Evaluate my picture 22/M

[tool]

Big picture http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/600/december182005034012058pc.jpg

Sized Down Picture

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/6785/december18200503401205small3sy.jpg

I'm 22 and I've be self conscious of my hair for a year. Of course all my friends and family tell me I don't have a problem. "Oh you just have fine hair, or it's always been that way, oh that’s a cow lick." One of my professors (a bald one) told me he thought I might be going bald on the back area.

I've been afraid to take a picture of my head for about the whole year I’ve been worrying about it. What do you folks see in the picture?

I've done nothing so far. Do you think the finasteride approach is the way to go? I've heard that it can stop working after 5 years. Do i hope that medical discoveries keep coming to help me stay "ahead of the curve"? I've discussed it with my gf, she's against sexual side affects.

Can finasteride or proscar be prescribed by a regular family doctor, or do I have to see some sort of specialist?

I'm not sure if I could keep up with the tropical treatments.

 

[lithebod]

From your pic I could say there does seem to be some thinning at the top however its really impossible to say for sure as it is early days for you and your hair still looks in decent shape - from my own experience this is what convinced me I was losing my hair

1) each hair strand got thinner
2) Couldnt style hair in the way I used to
3) More scalp visible under direct light
4) Hairline receeding - so my forehead looks bigger

If you dont want to use topicals the only option left is finasteride - don't bother with Saw Palmetto or any of that - stick to the proven treatments and see how it works for you - this is the most common response you will get from anyone who talks sense. The other option is to live with hairloss until you find it gets "cosmetically unacceptable" to you. I started losing my hair around 23 but it wasnt noticeable until 27 - so once it got to the point where I wasnt happy with the way I looked I started doing something about it - although in hindsight I wish I had started at 25.

You can get finasteride prescribed from your regular doctor or you can purchase it from an online pharmacy

good luck!

 

[tool]

I just want to stay on top of this, because the earlier you catch it the better.

 

[Britannia]

I honestly think Nizoral shampoo used in rotation with American Crew reviatalise shampoo + conditioner + spray would be all you need for now. Then in the future finasteride may become a requirement. Minoxidil definately isnt for you.

 

[Petchsky]

I'm a pretty good spotter of of potential male pattern baldness victims, and it looks to me like you may be at th very early stages. Hairloss creeps up on you so the best thing you can do is a pull test, or scrub your hair over a white piece of paper and see how many hairs come out.

Also look back at old photographs and compare to now. I'm not a 100% but don't let denial make you wish you started earlier

 

[made_guy82]

hard to say man (don't listen to petchsky

I've always had majorly fine hair - i remember asking for a flat-top when i was 10 and my family hairdresser laughing as he said "you're hair is way to thin for that buddy!".

And my crown looks similar to yours - the thing is if I pull apart my hairs to recreate the change in direction of hairs at the crown anywhere else on my head, it is just as thin (i.e. same density, just that part of the head is a bit more showy cos the hairs all grow outward in direction).

That being said, i've been on minoxidil for at least 2 and half years and finasteride for a bit over a year now due to the damn stress of worrying about hairloss all the time. Think long and hard, its a decision for life...what I wouldn' give to be able to get up, have breakfast without a pill that I carefully cut into 5ths and have a shower without hurridly drying my hair to apply minoxidil with enough time to have it dry so I can put some product in to style before I go to work...