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As I've been on HairLossTalk.com, I've noticed a lot of new members (though not all) that have joined who have zero hair loss and are freaking out over it. I though I'd create this forum to help new members to look over before they post about freaking out about possibly non-existent hair loss.
Without further ado, here is the guide for hair loss for new members on their hair loss.
Part 1: What is your Norwood?
One of the easiest ways to assess and measure your hair loss is the Norwood scale . Below is the Norwood chart:
Pull your hair as far back as you possibly can (not too aggressively) and compare it to the chart above. Your hairline may not perfectly fit one of these above drawings. Pick the closest one your hairline looks to. If you are still highly unsure, you can ask members on the forum:.
Note: Important Considerations Regarding the Norwood Scale
"Norwood 0":
Your hairline may not necessarily be straight across, but rather it will have very rounded corners downards that meet with the temple points akin to a female hairline. If you have a hairline like this, the chance of getting male pattern baldness is extremely low, if not zero. You can go leave this forum now. Come back in a decade.
Type V (Vertex) Patterns:
Your hair loss may not progress through the traditional Norwood 1-Norwood 7 patterns. In some cases, you may begin to bald from the crown region to the hairline regardless of your Norwood.
Type A (Anterior) Patterns:
In most cases, a receding hairline will start with more significant temple recession, followed by slower forelock (middle of the hairline) recession. However, the forelock and the temples may recede together, resulting in the hairline becoming more of a half-moon shape encompassing the head.
Diffuse Thinning:
In some cases, at any Norwood, you may begin to experience and overall reduction in hair density on the top of the head, only the crown, or all over. The easiest ways to assess this are to take a shower and look at the top of your scalp and crown when it's wet, or to get your hair buzzed. If you see scalp/skin in any region of the scalp when it's wet, then that area is thinning. If you get a buzzcut and notice areas of your hair that have visually fewer numbers of hair follicles, then that area is thinning.
Part 2: The Proper Courses of Action for each Norwood:
Depending on what Norwood you are at, your course of action will vary significantly. Here are the advisable courses of action for each Norwood:
Norwood 1:
Nothing. You have no hair loss. Come back in a year if you still have concerns. Enjoy your life.
Norwood 2:
Monitor your hairline every 3 months. Take good pictures, in good light, of your hairline, your temples, the top of your scalp, and the crown. Both dry and wet. Make sure your pictures are consistent in lighting and quality. If you see a significant change in any of these regions, then finasteride is recommended to slow or stop your hair loss. See Men's Solutions -> Hair Loss Treatments -> Finasteride Propecia for more details on it. Also many posts on this drug on the forum. It is not a drug to play around with. You may also be interested in minoxidil, though it is probably not highly needed at this stage. For more info, see Men's Solutions -> Hair Loss Treatments -> Minoxidil Rogaine.
Norwood 3:
Look for pictures of your hairline when you were a child. If you had this hairline when you were a child, then you were just screwed by your genetics. If this is the case, follow the same advice for Norwood 2. If not, however, then getting on finasteride urgently is highly recommended to preserve your hair. Minoxidil is also highly recommended.
Norwood 4:
Get on finasteride as soon as you can to keep your remaining hair. Minoxidil highly recommended. A hair transplant should also be considered for significant improvement.
Norwood 5:
Get on finasteride as soon as possible. Hair transplant highly recommended. Minoxidil will likely not bring promising results on its own.
Norwood 6:
Get a hair transplant if you can. If you can, get on finasteride to hold the newly transplanted hair. Otherwise, just shave it all off.
Norwood 7:
Shave it all off. Game over at this point.
Additional Notes:
If you have diffuse thinning or either of the type a or v patterns, and are not far along the Norwood scale, get on finasteride as soon as posssible. Consider minoxidil appropriately. If you are far along the scale, shave it all off.
Regardless of your Norwood, using Nizoral shampoo a few days a week or another ketocanozale-based shampoo will make the treatments more effective by reducing scalp inflammation. It is an essential.
Part 3: How to Psychologically Cope With Male Pattern Baldness
In order to answer this question, some myths about male pattner baldness will need to be crushed.
"Bald men are sexy/hot, compared to men with full heads of hair."
This is plain false. Hair loss will make you look about 5-10 years older than your actual age. When you lose your hair, there is nothing that can frame your overall face. Thus, this makes it look like the top of your face extends into infinity. This will disrupt the rule of thirds, which is that faces which are 1/3 forehead, 1/3 mid-face (eyes and nose), and 1/3 lower-face(chin and jaw) are considered the most attractive. Concretely speaking, your attractivess will go down by about 2-3 points compared to having a full head of hair.
"Society thinks bald men are the scourge and laughing stock of the Earth."
This is true to an extent; bald men are sometimes portrayed as pathetic and weak in the media against a strong fullhead counterpart; there will also probably be that one jerk at work or one of your friends who constantly points it out and makes fun of it. However, in the grand scheme of things, bald men can certainly rise to the top of corporate hierarchies and land hot women; some can even be successful actors (The Rock, Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, etc). In other words, your hair loss is not an excuse to fail in other avenues of your life. Don't let the worst of the forum try to tell you otherwise.
Part 4: Closing
Overall, your hair is a vauable asset that you should strive to protect by following the appropriate course of action. I can't possibly cover everything about hair loss in this post,but this should certainly get you started.
