After discovering he was losing his hair just before his 18th Birthday, his life was turned totally upside down and unknowingly to him it would stay that way for many years after. Instead of readily accepting the situation that ‘fortunate’ people do, he refused the situation which caused him spiral downwards into the dark world of hair loss affliction. Most people don’t particularly enjoy the fact they are losing their hair but accept it nonetheless and get on with things. There are those however who refuse to accept the inevitable and believe that their lives can never return to normal until they cure this horrendous thing that has happened to them. As they feel so strongly about what is happening, they believe that they are less attractive, less successful etc than people without hair loss concerns. All these negatives thoughts and unfounded perceptions coupled with the brainwashing of marketing company’s results in peoples becoming afflicted by hair loss. This means that Instead of scheduling and planning their lives to fulfil their dreams and goals they find themselves scheduling these things around improving their perceived hair loss problem. The authors own concern about his perceived problem..hair loss, led him away from his friends and university career and replaced it with days staring in front of a computer desperately seeking a solution to cure his ‘problem’. It began with using daily treatments of Minoxidil twice a day which then quickly progressed to using laser combs, special shampoos and various lotions. He began to look at much more drastic measures in order to regain some peace and control in his life because he was ashamed of what was happening and frustrated that there was no immediate answers. Despite knowing deep down that there was no cure or way of fixing his unwanted problem, he still couldn’t accept it even though it had such far reaching consequences. He not only became more distant from social groups, his confidence had plummeted to zero and the sports he devoted his life to, he simply quit. At twenty two years of age he was advised by a hair cosmetic company that he would be a perfect candidate for a hair system (a glorified wig). His experiences using these systems will make you laugh and cry.
After finally accepting that he had wasted more than ten thousand pounds on glorified wigs and most likely a year and a half of his life, he went to that ‘place of no return’ - hair restoration surgery and medication.Unfortunately it was only after having two hair transplants, both Follicular Unit Transplant (FUT/Strip surgery) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) did he realise that they were pointless. He expected that the procedures would return his hair close to its original density but instead it just made him look as if he was balding less. When the first one didn’t make much impact he underwent another hoping that a second one would give him the density he desired. He soon came to accept however that a third or even a fourth would not give him the result he wanted.
As shaving his hair didn’t seem like an option, he felt he had no option but resorting to hair loss medication. The author began using Finasteride in an attempt to control his hair loss while he was trying to come up with a more effective solution if any. Unfortunately despite being able to slow down his hair loss he had to say goodbye to his desire to have sex as well as being able to physically perform in the bedroom.
He had realised that he had given so much of his life to the desire of having hair and yet the measures to take this were all vain and brought him so much unhappiness. He soon discovered that he was actually excited about being without hair so that he could have that heavy burden that he had been carrying for so many years lifted from him. His ‘Ten Point Plan to Freedom’ can help anyone accept their hair loss and be happy.