20 years old and receding

[lickawrist]

Definite NW2A Been receding since 16-17ish (I noticed my recession at 17 when I buzzed my hair). Hairline looks unchanged from a distance, but is slowly starting to thin and my anterior corners have thinned considerably that it makes the center part of my hairline look like an island under bathroom lights. I am certain my condition will progress into an NW3 in a decade or so if I use family history as an indicator:

Immediate members:
Mom: NW1-2? Hairline is starting to thin considerably but she is over 55 years old and is borderline diabetic (she has to take medication for triglycerides, or something)
Dad: NW5 (I honestly think he can regrow a NW3 if he treats his loss), 54 years old and I'm not aware of any health conditions he has
Brother: NW2A 27 years old and physically healthy; he does marathons and triathlons

Relatives:
Maternal grandfather: Not known, but according to my mom he died having a full head of hair; I don't have any pictures of him
Maternal uncles: All NW1...Yeah, no joke -.-
Maternal cousins: All NW1, but they are either pre-pubertal, or going through puberty
Paternal grandfather: NW2; died when my dad was 14 so he was around 35ish years old?
Paternal uncles: None
Paternal cousins: NW2A, 28 years old

Dad was a NW3 around my birth and progressed to NW4 in about a decade; then progressed to NW5 another decade later. He claims his hair loss was caused by the water quality down in Texas (he lived there for 2-3 years); I honestly think he's just finding some scapegoat and doesn't want to admit he has the male pattern baldness gene.

So, I got cursed by my dad's side of the family, I guess. Which is ironic because 1) I look a lot like my mom 2) I hate everyone on my paternal side lol Worst thing yet is that I'm Asian and it's a bit demeaning being part of the small minority of balding Asians. I only see one once every blue moon.

Anyways, decided to do something about it after being in denial for 3 years, so I ordered some Kirkland Signature 5% Minoxidil. Hoping I can at least fill in the corners and have some temple regrowth, but I'm not holding my breath on it. As for maintenance, I've finally decided to bite the bullet and go for an anti-androgen, but ofc I am a bit hesitant due to the constant bombardment of misinformation regarding finasteride and its side effects. Is it safe to assume that if my DHT levels were abnormally high, or if my body produced more 5-alpha reductase then it normally should, finasteride should be more beneficial than harm, right? I've heard of topical anti-androgens and that's something I might be interested in as well.

 

[science_d]

Definite NW2A Been receding since 16-17ish (I noticed my recession at 17 when I buzzed my hair). Hairline looks unchanged from a distance, but is slowly starting to thin and my anterior corners have thinned considerably that it makes the center part of my hairline look like an island under bathroom lights. I am certain my condition will progress into an NW3 in a decade or so if I use family history as an indicator:

Immediate members:
Mom: NW1-2? Hairline is starting to thin considerably but she is over 55 years old and is borderline diabetic (she has to take medication for triglycerides, or something)
Dad: NW5 (I honestly think he can regrow a NW3 if he treats his loss), 54 years old and I'm not aware of any health conditions he has
Brother: NW2A 27 years old and physically healthy; he does marathons and triathlons

Relatives:
Maternal grandfather: Not known, but according to my mom he died having a full head of hair; I don't have any pictures of him
Maternal uncles: All NW1...Yeah, no joke -.-
Maternal cousins: All NW1, but they are either pre-pubertal, or going through puberty
Paternal grandfather: NW2; died when my dad was 14 so he was around 35ish years old?
Paternal uncles: None
Paternal cousins: NW2A, 28 years old

Dad was a NW3 around my birth and progressed to NW4 in about a decade; then progressed to NW5 another decade later. He claims his hair loss was caused by the water quality down in Texas (he lived there for 2-3 years); I honestly think he's just finding some scapegoat and doesn't want to admit he has the male pattern baldness gene.

So, I got cursed by my dad's side of the family, I guess. Which is ironic because 1) I look a lot like my mom 2) I hate everyone on my paternal side lol Worst thing yet is that I'm Asian and it's a bit demeaning being part of the small minority of balding Asians. I only see one once every blue moon.

