# Men's Hair Loss > Introduce Yourself & Share Your Story >  At 19: Coming to grips with baldness...

## johnone23

I'm 19 years old, in my second year of college. I have been struggling with noticeable hair loss ever since the start of college and it has been hell. I have learn't to cope with the constant emotional turmoil of hair loss, and I did go through the five stages of grieve concerning. I am always the person that listens to and solves other peoples problems and just solve my own - which I'm sure hasn't helped with my emotional state. I attempted many things to aid it, but i resigned to attempting to merely conceal it using products like DermmMatch and Nanogen as nothing else seemed to work.

Unfortunately now I've realized that I cannot keep this up, especially on a student budget, and hair numbers are getting to a certain point where I'm not really disguising anything. I'm resigned to shaving it off, there is no other way...
But I'm scared of my immediate future following hair loss... Has anyone got any good clothing tips for young bald guys, I feel that from following this path I need to re-invent my image, and dressed with style and complimentary could be key.

Thanks

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## clandestine

> Unfortunately now I've realized that I cannot keep this up, especially on a student budget, and hair numbers are getting to a certain point where I'm not really disguising anything. I'm resigned to shaving it off, there is no other way...
> But I'm scared of my immediate future following hair loss... Has anyone got any good clothing tips for young bald guys, I feel that from following this path I need to re-invent my image, and dressed with style and complimentary could be key.


 I'm right there with you mate. Second year of college, balding, blah.

Understand there are options. Propecia (generic finasteride), Rogaine (generic minoxidil) and Nizoral A-D shampoo, dubbed 'the big 3', are proven to treat hair loss.

Propecia has the potential for sexually related side effects, some of which might persist after discontinuing medication in a subset of men. Research these well.

Good luck.

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## johnone23

Thanks man, it is somewhat comforting to know that there are other people with my woes... young... in college .
Thanks

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## clandestine

> Thanks man, it is somewhat comforting to know that there are other people with my woes... young... in college .
> Thanks


 Yea, it ****ing sucks. But you know that. I'm seeing so many young guys (>20, early 20's) come forward with mpb problems, makes me wonder what the is going on with our generation.

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## john2399

Im right there too! Ugh I hate this club were in! Anyway my hairloss had such a bad impact on me i had to leave my college and come to a college close to home.I could not take the constant attempt to hide my hairloss from everyone and wearing hats 24/7 on campus, which noone wants to be that dude. I am so tempted to shave my head too but im scared ill look twice my age and just look like a creep. Hang in there bro im right with you, its a constant uphill battle and im just praying everyday a better treatment like histogen will be here soon. People say hairloss is tough but having it at 19 is truly heartbreaking.

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## johnone23

Could not agree more! It is so brutal. It does seem unjust and unfair, mostly due to the age thing. If it happened to me at 30 or 40, when my life was in place, or married etc. It would have been less emotionally taxing. My biggest fear, and I'm sure yours is too is the unknowing of the future, and how/if shaving my head changes my future.

I have just got to wrap my head around the fact that my life will be different, that is the last mental stage I have to cross before I shave my head. 

Although I'm resigned to shaving my head, I am going to go for a 2 or a 3. I have no intention of looking like a bond villain! Aha. Anyway, hang in there man, and let me know how you get on!

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## Davey Jones

> I'm resigned to shaving it off, there is no other way...


 


> I am so tempted to shave my head too but im scared ill look twice my age and just look like a creep.


 Shave it off, brahs!  After a certain point, that's the only way.  Keep using Nizoral, Rogaine, or Propecia (or generic versions) to keep what you have until Histogen comes out.  And if Histogen never comes out, well, f*ck, I don't know what to tell you.  I guess I suggest we all band together and start burnin' cities to the ground until they fix this sh*t.  Desperate times, desperate measures, amiright?

(PS, I don't actually take Propecia and chose not to start, but it comes highly recommended on this site.)

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## clandestine

> Shave it off, brahs!  After a certain point, that's the only way.  Keep using Nizoral, Rogaine, or Propecia (or generic versions) to keep what you have until Histogen comes out.  And if Histogen never comes out, well, f*ck, I don't know what to tell you.  I guess I suggest we all band together and start burnin' cities to the ground until they fix this sh*t.  Desperate times, desperate measures, amiright?
> 
> (PS, I don't actually take Propecia and chose not to start, but it comes highly recommended on this site.)


 Davey; Sorry if you've already explained somewhere, but what's your personal reasoning for opting not to take propecia?

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## Davey Jones

> Davey; Sorry if you've already explained somewhere, but what's your personal reasoning for opting not to take propecia?


