What Causes Hair Loss?
(Reasonable Exceptions for Stopping Hair Loss and My Experience)

Welcome to Part I of "Good Looking Loser's Guide to Hair Loss Prevention".

Just so you know -

In 2007 and 2009, I got 2 small(er) hair restoration procedures which were largely responsible for any "regrowth" that I have experienced.

Although our protocols "Hair Loss on a Budget" and "MAXIMUM Hair Loss Protection" might regrow some hair, they are largely for HAIR LOSS PREVENTION.

In fact, both are GREAT for that.

To Whom It May Concern:

While this guide will certainly help anybody who is looking to put the brakes on the progressive miniaturization of their hair follicles (and possibly regrow hairs that would otherwise shed prematurely), it will be most effective for guys who have recently started to notice that their hair is thinning in the past year or so.

Guys in the advanced stages will require restoration procedures in addition to our prevention measures.

That works great too, but you need to understand that up front.

I urge guys that have noticed or think that they notice Male Pattern Baldness (thinning on the crown and/or hair line) to take immediate action and discuss this guide with their physician.

Hair loss can be prevented, but regrowing significant amounts of hair is nearly impossible without a hair restoration procedure.
(even a hair transplant just moves healthy DHT-resistant hairs in the back to the zones of alopecia, it's not actually "regrowth")

Unlike some conditions that can be naturally undone, Male Pattern Baldness isn't one of them - the time to act is now.

- Chris (Good Looking Loser)

Table of Contents

In Part I (this page) - we will discuss my history, your expectations and the basics of how hair loss works.

In Part II - we will discuss the "Hair Loss on a Budget - How to Save Your Hair for ~$1.33/Day" protocol.

In Part III - we will discuss the "MAXIMUM Hair Loss Prevention - How to Save Your Hair No Matter What" protocol.

In Part IV - we will discuss various "tricks" that I use to make my hair look decent, even though I've lost 35% of it.

In Part V - we will discuss anabolic steroids and how to approach bodybuilding if you are prone to Male Pattern Baldness.
(posted on GoodLookingLoser.com)

In Part VI - we will discuss hair restoration procedures, Micropigmentation and a long-term approach if you absolutely refuse to shave your head.

In Part VII - we will discuss the psychological effects of Male Pattern Baldness and how to have an optimistic attitude.

In Part VIII - we will discuss "The Total Makeover" and give advice if you are fed up with managing hair loss or don't have the desire/means to keep your hair.

You can view the index for the entire guide here -

• "Good Looking Loser's Guide to Hair Loss Prevention" (Index)

Just so you know - I know as much about hair loss than I do about hooking up with girls, Kratom, male enhancement, health and fitness or anything else that insecurity forced me to become obsessed with.

This guide is based on 12+ years of experience, trial and error, wasted money and over a decade of reading clinical research.

Like the mentioned topics, I am the "go to" for all of my friends and acquaintances on these topics.

Forward by Good Looking Loser

If you've been around the Good Looking Loser community for a while, you'll know that I also have a small website HairLossFromSteroids.com.

Yes, it's quite ghetto.

If the information/video on the site wasn't so good, I wouldn't expect anyone to take it seriously.

But you have to start somewhere and it was the very first website I built.

HairLossFromSteroids discusses my experience with hair loss, largely accelerated by anabolic steroids in my 20's, what works to slow it down and what absolutely doesn't do a damn thing.

HairLossFromSteroids had a popular YouTube channel (1.9 million views, 22k subscribers and videos shared on all the major hair loss forums) before it was sabotaged by a competitor for "talking about prescription drugs" which is admittedly against YouTube's new(er) guidelines.

I kept certain several videos from the old channel and they are available here -

• "Androgenic Alopecia by Good Looking Loser" on Youtube

The complete channel is available on DailyMotion -

• Hair Loss From Steroids on DailyMotion

If you are familiar with the channel or the little site, most of this guide is not going to be new news.

I've been recommending the ~same protocol for over 3+ years and it is the best way to prevent/slow hair loss and potentially but not assuredly - grow some back.

The original plan (back in 2011) was to write an eBook on Hair Loss & Hair Loss From Steroids. Instead I gave away all the information for free on the website and old YouTube channel.

