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Nov 9, 2003
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balding

i'm getting older now and my Uncles in family are mostly bald and I don't want to be bald because people will point and laugh at me and throw dirt sometimes

I've heard of propecia and things

is that available at stores now, is there anything for balding without having to get it from doctor?
35 replies
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Dec 1, 2005
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i think balding is genetic. I don't think people will point and laugh. By age 30 approximatley 25% of the men out there will be bald. Only thing that really work is hair implant. If you got hte money, then go do that. However you can protect your hair many ways:

1. dont wash too often, natural oil protect your scalp
2. don't use wax, gel, clay, spray, too much
3. dont play with your hair all the time
4. dont use blow dryer, curler, iron.

or just get a wig. there are really good wig out there.

about your question, those things advertised will not work. only permenent solution is implant
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Jul 1, 2004
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trolls go bald
"What an emotionally wrecking of the stomach game"
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Aug 25, 2008
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One of my friends is going bald, well not quite bald but just has a receding hairline I guess. You'll never see him without his Von Dutch hat. But he's 23. But then again, lots of people get grey hairs at an early age too.
Go big or go home.
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Oct 27, 2008
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xinhang wrote: 1. dont wash too often, natural oil protect your scalp
2. don't use wax, gel, clay, spray, too much
3. dont play with your hair all the time
4. dont use blow dryer, curler, iron.
5. Don't wear a hat all the time.
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Aug 14, 2008
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Hair goes through a constant cycle of falling out and regrowing. In male-pattern baldness, the hair roots shrink with each regeneration. The hair becomes finer and baby-like until the root no longer supports hair.

Unless you get an expensive transplant, you are delaying the inevitable. The media would have you think that very few men have male-pattern baldness when actually 1 in 4 have it by age 30.
There are billions of successful men who are bald/balding. Try not to let it preoccupy your ability to be confident. Cut your hair short and forget about it, spend time improving yourself in other ways.

If you have your heart set on slowing it down, generic Minoxidil (Rogaine) without an Rx is cheaper across the border in any pharmacy. If I remember my dermatological studies, it vasodilates and improves circulation to the area, sometimes it irritates the skin.
Minoxidil is not as effective as Propecia which reduces the hormone byproduct responsible for shrinking the hair root. You need a Rx from a dermatologist for it. It should not be handled by pregnant women due to fetal growth implications and it may cause some impotence.
Both drugs are meant for prevention and maintenance, they very rarely grow hair. Keep that in mind with the monthly cost involved.

The other methods do not clinically change the rate at which your hair roots lose the ability to sustain and grow hair.
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Jul 18, 2006
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Kenny Blankenship wrote: trolls go bald
+1. Sorry bud. And you say you're old? From the threads you create, my guess is you're 15.
You're not funny.
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Jun 19, 2006
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Unicron wrote: I've heard of propecia and things
Yup, Propecia (brand of 1mg finasteride tablets) is probably the most effective 'treatment' for androgenic alopecia. Its also very soon to be off-patent, and thus, available as a dirt-cheap generic prescription medication.

The cost of Merck-brand Propecia at Canadian drugstores is approximately $60/month (~$50 for the pills, $10 for professional services).

However, you can buy the identical drug as a product known as Proscar (5mg finasteride tablets), and use a razor blade to cut them.

So you merely approach your doctor for a prescription for Proscar 5mg O.D., 12 months refills. The pharmacy will dispense a 34 tablet supply for approximately $75, and you can slice those tablets into 5ths or 6ths and still get the same dosage of finasteride (the active ingredient in Propecia) for roughly 1/5th the cost. 34 tablets cut into 1/6ths will last more than half a year.
is that available at stores now, is there anything for balding without having to get it from doctor?
As its not a controlled drug, there are plenty of offshore Internet pharmacies that can supply it. But seriously, cutting Merck-brand 5mg Proscar tablets down into 1/6ths will reduce the cost of your prescription to approximately $150/year without the risks of buying drugs from India.

If you have a health insurance plan at work, most of them will pay for Proscar 5mg, as it is also a treatment for Benign Prostate Hyperplasy (enlarged prostate), but Propecia 1mg is only for hair loss, which is deemed to be a cosmetic condition usually not covered by insurance.

Also, some people use topical minoxidil in combination with oral finasteride, and claim the results are better than simply monotherapy with one or the other.

And don't worry too much about finasteride dosages. There's a study that Merck filed with the FDA that shows that even 0.25mg finasteride produces 5-alpha-reductase inhibition (5aR is the enzyme that regulates the production of dihydrotesterone from regular testerone that causes androgenic alopecia) that is pretty much identical to much higher doses.

The major side effect of Propecia (finasteride)? Weaker erections. That's about it. The literature calls this 'impotence', but in reality, it doesn't stop young men from having sex, and doesn't mean that you'll have to pop Viagra or other drugs. It just means that you might require a little more foreplay before things are 'ready to go', much like having a few beers beforehand.
"I worked with several H1B employees that were/are borderline ********. One of them wanted to spray an electrical patch panel with solvent to see if it would make the “network go faster”". <--- lol (source)
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Feb 4, 2002
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Male pattern baldness is genetic and is passed on by your mother. It's female recessive just like hemophilia; passed on by women but a male affliction.