 Varying reasons.  I think the first thing I read about Propecia when I started to notice my hairloss was someone posting somewhere about experiencing that syndrome they talk about.  It was a big turn off, and I had enough hair and even more denial, so I just forgot about it for a bit.  

When I lost more hair and become concerned enough to think about taking the risk (and more educated about how little risk there actually is), I was a little more embarrassed about hairloss.  The thought of going to a doctor and saying, "Hey, so, my hair is falling out, and I'm so vain that I'd like to alter my hormones to try to save it," was a little much.

It went back and forth from afraid of the sides to embarrassed until eventually I decided, "F*ck all this noise, I'm shaving my head."  1/8th of an inch at first.  Then no guard.  Then a razor.  Surprisingly, it didn't look half bad, and seemed to look better with each step.  And at this point, I don't want to go back to worrying about my hair all the time.  If I look like this for the rest of my life, I can live with that.  Won't be ideal, but I can live with it.  I think to some degree, going on Propecia might make me give up that comfort, bring me back into the world of thinking about hairloss all the time.  And anyone who has become okay with their hairloss knows that becoming comfortable with it is NOT easy.

Besides, now that I'm more okay with how I look, the "Pros" column for taking Propecia isn't quite so long as the potential "Cons" column.

Though don't get me wrong: comfortable or not, if Histogen comes out and works, I'mma bankrupt my *** to go get it.

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## johnone23

I haven't heard much of this Histogen lark before this post... though upon research there seems to be a fair bit of hype with it...

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## 25 going on 65

Hair loss in college is a real bitch. My very favorite thing about school was the girls... the day I noticed my crown starting to thin, I dropped out and never went back.

Even though my hair has improved from meds, I still don't feel comfortable surrounding myself with a bunch of 18-35-year-old women for hours every day. I won't go back until this is truly fixed, even if it means I never go back at all.
Those of you who push through it and get your degrees/certificates/whatever deserve a lot of credit.

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## Davey Jones

> I haven't heard much of this Histogen lark before this post... though upon research there seems to be a fair bit of hype with it...


 You ought to take a look at the results from their phase I trials. A full copy is floating around Hairsite somewhere. Anyone have a link?

But either way, the important bits are posted in some of the Histogen threads here. I'd find a link for you, but I'm on my phone.

The numbers were very promising. Especially for a phase I.

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## johnone23

25 going on 65: You're not the first person I've heard about dropping out of their degree because of hair loss, both on this forum and from people I know. I understand your pain I really do, but I think that is even more of a reason to gain success, to strive to make the other elements of your life better. I hope you find the strength to enroll yourself back into university/college and get what you initially set out to do! But boy do I know the impact of hairloss on getting girls, without sounding too ego-centric, I was not a bad looker at all before my hairline started receeding. But I feel your pain

Davey Jones: Thanks man, I found a couple of threads discussing it. It looks quite good. I'm tempted to hang in the maybe for a while longer, focus of finding better concealers and temporary treatments until it comes out. I don't know. It does seem promising. I'll thing about it over summer break!

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## worried

Davey Jones is right 
Shave your head and move on ...  eh we baldies do not have any other option except those vigs

will Hostogen works on dead folliciles ?

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## 25 going on 65

> 25 going on 65: You're not the first person I've heard about dropping out of their degree because of hair loss, both on this forum and from people I know. I understand your pain I really do, but I think that is even more of a reason to gain success, to strive to make the other elements of your life better. I hope you find the strength to enroll yourself back into university/college and get what you initially set out to do! But boy do I know the impact of hairloss on getting girls, without sounding too ego-centric, I was not a bad looker at all before my hairline started receeding. But I feel your pain


 Thank you for your sympathy and well wishing!

Unfortunately, I'm starting to realize that I really don't give a shit about much when I feel I can't look good (other than family, friends, etc). The biggest reason I went to college was to make enough money that I could go on being with a lot of women through my 20's and 30's. Attracting them without working hard was the most fun I've ever had. 

I'm not really interested in settling for a "back-up plan."
(And I dislike how much I sound like Scorpion right now.)

Maybe it'll be better if I get out of this funk. I was in a better mood after 1+ year of successful treatment, but lately I've been constantly comparing my hair to what it once was, and it's bugging me a lot.

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## johnone23

Hey guys. All your feedback has not only been great and reassuring but also encouraging. And because of that, I going to give things one last roll of the dice before I commit myself to a shaved head. I'm going to go for a toco-8 and procerin combination (I've read some crazily impressive stories about the toco-8). I wonder if anyone else has tried this and what were their experiences. Honestly I pumped about this, I was always a sucker for all or nothing situations, so I'll keep you posted as to my results. My realistic hope for the time being is that I can I can keep my hair for one more year until uni is finished.

