a girlfriend at the time, and I didn't let any of her friends see me with the shaved head. I wore a hat everywhere for a couple months. I ended up breaking up with my girlfriend and not being very social for a few months.

I slowly started going out in public with the shaved head despite all the attention my head got from friends and family. Strangers are completely unfazed by it, of course. Most friends and family were unfazed too, but some just couldn't get over it and kept making references to it as if to try to discourage me from shaving it. They don't understand that I suffer from male pattern baldness! I can't just get hair transplants or put Rogaine on my head and get a full head of hair over night.

The majority of the population knows nothing about hair loss and I've had some friends come to me suggesting hair transplants. As far as I know, a NW6 getting hair transplants is a horrible idea. The area of hairloss is just too great, and I would have all the scars if I ever wanted to go shaved.

Nowadays I am completely comfortable going out in public. I went bar hopping with friends last night and met up with a young woman I haven't seen in years. She briefly mentioned the shaved head and said "everyone's shaving their heads these days!" I guess she thought I did it for stylistic reasons. I guess that means I pulled off the look.

 

[s.a.f]

Its quite inspirational how you've handled it so well, You're a better man than me, I guess you must be a fairly confident guy in general?
Thats some agressive hairloss in the space of just 3/4 yrs. You're pretty much in the same boat as me (before the hair transplant's) but mine took about 4 more yrs to progress that far. However your pics just go to show how big a transformation this can be on someones appearance.
This just makes me feel that it sucks that theres no real cure.