24 year old concerned about receding hair line (pics) - suggestions appreciated

[zidrem]

Hi everyone,

Newly registered here, but have been reading for quite a while. I realize all of you have better things to do than read my case, but I am having a lot of anxiety about this and it is difficult to get educated/objective opinions from real world family/friends/etc. So thank you in advance for reading!

I am 24 years old and lately have been concerned that my hairline is quite high in the corners. It isn't something I ever thought about before, and so it is honestly difficult for me to say if it is actively receding, or if this is simply my mature hairline that has set in place. And the way that I wear my hair makes it difficult for me to compare my hairline now to pictures from my past. It seems to have receded farther on one side than the other (see pics attached). Other than my hairline, I don't really have any other concerns. My hair is extremely thick everywhere - which is sort of why I have never really thought about hair loss before. Just assumed it would never happen to me.

It seems like a lot of people here are very aware of how many hairs they lose on a daily basis, which is sort of mysterious to me. My hair is very very fine, and so it is really difficult for me to notice any shedding of hair. I can't really find hair on my bed/pillows, and if I use my hands to really shuffle my hair around, I can only notice maybe one or two hairs coming out under a bright fluorescent light. A lot of people tell me that "if you are shedding hair, it is obvious and you will ' know ' ". That makes me feel a little better, but it isn't helping with my anxiety about how high my hairline feels.

In terms of genetics, my father is probably Norwood 3V (and had one hair transplant with great success). Maternal grandfather has perfect NW1 at age 75. Paternal grandfather was completely bald by age 30. Looks good on the maternal side, but a lot of people are saying that isn't really the end all.

I wanted to say that I understand there are many people with much worse circumstances than me, and I don't want people to think I am trolling or trying to tick anyone off. I have some anxiety and hypochondria problems, so I worry a lot and tend to ruin my life over things like this.

Well, I have done a lot of reading, and it seems like people resort to a combination of: (1) propecia at various dosages, (2) minoxidil in the 5%-15% range, (3) nizoral shampoo at 1%-2%, and sometimes (4) the untested RU compound.

I actually live in Shanghai, so it is very convenient for me to get ahold of any of the above items (particularly the RU from that supplier in China), but I'm just not sure about what to use. Using the nizoral and the minoxidil seems like a given, since they can't do any harm. Seems like a good insurance policy. Although I have heard horror stories about rogaine making people lose their hair...

I got propecia from my doctor, but I've sort of been looking at it for a couple of weeks and can't decide whether to take it. If I do take it, I suppose I would start at a lower dosage of around .25mg given the literature regarding its efficacy at <1mg doses.

RU seems a little dubious given that it isn't really approved for use anywhere. But on the other hand a lot of people seem to swear on it and have good results.

Well, I guess I've written enough to bore everyone to death Attached some pictures (apologize for the poor quality, I only have camera phone..). Really hope I can get some decent advice here, and a million thanks to anyone who takes the time to help.



Best wishes everyone!
DEM

 

[Malin]

Man, I'm sorry to say this but you definetly have male pattern baldness. I'm almost 21 and have almost the same pattern (just a little less receded). I would get as soon as possible on 1.propecia 2.minoxidil 3.nizoral
I don't know the effectivity of this RU compound.
Greeting from Beijing, and by the way where can you buy rogaine in China??

 

[zidrem]

Hey man - thanks so much for the fast reply. On one hand it is a little sad to hear that it is indeed male pattern baldness, but on the other hand it is nice to have someone give me a clear objective response, so that I won't go back on forth on whether to start medicating myself anymore.

For the Rogaine I will have my friend send to me from HK. Although in theory you can buy it on taobao as well. Maybe there are some fakes, but if you find a more legitimate vendor you can probably get it pretty easily, shipped to your door or whatnot. There's also a Chinese brand called 密发康 that makes 5% and 15% minoxidil. Was thinking of maybe trying that too/instead.

For the propecia, would you worry about the side effects? I was thinking of starting at a low dose (like 0.25mg) and ramping it up to 0.50mg (or eventually more) just to be safe and let my body get accustomed to the drug.

And for minoxidil, do you suggest the 5% or the 15%? I've read some stories about people who use rogaine and it makes them shed a lot of hair, and then the hair never comes back. If that happened to me I think I might jump out of a building, so I am still a little hesitant/afraid to use the rogaine. Plus it feels so sharp/tingly on the scalp, it just makes me FEEL like I'm going to lose hair. But maybe I just need to suspend disbelief and bite the bullet.

The side effects from propecia don't really concern me that much. I suppose if they start happening, you can always stop taking the drug...

Well, let me know what you think. Thanks again!

 

[Malin]

Thanks for the suggestion on where to buy propecia/minoxidil, I actually have a 1 year supply from my home country, but if it runs out now I know where to get it.
I would strongly reccommend first of all to take the propecia, there are alot of terror stories in the internet, but at the end which medication does not?, I too was hesitant 2 years ago when I started noticing receding (19y/o) have seen absolutely no side effects, and have mantained pretty much of the hair (I have a strong history of male pattern baldness in my family so I'm happy to keep as much as I do) it works best in the crown.
Now regarding to minoxidil I would get on 5%, don't do 15% until you have tried the lower for at least 2 years w/o results. At the begginning there will be a shed but then you will get it back and maybe regrow a little or just mantain (I had a big shed but I'm recovering from it), last summer I stopped using it for 2 months and the results where desastrous, so if you get on them you will NEVER drop them.
So yeah, basically that's all, oh and shampoo 2 times a week with nizoral.

