Oh God No, Not the Fro

August 9, 2005 6:36 AM

I *may* be going bald. So the question is: Of all the crap out there (Rogaine, Propecia, Procerin, etc.) what actually works, and what works best?
posted by JPowers to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (27 answers total)

I found that shaving my head and just letting go of the stress from fighting nature to work best.

Seriously.
posted by oddman at 6:45 AM on August 9, 2005

Indeed. Go gracefully

I've a steadily increasing widow's peak and I wear my hair exceeding short. Most of the ladies neither notice or care. If I point it out to them, they tell me it looks distinguished.

Far more attractive than kicking and screaming your way to a Trump style combover.
posted by aladfar at 6:55 AM on August 9, 2005

I'll second oddman's comment. I tried the Rogaine stuff but I just couldn't see shelling out that much cash to grow hair while risking the side effects of using a blood pressure medication.
posted by substrate at 6:59 AM on August 9, 2005

Nothing works, just deal with it.

To echo what oddman said, when I was down to the last hairs on my crown, I finally shaved them off and let go of the stress.

Yeah, being bald sucks, but there are far worse things than losing your hair, like losing a limb or losing your sight.
posted by Fat Guy at 6:59 AM on August 9, 2005

A buddy of mine has noticeably thicker hair after using Propecia. He also gets nauseous less.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:11 AM on August 9, 2005

To be a bit more constructive than I was in my first post in this thread (ah the dreaded pre-coffee post.)

The hair-replacement treatments are all pretty expensive. You could take that money and use it on a gym membership instead. Being fit and toned is far more attractive, healthy and good for your self-esteem than having hair on your head.
posted by oddman at 7:16 AM on August 9, 2005

He also gets nauseous less.

Less than what?
posted by smackfu at 7:24 AM on August 9, 2005

I concur. The best use of your time and energy is to find a barber who believes you when you ask him to cut it really short. Any other solution is fooling nobody.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:39 AM on August 9, 2005

There was a pretty good AskMe thread about this recently.
posted by saladin at 7:42 AM on August 9, 2005

Hats
posted by leafwoman at 7:56 AM on August 9, 2005

As one of the MANY women who find receding hairlines distinguished and attractive, I'm also voting for go gracefully. Don't do the combover. Don't grow the rest of your hair long (a la Gallagher). Stay in shape and go all Sean Connery.
posted by jeanmari at 7:57 AM on August 9, 2005

My brother started losing his hair in his mid 20s. Rogaine did nothing for him--as I understand it, Rogaine helps you maintain the hair you have, but is only modestly successful at regrowing hair. He has been using Propecia with a lot more success. He still basically has a full head of hair at 30.

My hubby, on the other hand, dealt with it by keeping his hair very close cropped. I love it. To me, he looks like Tom Sizemore in Heat. Meow, meow.
posted by Sully6 at 8:03 AM on August 9, 2005

Another vote for going gracefully. Baldness is normal. Nobody's going to be pointing and whispering, "Look at the guy without hair!" :-)
posted by winston at 8:14 AM on August 9, 2005

I started losing hair in my early 20s itself. After struggling to disguise it for many years, I decided to axe it all and go from this (it carefully hides the balding) to this clean-shaven look. I'm 29 now. I guess I'll have to wing it with my cookery skill alone. ;)
posted by madman at 8:34 AM on August 9, 2005

Oh, and I suppose I should helpfully add that I tried the super-expensive (at least for this part of the world) Rogaine for a while, but dumped it after the bottle said that if I stopped using it, my hair would go once again. I didn't want that kind of problem.
posted by madman at 8:37 AM on August 9, 2005

Propecia is fairly expensive at around $70/month. Insurance won't cover the cost. You could save some $$$ by only taking half the recommended dossage per day.
posted by malp at 8:47 AM on August 9, 2005

My girlfriend calls the disguise measures "baldoflage".

You probably don't want to resort to that. Nobody should have that word used on them.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 8:49 AM on August 9, 2005

I'm not losing my hair but I prefer to be bald. As other have in other threads I highly recommend the headblade.
posted by phearlez at 8:56 AM on August 9, 2005

Shave it really close. Do not attempt to hide it.

Supposedly, Mediterranean women are attracted to bald men. As well, it is a evolutionary sign of virility.

And if anyone asks about your 'baldness', tell them it's 'A SOLAR PANEL FOR A LOVE MACHINE!'.
posted by jasondigitized at 9:05 AM on August 9, 2005

Propecia does work, from what I understand, and the earlier you start taking it the better. But I wonder if there will be long term health risks associated with it. I just shave my head. And $70/month? That's a lot more than I spend on mach 3 blades.
posted by 6550 at 9:34 AM on August 9, 2005

Crop your hair very, very close - 1/4 of an inch or less. Or shave your head. Trust me, it's very sexy, and actually makes you look a bit younger than a combover or careful hair-styling would.
posted by kalimac at 10:09 AM on August 9, 2005

I started losing my hair when I was 19. Just go with dignity. It's not nearly the big deal it's made out to be, and going to outlandish lengths to try to hide it looks foolish.

Also, if you have propecia and pregnant or could possibly become pregnant or knows someone who might be pregnant around, you have to be very careful as I recall.
posted by Captain_Tenille at 10:14 AM on August 9, 2005

Go into the dark night gracefully, dear boy. If you fight it, you will only end up looking like an old man trying to cover it up.

Frankly, that's my advice for everyone...male and female.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:16 PM on August 9, 2005

Shave it, and remember to put sunblock on your head in summer.
posted by The Monkey at 11:20 PM on August 9, 2005

Propecia works, but it's expensive as hell. The drug inside is finasteride, which is also in another drug, Proscar. Proscar is a prostate medication and it's 5 mg tablets. So you can quarter (or halve) these pills and it works out to be *only* $30 / month. "That's right, you too can RENT your HAIR for only A DOLLAR A DAY."

I took it for a little while. It helped. But now I'm sporting close cropped hair and it's great. Getting thin on top is for winners!
posted by zpousman at 8:31 AM on August 10, 2005

You're all very encouraging to the OP, and while I agree with the comments above, keep in mind that not everyone looks great without hair. Some people look like shaved cats or chemotherapy patients. I don't have any hair loss problems myself, and yet as much as I would like to, I don't shave my head, precisely because it would look terrible on me.
posted by gentle at 8:40 AM on August 12, 2005

Well, y'all have convinced me, at least. I took the plunge a couple days ago and shaved my head, and it is good (so far).
posted by Guy Smiley at 9:51 PM on August 12, 2005