What to do if you’re balding at a young age

Balding sucks. There’s no two ways about it, if you’ve just started balding you’re undoubtedly thinking about why this is happening. The truth of the matter is, that balding happens to over two thirds of men at different points in their lifetime – though this is more likely to happen as you’re getting older. But what can you do if you start balding at a young age?

Well, the first thing that you need to do if you’re a young guy who’s balding is find out the cause. If it’s male pattern baldness, which the likelihood is that it is, then you need to accept that you are balding and work out what you’re going to do about it.

For the majority of guys, male pattern baldness is a big deal, though they’re unlikely to admit it easily to themselves and others. Don’t worry, you’re not alone in feeling this way. Going bald will eventually drastically change the way that you look, and in a world which is so focussed on aesthetics, it’s understandable that this is a pretty big deal.

There are a few things that you can do if you’re starting to bald at a young age. Here, we’ll look at your main options so you can figure out what’s best for you.

Accept it and shave

This is undoubtedly my favorite option; I personally went fully bald at a super young age (20) and shaved my head. Of course, when I first started balding it was a massive deal to me, like it would be to most guys. But after a few months to a year, I found myself a good grooming routine and since then, I haven’t looked back.

The majority of guys think that you’ll be treated differently if you’re a bald guy. You won’t. Aside from the occasional jibes from your friends, you’re not really going to notice a difference in the way that people treat you. If anything, I’ve found that people actually treat me with much more respect now than they did when I had hair. This is likely because baldness is associated with dominance and authority. This is probably due to a mixture of mainstream medias stars affecting the way that bald men are percieved (thanks, Bruce Willis). In my opinion, there’s also the addition that successful bald men are more focussed on improving other areas of life that they do have control over; their body, their occupation and their wealth.

So, the first option that you have if you’re losing your hair is to just shave it all off and learn to accept it. Whilst it might take you a while to get used to, you will get used to it eventually and as time goes on, you’ll think about it less and less as an issue.

Start a Minoxidil/Finasteride plan

For me, I accepted balding as I wasn’t willing to use chemicals and other substances to try and make my hair grow. I don’t judge anyone who chooses to do this however, and it can be an option for you – if you start taking it early enough.

If you’re a full on baldy, then taking finasteride or minoxidil is not going to make any difference for you. It’s not going to make you magically go from Vin Diesel to Paul Walker. But if you realise that you’re balding early enough and want to hop on one of these hair growth schemes, then it’s undoubtedly an ‘earlier the better’ type of situation.

It should definitely be said that neither of these are going to work in the short term; you need to dedicate yourself for a minimum of 6+ months to really see any results, though some people say they’ve seen results earlier than this.

Finasteride

Finasteride works by blocking the internal conversion of testosterone to DHT. Research has shown that DHT is a major component in baldness, as well as a whole host of other health problems too.

I always decided to totally avoid finasteride, also known as Propecia, because of guys reporting that it resulted in a plummeting libido and erectile dysfunction. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have no hair and a working wang than an afro and a penis that didn’t properly.

So, although there are massive side effects that can come with finasteride, you could consider it if you’re looking for an option to help you keep your hair for longer. Just be fully aware of the side effects beforehand.

Minoxidil

Minoxidil, also known by the brand name Rogaine, was originally uses to help people with high blood pressure. In using it to treat blood pressure, research showed that it actually was great for stimulating hair growth too. Although research still doesn’t know specifically how Minoxidil works properly, it’s said that it stimulates hair growth by increasing the blood and nutrient supply for hair follicles.

Minoxidil will work best for those who aren’t totally bald yet, and if you can catch it before your MPB really progresses, you’re likely to find best results this way. Whilst it doesn’t have the same scary side effects that Propecia has, it can still commonly cause irritation in your skin.

Either way, with both of these treatments you should consult your doctors or a specialist before taking matters into your own hands.

Conclusion

The main thing to remember if you start balding at a young age is that it really isn’t the end of the world; though it might feel like it at the time! Over half of guys go bald at some point in their life, although admittedly it is usually at an older age. This isn’t as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be, and after the initial shock period of going bald, you will eventually realise that your life isn’t as impacted as you’d think.