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> Hair loss cure has been around for a while Strongly disagree. When I was a teenager I had very thick, curly hair. Now I'm bald. Unless the cure involves rea

> Hair loss cure has been around for a while Strongly disagree. When I was a teenager I had very thick, curly hair. Now I'm bald. Unless the cure involves reactivating my dormant hair follicles into growing back exactly what I had when I was 15, it's imo not a cure. Right now the alternatives are: shave my head, or risk potential scarring and weird hair pattern from a transplant, or take a pill forever and sacrifice boners for some wispy strands that I'll be self-conscious about all day long. So for now, I'm shaving my head. Call me when there's like, a single-application stem-cell therapy.

Latteland 8y ago
Ha, I am in the same boat. There's hair/scalp therapy and then regular therapy. I am not my (lack) of hair.
thermodynthrway 8y ago
I don't think the options are so bleak. Serious side effects from finasteride are something like 1% of users. I've been taking it longer than I can remember with zero side effects except I haven't lost any hair. Most recent studies show around 90% effectiveness at preventing further loss. Just because something can't turn back the clock doesn't mean it isn't a cure. Surely penicillin has almost 0% cure rate if you delay taking it for an infection for a few years.
- paublyrne 8y ago
  Just because something can't turn back the clock doesn't mean it isn't a cure. I'm pretty sure it does...if penicillin only stopped you getting sicker rather than killing bacterial infections it would be barely useful.
  - thermodynthrway 8y ago
    I would argue it would be just as useful, with the difference that most people would start taking it at a young age and for life
    - Latteland 8y ago
      People don't penicillin as a preventative to getting sick. I think you are talking about finasteride though. As we all probably know, it's actually harmful to take antibiotics as a general preventative, because that leads to increased bacterial resistance to those drugs.
    - brandonmenc 8y ago
      > start taking it at a young age and for life It's only been available for twenty years. Who knows what the negative long-term effects are of significant DHT reduction, or of the drug itself. I hate that I lost my hair, but it's not worth the risk, imo. ymmv.
      - thermodynthrway 8y ago
        Each to his own. There's definitely a risk there, perhaps I'm more vain or insecure than most. Almost every guy I've let in on my "secret" has declined to take it themselves

Latteland 8y ago

Ha, I am in the same boat. There's hair/scalp therapy and then regular therapy. I am not my (lack) of hair.

thermodynthrway 8y ago

I don't think the options are so bleak. Serious side effects from finasteride are something like 1% of users. I've been taking it longer than I can remember with zero side effects except I haven't lost any hair. Most recent studies show around 90% effectiveness at preventing further loss. Just because something can't turn back the clock doesn't mean it isn't a cure. Surely penicillin has almost 0% cure rate if you delay taking it for an infection for a few years.

paublyrne 8y ago
Just because something can't turn back the clock doesn't mean it isn't a cure. I'm pretty sure it does...if penicillin only stopped you getting sicker rather than killing bacterial infections it would be barely useful.
- thermodynthrway 8y ago
  I would argue it would be just as useful, with the difference that most people would start taking it at a young age and for life
  - Latteland 8y ago
    People don't penicillin as a preventative to getting sick. I think you are talking about finasteride though. As we all probably know, it's actually harmful to take antibiotics as a general preventative, because that leads to increased bacterial resistance to those drugs.
  - brandonmenc 8y ago
    > start taking it at a young age and for life It's only been available for twenty years. Who knows what the negative long-term effects are of significant DHT reduction, or of the drug itself. I hate that I lost my hair, but it's not worth the risk, imo. ymmv.
    - thermodynthrway 8y ago
      Each to his own. There's definitely a risk there, perhaps I'm more vain or insecure than most. Almost every guy I've let in on my "secret" has declined to take it themselves