Help advise me on my situation. (I've always had thin hair)

[futureman]

Okay, I just started worrying about male pattern baldness. Beforehand I had always written it off as simply the way my hair is thin and I have a high hairline. This is true. I have blonde hair which is very fine. This has always been like this, so even when I was a kid, when my hair was wet people would joke about how I looked like I was going bald. It didn't bother me because I knew it couldn't be true then. I haven't noticed any change in density. But recently I got a look at my brother. He certainly appears to be going through problems with thinning. But it seems like he has had that problem for a while now dating back, even to highschool. There is no baldness in my family per se. My mom's dad had hair. Her brother is a recessed hairline. My mom has fine hair that is somewhat balding I suppose. My dad has fine hair and he has an Old man's hairline. Nothing that would be considered balding, but it has recessed.

But now I'm only 23. I would have no problem ending up like my dad. I don't expect to have a youthful appearance forever. But right now, I suppose my hairline is at the "normal mature" point. I'm sure it's been recessing from the teenage point for a while, like is normal in all adults. I always thought it looked good. But recently seeing my brother has me worried. He also has a hairstyle that isn't conducive to thinning hair. I mean its kind of long and he also has bangs, which will look awful if you are receeding at the temples.

But I thought about starting with Rogaine at the moment. I figured that it would have the dual benefits of helping cover up balding areas and give me thicker hair. I'm in no sense really bad off at the moment, Truely, I could deal with a receeding hairline if the rest of my hair were to get thicker. That would be fine with me.

But I am hesitant to start anything at the moment for the following reason: Isn't anything that would thicken my hair going to also cause shedding? As I understood it, shedding has to occur for the new growth phase because it can't make the hair bigger without starting over. That's why shedding is evidence of a working treatment. Well, i'm wondering how bad shedding will look with me, with my thin hair. Is there any kind of thing other than minoxodil that will thicken my hair that is pretty much accepted among the community? My main desire wold be to thicken what I've got. I'm not really interested in regrowing my hair that I've lost, as I'm comfortable with my hairline at the moment. I just dont' want it going any further.

Because of this I'm thinking that growth stimulants are the way to go. I bought some 2 % minoxidil and was thinking of starting. I'm just too worried about shedding. I wish I knew how bad it would be vs. how bad my hair will look before the shedding stops. Obvioiusly there is a chance my hair will get a lot thicker, but then I am also faced with the prospect that the shedding will make it look bad.

So does anyone have any advice? Is there something that I can use to actually make my hair thicker (not just appear thicker) What about Nizoral, and TGel. Should I concern myself with these?

 

[futureman]

sorry for the shameless bump, but did I do something wrong here?

I don't know if this kind of post isn't normal or something, but I was just curious if anyone could tell me how to thicken my normal hair not succumbing to male pattern baldness. And if I do use something, will it make me shed first?

 

[juststarting]

Simply put, no one knows whether or not you will have a shed.

You should start finasteride & Nizoral to prevent further loss of what you have...Rogain just stimulates, it doesn't prevent the initial damage (as you are well aware).

 

[pbz]

And if you decide to go with Minoxidil, you should use the 5% version.

 

[arjun17]

Hi futureman, I'm in the same boat as u!

I too have fine hair, just like my dad and paternal grandad - and a high hairline as well (nearly 3" away from my eyebrows).
That said, my hairline has'nt receded at all - the corners (temples) are perfectly squared off as of now. They're quite dense as well - they're unlikely to even start going for atleast 5-6 years (I'm 17 now). My dad has only a 1.5cm or so recession at the corners, which has stayed the same since he was 30 or so (he's 50 now). That fits quite well with the definition of a "mature hairline". Now he's got a little diffuse thinning all over the top and crown(which is technically called Diffuse Patterned Alopecia, because it excludes the sides and back just like regular male pattern baldness), but it never goes very bad (there is still much more hair visible than scalp) in our family even into the 80's.
So if my only problem is some diffuse thinning well into old age, that's quite acceptable to me.
I don't know whether u can thicken naturally fine hair using minoxidil. You cannot increase the number of hairs on your head by any method, but MAYBE minoxidil might help in slightly increasing the diameter of your individual hairs. U could give it a try.
About your hairline , since when has it been receding? Approximately how much has it receded (in cm)? Is it receding slowly or quickly? If slowly, it may be a mature hairline, but then again , it may not. If its quick, then its almost certainly balding. And if it exceeds 2.5cm, then also its very likely to be balding. Also check the general density of your hairline (in mature hairline, the hairline remains thick with only some recession at the corners, in balding , the entire front starts thinning out along with the recession) and your crown.
Cheers,
Arjun

 

[need_hair04]

your situation of having thin hair is something like what I have. Ever since I was a kid I remember always having thin hair and that really never changes. I used to keep my hair pretty long so it wasnt so bad, but when I cut it short I finally realized how thin it was. Trust me I heard it all, "wow your hair's thin", at 13 people thought I was going bald. To make that any better my entire mothers side went bald at an early age making me scared to even turn 18 (usually when it would start in my family). However my dad always had hair and thin as well so I had hope.

anyway to make a long story short i'm 21 now and still have just as much hair as I had when I was 13, and I even went on propecia when i was 19 but I quite after 4 months of use as I realized once again that I'm not actually going bald.