Anyways, decided to do something about it after being in denial for 3 years, so I ordered some Kirkland Signature 5% Minoxidil. Hoping I can at least fill in the corners and have some temple regrowth, but I'm not holding my breath on it. As for maintenance, I've finally decided to bite the bullet and go for an anti-androgen, but ofc I am a bit hesitant due to the constant bombardment of misinformation regarding finasteride and its side effects. Is it safe to assume that if my DHT levels were abnormally high, or if my body produced more 5-alpha reductase then it normally should, finasteride should be more beneficial than harm, right? I've heard of topical anti-androgens and that's something I might be interested in as well.

Sorry for your troubles. Using the 5% minoxidil is a good idea. I recommend hanging in there and evaluating after 6 months of consistent use. There is a good chance that will help regrow some of your hair.

Finasteride will lower DHT levels, thus reducing the ability of DHT to thin your hair, but whether or not it will be "more beneficial than harm" depends on the individual, and how YOU specifically react to it. Some men experience negative side effects, but some do not. You may have to actually try it out before you can make any conclusions. Finasteride will help slow down hair loss, but occurrence of or tolerance for side effects depends on the individual.

Topical anti-androgens may indeed be a good way to avoid some of the systemic effects of finasteride while still combating male pattern baldness.

 

[lickawrist]

Sorry for your troubles. Using the 5% minoxidil is a good idea. I recommend hanging in there and evaluating after 6 months of consistent use. There is a good chance that will help regrow some of your hair.

Finasteride will lower DHT levels, thus reducing the ability of DHT to thin your hair, but whether or not it will be "more beneficial than harm" depends on the individual, and how YOU specifically react to it. Some men experience negative side effects, but some do not. You may have to actually try it out before you can make any conclusions. Finasteride will help slow down hair loss, but occurrence of or tolerance for side effects depends on the individual.

Topical anti-androgens may indeed be a good way to avoid some of the systemic effects of finasteride while still combating male pattern baldness.

Appreciate the sympathy. Losing hair sucks when you're "not meant" to lose it :\

I was thinking about topical anti-androgens. For some psychological reason, I'm more willing to take topical finasteride than oral finasteride even though the side effects may be the same lol Would it be unwise to incorporate a dermaroller into the regimen? I saw an article claiming that a small study found significant growth on a group that dermarollered when compared to a group that didn't. And in regards to the anti-androgens, would dermarolling do more harm than good? Is the lotion supposed to administer the drug over a duration of time, or would increasing the absorption rate through derma-rolling raise the drug's efficacy?

BTW I heard that topical anti-androgens are able through the web? Do you use topical finasteride? Any recommendations?

EDIT: I bring up DHT because I heard that finasteride decreases DHT levels by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase enzyme production; this consequently prevents free-floating T from converting into DHT. If an male pattern baldness-suffer happened to have a genetic predisposition to higher-than-normal levels of serum DHT due to higher alpha-reductase activity, one can assume that taking finasteride would do more harm than good for him? Ofc that's a narrow way of thinking because I am sure that finasteride blocks out other hormones as well, some of which may affect other important bodily processes. In which case, even if an the user is an "ideal" candidate for taking finasteride, he may still suffer adverse side effefcts, but let's assume he's not. It is to my understanding that levels of DHT do not matter in some cases of male pattern baldness because we all have varying genetic sensitivities to androgens, correct me if I'm wrong. My concern was that what if I had normal values of serum DHT and my hair loss was due to over-sensitivity to DHT. If I took finasteride, wouldn't it be harmful in the long-run since my body will be running on a lower amount of DHT? Would it be worth it to get a blood work to check for hormone levels? I want to save my hair, but I don't want to give anything else up.

 

[sice313]

I feel like being in early 20's is not that bad by the time we are 28 or so maybe technology would be good enough to fix hair loss with ease.

