17 years old, between a rock and a hard place.

[TheEscapist]

I'm 17 years old, with a visibly thin recessed hairline, probably Norwood 2.7534321. My hair is overall pretty thinned, but to the unfocused eye who isn't looking directly at my frontal hair pulled back, my hair looks perfectly fine. Unfortunately, if my 2 years older brother and/or my father is any indication, I'll be much further thinned and recessed in due time. Probably by the time I'm in college, it'll be very noticeable.

Hairline (Not the most illuminated picture) Normal looking, hairline corners covered

I've been on Rogaine for almost a year now, and I sometimes wonder if there's a point in using it. I feel like it dries out my hair more so than anything else.
I've been on Finpecia finasteride for 3 months with no side affects whatsoever, yet I'm now feeling like I'm going to discontinue use for now. I feel like it will put me at risk for halted development (I'm 5'11.5, but I sure wouldn't mind growing more), and possibly at risk for other issues. I just don't want to screw with my hormones right now.

So here and now, I'm basically surrendering to hairloss (Rogaine won't halt any loss really). Maybe its in vain, maybe finasteride wouldn't have harmed me in anyway at all. But I just don't want to alter my body chemistry right now.

All of this means that if I want to have hair, it will probably have to be a hair transplant. There's the hard place. Everyone says I'm too young, and yet I'm old enough to be receding and thinning.
Beyond age, its also hugely expensive, money that I can't hope to make, especially whilst in college.
Beyond that, I have no idea how I could ensure that I get a good hair transplant, and not one that leaves a big scar and bad results...

I guess I'm here looking for help and advice from people. I know none of you can grow my hair back, or halt the loss, or do much more than suggest things. But, hopefully someone can suggest something or clarify the hair transplant options in a way that might give me some idea or hope for what to do.

 

[antman]

X-rays of your bones will immediately show what your growth plates are doing - if u r interested.

you can request this from a doctor

 

[TheEscapist]

You have quite receded temples so unfortunately I would say you are in for pretty agressive hairloss. My temples started going at 15 and if I am balding in a 5A pattern while taking finasteride and minoxidil. 5'11 is not exactly short, 6" is the average male height, at least it is in the UK so Im not sure what makes you think finasteride will halt your growth? best thing you can do is use finasteride and minoxidil and look at hair transplant in the future since there is no way to map your balding pattern at the moment, plus you only have limited donor hair. I would advise you take photos monthly and look at an hair transplant after you have reached 20. People may say that is too young but many top docs have transplanted on people in their early twenties and I had mine done a 24 and will be getting a second one done in four months.

Well, most studies I've read say that men don't stop growing until generally the 21-22 range. Maybe that's so, maybe it isn't, but I think 17 may be too young for me to alter my hormones so drastically, especially when it would appear (through all the research I've done) that DHT is such a crucial hormone right now..

How did you manage to pay for a decent hair transplant at such a young age though? I mean, 24 is 7 years older than me yes, but it seems like hair transplants are so expensive that you'd have to be making quite a lot in order to still get by without the missing $$$..

 

[Benjamin36]

Well, most studies I've read say that men don't stop growing until generally the 21-22 range. Maybe that's so, maybe it isn't, but I think 17 may be too young for me to alter my hormones so drastically, especially when it would appear (through all the research I've done) that DHT is such a crucial hormone right now..

How did you manage to pay for a decent hair transplant at such a young age though? I mean, 24 is 7 years older than me yes, but it seems like hair transplants are so expensive that you'd have to be making quite a lot in order to still get by without the missing $$$..

I'd imagine that most would use a payment plan, so you don't have to pay all at once.

 

[TheEscapist]

My parents get annoyed anytime I mention my hair loss. So, I'm not going to get much willing support from them on anything.
I have a job that barely pays for the gas I spend driving to school. I'd get another job, but I'm going to college soon. But I'm basically not making any money, just kind of staying in the same dollar amount.

I just feel so goddamn screwed on this. I think I'm just too young to fight this. The propecia would be fantastic if it didn't entail drastically sabotaging my endocrine system. I have no idea what to do..

