Going Bald

[mowdan6]

I know this has been talked about before.  Bringing it up because after 10 years on T, I am losing hair like crazy.  To the point where all my scalp is visible.  Gotten to the point that I am having a hard time doing my injections.  Feel like I am at a point where I need to decide what is more important.  If I stop the shots, I get to deal with the monthly crap.  If I keep going with the shots, I become this ugly bald guy. 

[Arch]

Rogaine? Finasteride? Fitter Admin has just started a new thread about his hairline...and there are a number of other threads about it. Here's his: https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,144018.msg1175271.html#msg1175271.

In that thread, I was just saying that finasteride might not be a problem for some guys who are well into transition. I don't have nearly the body/facial hair progress that I want, so stopping finasteride was a good idea for me (it also seems that I'm not balding yet, either, but I didn't know that when I stopped).

I had a bad dream a few nights ago, one of my "OMG I'm bald" dreams. I was losing head hair just about everywhere except for this fringe around the bottom. And for the first time in a dream, I decided to just let it ride. I think that means that I'm getting used to the idea, in case I do eventually lose more hair. But that doesn't mean I'll be fine if/when it does start to happen.

You are obviously in a very different space. Are you on a maintenance dose of T? Lowering the dose might slow down the loss. And if you haven't thought about Rogaine or finasteride, give it some thought and do your research.

[Jenny07]

This is something that most cis guys will never admit causes enormous anxiety. No man will ever admit they are happy going bald.
Unfortunately going bald is a occupational hazard of being male and a side effect of T.

I was seeing hair fall for a while and started Finasteride recently which helps.
Luckily I still have a good head of hair left so it should help before I can get rid o the T for good.

If it upsets you that much then perhaps you need to stop and think as you point out.

J

[mowdan6]

I will say, if I was one of the beautiful people, losing my hair would not bother me.  Unfortunately, I am not.  From my Abenaki Dad, I have the big nose and big forehead.  from My Mom who is French Canadian, I have the weak jaw.  Getting so I scare myself just looking in the mirror. 

[Arch]

Depending on your financial resources, there are other options--toupees, hair transplants, or even facial surgery if you don't like your features. But I'm guessing that if you had such resources, you might have opted for hysto by now. At least then you would not get the red death if you stopped T. But you would need to be on some hormone, and the only other option is E. Would you be okay with that? And even if you stopped, you would still have all of that hair to regrow, if you can.

[mowdan6]

I have tried to get hysto for years but insurance won't pay.  Even though I have had medical problems that call for it.  As for other hair growth, Chest etc., well with the French Canadian ancestry, I am a hairy beast.  This just sucks!!

[Arch]

Maybe hold on for that hysto...things are changing. But the hair thing...I feel very bad for any trans guy who faces this, partly because we DO have the option of stopping T, technically. It's just that the alternative can be pretty horrible, too.

Have you tried Rogaine? It's OTC now.

[Jack_M]

The way I see it, it's part of being a guy so while I'd hate it, if it happens, I accept that it can happen.  I'd try treatments to keep it and personally wouldn't dare stop T.  I'd maybe get levels checked to make sure it's not too high a dose though.

My advice: look at all the bad-ass bald/balding guys out there.  Jason Stratham, Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Hugh Dillon.  They look bad-ass despite being bald or balding.  And it's not even a "bulk" thing either, Stratham and Dillon aren't built like brick houses.  Hell, is anyone laughing at Samuel L Jackson? 

[Simon]

Just have to decide what makes you happier. I have seen guys who stop T pre hysto and their masculine features (besides voice and body hair) revert rather quickly. Not that they end up looking overly female right away but their features soften. If you're considering Finasteride make sure you research the risks associated with it if retaining sexual function or having potential shrinkage is a big deal to you.

My hair is in the early stages of going but it looks like it probably will. I have a thinner spot in the front and the temples are moving back more and more. Am I happy about it? No, but it's something I can live with. On the other hand I couldn't live with being misgendered or the unbalanced feeling I had before T. I caught myself one too many times looking at my hair in the mirror so got the clippers out and buzzed it down to a #1. Now I buzz it every few weeks. On the bright side I'll never have another bad hair day, a bottle of shampoo lasts forever, shorter hair has helped with acne on my forehead, caps are more comfortable, and I'll never pay a barber again.

[Arch]

Simon, if you had my ears, you wouldn't go as short as a #1 buzz!

I now keep my hair shorter than I did pre-transition (before the hairline shifted and the hair overall began to thin). I think I look better this way, even though I have a somewhat small head. Getting a good haircut can make a big difference.

But if you have a larger nose and smaller chin, a buzzcut might just accentuate them...comments, guys?

[Simon]

But if you have a larger nose and smaller chin, a buzzcut might just accentuate them...comments, guys?

I have a big nose but I also have a head like a saint bernard. I'm just all around big for a transguy. I have seen small cis guys with buzz cuts and it looked fine. I think it really all depends on the individual.

