Suffering from Male Pattern Baldness since 17

by Jerome
(Detroit, Michigan)

My front part and the crown part of my hair started to thin dramatically since the age of 17. By then I wasn’t really worried because I do have really thick hair. As I started in college, my hair was really started to thin considerably.
One day my friends and I were browsing through our old school photo album and oh my god, my hair line has really receded noticeably! By then I was pretty nervous about my hair loss. I went to a hair centre that specializes in hair loss recovery and they told me that I needed some instant treatment or else I would lose my hair in a few years and that really shock me considering I was only 20 then.

The problem was the treatment cost is around USD2000 for 20 sessions once weekly. Being an average college student that amount of money is really large for me back then. I managed to get a part time job and the pay was quite good so I paid some instalments for them to start working on hair.
Almost 5 months later and after 20 steaming, massages and some shampoos, my hair wasn't getting thicker but maybe I wasn't losing that much hair but overall not much improvement. The 'specialist' at the centre told me that I would need to continue my treatment for another 20 sessions to help continue improving my hair and that will cost me another USD 1500! I was really getting agitated so I asked what the chances of me getting my hair back are and she said there is no guarantee but if I don't do it I will get bald sooner. Man, that answer is definitely ain’t good enough for me.

I stopped visiting the centre after the last treatment because I think it's a scam. I just wasted my money and seeing miniscule improvements, or maybe even not. As my hair continued to thin, I was really getting desperate because my friends and college mates were always staring at my head, commenting and joking about it.

Before the summer last year, I've decided that I will get it settled once and for all. If there is no cure I will just shave my head off! I went to my father's friend, who is a local dermatologist in my neighbourhood and asked him about my hair condition. Bingo, I was suffering from Male Pattern Baldness just like my baldy father and uncles. The doc gave me a prescription for Minoxidil 5% and Propecia and some supplements.

It has been a year since I was taking the meds and my hair line has really improved, I can see there are hairs popping out and it's getting fuller than normal. It's not like before but there are really new hairs coming out. I figure it might need some time before a full recovery so I am sticking with it. So before going to hair centres, visit your doctor first! Don’t get ripped by hair centres!