I'm moving to Japan upon graduation (if all goes well) so that will be my opportunity for a fresh start, but until then I might as well give it everything I've got  :Smile:

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## clandestine

> Hey guys. All your feedback has not only been great and reassuring but also encouraging. And because of that, I going to give things one last roll of the dice before I commit myself to a shaved head. I'm going to go for a toco-8 and procerin combination (I've read some crazily impressive stories about the toco-8). I wonder if anyone else has tried this and what were their experiences. Honestly I pumped about this, I was always a sucker for all or nothing situations, so I'll keep you posted as to my results. My realistic hope for the time being is that I can I can keep my hair for one more year until uni is finished.
> 
> I'm moving to Japan upon graduation (if all goes well) so that will be my opportunity for a fresh start, but until then I might as well give it everything I've got


 johnone; glad you could find some solace in the forums.

question; terribly interested where you've read these impressive stories regarding toco-8? If you could link them, that would be awesome.

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## johnone23

Honestly I've based my view on this. 

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/suppl...co-8-hair.html

http://www.amazon.com/Toco-8-Advance...ews/B0050XFIBS

Either way, at least it will help me build muscle mass. i am taking it alongside saw palemento and iron supp. I have also kick started a new healthy eating regime, keep regular hydration. In face the only stressful element of my life right now is my exams. Once they are over I shouldn't be too bad. If you have any other suggestions of things I could try (side from the big three) or that you could recomend then I will be willing to go for it too. I understand that the majority of hairloss derived from hypersensitivity to hormonal imbalances - so hopefully by maintaining them some positive results could derive. We shall see what the outcome is. After a month or so I will send you an email with what I've experienced

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## Tracy C

> But you know that. I'm seeing so many young guys (>20, early 20's) come forward with mpb problems, makes me wonder what the is going on with our generation.


 I can't help but wonder myself.  I know that in many cases it is simply a matter of a young fella freaking out over developing an adult male hair line.  However, when these young guys haven't posted pics of the problem so it is hard to say what is really going on.

I see tons of young guys while I am out and about.  Nearly all of them in their late teens/early twenties have adult male hair lines.  Since the adult male hair line is natural and normal for males, this is not a good indication that MPB is happening.  It only means that these males are maturing physically.

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## johnone23

When I went to see my GP about my hair loss problem, he made note that he had seen many young men in my condition and reassured me that I was not alone in this situation (however reassuring that can be).

I've decided to give myself a 'buzz-cut' purely for convenience reasons. Furthermore, by doing so I will be able to comprehend any changes to my hair over the next month and two months following the combination of treatments I'm undertaking;
- Procerin (Saw Palmetto complex)
- Toco-8
- Iron supp
- Multi Vitamin (Inc. Biotin)

I mean yes it is shit, but it gets to the point where we have to ask ourselves who are we kidding. I mean let's say that we get a girl in a dark club and bring her home, and she finds out there that you have hair problems, or you form a relationship and she finds out further down the line??? What will her reaction be? We can't keep this charade up forever... it is not our fault, but it is no-one else's either... it just happens. I was 18 years old, it was Matriculation day for my college at Cambridge and we were having a meal and one of the guys on my staircase was a bit drunk and just came out and told me he could see my scalp. And looking back at the photo's he was right, that was the first time it truly hit me. I had thin hair growing up, but at least I had lots of it, but unfortunately I couldn't fall back on thick hair when it started falling it...

I wonder if anybody watches House M.D.? Don't want to be that guy with the spoilers but while watching Wilson be diagnosed with cancer, go through the chemo and the turmoil of extending his life or enjoying the one he's got left it really puts things into perspective for me. Yes, hair loss sucks but we all know that, and I think deep down, past the treatments and the concealers and transplants, realistically, there is nothing we can do to guarantee a fresh full head of hair again, and we have to cross the emotional barrier and accept that. There is no doubt that hair loss has destroyed my later teenage years, no doubt, but I can't let it destroy me further.

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## Tracy C

> I've decided to give myself a 'buzz-cut' purely for convenience reasons. Furthermore, by doing so I will be able to comprehend any changes to my hair over the next month and two months following the combination of treatments I'm undertaking;
> - Procerin (Saw Palmetto complex)
> - Toco-8
> - Iron supp
> - Multi Vitamin (Inc. Biotin)


 There is nothing in your treatment plan that is actually going to help you.  You would have much better chances of slowing down, stopping or possibly reversing some of your hair loss with the known proven treatments.