Your dad or grandfathers being bald has absolutely nothing to do with you going bald. The only indicators would be males on your mothers side of the family. You mom's brothers or your grandmothers brothers. If they are all bald you are totally screwed :)

Noone in my family is bald, but I got screwed. I'm thinning big time but I really don't care, I just cut my hair short. If it ever gets to the horseshoe stage I'll shave it right down.
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Dec 14, 2005
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balding is the next human evolution, that's what i tell myself to keep me sleeping at night.
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Apr 8, 2007
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timely discussion.....my husband is starting to lose his hair and uses the Rogaine stuff (but the Life brand from Shoppers)...it's like $50 a month.

He's been wondering about the legitimacy of those TV commercials that promote hair restoration. Anyone have any feedback on the hair club for men stuff? Seriously :| ....what's the deal? Does it work? I know it's expensive....
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Nov 28, 2005
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xinhang wrote: By age 30 approximatley 25% of the men out there will be bald.
Wow! Is the number THAT high?

I know of someone who turned quite bald at 25. He looks just like my "uncle" when indeed I'm a friend of his dad.
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Jun 19, 2006
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jandumm wrote: He's been wondering about the legitimacy of those TV commercials that promote hair restoration. Anyone have any feedback on the hair club for men stuff? Seriously :| ....what's the deal? Does it work? I know it's expensive....
It works, but only to some extent. And hair keeps falling out. The use of Propecia (1mg finasteride tablets) is practically mandatory if you undergo hair transplantation. Many (scrupulous) surgeons will put their patients on Propecia/Rogaine for a year (to assess results), before they will do surgery, and after-surgery, more or less, you'll have to be on a prescription of Propecia for life, just to keep other parts of your hair from deteriorating and making the transplants look awful.

Basically, the current technique of hair transplants involves cutting out a section of your scalp on the back of your head, re-secting that section of cut-out scalp (leaving a permanent scar that will be visible if you shave your head), dissecting that piece of cut-out scalp for hair follicles, which are then surgically inserted into bald sections of the forehead and crown using a punch tool.

Basically, such surgery isn't a good idea for anyone under 35, and if a person is completely bald, isn't very useful either because it requires that there is good 'donor' hair.

There are some pretty good hairpieces out there, and quite frankly, shaving your head and keeping it bald can be quite sexy. Teenaged girls like men with full heads of hair, but once girls grow up, they kind of adjust to reality.
"I worked with several H1B employees that were/are borderline ********. One of them wanted to spray an electrical patch panel with solvent to see if it would make the “network go faster”". <--- lol (source)
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jandumm wrote: timely discussion.....my husband is starting to lose his hair and uses the Rogaine stuff (but the Life brand from Shoppers)...it's like $50 a month.
Minoxidil can be bought cheaply on EBAY. Just make sure it is from a reputable seller and isn't expired.

like here.
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Apr 8, 2007
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pitz wrote: shaving your head and keeping it bald can be quite sexy. Teenaged girls like men with full heads of hair, but once girls grow up, they kind of adjust to reality.
That's what I keep telling him! :) Thanks for the informative post :)
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Jun 19, 2006
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jandumm wrote: That's what I keep telling him! :) Thanks for the informative post :)
I think the worst is the transition between having a full head hair and being bald. That's annoying, because you're neither a sexy bald man, nor are you a sexy man of full hair. You're caught somewhere inbetween :( .

Kind of like cute little girls and the full-grown variety. There's that 5-8 years that are full of acne. But eventually many of them end up looking wonderful. Some of the best looking girls I know formerly had hopeless amounts of acne in their teen years. Once they go on birth control pills and they have hormonal and skin changes, the difference can be fantastic.

(note to guys, females who had a lot of acne in their youth, are somewhat quite likely to be on birth control pills, if their symptoms have cleared up. Oral contraceptives are pretty much the standard treatment for minor to medium amounts of teenage female acne.)
"I worked with several H1B employees that were/are borderline ********. One of them wanted to spray an electrical patch panel with solvent to see if it would make the “network go faster”". <--- lol (source)
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pitz wrote: I think the worst is the transition between having a full head hair and being bald. That's annoying, because you're neither a sexy bald man, nor are you a sexy man of full hair. You're caught somewhere inbetween :( .
Yep, that's how those horrible combovers happen. Early on you can conceal it a little but some people just refuse to accept it and shave it down. If you find yourself spending time trying to hide your thinning hair it might be time for the buzz! :) It might look ok in the bathroom but once you get in sunlight you can see right through it.
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Jan 15, 2004
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Just shave your head, looks good (as long as your ok looking :cheesygri ). I love it, very low maintenance and everyone gets used to it pretty quick.
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Jul 18, 2006
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a2vr6 wrote: Just shave your head, looks good (as long as your ok looking :cheesygri ). I love it, very low maintenance and everyone gets used to it pretty quick.
To quote the great George Costanza....."That's like using a wheelchair for the fun of it!!!" :mad:
You're not funny.

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