Hello Blogland!
I can’t believe I’m doing this. If somebody would have told me several years ago that I would one day be blogging, let alone running my own blog specifically talking about my hair loss and my ‘quest’ to defy it, I would have laughed in their face and called them crazy. Yet, here I am, doing precisely that. HAVE I LOST MY MIND?
No, seriously. This is going to be good, I think. (And, if nothing else, it’ll be bloody funny – so I advise you to bookmark this while you have the chance if all you want is a good giggle, as I’m sure it’ll be worth that alone!)
Seriously though, when all is said and done, this blog is here for a serious reason — to methodically research, test, document and ultimately (hopefully) improve my hair loss problem and the problem of others who read, follow, and contribute to this blog.
Before I get to the nuts and bolts of what I know, what I don’t know, what I have done, what I am doing, and what I’m going to do etc, I’d like to give you a little information about myself…
About me (…and my damned hair loss!)
I first noticed my hair loss at aged 18-19 with a slight recession in the temples. I am now almost 28, and although my hair as gotten slightly worse over the years, I still consider myself to have a decent head of hair. However, in the last year especially, I have lost a lot more hair a lot more quickly than I would have liked. Probably slightly over an inch at the temples, and around half an inch on the overall hairline. Uh-oh.
I also have noticed my hair is gradually appearing thinner overall than it used to be — and although only noticeable to myself I do believe my crown is very, very slightly thinning more than the rest of it. Gulp!
With that, I decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and do something about it before it’s too late. So, here I am. Here this is. Here you are. And here we are!
I know what many people think about her loss. I can hear them now: “You’re wasting your time pal, just shave it!” and in part I do agree with them. Jesus, I’ve said it myself enough times in the past. However, I do not believe I have reached the point where my looks are taking a hammering because of my less than perfect hair. I still have a pretty good head of hair — I believe I’m a Norwood 2ish — and believe me, as soon as I feel I don’t any more… it comes off.
What I think about my hair loss is simple: while I still have a pretty good head of hair, I would much rather do all I can to keep it this way than simply do nothing. To me, the matter is not much different than having to brush my teeth in order to stop them rotting and falling out. The principle is the same, at least.
What I’m doing, and what I’m going to be doing
I am a very practical person, and while I have to admit that I was initially a bit sickened and slightly panicked by what I was seeing, I began doing some research and decided that the way to go was with proven treatments first — so I have been on Propecia for just over two months. It’s the smart thing to do.
I didn’t take this decision lightly because not only is Propecia quite expensive but the idea of taking a pill every day for the rest of my life in order to keep my hair, along with the idea of possibly experiencing side effects which might of affected my daily life, was a bit off-putting at first. But I bit the bullet and I’m glad I’m did — no side-effects so far whatsoever, and the most effective proven male pattern baldness treatment now fighting my corner.
As someone who doesn’t believe rubbing liquorice root on my head will do anything other than give me a nice tasting head, and that if vitamin deficiency were the secret elusive cause of male pattern baldness then the entire male population of the Third World would be Kojakized, the only foundation for me was to use a proven treatment first. It makes sense, and I like sense.
Besides, taking just one small pill a day is pretty damn convenient, I think. (I have seen what some people do with their regimes, and they are practically baking a cake on their heads each and every day. I absolutely refuse to bake a cake on my head no matter how bad my hair loss gets!)
Of course, taking Propecia is not all I am going to be doing or this blog wouldn’t exist. But, I firmly believe trying anything else without having the backing of a proven treatment would be a waste of time and would be playing Russian roulette with my hair needlessly, and I am not prepared to do this.
It would be a regretful thing for me if I were to look back on losing my hair knowing that I should have wised up and done the right thing, but chose to mess around trying old wives tale codswallop instead. I now actually have complete peace of mind and confidence in what I am doing for myself because of this.
Why You Should Read This Blog
If you are losing your hair I firmly believe you should bookmark and follow this blog.
Now, I am no expert on hair loss, but I guess there is no such thing — because if there were, hair loss would undoubtedly have been cured by now. Nor do I believe that I am going to single-handedly crack the mystery which has eluded mankind for thousands of years. But, what I do know is, if you want cool, rational thinking and well-researched methods — most importantly, tested first hand over long periods of time — then I believe you could do far worse than listening to me. I am in this for the long haul — for life. I have to be.
Here are just a few precise reasons why you should listen to me:
- I fully realise the importance of starting any hair loss regime with proven treatments first. I have done this with Propecia. No one serious about keeping their hair can rationally justify not using a proven treatment, unless they are the unfortunate few who experience un-put-upable (is that a word?) side effects.
- I fully realise I have to stick with any treatment I use for at least six months and even up to a year to evaluate its effectiveness. I am prepared to do this. Many people are not willing to do this and the best they will do is a few months (or even weeks) until they become panicked or impatience and change to something else — which is useless. (Progress on hair loss is not made in a linear fashion – it’s up and down – so I will not ‘bottle’ it. In for a penny…)
- Anything I do in addition to taking Propecia will attempt to counter as many of the suspected aggravating factors of male pattern baldness is possible. DHT is not the sole cause of male pattern baldness, nor would eliminating DHT from the body entirely re-grow all lost hair (Maybe some, but not all).
- I am actually attempting to stimulate hair growth using treatments that come as close to proven as possible (but will always remain unproven due to issues of money for clinical testing, and the fact many things simply can’t be patented, etc.). Where possible, I will also be enhancing their effectiveness in various ways which I will talk about in future blog posts.
- I have several theories and ideas – no herbal remedy witchdoctor crap – which I have never seen talked about nor used before, which I am dying to try out on myself and share any results with you.
I think it is fair to say that what I am going to be doing will, in part, be controversial. But, I am already on Propecia so trying one or two other methods in addition to this will either have no additional positive results or some additional results. Nothing ventured…
Well, this is where it begins. From this point on I will be offering advice and information based on what I’ve learnt from others or first hand on male pattern baldness, as well as information on my own regime, tests, results and progress (if any).
I aim to keep it to a tight 2-3 part regime and wait it out.
I hope you follow, and it would be great to hear your opinions.
Let the games begin.