28 year old female...is this normal?

[Hairloss281]

Hi everyone,

I am a 28 year old female who works in a competitive field where it requires a lot of thinking.

I have been experiencing hair loss since around 25 years ago. When I shower, my hair definitely feels thinner and I can feel the bald spots.

My mom is currently in her mid 60s and she also does not have a lot of hair compared to people her age, so it might be genetics.

I've attached a few pictures of my current hairline below. Can you guys please let me know if this looks normal or am I being paranoid?

I think my reasons for hairloss is genetics and stress. If it's genetics, am I screwed or is there anything I can change to make it better? I've been hearing mixed messages from people in my field (mostly male who experiences hairloss and said that treatments won't help much if it's genetics).

What can I do to make this better? What steps are you guys taking? This have been killing my confidence about myself and I have not dated anyone since many years back.

Please give me some suggestions. Highly appreciated. Thank you so much!

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Looks like female pattern hair loss. I'm no expert on this but one thing you can try is 3% rogaine (I think 5% is men only). The rogaine foam you can just apply at the parting area and it might thicken the area.

 

[I wont lose this]

Hi everyone,

I am a 28 year old female who works in a competitive field where it requires a lot of thinking.

I have been experiencing hair loss since around 25 years ago. When I shower, my hair definitely feels thinner and I can feel the bald spots.

My mom is currently in her mid 60s and she also does not have a lot of hair compared to people her age, so it might be genetics.

I've attached a few pictures of my current hairline below. Can you guys please let me know if this looks normal or am I being paranoid?

I think my reasons for hairloss is genetics and stress. If it's genetics, am I screwed or is there anything I can change to make it better? I've been hearing mixed messages from people in my field (mostly male who experiences hairloss and said that treatments won't help much if it's genetics).

What can I do to make this better? What steps are you guys taking? This have been killing my confidence about myself and I have not dated anyone since many years back.

Please give me some suggestions. Highly appreciated. Thank you so much!

lemme guess, do you work in IT?

 

[Raccooner]

I've been reading that taking an inositol supplement (vitamin B8) can be useful to reversing hair loss. I did this recently and am starting to notice less hair fall. Try this, hopefully your situation will improve. Since you're a woman, are your iron levels witihin range? This is a problem many woman have that causes hair loss. Aim for a ferritin level of 70.

 

[Einstein]

Hi everyone,

I am a 28 year old female who works in a competitive field where it requires a lot of thinking.

I have been experiencing hair loss since around 25 years ago. When I shower, my hair definitely feels thinner and I can feel the bald spots.

My mom is currently in her mid 60s and she also does not have a lot of hair compared to people her age, so it might be genetics.

I've attached a few pictures of my current hairline below. Can you guys please let me know if this looks normal or am I being paranoid?

I think my reasons for hairloss is genetics and stress. If it's genetics, am I screwed or is there anything I can change to make it better? I've been hearing mixed messages from people in my field (mostly male who experiences hairloss and said that treatments won't help much if it's genetics).

What can I do to make this better? What steps are you guys taking? This have been killing my confidence about myself and I have not dated anyone since many years back.

Please give me some suggestions. Highly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Looks like female pattern balding. Look into dermaroller/microneedle in conjunction with rogaine/minoxidil foam. Start early, worry less.

 

[Here For the Lulz]

It’s not that it can’t be treated, it’s just that their is only FDA approved treatment for women...rogaine (minoxidil). There have been studies suggesting finasteride can help women with this issue, but that’s about as far as it goes currently.

minoxidil works well for Female Pattern Baldnwas because the loss is diffuse and all over. minoxidil, (when it works), thickens individual follicles, and can improve density by reviving dormant follicles. One thing to bear in mind is that this
is a treatment, not a cure; the effects aren’t permanent and will be lost should you ever stop using it. It needs to be applied twice a day for maximum effect, it can irritate your scalp, and tends to make your hair pretty greasy. Whether that’s something you can live with or not is up to you.

