23, is it already time to see a dermatologist?

[NickyA]

Hey, just turned 23 and I've been wondering lately whether I should start thinking about seeing a dermatologist or giving the Minoxidil+Nizoral combo a try. I've always had a big forehead but I kinda feel like these last two or three years my hairline has been slowly but steadily losing some of its baby hairs at the temples, what worried me now tho is that I've noticed I can now see a bit through my hairline and into my scalp when I look at the mirror using its bright integrated lights. However I don't really feel like I'm losing a lot of hair, I'd say between 15-30 when I dont shower and 30-60 when I do, since I usually lose 5 or 6 hairs each time I rinse my hair using shampoo. My crown looks great.

What would you say my norwood stage is? Is it worth it to consider starting a finasteride treatment in the next 6-9 months or nah ? I'll post how it looks like under harsh lighting in the next post, which is what's been worrying me the most lately)

Family on my dad's side have always had awesome hair, my grandpa died at 88 with a norwood 1 and my dad is 52 and rocks the same awesome hairline. However my maternal grandfather started going bald around his 28 or 30s. My maternal grandmother's brother started balding noticeably by his late 30s-early 40s, but his son is 44 and has a norwood 2.

 

[NickyA]

Here's how it looks under harsh lighting, which has started worrying me these last months.

 

[JohnSmith21]

It looks like thinning at the front to me

 

[Tom4362]

I see no hairloss. Check with a dermatologist if you want to be 100% sure

 

[Chill dude]

Definitely some thinning at the front, skip the dermatologist appointment and just get straight on Avodart and 5%rogaine.

 

[sonictemples]

Definitely some thinning at the front, skip the dermatologist appointment and just get straight on Avodart and 5%rogaine.

Didn't know American Psycho was doing telemedicine lol

 

[Chill dude]

Didn't know American Psycho was doing telemedicine lol

Haha I’m doing the telemedicine now
Because. I. Want. To. Fit. In

 

[NickyA]

It looks like thinning at the front to me

Yeah I started losing my baby hairs on the temples after I turned 18 or 19 but didn't care much because your hairline supposedly ''matures'' round that time and your early 20s, but the fact that lately I can see through some hair and into my frontal scalp when I turn on my mirror's lights started worrying me. That there are no baldies in my paternal family reassured me a lot tho.

I see no hairloss. Check with a dermatologist if you want to be 100% sure

I've booked an appointment yesterday, I'll be seeing her in two weeks, I'll also be seeing my GP in a bit less than a month for my yearly checkup.

Definitely some thinning at the front, skip the dermatologist appointment and just get straight on Avodart and 5%rogaine.

It'll prolly only be big 3 for me, I've a maternal aunt with bipolar and that 44 year old NW2 cousin has schizophrenia, so I'd rather avoid risking getting any psychiatric stuff. Mom's family also tends to get cardiovascular problems round their 40s to 50s, so Min is prolly enough risk for me. I'd rather be slick bald at 44 and having graduated than a NW2 with schizophrenia who lives with his parents like my unlucky cousin. Thankfully I'm studying a desirable profession where looks don't matter that much, worst case scenario I could marry someone who'd appreciate the financial stability and status I'd bring or an alright girl from my field of work.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

You have some diffuse stuff going on, you should definitely use nizoral 1 - 2x per week.

I can't tell if you have inflammation, if your scalp is red and irritated at all, you need to see a derm and ask them to be put on mometasone or betamethasone because those two corticosteroids are proven to cause hair growth.

If there's no actual inflammation, then you probably should get on a 5AR inhibitor.

 

[NickyA]

You have some diffuse stuff going on, you should definitely use nizoral 1 - 2x per week.

I can't tell if you have inflammation, if your scalp is red and irritated at all, you need to see a derm and ask them to be put on mometasone or betamethasone because those two corticosteroids are proven to cause hair growth.

If there's no actual inflammation, then you probably should get on a 5AR inhibitor.

I'll get nizoral in one or two weeks, I don't really think I'm a diffuser tho (My maternal grandfather and my maternal grandmother's brother went bald round their late twenties-thirties following a NW2A, NW3A with recession and full crown then NW4 and NW5 pattern, and I've a mixture of my NW1 dad and paternal grandpa's thick black hair and my mom's thin wavy and brown hair). I doubt my scalp is irritated since it's never been itchy, although my hair starts getting greasy,smelly and messy if I don't shower for more than 2 days.

Just saw the derm today and she simply told me to get on minoxidil and that I'd have to see a trichologist (Which would prolly take two or three months) to get my hair evaluated in order to get a prescription for Finasteride. I prolly won't tho because I'd rather try Finasteride first, since I've read here that minoxidil alone's useless long-term, you gotta stay on it and I dunno if I'll have the cash to buy it monthly in a couple years. I'll have my blood test next Friday to check my thyroid, hepatic enzymes, Testosterone, DHT, Prolactin, Estrogen and Estriol, then see my GP and talk to him about getting a Finasteride prescription if everything's normal. If he refuses I'll just purchase the pills on the grey market.

 

[NickyA]

Hey everyone, I got my blood work results last Friday and everything seems to be fine: I'm a perfectly average 20 year old Joe. I got slightly below average Testosterone (3.22 nanograms/ml when the normal range is 2.1 ng/ml to 8.27 ng/ml) but I don't think that should be a problem since finasteride would raise my testosterone and I'll also start lifting again once holiday festivities end. I also spoke to my GP last Tuesday and he told me to bring my results in person to a dermatologist he knew so that she could assess my hair loss and write me a finasteride prescription. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by my GP, I knew he was a very capable guy but I didn't expect him to know so much about baldness treatments: He wanted me to get a blood test done before starting a treatment to check my endocrine system and also knew about topical finasteride and topical duta.