It is best to take good quality photos four to six months apart.  One or two months apart is not going to tell you anything.  It takes a stupid long time to treat hair loss.  Whatever treatment you chose to go with, you need to stick with it for a full year before you will know if it is working for you - longer before you will know how well it is working for you.

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## NotBelievingIt

> There is nothing in your treatment plan that is actually going to help you...


 You shouldn't, and can't, say that.  You have no idea if something non-big 3 will help.  You're basically calling out everyone who has experienced otherwise and calling them a liar.

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## Tracy C

> You're basically calling out everyone who has experienced otherwise and calling them a liar.


 Well, if you put it that way...  Yes.

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## johnone23

Well put it this way, I've already bought the stuff, and I'm resigned to getting a buzz cut so I might as well see what happens if not for the pure fun of the experiment. When I can raise the finances I will get a good quality transplant and that will be that, but until then...

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## Tracy C

I wish you luck then.  Remember, the more you know the more you can help yourself.

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## clandestine

> I wish you luck then.  Remember, the more you know the more you can help yourself.


 Remember, in some instances, the less you know, the more you can help yourself.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...563.x/abstract

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## mpb47

> Hair loss in college is a real bitch. My very favorite thing about school was the girls... the day I noticed my crown starting to thin, I dropped out and never went back.
> 
> Even though my hair has improved from meds, I still don't feel comfortable surrounding myself with a bunch of 18-35-year-old women for hours every day. I won't go back until this is truly fixed, even if it means I never go back at all.
> Those of you who push through it and get your degrees/certificates/whatever deserve a lot of credit.


 By the time you are in college, things are starting to change and many women do not care at that point. Yea there are still some that do but not that many.

I would not let this stop me from going anyway as you need it as a competitive advantage. It's not fair, but much of the world is rigged to keep you dumb&cheap.  I would not give up school over hair loss  as that is short sided thinking...

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## johnone23

Clandestine: I purposefully never touched propecia because of the reported sexual side effects. I may not have hair for a while but at least I'll have a penis!

mpb47: I agree, I could never drop out. I worked my ass off for my a levels to be accepted, and me degree is my future, I cannot turn my back on that. Shit happens, but so it does to everyone... this is our version, we just need to move on (didn't mean for that to rhyme)

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## clandestine

> Clandestine: I purposefully never touched propecia because of the reported sexual side effects. I may not have hair for a while but at least I'll have a penis!


 I feel similarly.

It was more of a joke; the study I linked to indicates that patient's who were told previously about finasteride's potential for sides were (much) more likely to experience them i.e. Nocebo effect.

Hence, the less you know, the better off you are.  :Wink:

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## johnone23

I suppose there is an element of beauty in ignorance...  :Smile:

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## johnone23

Right, I was looking in the mirror this evening and I noticed that my eyebrows had thinned/fallen out. The outside third has almost completely gone! I am 19 years old, just getting to grips with MPB at my age but surely I deserve eyebrows? Is this typical of a separate underlying condition? I really do not want to look like a cancer patient!

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## fab

Never heard of this eyebrown issue, i don't think it's anything. But why don't you take Finasteride johnone23? if sides affect you, just stop taking it. Some people take it for 20 years, like a friend of mine, and never had problems. You won't see those people in forums, and they are the majority.

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## clandestine

> Never heard of this eyebrown issue, i don't think it's anything. But why don't you take Finasteride johnone23? if sides affect you, just stop taking it. Some people take it for 20 years, like a friend of mine, and never had problems. You won't see those people in forums, and they are the majority.


 fab; I thought you were one of the members who had taken finasteride for 10+ years, then became sexually defunct?

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## rupe

looking at the toco-8 and was considering getting it but then reminded myself that the amount of money i have spent and am spending on rogaine, toppik, finaster (0.5mg p/day), revivogen, saw palmetto and all other vitamins is unreasonably ridiculous. especially when not getting results.

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## Davey Jones

> looking at the toco-8 and was considering getting it but then reminded myself that the amount of money i have spent and am spending on rogaine, toppik, finaster (0.5mg p/day), revivogen, saw palmetto and all other vitamins is unreasonably ridiculous. especially when not getting results.


 Yeah, but Toco-8 actually makes you healthier too, which is a decent consolation prize to having hair.  If I recall correctly, this was the formulation they used in the study with vitamin E:

http://www.amazon.com/Vitacost-Tocom...7782976&sr=8-1

It's cheaper than Toco-8, if that helps.

EDIT: Though I do use Toco-8, so I don't know about that stuff.  Just saying, it's cheaper.

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## johnone23

To be honest, the fact that I spend so much money at the moment on products, just like you, has been another reason fro me to get me hair cut short. You have to think "who are you kidding", you're just prolonging to inevitable. At least I can save some money this way.

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