Bridging the Generation Gap

I’m 22 and my dad is very very bald. When i look in the mirror, I see my dad and his dad. I love my dad and grandfather, but i dont want to look like them. Much of my front hair line is gone and I am starting to look far older than i am. When I spoke to my dad about a hair transplant, he told me that I should just accept my fate and go on with life. He also said I was being immature and going bald was just a natural thing. I’ve lost my confidence with women and have become shy and less social in general. What can I do to change my dad’s opinion?

There is a generation gap here. I can not change what your father thinks, nor the years of whatever the relationship is between you and him. First, I would ask you to look at how the two of you relate on other issues. IF this communication situation is unique to the balding problem, I would be surprised. Good communication is important. I have seen these problems often. Sometimes it reflects cultural issues. Many young men who are first generation Americans, see a different world than their parents who still may have a foot in another culture.

Many times I ask the young man to bring his father or both parents into the office to meet with me. I will sometimes work it out that I see them just before an open house, where the parents can get some sense of what other people can do and how they can change their balding appearance. These open house events serve to tell those that attend, that the people who get hair transplants are normal people, working people, lawyers, doctors and professionals of all sorts. Meeting other transplant patients that come from such a world does a great deal to bridge the communication gap between generations. The key here is not to confront your dad, but to ask for his help in evaluating the modern day alternatives to balding. Controlling what he sees, meeting with a good doctor (not a salesman) and meeting successful transplant patients might change his mind, or make him slightly more open minded. As you are still young, take your time in the process for a transplant at this time may not be the right thing for you to do. Consider taking the drug Propecia and see if it stops or reverses the hair loss. That approach, may be the best approach for you, as it will show to your dad that you have maturity on your part and a cautious skeptical approach to the problem and the solution. He can be a good friend and assist your decision making in more ways that you might think. Be optimistic, and approach the entire process cautiously.