How bad am I on the norwood scale?

[cart-]

Hey all,

I'm new to this site and - at the tender age of 19 - have already began to experience fairly significant hair loss; I have always had a hairline that has been relatively far back but it has only become an insecurity within the past year or so. My main question is how bad is this on the Norwood scale, and how long do you estimate that it will merit me keeping enough hair to look good/merit me not having a buzz cut for? My mother's father had a full head of hair until his seventies, but my dad went bald at around 30 (I know it's an old wives' tale, but I thought I'd give some family history).

Also how many hairs is an alarming amount to lose in a day? Is it normal for you to shed a lot on some days but not very much on others?

Thank you for any answers given

p.s. sorry for the horrendous wording

 

[xRedStaRx]

Pretty bad.

This is a Norwood 3, which is the start of being officially bald. Normally people start shaving at that stage. Trust me, you'll look better.

 

[cart-]

Damn, thanks for the reply, if it gets much worse then I'll have to bite the bullet, however it's still pretty easy to conceal

 

[zzzzz]

start finasteride, minoxidil, and nizoral 2% shampoo twice weekly (only use twice a week). This is known as the big3. Use minoxidil only on your hairline either once or twice daily (if used twice daily it might make your hair difficult to style when applied in the morning). This is pretty much all you can do but is effective

 

[cart-]

Wow, yours was really effective! I'll look into treatments, how expensive are "the big 3"? Any side effects? Do I have to get a prescription from a GP? In terms of my crown, would you say that it is a bald spot or a regular whorl? I've been quite paranoid over it recently, but looking back on old photos it hasn't changed in at least a year. Thank you for the reply.

 

[xRedStaRx]

Damn, thanks for the reply, if it gets much worse then I'll have to bite the bullet, however it's still pretty easy to conceal

Long hair cover-up game works with a Norwood 3. It can be sensitive though.

You should be jumping on treatments if you want to keep it that way at least.

 

[cart-]

This is going to sound fairly dumb, but how long does someone sustain a NW3? If it were to get much worse, say, within a year then I'll go for treatment although I feel fairly reluctant.

 

[zzzzz]

This is going to sound fairly dumb, but how long does someone sustain a NW3? If it were to get much worse, say, within a year then I'll go for treatment although I feel fairly reluctant.

it varies and is completely unpredictable. You could be completely bald 3 years from now or it could barely get worse. I would say it is very likely your hair loss won't stop without treatment though as your pics show clear signs that your hair is continuing to miniaturize/recede. There is no way to tell. Your crown has no obvious signs that male pattern baldness is beginning there it looks pretty normal. The side effects of the big 3 are mild, being almost nonexistent for minoxidil and nizoral, however finasteride causes sexual sides in about 2% of people who take it such as low libido, erectile dysfunction of varying severity, and gynocemastia. There are really no other sides besides random anecdotes. All sides are temporary and will go away within 2-3 weeks of discontinuing treatment if you do get them. You need a script for finasteride, not for the other two components of the big 3, but you really don't need one. You can get it online without one from alldaychemist. Finasteride is by far the most important, it stops male pattern baldness for most people, at least for a good number of years if not forever. minoxidil is a hair regrowth treatment which works great in combo with finasteride. nizoral is the least important but it helps a little bit with efficacy of the drugs and even has some anti-androgen properties and other things. You can get generic finasteride 5mg pills in the form of proscar and fincar for extremely cheap, literally pennies a day. You are in England so something like under 10 pounds a year wouldn't be unheard of. A standard dose is around .5mg-1.25mg, so you should buy a pill cutter if you get the 5mg pills and cut them in fourths, and take a fourth daily. minoxidil is around 33 cents/day and nizoral is just like any other shampoo

 

[DoctorHouse]

Damn, thanks for the reply, if it gets much worse then I'll have to bite the bullet, however it's still pretty easy to conceal

As long as you can slow things down and stay about the same, it will be easy to conceal. However, if you lose more density all over and you recede even more, your quasi-combover will be really hard to pull off. If I were in your shoes, I would not wait for it to get any worse. I would bite the bullet now.