 

[science_d]

Appreciate the sympathy. Losing hair sucks when you're "not meant" to lose it :\

I was thinking about topical anti-androgens. For some psychological reason, I'm more willing to take topical finasteride than oral finasteride even though the side effects may be the same lol Would it be unwise to incorporate a dermaroller into the regimen? I saw an article claiming that a small study found significant growth on a group that dermarollered when compared to a group that didn't. And in regards to the anti-androgens, would dermarolling do more harm than good? Is the lotion supposed to administer the drug over a duration of time, or would increasing the absorption rate through derma-rolling raise the drug's efficacy?

BTW I heard that topical anti-androgens are able through the web? Do you use topical finasteride? Any recommendations?

EDIT: I bring up DHT because I heard that finasteride decreases DHT levels by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase enzyme production; this consequently prevents free-floating T from converting into DHT. If an male pattern baldness-suffer happened to have a genetic predisposition to higher-than-normal levels of serum DHT due to higher alpha-reductase activity, one can assume that taking finasteride would do more harm than good for him? Ofc that's a narrow way of thinking because I am sure that finasteride blocks out other hormones as well, some of which may affect other important bodily processes. In which case, even if an the user is an "ideal" candidate for taking finasteride, he may still suffer adverse side effefcts, but let's assume he's not. It is to my understanding that levels of DHT do not matter in some cases of male pattern baldness because we all have varying genetic sensitivities to androgens, correct me if I'm wrong. My concern was that what if I had normal values of serum DHT and my hair loss was due to over-sensitivity to DHT. If I took finasteride, wouldn't it be harmful in the long-run since my body will be running on a lower amount of DHT? Would it be worth it to get a blood work to check for hormone levels? I want to save my hair, but I don't want to give anything else up.

I definitely understand losing hair when you're not "meant" to.

It's pretty normal that you are psychologically more willing to take topical finasteride than oral finasteride. After all, you aren't pumping it through your whole system that way. And it may be the case that side effects are less when using topical finasteride, so that might be a good option for you to try out.

Personally I would leave dermarolling out of the equation, it just adds another unnecessary task to your regimen. Topical finasteride should work on its own, as long as you apply it correctly and make sure it gets absorbed in the scalp. Would dermarolling increase absorption? I don't know for sure, but I don't think it would be much more significant even if it did. You can use it if you want to, but sometimes it's good to keep your regimen simple, rather than add things that might/might not even do anything extra.

I don't use topical finasteride, though I might resort to that in the future if needed. The only anti-androgen I currently use is 2% ketoconazole shampoo, which has been shown to reduce DHT and help hair growth on men experiencing baldness (https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/helpful/). Be careful if you try to order topical finasteride off the web, however, and make sure it is from a reputable company. I have seen Medical Wellness Center recommended on this forum for obtaining prescriptions online.

I agree that genetic susceptibility to DHT is another factor besides DHT level that affects male pattern baldness, and your hypothesis about how finasteride would affect someone with high DHT levels is interesting. I do think that the DHT level ITSELF is often associated with hair loss, however, so I tend to think that taking finasteride to lower DHT levels wouldn't necessarily cause more negative effects in someone who already has high levels of DHT. Also, ANYONE who takes finasteride will experience lowER DHT levels, meaning their body will be "running on a lower amount of DHT" relative to their base levels anyway. So I am not sure if taking finasteride will cause more harm in someone with higher levels of DHT, but then again, I am not an endocrinologist lol. And as I understand it, hormonal levels may be self-correcting after a period of time if there is some change in the ratios.

Overall, I think the best way to determine if finasteride would have negative effects for you is if you actually TEST it for a few weeks, and see how you feel. If you experience no negative side effects, then great. If you do, then at that point you can make a decision about whether or not those side effects are worth continuing the drug. I don't think it would hurt to simply TRY it for a few weeks. You can choose to discontinue it whenever you want to.

 

[lickawrist]

Twenty is definitely not too young for recession to start. Happened to me at that age as well. In fact,
I was probably nineteen when it started.

The difference is, at twenty, you can usually grow it all back. Even if it's really agressive. Just use scientifically
based formulas. Otherwise, your time window will run out. And when it's too late, nothing will grow it back.