User Feedback

There's been a million and one positive feedback emails (unfortunately I don't have time to reply to emails on the HairLossFromSteroids account) but this is a nice one that I got recently.

The good news, my job is easy -

Just to tell you what works.

From there, most guys are quite successful.

My Experience

I started researching how to prevent hair loss in 2001.

I knew it was something that I had to learn, especially if I was going to be the juicehead that I always wanted to be.

At age 19, I began noticing that I would lose 50-60 hairs every time I took a shower, instead of the usual 10 to 15 hairs.

I got on Finasteride (Propecia) and the loss stopped almost immediately.

Although that was nice, I was also super ambitious/insecure with my physical appearance and there was just about nothing that was going to keep me away from trying nearly every steroid that was available.

At age 20, I ran my first cycle.

Here is the log on Bodybuilding.com.

Long story short, through the majority of my 20's I used large doses of anabolic steroids that significantly accelerated male pattern baldness.

Although my hands were covered with hair in the shower, it took several years to actually notice anything in the mirror.
(If this sounds like you - ACT IMMEDIATELY; you only notice hair loss after it's 50% gone in that area)

I tried several different things to slow it down, basically nothing worked and I didn't exactly make the effort to use "hair safe" steroids.

My attitude was -

I'll just get a hair transplant. (or 2)

Eventually I did get a hair transplant (or 2), first in 2007 and then later in 2009.

They were small(er) procedures and cumulatively added a total of about 3,750 grafts to the hair line and frontal zones.

After 2009, I decided that I was done with steroids and have been taking the exact hair loss "stack" that I am going to recommend to you.

For the most part, it has significantly slowed my hair loss.

I even grew a little bit back but my hair restoration procedures are largely to thank for the "regrowth".

If I could do it all over again, I would have -

• At the first sign of hair loss - used my basic recommended stack EVERY DAY for my entire 20's.
• Only used hair safe steroids.
• Not wasted my money on various dietary supplements/remedies that I knew were a long shot.

I would probably have about 25% more hair on my head if I did that, possibly avoiding the 2nd transplant altogether.

But I'm stubborn, just like you, I want to have my cake and eat it too.

Without being totally reckless, I shoot first and ask questions later.

Although it cost me ~35% of my hair, this aggressive approach to life is why I've become successful.

The truth is - you can always buy more hair.

Sort of.

Before and After Pictures?

I will show some "before and after" pictures of my hair in this guide.

But it is important to understand that the regrowth is mainly from the hair transplants.

I would straight up be lying to you if I told you/suggested that my recommendations regrew all my hair.

They don't and I have never said that.
(although some guys will get some regrowth)

My recommendations, however, are the reason that my hair cycle has largely stabilized.

Any pictures of me from 2010 until now look pretty much the same.

That is a sign that the treatments are working.

If you were expecting dramatic before and after pictures of natural hair regrowth - I do not have those.

It is physiologically impossible to regrow significant amounts of scalp hair from follicles that have already miniaturized.

This guide is for PREVENTION.

It does a damn good job too.

Some guys will see some regrowth.

If you don't, but are at least able to stop your hair loss - consider it a BIG WIN.

You can fill in the thinner zones with concealers in the meantime and a hair restoration procedure at a later date.

The treatments have pretty much stabilized my hair cycle. I have no dramatic before/after pictures because that is not how hair loss prevention works. I have not found a single product that claims to "regrow significant amounts of hair" that does anything whatsoever. In these pictures, I'm wearing a hair loss concealer that I will talk about later.

Realistic Expectations For Preventing Hair Loss and 'Regrowth'

If you use my protocol, I guarantee you noticable hair loss prevention and a likely, noticeable slowing to the normal course of male pattern baldness.

Especially if "doing nothing" has been your current approach.

You can expect a really significant decrease in hair loss if you are new to this.

Theoretical "regrowth", I cannot promise you unfortunately.

Here is why -

It is [currently] physically impossible to regrow scalp hair in hair follicles that have significantly miniaturized or died.

Any "regrowth" that you see will simply be a result of a higher proportion of hairs remaining in the 'Anagen' (growth) phase rather than prematurely entering the 'Telogen' (resting - after shedding) phase.

