Can someone please help me understand what's happening with my hair?

[billy21]

Album here: http://imgur.com/a/4Q0QI

I'm 25.

About 4 years ago I suddenly noticed that my hairline had receded. I had never really thought about hairloss/going bald before so it completely snuck up on me and took me by surprise. I freaked out, did some research and started using rogaine on my receding hairline. I also started using that caffeine shampoo stuff. I’ve been doing this for about 4 – 5 years now. I have seen a little regrowth; it’s thinner and whispy though but I’m primarily using it to stop any further loss. (Upon joining this forum, I’ve realised it may just be a case of my hairline ‘maturing’ and not actually be a sign of male pattern baldness).

My hair is longer currently than it has been for about 2 years. I’ve noticed that when I’m in the shower, I seem to be getting lots of hair coming out in my hands when I’m shampooing. When I’m styling my hair, there seems to be lots of it sitting in the sink when I’m done. Now, I’m not sure if I’m losing more hair than usual or if it’s just longer so I’m noticing it more. However, I can’t really pinpoint exactly where I'm losing it from. My hair hasn’t receded any further, it just seems to be coming out from all over. I’m really, really stressing about it though and so decided to join this forum to seek your advice.

I took some pictures at my work desk (quiet day…) and decided to take a picture of my crown as well. I’ve never actually seen my crown much (because I can’t see the top of my head) and now after seeing it on a photo, I’m freaking out. It looks balder than the rest of my head, but I know that it’s normal to have a bald spot at your crown. But how bald is normal?

Also, my hair is generally and thankfully quite thick, but can anyone with more knowledge on this subject give me a rundown with what could be happening with my hair?

Am I going bald? Is my hairline receeding or is it just matured? Is my crown balder than it should be? Help, please!

 

[Dazzel]

Am I going bald ?
Answer : Depends on Genetics look at males on both sides of your family are they bald.

Is my hairline receding ?
Answer : Yes

Is it just matured ?
Answer : No, Why? Because you have miniaturizing hairs around your hairline.

You can either get on Propecia and minoxidil or Just take photo's every 6 months and compare and then jump on Propecia if its getting worse.

 

[billy21]

Thanks for your reply. I'm already using minoxidil on my hairline to stop it receding. I think the miniaturisation is just the thinner, whispy hairs growing as a result of that. I'm more concerned with my crown. Does it look bad? Or is it normal?

 

[Dazzel]

No, the crown does not look bad at the moment but it does look like its thinning a little. I would wait to see if it is getting worse and then apply minoxidil to the crown area. But it looks fine. just keep an eye on it

 

[billy21]

Thank you, you've made me feel much better! I'll keep an eye on it. I'm considering starting finasteride but I've read some articles about it causing breast cancer in men and it freaked me out.

 

[Dazzel]

You could put a question about it on here ?

 

[Vlatch]

You're receding, that's not a mature hairline.
Your hair looks good though, start finasteride now and expect to have a full head of hair in 20 years. Keep using minoxidil only and expect your hair loss to be noticeable in a few years.
You can also hope for a better treatment to be released soon (look into CB-03-01 and setipiprant).

 

[billy21]

I'm too scared to start finasteride because of the cancer risks

 

[Vlatch]

This is from a study :

Evidence of the association of Proscar with male breast cancer comes from the Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms (MTOPS) study, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored study of about 3047 men that compared Proscar, doxazosin, and the combination for the treatment of BPH (7). Men were randomly assigned to one of four treatment arms: Proscar and doxazosin (n = 786), Proscar (n = 768), doxazosin (n = 756), and placebo (n = 737). Four cases of breast cancer were reported. According to a letter from the NIH to the MTOPS principal investigators, one man in the Proscar/doxazosin group and three in the Proscar-alone group developed male breast cancer. The rate of breast cancer in this trial for men taking Proscar either alone or with doxazosin was therefore 4 in 1554, or nearly 200 times that of the general population.

The risk of breast cancer may be lower than that in the general population, the number of breast cancer cases was nearly too low to be statistically significant. The three cases in the proscar only group could be a coincidence, but still.
Finasteride can change the testosterone/estrogen ratio so it's not surprising there can be a correlation.

My plan is to take a 5ar inhibitor until hopefully a better treatment comes out, and if it doesn't it's still an occurence of only 1 in 400 patients in the course of 7 years.

It's a tough choice I agree, in the end it all depends on how you would feel if you were noticeably balding.

 

[billy21]

Thanks for the info. My hair loss is causing me a great deal of anxiety and stress and I'd be much happier with a nice head of hair. But if I got cancer a few years down the line I know I'd be devastated and wondering if it was worth it. It wouldn't be.

This is such a tough choice

Apparently vitamin D and E are 5ar inhibitors. I may buy some multivitamins and see if that has any effect.

 

[vivek960272]

Minoxidil

Thanks for your reply. I'm already using minoxidil on my hairline to stop it receding. I think the miniaturisation is just the thinner, whispy hairs growing as a result of that. I'm more concerned with my crown. Does it look bad? Or is it normal?

Minoxidil (brand name Rogaine) is the only drug which is FDA-approved to treat male and female "pattern baldness", and there is documented success, especially when started early. Get it from minoxidil15express.comMinoxidil (brand name Rogaine) is the only drug which is FDA-approved to treat male and female "pattern baldness", and there is documented success, especially when started early. Get it from minoxidil15express.com

 

[bilboswaggins]

Thanks for the info. My hair loss is causing me a great deal of anxiety and stress and I'd be much happier with a nice head of hair. But if I got cancer a few years down the line I know I'd be devastated and wondering if it was worth it. It wouldn't be.

This is such a tough choice

Apparently vitamin D and E are 5ar inhibitors. I may buy some multivitamins and see if that has any effect.

ok go step out into the sun all day soak up that juicy vitamin D. tell me how it works out for you buddy

 

[rogerackroyd]

If anything it is the sun that will give you cancer, not finasteride that is shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer instead of increasing it.

 

[cowboyunlimited]

That guy that said you have miniaturized hair on your hairline could be wrong btw, you don't have much small hairs there but even girls have these tiny hairs along the hairline, they're called baby hairs, they are only miniaturized or dieing hair if they have gone smaller over time. My sister has more small hairs around the hairline like that than me..

- - - Updated - - -

Example: http://gyazo.com/77c47866afe4de29ce2aa6e5aa4b261e

 

[Guy23]

There seems to be recession and the shedding is a comcern

 

[abcdefg]

That girl doesnt have baby hairs they just appear that way because they are by themselves so they are harder to see. The girl has no baby hairs or miniaturization. Miniaturizing hairs is male pattern baldness and it happens in men that are balding. Not many other reasons that can happen.
The choice to take a drug for a lifetime is a pretty tough one so I know how that goes. I never took anything either, but I acknowledge if it comes to that its the only choice if you want to try to stop it.