If you value your hair you will start on treatment now, I have seen persons going from hair to almost completely bald in less than 2 years...!

 

[mmmikkke]

Receding, but from the photos it still looks nice and thick ... relax it looks good! I had a slight receding hairline with a decent thickness similar to yours 7 years ago when I was 19 ... so you have at least one person here who envies you.

Just remember you notice it a whole lot more than anyone else. It might slowly get worse, but by that time A LOT of other dudes your age will have the same exact problem and it won't matter as much.

 

[zidrem]

Hey mmmikkke, thanks a lot for your encouraging commentary, I really hope that I can stop feeling so self-conscious about the whole thing! What did you do about it back when you were 19? Did you start taking medication? How is your hair now compared to then?

Some people are telling me to relax and that it is just some variant of a "mature hairline" and will probably be settled that way for a while. And to be honest I do see a lot of guys in my age range or older walking around with the same hairline. But I am still worried about whether it will recede more or not, and am really considering taking finasteride as a sort of "insurance policy" to hopefully keep my hairline the way it is.

Anyhow, please let me know what you've been doing and how it worked out for you - thanks a lot!

 

[mmmikkke]

Glad to be of some help! I was sort of in denial about it when I first noticed my receding hairline, so I didn't do anything about it for a long time. I tried a few different minoxidil treatments, but they all made my hair look greasy. I was also concerned about how it might age my skin. I looked into Propecia and I still think about it from time to time, but the sides scare me (even more than the reported sides, the people who go off of it after many years and suddenly feel more energetic and sexual).

I settled on a good hair stylist, and using various shampoos to slow things down, even if just slightly. My hair stylist did a pretty good job of making my hair look good, even with a receding hairline. In fact, my friends never really noticed until I pointed it out. But in the last two years it's thinned out a lot, and there's just not enough hair to work with. Actually, just a few days ago I bought a $20 clipper and gave myself a short buzz cut and the general consensus is that it looks good, but I'm still getting used to it.

Now, the main thing that stressed me out was girls. I was convinced that the most attractive girls in my life were all behind me. But the funny thing is, as my hair went away, the attractiveness of the girls actually got better. Well, except for a dry spell when I pretty much had a comb-over, but duh. So yeah, girls aren't going to come up to you, run their fingers through your hair, and say "wow, I love your hair!" Big deal, I attract girls who like broad shoulders. And if some girl absolutely has to have someone with a full head of hair and a 2" forehead, it's just not you and they won't waste your time. I know this bisexual girl who said it's similar to how guys view girls with small breasts. It's really not a deal-breaker for most people, and if they find something else attractive about you they just don't think about it much.

 

[rj2000]

Hey, your hairline is exactly the same as mine. I went on propecia only and whilst my hairline hasnt got any worse it hasnt really improved too much. Having fine hair is a real pain as i bet your running your fingers into your temple area and panicking as you think theres hardly any hair left, I speak from experience as thats what I do.

I'm 32 and my male pattern baldness started when I was 27, to start with I freaked out, got depressed and stopped doing things like swimming, now I just get on with it. Good luck with your battle.

 

[zidrem]

Hey rj2000, thanks a lot for the response - again it's nice to here from someone who has gone through similar circumstances. You are right about the anxiety - I constantly keep feeling the two corners with my fingers to make sure the hair hasn't gone back further - even to the point where friends (who know that I am struggling with this) keep telling me "stop touching it"!

I freaked out quite a bit as well a few weeks ago when I became "aware" of this problem - I am in really good shape but stopped going to the gym and swimming for a couple of weeks as well. Was doing a pretty lousy job with things at work as well... I guess it's slowly getting better as I get accustomed to the fact that I need to deal with hair loss.

Well anyway, it is great to hear that "nothing got worse" after you went on propecia. That's all I want really - I don't expect or want more hair to grow back; I'm used to it the way it is now, and I really want it to stay that way. Did you have any side effects with propecia? Have you taken it continuously the full 5 years? What dosage did you use? Were there any topical treatments that you used? As I mentioned earlier I'm a little terrified of putting anything topical (like rogaine) on my hairline, because I feel like it is such a sensitive area, and maybe the hair will fall out if I start fooling around with it...

Anyway, I haven't taken any action yet (other than using the nizoral shampoo). With such fine hair it is basically impossible to notice any of it falling out, and I can't really detect any changes. So I don't feel like it is extremely urgent to start a treatment, but I think I basically have it narrowed down to just taking propecia and tracking my progress. I think there are some people who would tell me I can't justify taking medication for what appears to basically be a normal hairline, but I think I need it to quell my anxiety more than anything.

I understand that we all get old and change, but the thought of losing hair is such a sudden and unfortunate change. I would hate to wake up one day and look in the mirror and feel like I'm not the same person anymore. So the whole situation is really a downer, despite not falling into the category of extremely aggressive male pattern baldness.

Sigh...

 

[IrishFella]

Hey, my hairline is also similar, maybe a tad bit better, but it was devastated when I first noticed prominent recession, remember looking in the mirror and almost crying, then a mini panic attack ensued! Did my research, bought Nizoral which has helped me, then got on finasteride (13 months now) and my hair is looking better and better, and I believe it's filling in even more.

There is no better feeling that seeing your hairline coming back thicker and thicker when you first realise you are losing it. Like you said, hair is important, it's apart of what makes me, me, as sappy as that sounds.