I as well wanted thicker hair so I began to take dietary supplements, the one that worked amazing for me was "eluhair", took 4 months for me to notice the difference but my hair within a year turned darker and thicker (strands). The basics behind this is that I still do have thin hair but the follicles themselves are thickening ironically more at the top then on the sides and back where the hair is now slightly thinner. The fact still remains that the amound of hair or thickness of hair will always be the same just the strands can get thicker which make it look better.

I hope this helps, just remember that it all comes down to how you eat as well, for those of us that are suseptable to DHT propecia is exactly what is needed but for this case you should be just fine with supplements (Biotin, Zinc etc, etc).

 

[arjun17]

Does'nt it really suck having always had thin hair !!!

Hi needhair04,
it really sux getting the comments from many people that "you're going to go bald" or even that "you're already going bald" Last year (when I was 16), plenty of people would tell me that, EVEN f*****g bastards who have everybody bald on both sides of their family (talk about people in glass houses throwing stones!) Its sick, getting these comments at such ages as 13 and 16 ,is'nt it?I tried to explain that people are born with varying amount of hair , and no matter how thin or thick your hair naturally is, once male pattern baldness hits u, its going to **** your hair so badly that after a decade or two while you won't even believe that u once had thick hair on what is now slick scalp. But some people are just so stupid its not funny
One guy used to gleefully tell me last year "you're going bald" and laugh at how thin my hair was. But for the last few months, he has become very quiet. Guess why? HIS HAIRLINE IS RECEDING .... AND HE IS NOT EVEN 19 YET . The fool used to brush back his hair before, but now makes a sorry attempt to hide his rather large recessions by combing his hair forward.
Serves the bastard right, I'd say.
U also say that a lot of people thought u were balding in your teens. Have there been any occasions where u felt like tearing someone's hair out (literally bcoz they bugged u about your hair?
Cheers,
Arjun

 

[viperfish]

Futureman,
I have blonde thin shitty hair just like you described. If I were you I would consider propecia. However, if you want thickening then look into the lasercomb. I have had great thickening from using this. It is approved by the FDA for thickening. However, it is a bit expensive $650.

 

[futureman]

Wow, thanks a lot for the help guys.

I am not so sure what is going on here, but I never really had much of a problem with my hair at all until very recently, and suddenly I've become so self-conscious of it. I recently cut my hair, and probably pulled some of it loose in the process! That could be a reason.

Also, I'd have to say that I've probably been very hard on my body sinc around January. Like drinking every night, eating very little, and working really hard on my thesis. Oh, and I quit smoking around this time too. I suppose I should just take some vitamins and some supplements?

Right now its passable. I've always had the high hairline. My dad has fine hair bo no balding, to be precise. Just a recessed hairline. The thing is that I've never really paid attention to my hairline. The last time I studied it was probably when I was 18 or so, and it was very high. I've been studying pictures lately of myself from the past trying to discern my hair. I realized that my hair actually looks like that then too! Its really psychological more than anything.

But what about using Nizoral? My hair is fine at the moment, but I want to take preventative action at the earliest possible point when it is reasonable. I just don't want to take it now, when I'm happy with my hair and get shedding that makes me sad about it. I suppose the first thing would be to start taking better care of myself and eating right. I've always been a picky eater and would probably eat around half of the calories that I needed in a day. Like maybe a cup of coffee and a cheeseburger for lunch. That would probably be it, if I didn't go out that night, where beer would be added. But I went out a lot.

Anyways though, if this is the effect of hard living, then I gotta stop.

My brother has a worse problem than me. But I seem to remember him using Nizoral when he was in highschool. Plus he has haircut that doesn't go well with our types of hairlines.

But I know that baldness isn't only a mother-only gene. But my relatives on both sides only had a sort of "old-man" hairline. I mean I wouldn't expect to make it to 80 with a norwood I type of hairline. But I can't say that I've ever had that to tell the truth.


Nah, it never really bothered me that people woudl say that I was going bald. I thought that I never would due to my genes. But now I'm worried. I am mainly thinking that it is coming on faster than it should.

But then again who knows. I'll look at the eluhair stuff, because overall thickness is what I'd really like. I've always wanted thicker hair since I was little anyway.

Althought it would kind of suck for it to be darker! I mean I like having blonde hair! Oh well..

But thanks for the help guys. I'll try a lifestyle change first and see if that doesn't help. I am not at such a critical moment right now, but I'll try those supplements.