18 Year Old With Thinning Hair!!! Is It Telogen Effluvium Or male pattern baldness!?!? Read The Whole Thing

[FMLFMLFML3]

I'm an 18 almost 19 year old dude with a borderline NW3 hairline. Throughout my whole teenagehood I've been extremely stressed and have experienced a few bouts of depression. This is mainly dude to my dysfunctional family as well as school. When I was in the 10th grade, I experienced my first bout of depression even though I didn't know i was depressed at the time. My new best friends who I met in the 9th grade transferred to a different school making me close to a loner and I was dealing with family problems. I KID YOU NOT! my hair has not grown since the 10th grade. Ever since then my hair has been shedding in excessive quantities but I always just brushed it off (no pun intended) .

It was not until the second semester of the 12th grade that I noticed my hairline was jacked the f*** up. The turning point began when a friend asked me why my hairline looked the way it did. He traced how my hairline looked from a sideways view in the air (zigzags) then compared it to his own hairline. I replied with "That's how it's always been" because until then I never f*****g noticed how bad it really was. Ever since then its been added to my list of insecurities and has made my depression so much worse.

Now fast forward to today. My bald temples are a bit higher up and the crown has started to thin just a little bit. BUT THATs NOT THE ONLY THING! the hair on the sides of my head are noticeably thinning too along with the hair around the nape of the neck/around the ears and although the hair on the back of my head is still thick i can still spot and pull on some thin, straight, and wispy hairs. Oh yeah, I'm a black guy by the way so my hair is very curly.

I finally got off my *** and went to the family doctor so she could send me to a dermatologist but I KID YOU NOT my derm appointment is on MOTHERFUCKING NOVEMBER 3RD 2016. I have to wait months to finally figure out what the f*** is going on. So In conclusion, My hair is thinning all over but more on the sides and crown and I have a BAD hairline. I've only been dealing with the bad hairline for about a year and a half. I'm pretty sure I have chronic Telogen Effluvium and not male pattern baldness but maybe its both. The most important question is... if once i eliminate the trigger (stress/depression) which i plan on doing by moving out of my parents house by the end of the summer; will my hair including my fucked up hairline grow back? Also, out of all of my close relatives that I know, NO ONE has a fucked up hairline like mine. PLEASE HELP ME. This in addition to other more real problems in my life has made me suicidal. Keep in mind that my hair looks better in the pictures because I took them right after I took a shower and moisturised my hair with coconut oil. ANY advice is appreciated.

 

[marine608]

Meh.. Looks like it's clearly male pattern baldness to me. People always go into denial and blame their hair loss on stress or diet but to be honest hair loss due to these factors is extremely rare.

 

[FMLFMLFML3]

Meh.. Looks like it's clearly male pattern baldness to me. People always go into denial and blame their hair loss on stress or diet but to be honest hair loss due to these factors is extremely rare.

But the sides don't thin when you have male pattern baldness. Like I said in the post you can't tell as much in the pictures but the sides are pretty bad, my sideburns are almost completely thinned out.

 

[marine608]

But the sides don't thin when you have male pattern baldness. Like I said in the post you can't tell as much in the pictures but the sides are pretty bad, my sideburns are almost completely thinned out.

Well if you really think there's an underlying medical condition you can visit a general practitioner. Obviously I'm no doctor nor do I have much knowledge in the medical field but your hair has receded in a common pattern of male balding. I would think that someone suffering from Telogen Effluvium/health induced hair loss would see drastic thinning of hairs all over their head; not slowly thinning and receding hair.

 

[FMLFMLFML3]

true, thanks for the reply man. I'm really trying not to be delusional but this is so strange. The texture of my hair covers it up well but the thinning is all over.

 

[TD500]

Definitely looks like you got male pattern baldness. Classic temple recession, looks like your temple points are all but gone unless you never had them. For your sides could be something else, but you def got male pattern baldness.

 

[FMLFMLFML3]

Definitely looks like you got male pattern baldness. Classic temple recession, looks like your temple points are all but gone unless you never had them. For your sides could be something else, but you def got male pattern baldness.

yeah bro, I've come to the conclusion that I have both Telogen Effluvium and male pattern baldness. The Telogen Effluvium has probably made the male pattern baldness worse but hopefully the temple recession will fill in a bit more once I get rid of the triggers. Fully aware that I wont have my old hairline back ever again. I've excepted this fact and feel better as a result. thanks guys.

 

[lickawrist]

But the sides don't thin when you have male pattern baldness. Like I said in the post you can't tell as much in the pictures but the sides are pretty bad, my sideburns are almost completely thinned out.

the sides (temples) do thin/recede with male pattern baldness. the norwood scale is a visual reference to aid in ranking severity of alopecia, but on an individual basis everyone's recession is varied. you have male pattern baldness.

you have 3 options:
1) deny that you have male pattern baldness and corroborate more excuses to ease your mind
2) go to an actual physician or doctor and get your blood worked, or have a physical examination
3) get a prescription and hop on finasteride/minoxidil

dont listen to the people upholding those silly naturalistic mantras. the stigma behind drugs is a misconceived one--drugs are inherently dangerous. a lot of them are nothing more than pure molecules derived from NATURAL ingredients...and no, finasteride will not give you a micropenis. its your hair that you're deciding to save; the longer you wait the more you recede. now make you're choice.

 

[DPAMan]

Funny thing you say about your hair not growing since 10th grade. My hair used to grow really fast until around that time. I should have suspected something was up then, but since I didn't see any noticeable signs of thinning until 10 years later, I put it on the backburner. male pattern baldness combined with the fact that black hair is more prone to breakage probably explains it.

 

[Johnmpb]

R u Nigerian?

 

[FMLFMLFML3]

R u Nigerian?

i am not...

 

[FMLFMLFML3]

Funny thing you say about your hair not growing since 10th grade. My hair used to grow really fast until around that time. I should have suspected something was up then, but since I didn't see any noticeable signs of thinning until 10 years later, I put it on the backburner. male pattern baldness combined with the fact that black hair is more prone to breakage probably explains it.

I really wish i would have seen a doctor much earlier. I still stick by my claim of having chronic telogen effluvium because there is no reason that the hair should be thinning anywhere besides the temple and crown, plus there's no sign of a bald spot at the back of my head. I've scraped the internet for any information about telogen effluvium's affect on black hair or black male hair but have found nothing. I think Telogen Effluvium combined with the fact that black hair is more prone to breakage MIGHT be the culprit. I still think its most likely male pattern baldness. Gosh the depression has gotten so much worse in the last few days. I found 2 pictures from 2 years ago.

 

[DPAMan]

The comparison is a bit difficult because none of the recent pictures you posted are head-on like your older photos, but your hairline does look fuller in the older pics (assuming you hadn't had a fresh line up). Definitely get all of your options ruled out. Would be great if it was something temporary, but you know how life is with these things... :/

Hoping for the best come November 3rd, and for some relief from the other factors in your depression. Is counseling/therapy an option?