Really appreciate all the replies. Facing hair loss can seem like an isolating problem, especially when it seems like 90% of the guys your age still have an intact hairline haha It's nice to know I'm not alone

What treatments are you on? Any recommendations? I heard you can get finasteride and dutasteride on the web without prescription these days, that's pretty crazy lol Any websites I can try? I haven't got insurance yet (just got off from my parents plan), so a trip to the doctor isnt possible yet.

@science_d
I've tried nizoral--not sure if it made any difference, but I'm willing to give it another try. I didn't know that nizoral inhibited DHT production at the scalp--how effective is it at doing this? Were you able to maintain your hair on nizoral? Norwood and when did you start receding?

EDIT: My recession started at 16-17, well into junior year of HS. It wasn't until a couple months ago I noticed my anteriors thinning considerably. Idk if my hair loss was on a hiatus or if it had been thinning under the radar over the years, but it's gotten to the point where I'm not willing to risk and wait any longer. I want to slow, or even mitigate (if at all possible) any more hairs from miniaturizing.

 

[science_d]

@science_d
I've tried nizoral--not sure if it made any difference, but I'm willing to give it another try. I didn't know that nizoral inhibited DHT production at the scalp--how effective is it at doing this? Were you able to maintain your hair on nizoral? Norwood and when did you start receding?

EDIT: My recession started at 16-17, well into junior year of HS. It wasn't until a couple months ago I noticed my anteriors thinning considerably. Idk if my hair loss was on a hiatus or if it had been thinning under the radar over the years, but it's gotten to the point where I'm not willing to risk and wait any longer. I want to slow, or even mitigate (if at all possible) any more hairs from miniaturizing.

You say you have tried Nizoral, but which concentration did you use? The active ingredient in Nizoral is ketoconazole, and the most effective concentration for hair loss is the 2% rather than the 1%. The 1% certainly helps, but a study shows that it does not increase hair density (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1467-2494.2002.00145.x/abstract). If you haven't tried the 2%, I recommend starting that, use 2 - 4 times per week.

In answer to your question, ketoconazole (the active ingredient in Nizoral) seems to be pretty effective at suppressing DHT activity in a variety of situations (see studies listed here on my blog - https://attackplan.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/helpful/). One study even showed that the 2% concentration improved hair growth as much as 2% minoxidil (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9669136).

I started receding at age 27, about 4 years ago. I didn't have enough understanding of male pattern baldness or money back then to effectively treat it, so my hairline did recede a little and thinning has occurred up top. Currently, I'm probably somewhere between Norwood 2 and 3 (closer to 3 I think, depending on the diagram you are looking at lol). I just started the 2% ketoconazole shampoo, but as far as what has worked for me in the past, I noticed success in slowing down hair loss and increasing hair thickness when I used a combination of 5% minoxidil (twice daily) and a 272-diode laser cap (every other day) after about 4 months of consistent use.

I eventually stopped minoxidil, and obtained a weaker laser cap (because it was cheaper) called the Theradome, and after six months of using that plus 1% Nizoral, I did not experience success. So that regimen is obviously not enough.

Recently, I started using Alpecin Caffeine Shampoo while continuing the weaker laser cap. I wasn't expecting this to have any serious results, but interestingly, after about 1.5 months of use, it completely stopped all shedding and my hair seems a lot thicker now (2 - 3 months later). I also started the 2% ketoconazole shampoo, which seems to have more serious science backing it up.

So that is just my personal experience with trying to maintain my hair and what I have and have not experienced success with. I recommend focusing on treatments such as 2% ketoconazole and 5% minoxidil, which has a lot of science supporting them, then if you want to add other products just for a mild boost (such as Alpecin), that could be good, as long as you don't depend on it. Perhaps a laser cap (the ones with >200 laser diodes) could help too, if you don't feel you are having success with other treatments.

Another word of advice: if you use a treatment, you need to follow the directions carefully and use it consistently for at least 4-6 months before you can tell whether it is having an effect or not.

 

[KO21]

Currently I take Propecia and topical Finasteride. I'm also using a thirty percent Minoxidil solution, mixed
with .25% Progesterone topically.

That's probably too extreme for someone who is twenty. I'm in my forties, so extreme options are
now my only options.

How's this regimen working ??