[Jack_M]

I have a tiny head (child size to XS adult in caps), regular size nose I guess (never really focused on that lol), and no chin (just goes straight to neck), and while I haven't had #1 buzz cut, I had to get a military crew cut recently so it was a #1 around the sides and back and still pretty short on top.  I'm going to take a picture of me tomorrow in the getup I have to wear for a stunt (an assault vest, HELL YEAH!) so I may post in bad-ass thread tomorrow (assuming it does actually look bad-ass, if it doesn't appear, I looked like an idiot!  HAHA!).  I'm not a huge fan of it as a haircut, but it looks fine.  I haven't been misgendered with it and I'm only a little under 3 weeks on T too.

[Arch]

I have a small, unremarkable nose and a reasonable chin, so I guess I got lucky there, although some trans guys with bigger noses look good, more masculine, to me. I also have "perfect" cheekbones, a fact that my mother harped on at every opportunity. I guess it was the only attractive "feminine" asset worth noting, since I had a small head, lots of freckles, fine frothy blond hair that refused to grow more than two inches a year, and my father's overbite (corrected with braces) and prominent ears (not large, they just stick out a little more than most).

No wonder I was so often read as a boy when I was small. All the same, I wish I had a bigger head. But I will never have my ears corrected even if I lose every strand of hair.

[Magnus]

What you should look into is a DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) blocker. It will not totally and completely stop the hair loss but it will slow it down and because DHT plays a key role within hair loss (both endogenous and exogenous testosterone breaks down into dihydrontestosterone). And it will allow you to avoid having to stop T altogether over this issue for a real good while (however, because you cannot change your genes and which are the primary cause of baldness in the first place, this will only be a delay but not a 'cure'). I believe one other route, if you do not opt for a DHT blocker and still do not want to revert back to your endogenous estrogen... would be high dose progesterone (all of the benefits necessary from either estrogen or testosterone are also aspects of progesterone but without having to endure the 'monthly' in the vast majority of cases).

Beyond this I cannot help you. But I share the same concerns. My hair is now coming out by 20 strands or more every time I comb and I'm 23. My maternal grandfather and great grandfather both had MPB (whereas my dad does not)... so trust me, I share the same concerns. But I would begin with a DHT blocker before considering a complete and total withdraw from T.

[androgynoid]

Simon, if you had my ears, you wouldn't go as short as a #1 buzz!

I don't know what your ears are like, but I have small but really wonky stick-y-out-y ears (the middle part sticks out further than the top) and I'm about to go into the bathroom and shave my hair down to a #1/2 (1/16"). I have a #2 right now, but it's not short enough for my current mood. Then again, I've reached a supreme level of not giving a f**k.

I think that a lot of people who are afraid of what they'd look like with shaved/buzzed hair have completely unfounded fears. There are people who should definitely never shave/buzz their hair (I know mayyybe two), but in my opinion they're a lot rarer than people think. Worse comes to worse, you look kind of weird for a few weeks and it grows back.

I found shaving my head on occasion to be a really liberating and wonderful experience, though. It's definitely not like that for everyone. I love myself bald.

Though, OP, I do suggest asking your doctor about a DHT blocker before completely swearing off T.

[Arch]

Androgynoid, part of my problem isn't just the ears; my head is really small. I need some hair to give it volume. But a lot of people just don't look great with really short hair.

I have gone that short before, using a #1 guard--and once I had my whole head completely shaved down to nothing. I prefer a little hair.

However, it does grow back. Mowdan, you might just try it--talk to a good barber and see what he recommends.

[AdamMLP]

Some people just can't do being bald, my mum has really deep ridges in her skull for some reason, so thank god she's not a man.  I'm kinda worried that I've inherited that from her (she reckons they've got worse over time) because I've got baby ridges on my head.  Where hers would be the Himalayas mine would be the Peak District or something small like that at the minute.

I wouldn't go off T to save my head hair though, ridges or other skull weirdness or not.  To me once I'm on T I'm going through puberty like a regular cis guy, and they pretty much never stop being on a T based system and get replacements of estrogen.  My goal is to forget about this, and I don't want to doing things a certain way because I'm a trans man for the rest of my life.  My personal opinion though, good on anyone who can find something to take advantage of in this situation.

[Adam (birkin)]

I think you may find that balding doesn't impact your appearance as much as you think. Yeah, society values that which is associated with "youth" but so many men go bald, and it's a relatively natural transition as long as the balding head is kept neatly trimmed. I've worried a few times that I'd look bad bald, but then I remember that it happens to so many guys, it doesn't really make one stand out as "ugly."

[Simon]

as long as the balding head is kept neatly trimmed.

^That can't be emphasized enough. It looks horrible when a guy is balding and in denial to the point where he has long wispy thin hairs on top of a scalp you can plainly see. I also think the "youthful" aspect can be pulled off on a bald guy as long as he also doesn't do the grandpa type of bald. That's where the sides and back are rather long and the top is a chrome dome. It looks better buzzed really short or completely shaved, imo.

[Jared]

This guy got a tattoo hair  http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/31/considering-a-hair-tattoo-pros-and-cons-to-consider-before-you-commit/

I don't think I would do something like this, I'm worried cause I started thinning at the age 21, but not this worried yet