With that said - if you can significantly cut down your hair loss, prevent hairs from prematurely shedding, you will certainly experience what appears to be "regrowth". You will simply have more hairs on your head. No hair actually "regrew" however. These hairs weren't dead in the first place. They were just in their Telogen state or prone to premature shedding.

I also promise you that I'll make your hair look better than it has in years.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve that make you (and girls) think that I have a solid head of hair - when I've lost about 35% of it.

What Causes Hair Loss? 
(The Basics)

There's two basic concepts that I want you to understand:

1. The role of genetics and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in hair loss.
2. The difference between hair loss (androgenic alopecia) and "shedding".

How Hair Loss Works - Genetics and DHT

I'm going to keep this section short.

I'm going to intentionally oversimplify so this section isn't 62,104 words long.*

You are reading this because you want to know what to do and may already know how Male Pattern Baldness works.

It works like this -

You have hair.

You have hair follicles that grow the hair.

You have a hormone in your body called Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
It's responsible for muscle strength, limiting estrogen, fat loss, penis size, libido, etc. But it can also cause hair loss.

Some of those hair follicles are genetically programmed to resist DHT.
(hairs at the side of your head and back of your head)

Some of those hair follicles are genetically programmed to become thinner when the hormone DHT attaches to them.
(initially, hairs at your hair line and crown)

When DHT attaches to these prone follicles the result is called - 'Male Pattern Baldness' or 'Androgenic Alopecia'.

As you get older (or if you increase the amount of DHT in your body), hair follicles prone to thinning become more and more susceptible to miniaturization.

The hairs at your hair line and crown are almost always most susceptible.

To prevent or slow this process, the best method is to reduce how much DHT you have in your body and/or stop the DHT from attaching to the follicles.

That is what our guide largely focuses on.

* I am well aware that other factors such as sebum, inflammation and other hormone fluctuations/disturbances can impact hair loss. I know this stuff better than anyone I know. I am keeping this very basic since DHT attacking prone follicles is responsible for the vast majority of hair loss. If a guy can get his DHT situation under control (or protect the vulnerable follicles) - his hair loss will almost completely stop and he can experience notable regrowth.

Hair Loss vs. "Shedding"

This is the other important concept that you should understand.

I explain it in-depth in this video -

There's two types of hair loss -

• Androgenic Alopecia / Male Pattern Baldness in which genetically prone hairs prematurely shed and return as thinner, weaker hairs.
• "Shedding" in which hair (genetically prone/not prone to DHT) will naturally shed but naturally return in their normal size.

Androgenic Alopecia is what we are trying to prevent.

"Shedding" is completely normal and is a healthy part of the hair cycle.

The main problem with hair loss is not the hairs "falling out" (shedding).

The main problem with hair loss is when the hairs don't return to their previous size (Androgenic Alopecia).

A certain amount of your hair that falls out are experiencing Androgenic Alopecia and a certain amount are experiencing "Shedding".

It can be hard to tell which hairs are experiencing which.

The easiest way to tell is to look at the individual hairs (on or off your head) -

• if the hair is any thinner than a "normal" hair - it is progressively thinning from Androgenic Alopecia and will return thinner
• if the hair is normal - it is likely just temporary shedding and will return as a normal sized hair

Increased shedding can be caused by countless things - diet, hair products, medications, seasonal trends, non-DHT hormone fluctuations, minoxidil, lifestyle.

If your hair loss is simply "shedding", it is temporary since there is no miniaturization (thinning) to hair follicles.

Androgenic Alopecia (hairs that shed and become progressively thinner) is permanent however.

If you have any hairs on your hair line or crown that are thinner than the hairs on the side of your head or back of your head - it is safe to say that you are experiencing at least some degree of Androgenic Alopecia.

These two concepts are all I feel you really need to know.

The rest I'll take care of.

Good Looking Loser's Guide to Hair Loss Prevention continues here -

• "How to Stop Hair Loss for $1.33/Day (Part II)"

For questions on our Hair Loss Prevention Guide -

Visit the Good Looking Loser Hair Loss Prevention Forum.