Hair loss — Blog — Healy Chen

Must protect the hair

I’m not at all vain about aging, except for one thing: hair. The thought of balding scares me unreasonably. If my hairline ever starts to recede or a bald spot forms at the back, I’ll seek medical remedies immediately. I don’t care to spend thousands of dollars on teeth straightening or laser eye surgery, but for hair loss I would gladly throw money at the problem. As I head into my later 30s, I am definitely, unreasonably, proud that I still have a full head of hair.

Thank you, the genetics of my forefathers and foremothers.

Of course, I’m not immune to the random strays of white hair. Luckily it has not (yet) developed to a point of unmanageable. Every week or so I would spend about 10 minutes in the front of the bathroom mirror to pluck the white hairs out. Obviously this is only possible if you grow out your hair like I have. Do white hairs grow back once they’ve been pulled from its roots? I don’t know: I’m unreasonably afraid that the answer is yes, were I to look it up.

When white hair starts dominating my head, I will for sure be using hair dyes. Hopefully that is something way down the road.

Does a hat-wearing habit accelerate or cause balding? I certainly hope not. I wear a hat to work everyday, just like gentlemen of old at the turn of the 20th century. Function? To keep the sun out of my eyes. At work it isn’t so convenient to carry around a pair of sunglasses (they also fog up while wearing a mask), so I wear a billed hat instead. I don’t think I or anyone can pull off a top hat these day, like the gentlemen of old.

What are you unreasonably self-conscious about?

Still getting acne

Is it normal for a 33 year old to still be getting fresh pimples on the regular? Asking for a friend. Is Proactiv still a thing? I subscribed to that acne fighting program back in my college days, and it did nothing for me (obviously) other than wrecking my skin further. The chemicals it uses is far too harsh. My advice to teens looking to get rid of their acne problem: head straight for accutane. Benzoyl peroxide is but a bandaid.

Perhaps I shouldn’t complain about having acne well into the 30s. It’s a sign of youth, is it not? It sure beats the other signs that I’ve been seeing amongst cohorts my age: hair loss. Indeed, some of our hair lines are starting their recession, and bald-spots are showing up at the rear of the head. I can honestly say, hair loss is scary as heck to me. I’m not big on vanity, but not having a full head of hair just looks odd, even though all I do for a haircut is an army-style buzz with the 6mm profile on a hair clipper.

Thankfully, I’m not yet afflicted with a loss of hair. When it does happen, I reckon I’ll be one of those people trying all the over-the-counter and clinical remedies to stem the falling tide. There’s a lesson to take from my acne saga: head straight for the only proven solution, which is hair transplantation. I better start saving up for that, because health insurance doesn’t pay for cosmetic procedures.

Of course, I try not to stress about it, because that would only lead to quicker loss of hair. There’s already enough stress in my life, as evident in the fact I’m still getting acne! Face masks hasn’t helped in that regard. Oils and micro dirt get trapped underneath it for the entire work day. I really need unvaccinated people who are other eligible to go get vaccinated.