So I'll be seeing this dermatologist the 6th of January. I've been using a ketoconazole shampoo for three weeks (2-3 times a week) and I haven't had any trouble adapting to it. My hair loss hasn't progressed either, I keep losing 10-30 hairs per day and 40-50 when I take a shower. My hairline pretty much looks the same. I also bought a bottle of generic liquid Minodixil 5% but won't use it yet since I want to wait until I've been taking finasteride for 5 or 6 months to a year, because I know there's a sizeable percentage of people (40% or so) who don't respond well to minoxidil.

I'll prolly shave my head in mid January to see how I'd look like fully bald (So that I can see how seriously I'd have to fight hair loss if I've MPA) and to ease anxiety in case finasteride causes a shed. I've also been growing a handlebar and the weakest of goatees since I know I couldn't pull off the clean shaven+bald look ala Zidane, and no man from either side of the family has ever been able to grow a decent looking full beard.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

Regarding the shave, and facial hair, if you have the facial structure for it, growing a bit of scruff has always worked for me. Only in the last few years has it been that I can start growing strong facial hair, and right when I start being able to grow it like nobody's business, I have stemmed it for the most part. I'm back where I was in my 30s and my facial hair grew at a slower pace, and my hair is recovering.

A goatee is a bad choice imo, go for a good moustache, and do the 1920s strongman look or something similar.

 

[NickyA]

Hey everyone, I'll be seeing the dermatologist next Wednesday, hopefully she'll give me a Finasteride prescription, otherwise I'll have to get the meds on the gray market. I'll add some more, higher quality pictures here (Ignore the lighter temples since I got a very short fade three weeks ago) should I consider them baseline or would that be once I've been taking Finasteride for 6+ months? I'll go for a razor shaved head after I start taking finasteride to reduce anxiety just in case it causes a big shed initially. Plus, it'll allow me to see my head shape fully.

I'll post the pics with average lighting first, just like when I started this thread.

 

[NickyA]

Here's how it looks currently under harsh lighting. My temples look lighter than the rest of my hair because I got a fade three weeks ago. The heart marks where my hairline used to be when I was 20-21, since I've been watching that single hair for a while, it grows very long and seems to refuse to leave my scalp. Maybe it's a fan of Die Hard and last stands just like me, hahahahaha. Thus, I'd say my hairline has receded half an inch since I was 20-21.

 

[NickyA]

Damn, looking at these HD, close up pictures of my hairline scares me shitless and makes me eager to jump straight on finasteride and Min at the same time, but it's probably not a good idea. I'll see if I can get a 15th century torture device and start 1.5 mm dermarolling twice a week though. At least it'll make me feel like I'm doing something extra for the 6-8 months I'll have to wait before adding Minoxidil to the finasteride+Keto shampoo combo.

 

[Nebula74]

start 1.5 mm dermarolling twice a week though.

Hey, make sure you buy a high quality derma roller, the one that I bought was a fake one with metal wheels, and it had bent needles as soon as I took it out of the package, if you can, make sure it's a see through one so you can actually see the needles

 

[NickyA]

Hey, make sure you buy a high quality derma roller, the one that I bought was a fake one with metal wheels, and it had bent needles as soon as I took it out of the package, if you can, make sure it's a see through one so you can actually see the needles

I might get this one unless anyone thinks it'd be a bad choice, it has 192 titanium needles and it comes with a protective cap. Perfect to interrogate heretics with your fellow inquisitors.

 

[Nebula74]

It looks similar to the one I bought that was crap, it was also a 192 1.5 mm but if you trust the brand, then go ahead

 

[NickyA]

It looks similar to the one I bought that was crap, it was also a 192 1.5 mm but if you trust the brand, then go ahead

Thanks for your advice man, it seems it is the same dermaroller indeed, "ZGTS". Sadly there isn't a big quantity of different dermaroller designs here. It's either this:

(Cheaper model with 192 titanium needles)

Or this even cheaper model with 592 "titanium" needles, which looks like your typicaI chinese dermaroller:

I'm considering going the dermapen route now. I wonder whether anyone knowledgeable on dermapens will chime in, since I know little about them and I can't get a Derminator here. I could get a Dr Pen dermapen though if it's useful, but I dunno which one works best for hair.

 

[NickyA]

Hey everyone, I was in a pharmacy today since I've been looking for a place where they sell Minoxidil Foam for later on, and asked the bald pharmacist at the counter for Minoxidil Foam, but he said they didn't have it there, only liquid (Which I already have but won't use on my hair yet, unless I start getting very desperate). However, he asked me ''anything else?'' so I took the plunge and asked for Finasteride, and he sold it to me, no questions asked. Maybe he knows the struggle? I dunno. This was very convenient since I wanted to start taking 1 mg thrice a week (Mon-Wed-Fri) the way those two doctors on The Hair Loss Show suggested. So now I have 60 tablets which should last me 3 or 4 months if I keep taking it thrice a week.

I already took my first tablet today and it was a huge relief, since these last two months have been an emotional roller coaster for me. I'll be seeing the dermatologist on Wednesday, hopefully she'll give me a Finasteride prescription. I'm currently considering whether to start microneedling or taking 2-3 ml of oral castor oil for improved facial hair density and a bit of regrowth. I may go the castor oil route first because it is dirt cheap (Even though I haven't read any serious studies on its use for hair regrowth) and microneedling alone with finasteride+ketoconazole shampoo may end up being kinda useless. These last two weeks I've upped the usage of the keto shampoo from 2-3 times a week to 3-4 times a week and I haven't got ''keto fried hair'' yet. It's been 6 weeks since I started using it, and I leave it 15-25 mins on my hair before washing it off. I'll shave my head on Wednesday.