Hair loss products…

Has anyone here actually used any of the so called miracle hair loss products with real life experience?

I’m starting to go very thin up top and would like to stop it if possible!

Websites like “hims” and “manual” both offer miracle grow pills with a 6 month turn around, but I’m sceptical

The only hair loss product you need….

2mm cut.  You aren’t going to stop it, unless you get a Turkey Teeth hair transplant.

I think at best they slow (not stop) the loss down a little, until you stop using them. They are not going to grow new hair on a bald patch.   Expensive for limited returns imo, ymmv. It’ll probably look a bit sad and one step away from a combover. I’ve been buzz cutting then shaving my head down to the wood for decades for this reason. It’s traumatic at first to admit to yourself that your full head of hair is a thing of the past.  You get used to it though and in fact it’s liberating.  Low maintenance, low faff.  Embrace your inner slap head!

I’ve been looking for a good hair loss product for ages. Sick of getting my hair cut all the time so a nice smooth dome would suit me!

turkey’s have teeth?

I think they all contain minoxidil as the key ingredient. I used similar for a while 10yrs ago along with caffeine shampoo. Definitely stopped the loss but you have to use consistently daily and I just couldn’t be bothered in the end. If you stop, hair loss continues.

If you’re young, the monthly cost over a few decades will probably be more than a transplant.

I agree with everything that blokeuptheroad says, although I still use a trimmer at 2mm rather than shave. I have found it liberating as well. I started losing my hair in my early thirties but to be honest it wasn’t a surprise as I just had to look at my maternal uncles and great uncles to know where things were likely to pan out

Propecia will stop the loss and will thicken what’s left, but may not result in hair restoration.  Regain may result is restoration, but it’s a pain to use, expensive and variable in results.  Boots run a hair loss clinic which you can go to and get a consultation and a reduced price prescription.  You can buy propecia online, but for your first year, I’d do the clinic and and follow-ups to make sure it works for you.

finasteride blocks an enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydroxytestosterone. That conversion product is responsible for male pattern baldness. It works, it’s systemic (pill) and you have to take it continuously. Minoxidil is topical, it stimulates blood flow at the follicle and may have other effects less understood.

Talk to your GP before taking finasteride. If I were to bother choosing one, I’d go with finasteride since its mode of action is understood. It may also help with future prostate problems (5HT reductase inhibitors are for this primarily). I don’t bother. It’s been falling out since I was about 30 in a female pattern way. And it’s still red and probably will remain so. Nobody else cares and nor do I. And I like hats anyway.

There are only two people that care you are going bald. You, and people you don’t need to worry about.

Its absolute madness trying to do anything about it other than lopping it off.

Lean into it and enjoy the 30second shower.

I’m starting to go very thin up top and would like to stop it if possible!

Honestly, the bigger issue is why is this bothering you. And the smarter question to ask here is how did all the chrome dome inhabitants of this parish come to terms with it (or not bother them in the first place). How does our mindset and outlook on life differ to your current one and make this a non problem.

I started going bald at 19, about the same time that minoxodil came out, I spent quite a lot of money on it, made zero difference, went bald anyway.

a mate went to his GP in desperation, asking if there’s anything, anything at all that could stop it, GP said, there is one guaranteed way to stop baldness, but it had some quite severe side effects, ‘I don’t care’ says my mate, ‘I want it’,

‘it’s castration’ says the GP – ‘I don’t want it’ says my mate!

A hat…if people can’t see it then they don’t know it is happening.

People will notice your desperate hair weave / comb-over way more than a shaved head.

Shave it off.

https://mrmen.fandom.com/wiki/Mr._Cheerful

Any suggestions for missing eyebrows too? Trying regain on them at the moment

I always joke that I don’t want long hair, just the ability to have long hair should I desire.

I accepted it ages ago, I just wish it thinned equally left and right. It has thinned quicker than the grey came through though so there’s a plus point

Nope just embrace it.

STW Organic Cotton Beanie

STW Cotton Cap

STW Masthead Organic Beanie

Loosers. If you had hair like mine you too could be this sauve and debonair.

And the smarter question to ask here is how did all the chrome dome inhabitants of this parish come to terms with it

I think the realisation that if you don’t care, nobody else does. And that there really isn’t anything you can do about it anyway.

If you have alopecia areata or totalis, that’s different and an autoimmune disease with some interesting new treatments. My friend and her son both have this.

One of my friends who’s also a hairdresser stopped me using head and shoulders when I was about 30 (I’m now 58) and put me on nioxin. I had a dry scalp problem. She basically  ranted about not using stuff that was full of chemicals and nioxin was natural etc etc. which I’ve used religiously ever since (only their basic cleanser not all the other gubbins).  Anyway forward 30 yrs and I’ve still got a reasonable head of hair and she’s convinced I’d be bald now if it wasn’t for her intervention back then. There’s no way of proving it of course. My dad was bald at 21. Males on my mum’s side of the family either didn’t have hair loss problems or only did in later life. So completely inconclusive tbh. Considering my dad was completely bald on top by 21 I’ve always been thankful that I dodged a bullet, so if i continue to gradually lose my hair into my 60s then I’m completely comfortable with it. My hair has been cut shorter over the years but I’ll continue using nioxin as it’s all I’ve used most of my adult life

Males on my mum’s side of the family either didn’t have hair loss problems or only did in later life.

And this, not your shampoo, is why you have hair. It’s passed on the X Chromosome from your mother, with some influence of Y from your father adding to the mix. It was previously thought only X-Linked.