 

[IrishFella]

You do know that any reputable hair transplant doctor would want you on Finasteride, even if you got a hair transplant, don't you ?

 

[TheEscapist]

My parents also brushed off any talk of it until they realised I was serious. I only told my Dad two months before my operation then they were fully on board. Give propecia a go and if you get sides reduce the dosage. It is currently your best shot.

I'm trying to say that I'm not concerned about getting side affects. I took it for 3 months with nothing to complain about.

My concern is that I'm 17 years old, and the removal of a main component in my blood chemistry right now would be a bad thing for me. In the long run. My dermatologist didn't even check to see if I was done growing, he just looked me over and said, I think you should get on propecia. I asked if it was a risk to my growth, and he said he's not sure, but he assumes I'm done growing anyway.

I don't know if I should believe him about this.

 

[TheEscapist]

Again, its down to the possibility of finasteride stunting my growth/development that frightens me, not the side effects. I didn't get any side effects except the possible brain fog. I would stay on it if it continued to be without side effects, and if it wouldn't be a drastic alteration to what my body should be doing right now.

I mean, my hairline is practically gone. Its see through now if you look up close, wet or not. I'll probably be norwood 4+ by next year. I should probably give up now, and hope for histogen or a transplant or something, right?

 

[Admin]

Escapist - your logic is sound. Propecia is not typically recommended for guys at age 17 for the very reasons you described. But its just an issue of making sure you have completed puberty first. Not sure how to determine that exactly. Either way, Rogaine Foam *does* stop further loss, just by different means, and you can always try topical antiandrogens until you have gotten past the risky years of hormone development. There is topical spironolactone, and others.

 

[TheEscapist]

Escapist - your logic is sound. Propecia is not typically recommended for guys at age 17 for the very reasons you described. But its just an issue of making sure you have completed puberty first. Not sure how to determine that exactly. Either way, Rogaine Foam *does* stop further loss, just by different means, and you can always try topical antiandrogens until you have gotten past the risky years of hormone development. There is topical spironolactone, and others.

Admin, do you think you (or anyone reading) can describe for me the specifics of topical spironolactone? What the right kind is, how to get it, where to get it, how much does it cost, how do you use it, etc.? Maybe that's something I can try for the time being, until I'm older.

 

[talmoode]

Not admin but just wanted to tell you that you can find all sort of treatment options on the very top of this forum in the 'Get Your Treatments' section.

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/hair-loss-treatments/spironolactone-topical/

 

[Admin]

Admin, do you think you (or anyone reading) can describe for me the specifics of topical spironolactone? What the right kind is, how to get it, where to get it, how much does it cost, how do you use it, etc.? Maybe that's something I can try for the time being, until I'm older.

We have the S5 Cream in our "Get your Treatments" area (top). That is a topical antiandrogen which shouldn't have any systemic side effects. You may also be able to google topical finasteride somewhere. Monitor yourself for any side effects, but they are unlikely I would think. Dr. Lee always said to me that Topical finasteride should work.

Keep in mind there are more targeted approaches but you're just starting and so maybe you can roll with some (at least scientifically backed) topicals like Revivogen or Tricomin Spray / S5 Cream / Topical finasteride .... etc. You may just want to put them on while you sleep or when you don't care about looking great. You can also do Rogaine Foam. Honestly most things are topical. The only internal is Propecia.

 

[TheEscapist]

We have the S5 Cream in our "Get your Treatments" area (top). That is a topical antiandrogen which shouldn't have any systemic side effects. You may also be able to google topical finasteride somewhere. Monitor yourself for any side effects, but they are unlikely I would think. Dr. Lee always said to me that Topical finasteride should work.

Keep in mind there are more targeted approaches but you're just starting and so maybe you can roll with some (at least scientifically backed) topicals like Revivogen or Tricomin Spray / S5 Cream / Topical finasteride .... etc. You may just want to put them on while you sleep or when you don't care about looking great. You can also do Rogaine Foam. Honestly most things are topical. The only internal is Propecia.

