Beating baldness: How men came to terms with hair loss
- Published
How do you cope with losing your hair early?
Some men find they can brush off the change, but others struggle to adjust to their new appearance.
Following the news that a potential new cure for baldness has been discovered, using a drug originally intended to treat osteoporosis, we spoke to three men who lost their hair in their teens and twenties.
We wanted to know how they came to terms with losing their hair.
'I used to be super confident'
Daniel Wilson, 33, is a tree-surgeon in Cheshire. He says going bald has been a great source of unhappiness.
"I started going bald when I was about 26 or 27. I started to notice my hairline creeping up each time I washed my hair or when I got a new haircut. I had people telling me it would stop but it just never did.
"My confidence started to massively slip. I tried different methods to cover it up. It took me years before I resigned myself to it and shave my head completely. I now just wear a hat the whole time. I only take it off when I am at home as I feel naked without it on.
"I wish I could rediscover my confidence and not be hung up on being bald. I used to be super confident when I had hair.
"I am only 5'6 . It's lucky I am not fat because otherwise I'd just be short, fat and bald. I've never been hung up on my height but it means I can't hide my baldness by being tall like Jason Statham.
"I've been single for five years. If I had the money to get a transplant then I reckon that I would. But I have just started my own business and I have my daughter to support."
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'You begin to accept it'
Steve Ballard says he suffered with depression after going bald
Steve Ballard, 40, says early hair loss has affected more than just his appearance.
"It really knocked my confidence," he says "I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be that person that wears a hat all the time."
He says it took some time to get used to going bald, as he had always had very thick hair.
"When I was 14 or 15 I had long hair too," he says. "I was in a rock band at school, so you needed long hair."
"I noticed in my mid-20s that my hairline was going back, and my crown was getting larger.
"I stopped feeling attractive after my hair loss.
"It was something that affected me. I suffered with depression. And baldness really exacerbated that.
"Only when you realise you can't stop it, you begin to accept it - begrudgingly."
'It's not as scary as it seems'
Daniel Howell, 30, says he was fine now he had been "through the worst of it"
Daniel Howell, from Edinburgh, said he was not surprised when he began to lose his hair in his late teens, because of a family pattern.
"It was something I'd always known," he said. "My dad's the same, my granddad's the same - it was called 'the Howell hairline'."
"It's a little bit daunting at first when you begin to lose your hair at such a young age.
"When I was about 24 I felt I had to just shave it off. And I didn't like it at first.
"I feel all right about it now. It's not as scary as it seems. I've got used to the way I look. And I've embraced it a lot more than I thought I would have.
"Given the chance, I'd definitely love to have hair again,. But I like that I'm not having to worry about washing it in the mornings."
By Tom Gerken, BBC UGC & Social News
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