If you are willing enough to pay a shitton there does seem to be some stuff which helps slow things down and then with even more its hair transplant time to a)cripple you and b)make comb over lovers look good.

Ultimately though the second post from Binners has it covered.

Give up and accept it and you will be happier for it.

Admittedly I am biased since I could never be hassled with looking after my hair so always shaved it but at some point it went from a No4 to not bothering with a guard but I aint sure when.

The only change has been a hat in summer to avoid burning and occasionally a beenie in winter.

Lost my hair before I turned twenty and went straight to shaving with a razor. It is where you’ll end up so you might as well embrace it and get used to it. Swap hair for hats and a beard!

My dad lost most of his hair before his 40’s, my brother was shaving his head in his 20’s, but he’s a biker, and it was easier when wearing a helmet, I kept trying to fight the inevitable and spending money every month having someone cut it in a way that attempted to hide the reality, until lockdown when I accepted the inevitable, went over my head with my beard trimmer, and then bought possibly the last proper Remington head trimmer available on Amazon from Indonesia, and everyone I knew said I really needed to have done it years before!

They weren’t wrong. It’s allowed me to use a whizzy new feature in the Photos app in iOS 18, to create a younger, better looking version of myself…

My advice is to shave your head while you still have hair, and spare yourself the indignity of “in-between” stage, where it’s obvious to everyone that you are thinning, but everyone is to polite to point it out.

There are loads of things that you can do to try to desperately slow down the loss of your hair – but I would ask yourself whether that’s who you want to be?

Or do you want to be the kind of bloke that says “this is happening, nobody else give the slightest shit….. I just need to get over it and move on with my life”?

Shaving my head (just down to stubble) was a hugely positive step.  Don’t think about it as “giving-up” think about it as “opting-out” of an unwinnable battle.  The only way to win, is not to fight.

And this, not your shampoo, is why you have hair. It’s passed on the X Chromosome from your mother, with some influence of Y from your father adding to the mix. It was previously thought only X-Linked.

That’s interesting. My hair is nothing like the males’ receding hairlines on my Mum’s side. My hairline is exactly the same as photos of my Dad’s dad (i’m one year older than when he died now) and not much like my Dad’s hair, which has been slowly thinning for the past 30 years. I’d gladly donate some hair as it’s so thick.

finasteride blocks an enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydroxytestosterone. That conversion product is responsible for male pattern baldness

Years ago when I was insecure 20 something I imported this before it was technically legal in this country.

It was good at creating fuzz but made me feel dizzy and weird.

I left it alone and got used to hair loss.

Another one for just get a pair of clippers.

Decided to zeng mine off at about 35 when I realised I was starting to look a bit status quo-y in some photos with long hair and thinning out.

Really no one gives a toss and it definitely looks better than trying to hide the fact. I’ve got a couple of mates who need to embrace it, but don’t, and I’ve come close to saying so, but haven’t.

So the take away message here is, nobody gives a shit when you go bald, but only if you shave the remainder of your hair off. If you don’t, however, you’re outcast from society!

Maybe ask this chap how he keeps such a natural, youthful head of hair

So the take away message here is, nobody gives a shit when you go bald, but only if you shave the remainder of your hair off. If you don’t, however, you’re outcast from society

Well I wouldn’t go that far, but you’re faced with a choice

1. Admit defeat and rorm it off

2. Try and hide the fact, but no matter how you do that, you’ll end up looking like this. You may try and convince yourself that you don’t, but you do…

That’s surely the best of both world’s, hair and bald ??

Even Bill Bailey has let it go now!…

I’ve never seen anyone try and hang on to their hair or pretend not to be going bald and look good doing it. It just makes them look a little sad or in denial. Even worse are the older generation who keep the sides and back without the top. It makes them look absolutely ancient and like they’ve stepped in from somewhere in the mid nineteenth century.

The only sensible options are stubble or full on baldy. Anything else is just a degree of denial and nobody looks good being a bit bald. Although if you can pull off a Munson then you’re a rare breed so go for it!

Anyway forward 30 yrs and I’ve still got a reasonable head of hair and she’s convinced I’d be bald now if it wasn’t for her intervention back then.

Hardly, i’ve been chucking any old chemical garbage in my hair my entire life and still only got an extra 5mm of forehead compared to when i was 21. (Have a handy marker from an assault, a scar on my hairline).

My brother on the other hand started thinning in his teens and now, 30 years later, is looking very whispy, but still spends 50 quid a month on a hair cut.

And this, not your shampoo, is why you have hair. It’s passed on the X Chromosome from your mother, with some influence of Y from your father adding to the mix. It was previously thought only X-Linked.

Are there any other contributory factors? Every male on my mum’s side had a full head of hair their entire life. My dad’s side all went bald at a young age and I’ve followed that trend. I would’ve loved my grandad’s (mum’s dad) hair. He had a do that was wild and had to be tamed with pomade.

To pull off bald you either have to hit the gym or get fat. Personally i”d rather go on the pills.

I’m only joking, before the baldies come after me.

I reckon I could outrun the fatties, but I’m no match for a bit of ‘roid rage.

I have 3 friends that have tried finasteride.

The first didn’t like the negative effect on his libido so stopped, the second was very happy with the results and wished he’d started it earlier (he never mentioned any problems) but after a while it stopped working. And the other lad is also well chuffed with his locks and reports that he is horny as ever.

I on the other hand am bald and love it.

I’m a barber and while I’m happy to tell people about these products, I always tell them not to get a transplant.