Does S5 cream really work? Have you, or anyone reading, had good preservation on it?
Can I rely on that and Rogaine to maintain my hair for a half a year or more?

 

[antman]

Does S5 cream really work? Have you, or anyone reading, had good preservation on it?

yes, i've seen someone with good results on 5s cream and topical minoxidil

topical finasteride is actually coming back into the game oddly enough:

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of finasteride topical solution after single and repeated dose in subjects with androgenetic alopecia
M Caserini,1 M Radicioni,2 O Annoni2 and R Palmieri1 1 Scientific Department, Polichem S.A., Lugano, Switzerland and 2 Cross Research S.A., Arzo, Switzerland
A new proprietary topical formulation, P-3074, containing finasteride 0.25% and hydroxypropylchitosan (HPCH), was developed for androgenetic alopecia. The present study was aimed to com- pare the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of finasteride and the pharmacodynamic effect in terms of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) plasma levels after single and multiple dose administration of P-3074 vs. oral finasteride. Twenty-four healthy males were randomly allocated to P- 3074 or oral treatment after providing written informed consent. Both formulations were adminis- tered for 7 days: P-3074 was topically applied twice daily while finasteride 1 mg was orally administered once daily. Plasma samples were collected at pre-dose and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 h after the first dose of topical or oral finasteride. The PK profile was also evaluated after last multiple dose at the following time-points: pre-dose, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24 and 36 h. Testosterone and DHT levels were determined in plasma samples at pre-dose, 6, 12 and 24 h after single and multiple dose. After the latter, a sampling at 36 h was added. The PK profiles of finasteride after single and multiple doses of the oral formulation were consistent with literature data. As expected, systemic absorption and extent of exposure were much lower with P-3074 than with the oral formulation: mean Cmax and AUC after multiple dosing were approx. 15 and 9 times lower after P-3074 than after reference. After single dose, the reduction in DHT levels was appar- ent with oral finasteride at all post-dose times (approx. 56-64%), whereas it was much less pro- nounced with P-3074 (approx. 18-20%). After multiple dose treatment, plasma DHT was reduced by 68 – 75% with P-3074, and by 62 – 72% with oral finasteride. These findings show that the reduction in plasma DHT is comparable between 7-day treatment course of P-3074 or 1 mg oral finasteride, albeit the significantly lower finasteride plasma levels after multiple doses of P-3074.

 

[Admin]

That would be inadvisable then since the OP is hoping to only inhibit locally, not systemically.

 

[michael.douglas18]

sup OP, im 17 aswell but my hairloss is 10x worse than yours, i am rocking a buzz cut atm and im pretty much screwed or getting girls lol

just hit the gym and get jacked, working for me so far

 

[TheEscapist]

I placed an order for S5 cream. I'm still not sure how I'm going to incorporate that, being that I already use Rogaine foam topically. Is there such a thing as too much topicals? How do you apply both S5 cream and Rogaine? And do you apply it twice daily as well?

- - - Updated - - -

Also, has anyone had the issue of having a thinner forelock and hairline than everywhere else? Is there any hope to thicken the forelock area, or does S5 not have the same possibility as Propecia of regrowing minimized/mostly-but-not-entirely-closed hair follicles?

 

[antman]

s5 cream smells bad - i've only ever applied it at most once a day in mornings/nights that i am alone.

i'm thinning at the front as well - not many people have success at thickening the front but it does happen

another option you can consider is Eucapil (fluridil)
-Topical fluridil is nonirritating, nonsensitizing, nonresorbable, devoid of systemic activity, and anagen promoting after daily use in most Androgenetic Alopecia males.
-fluridil decreased expression of the Androgen Receptor in LNCaP (prostate) human cells by 95%, its serum half-life was 6 h
-Anagens (growing hairs) increased in the fluridil group from 76% to 89% after 12 months

fluridil should be like spironolactone cream. i haven't noticed it being used on hair forums so idk if it is worth a try or not.

 

[michael.douglas18]

i ordered spironolactone 4 weeks ago and hasnt come

 

[Admin]

Send an email to orders at hair loss talk dot com