Additional Information From Senior and Highly Experienced Members welcomed.
Without further ado, here is the guide for hair loss for new members on their hair loss.
Part 1: What is your Norwood?
One of the easiest ways to assess and measure your hair loss is the Norwood scale . Below is the Norwood chart:
Pull your hair as far back as you possibly can (not too aggressively) and compare it to the chart above. Your hairline may not perfectly fit one of these above drawings. Pick the closest one your hairline looks to. If you are still highly unsure, you can ask members on the forum:.
Note: Important Considerations Regarding the Norwood Scale
"Norwood 0":
Your hairline may not necessarily be straight across, but rather it will have very rounded corners downards that meet with the temple points akin to a female hairline. If you have a hairline like this, the chance of getting male pattern baldness is extremely low, if not zero. You can go leave this forum now. Come back in a decade.
Type V (Vertex) Patterns:
Your hair loss may not progress through the traditional Norwood 1-Norwood 7 patterns. In some cases, you may begin to bald from the crown region to the hairline regardless of your Norwood.
Type A (Anterior) Patterns:
In most cases, a receding hairline will start with more significant temple recession, followed by slower forelock (middle of the hairline) recession. However, the forelock and the temples may recede together, resulting in the hairline becoming more of a half-moon shape encompassing the head.
Diffuse Thinning:
In some cases, at any Norwood, you may begin to experience and overall reduction in hair density on the top of the head, only the crown, or all over. The easiest ways to assess this are to take a shower and look at the top of your scalp and crown when it's wet, or to get your hair buzzed. If you see scalp/skin in any region of the scalp when it's wet, then that area is thinning. If you get a buzzcut and notice areas of your hair that have visually fewer numbers of hair follicles, then that area is thinning.
Part 2: The Proper Courses of Action for each Norwood:
Depending on what Norwood you are at, your course of action will vary significantly. Here are the advisable courses of action for each Norwood:
Norwood 1:
Nothing. You have no hair loss. Come back in a year if you still have concerns. Enjoy your life.
Norwood 2:
Monitor your hairline every 3 months. Take good pictures, in good light, of your hairline, your temples, the top of your scalp, and the crown. Both dry and wet. Make sure your pictures are consistent in lighting and quality. If you see a significant change in any of these regions, then finasteride is recommended to slow or stop your hair loss. See Men's Solutions -> Hair Loss Treatments -> Finasteride Propecia for more details on it. Also many posts on this drug on the forum. It is not a drug to play around with. You may also be interested in minoxidil, though it is probably not highly needed at this stage. For more info, see Men's Solutions -> Hair Loss Treatments -> Minoxidil Rogaine.
Norwood 3:
Look for pictures of your hairline when you were a child. If you had this hairline when you were a child, then you were just screwed by your genetics. If this is the case, follow the same advice for Norwood 2. If not, however, then getting on finasteride urgently is highly recommended to preserve your hair. Minoxidil is also highly recommended.
Norwood 4:
Get on finasteride as soon as you can to keep your remaining hair. Minoxidil highly recommended. A hair transplant should also be considered for significant improvement.
Norwood 5:
Get on finasteride as soon as possible. Hair transplant highly recommended. Minoxidil will likely not bring promising results on its own.
Norwood 6:
Get a hair transplant if you can. If you can, get on finasteride to hold the newly transplanted hair. Otherwise, just shave it all off.
Norwood 7:
Shave it all off. Game over at this point.
Additional Notes:
If you have diffuse thinning or either of the type a or v patterns, and are not far along the Norwood scale, get on finasteride as soon as posssible. Consider minoxidil appropriately. If you are far along the scale, shave it all off.
Regardless of your Norwood, using Nizoral shampoo a few days a week or another ketocanozale-based shampoo will make the treatments more effective by reducing scalp inflammation. It is an essential.
Part 3: How to Psychologically Cope With Male Pattern Baldness
In order to answer this question, some myths about male pattner baldness will need to be crushed.
"Bald men are sexy/hot, compared to men with full heads of hair."
This is plain false. Hair loss will make you look about 5-10 years older than your actual age. When you lose your hair, there is nothing that can frame your overall face. Thus, this makes it look like the top of your face extends into infinity. This will disrupt the rule of thirds, which is that faces which are 1/3 forehead, 1/3 mid-face (eyes and nose), and 1/3 lower-face(chin and jaw) are considered the most attractive. Concretely speaking, your attractivess will go down by about 2-3 points compared to having a full head of hair.
"Society thinks bald men are the scourge and laughing stock of the Earth."
This is true to an extent; bald men are sometimes portrayed as pathetic and weak in the media against a strong fullhead counterpart; there will also probably be that one jerk at work or one of your friends who constantly points it out and makes fun of it. However, in the grand scheme of things, bald men can certainly rise to the top of corporate hierarchies and land hot women; some can even be successful actors (The Rock, Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, etc). In other words, your hair loss is not an excuse to fail in other avenues of your life. Don't let the worst of the forum try to tell you otherwise.
Part 4: Closing
Overall, your hair is a vauable asset that you should strive to protect by following the appropriate course of action. I can't possibly cover everything about hair loss in this post,but this should certainly get you started.
Additional Information From Senior and Highly Experienced Members welcomed.