Unfortunately, if the cause is genetic, (I don’t see any other possibility here), there is little that can be done to stop or halt the progress as we have no ability to cure it. You won’t be able to stop hair that is shedding due to the condition, but you can minimize loss by other means by being as gentle as you can, protecting it when and if you use heat to style it, don’t dye or bleach it, avoiding hairstyles that subject it to high tension, brush it only when necessary, and ensuring your diet meets all of your nutritional needs.

 

[iCloud]

Looks like female pattern hair loss. I'm no expert on this but one thing you can try is 3% rogaine (I think 5% is men only). The rogaine foam you can just apply at the parting area and it might thicken the area.

No, 5% is fine for women.

 

[9982]

Hi everyone,

I am a 28 year old female who works in a competitive field where it requires a lot of thinking.

I have been experiencing hair loss since around 25 years ago. When I shower, my hair definitely feels thinner and I can feel the bald spots.

My mom is currently in her mid 60s and she also does not have a lot of hair compared to people her age, so it might be genetics.

I've attached a few pictures of my current hairline below. Can you guys please let me know if this looks normal or am I being paranoid?

I think my reasons for hairloss is genetics and stress. If it's genetics, am I screwed or is there anything I can change to make it better? I've been hearing mixed messages from people in my field (mostly male who experiences hairloss and said that treatments won't help much if it's genetics).

What can I do to make this better? What steps are you guys taking? This have been killing my confidence about myself and I have not dated anyone since many years back.

Please give me some suggestions. Highly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Just use a bit of toppik. You wouldn't need much at all.

 

[Jakejr]

There are a lot of good suggestions. Cosmetically Hair so Real maybe light brown.. Or Toppik spray light brown will completely cover it. Your testosterone levels MAYBE slightly elevated, Stress does hurt. Iron MAYBE low.
Minoxidyl shouldn’t hurt. It’s just a vasodilator to get better blood flow.
Microneedling can’t hurt. It’s a regimen to thicken hair

 

[9982]

There are a lot of good suggestions. Cosmetically Hair so Real maybe light brown.. Or Toppik spray light brown will completely cover it. Your testosterone levels MAYBE slightly elevated, Stress does hurt. Iron MAYBE low.
Minoxidyl shouldn’t hurt. It’s just a vasodilator to get better blood flow.
Microneedling can’t hurt. It’s a regimen to thicken hair

Med to dark brown for sure. The lighter colors aren't as effective. My hair is lighter than in the picture and med brown works best. The spray is sh*t IMO

 

[Jakejr]

Trial & error… Whatever works…
I have darker roots, but lighter on ends.
I never thought covering scalp would result in thicker looking hair, but done right, you’ll look 10 years younger..

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I believe here, anyway, we have two percent Rogaine in the pink boxes. No one should use five percent without using two percent first and then titrating upwards. Also, from the little that I know about FPB, many times these problems will either fix themselves or they can be put back on a track to "normal" hair. Many women claim birth control triggered their hair loss and it can be very difficult for such women to get back to an "even keel" or whatever.

Essentially, the model med cocktail for females is .25mg oral minoxidil plus 25mg of spironolactone. Presumably most women already have enough estradiol but supplementing estradiol appears to work for some women.

 

[rapper dude]

I believe here, anyway, we have two percent Rogaine in the pink boxes. No one should use five percent without using two percent first and then titrating upwards. Also, from the little that I know about FPB, many times these problems will either fix themselves or they can be put back on a track to "normal" hair. Many women claim birth control triggered their hair loss and it can be very difficult for such women to get back to an "even keel" or whatever.

Essentially, the model med cocktail for females is .25mg oral minoxidil plus 25mg of spironolactone. Presumably most women already have enough estradiol but supplementing estradiol appears to work for some women.

Is spironolactone ok for guys to reduce water retention because of oral minoxidil?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Is spironolactone ok for guys to reduce water retention because of oral minoxidil?

Okay? I mean it should work as a diuretic and NaCl depleter as it is a potassium-sparing diuretic. I just don't like the stuff and I am someone who easily, for instance at this moment, tolerates both duta and finasteride. I mean I wouldn't go past 25mg because spironolactone has very strong effects on physical strength that estrogen lacks. It has to do with receptor blocking changing the estradiol experience and instead hitting perhaps too broadly at uninvolved receptors.

