i’m fairly young (20M) but i’ve been experiencing some hair loss since i’ve been about 16, i’m pretty healthy i just have the genes for it since every man on both sides of my family is bald & maybe some hormonal factors driving it idk. my hair loss rn isn’t THAT bad, my hairline has receded to the point that i definitely have a pennyworth style widow’s peak (the batman tv show) when i lift my hair up and the top in general is much thinner than it used to be but i don’t have any bald spots and you’d have to try to see through to my scalp (probably also helps that i have semi-curly medium-long hair).

anyways, to stop my hair loss from getting any worse, i’ve been taking topical minoxidil finasteride for the past 9ish months (dermatologist recommended it since they said the side effects were worse for the pill form) and honestly it seems like it’s been working, my hairline hasn’t receded anymore and my hair feels much thicker even if it isn’t the same as it was before.

however, the topical minoxidil finasteride gives me the WORSE dark circles around my eyes like i look like a panda or a raccoon. and it’s more than that i look like a zombie, like my face is slightly more pale/grey than the usual white/olive skin color. i recently ran out and couldn’t refill before i went on a family trip and my dark circles were completely gone by the end of the week and my skin in general looked so much healthier.

so i’m stuck wondering what should i do? i can’t get a straight answer out of google so hopefully someone in the comments can help (i should probably schedule another visit with the dermatologist but i just haven’t had the time yet). i want my hair and don’t want to lose it, especially so young, but i hate my eyes and face looking like that and i’m sure i’m harming my body by using it if it’s having that effect, so i’m wondering if there are any other solid options i can do for my hair? anyone else with similar experience that found something that worked for them?

  • FourteenEyes [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    What I did was shave my head and grow a beard. The more I grow my beard the more compliments I seem to get from women. (Requires heavy investment in oils and brushes)

    • Yeat [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      i’ve pretty much accepted that i’m going to have to do that at some point, hopefully when i’m older, and i go back and forth between having a beard and just keeping it to a light stubble but man i just cannot pull off anything like a shaved head, buzzcut, etc 😭 idk i just must not have the right face or head shape for it. i love my hair and i wanna keep it for as long as i can, i have a pretty deceiving middle part that covers any sign of hair loss and it’s the main thing i get compliments on

      • FourteenEyes [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        6·
        1 year ago

        At a certain point I just had to take ownership of it and I tried a goatee for a bit, then fucked that up when my beard trimmer broke mid-shave and decided to just go full beard.

        As I’ve gotten older (and more destroyed by stress and chronic pain) I’ve gotten grayer and it’s giving me a bit of a distinguished look now, I think, but I’m a lot less awkward than I was in my 20s for sure. Going bald’s not the end of the world. It’s way less stigmatized than it used to be. I never had much luck with any hair loss treatments I tried, and now I feel weird when I get lazy and start getting some head stubble. You’ll find some way to deal with it if you don’t find a treatment that works.

        Just don’t get hairplugs. melon-musk

        • Yeat [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          yeah i definitely get that, what’s wrong with hair plugs though? idk that much about the whole thing but i have 2 family members that have them and it looks pretty good on one of them

    • Yeat [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      if i remember correctly minoxidil and finasteride both do two different things to your hair with minoxidil increasing blood flow to the scalp and finasteride blocking dht, so i might take something else that mimics the effect of minoxidil with finasteride then?

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    Balding sucks in this society. However, there is a point where you need to realize it’s better to be bald than to hold on to scraps.

    I think it’s worth considering how to save your hair since you’re still in your teens, but generally speaking, being bald in your 20s-50s will be seen as more attractive or just “normal” as long as you keep a healthy body (typically athletic and/or muscular), and growing a beard doesn’t hurt but not everyone can do it. Then around retirement age, you can rock the Mao cut and no one would bat an eye because that’s just the look you associate with that age.

    With that being said, I think Latisse is another “hair growth” medicine, but it’s usually prescribed for eyebrows and eyelashes.

    • Yeat [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      oh yeah i definitely agree with the first part, mine isn’t anywhere near that level i’m just trying to prevent it from getting to that point anytime soon but that’s good to know. i’ll check out latisse though