All AA's are synthetic and not recommended for the very long run. But spironolactone won't hurt your health or anything permanently. Boy did I have a massive shed when on 200 mg of spironolactone. I mean this was the shed of all sheds, lol. I think you should see if moderating your oral min dose solves the swelling problem and regardless, you should gain some tolerance of the weight effects.

 

[iCloud]

I believe here, anyway, we have two percent Rogaine in the pink boxes. No one should use five percent without using two percent first and then titrating upwards.

Essentially, the model med cocktail for females is .25mg oral minoxidil plus 25mg of spironolactone. Presumably most women already have enough estradiol but supplementing estradiol appears to work for some women.

5% is better than 2% minoxidil. 25mg of spironolactone is also too low a dosage for hair loss. Often between 100-200mg is prescribed.
The pictures look like Androgenetic Alopecia but a proper diagnosis is needed. If it’s Androgenetic Alopecia, then best not go for pink boxes and “light” treatments.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

5% is better than 2% minoxidil. 25mg of spironolactone is also too low a dosage for hair loss. Often between 100-200mg is prescribed.
The pictures look like Androgenetic Alopecia but a proper diagnosis is needed. If it’s Androgenetic Alopecia, then best not go for pink boxes and “light” treatments.

No, five percent is not better for females in general or for males for that matter starting out. Everyone complains about sheds of five percent but all we had in the olden days was two percent and I don't recall people treading in fear of minoxidil sheds. Second, going from two percent to five percent is a kind of titration which is pretty much always the best way to introduce meds that might have sides.

Standard female dosage of oral minoxidil = .25mg plus 25 mg of spironolactone so women need far less minoxidil in general. 200 mg of spironolactone might cause a mad shed in females or XY's and I can testify to that.

 

[iCloud]

25mg of spironolactone is really not the recommended dose for women. Mostly it is 100mg that is prescribed by dermatologists.
I had a massive shed from starting minoxidil 5%, but then later lots of regrowth.
it’s just not true that hair loss in women is mild or will fix itself and needs lighter treatments.

 

[Diffused_confidence]

I had a massive shed from starting minoxidil 5%, but then later lots of regrowth.

No, five percent is not better for females in general or for males for that matter starting out. Everyone complains about sheds of five percent but all we had in the olden days was two percent and I don't recall people treading in fear of minoxidil sheds. Second, going from two percent to five percent is a kind of titration which is pretty much always the best way to introduce meds that might have sides.

Looks like fda approved 5% for men and women, it's just branded for men. So 5% should be fine. I'm no expert on spironolactone but I read somewhere that topical spironolactone was a thing but it doesn't absorb very well. Oral spironolactone is not recommended for a majority of men.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Looks like fda approved 5% for men and women, it's just branded for men. So 5% should be fine. I'm no expert on spironolactone but I read somewhere that topical spironolactone was a thing but it doesn't absorb very well. Oral spironolactone is not recommended for a majority of men.

It has nothing to do with FDA approval. If people don't understand the concept of benevolent shedding and starting at a lower dose than maximum then we are all wasting our time. It's because such shedding causes inflammation so you don't want to start at five percent. Nobody to my knowledge was talking about men. It says 28 year old female. Now the last quote should say if used at all, but I know I have heard several guys say that spironolactone needs a liver pass. I hate the stuff but it doesn't have the same sides for XX's plus they need far less. Unfortunately, it seems like many women struggle just as much with this as we do issue of non-responding to baldness meds. I have discussed this with a few XX's on here and sadly, none of them are improving even if they use the same stuff that guys on HRT for the hair use.

Having that wide open part is just as embarrassing for them as a skin head is for us because I would keep looking at it just to study the hairline and hair loss pattern.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/news/education/understanding-shedding-hair-loss-treatment/

 

[iCloud]

Unfortunately, it seems like many women struggle just as much with this as we do issue of non-responding to baldness meds. I have discussed this with a few XX's on here and sadly, none of them are improving even if they use the same stuff that guys on HRT for the hair use.

What exactly are their regimens? Do they involve 5AR inhibitors and minoxidil?