I am back after 5 years. …might finally be losing my hair at 30

[Jake1996]

Hi everyone,

If you check my profile, you'll see I've been worrying about hair loss on and off for the past 8–9 years. Looking back, my hair was actually thick and healthy. My hairline has matured a bit since then, but I still think my hair looks good overall.

Recently, though, I've noticed a significant increase in shedding. The first photo shows the amount of hair that came out after a 10-minute scalp massage. Does that seem normal, or could it be an early sign of male pattern baldness?

I have an appointment at a hair clinic next week to get it checked professionally.

I'm also considering starting finasteride to preserve what I have for the next 10–15 years.

What do you think?

 

[Yar]

Hi everyone,

If you check my profile, you'll see I've been worrying about hair loss on and off for the past 8–9 years. Looking back, my hair was actually thick and healthy. My hairline has matured a bit since then, but I still think my hair looks good overall.

Recently, though, I've noticed a significant increase in shedding. The first photo shows the amount of hair that came out after a 10-minute scalp massage. Does that seem normal, or could it be an early sign of male pattern baldness?

I have an appointment at a hair clinic next week to get it checked professionally.

I'm also considering starting finasteride to preserve what I have for the next 10–15 years.

It's just normal androgenic alopecia from testosterone. It's nothing serious. Everyone goes bald from testosterone, even those with FTM! Better yet, say hello to baldness!

 

[Yar]

Hi everyone,

If you check my profile, you'll see I've been worrying about hair loss on and off for the past 8–9 years. Looking back, my hair was actually thick and healthy. My hairline has matured a bit since then, but I still think my hair looks good overall.

Recently, though, I've noticed a significant increase in shedding. The first photo shows the amount of hair that came out after a 10-minute scalp massage. Does that seem normal, or could it be an early sign of male pattern baldness?

I have an appointment at a hair clinic next week to get it checked professionally.

I'm also considering starting finasteride to preserve what I have for the next 10–15 years.

What do you think?

It all started the same way for me. First, my hair density decreased, and I shook out hundreds of strands of hair in front of the sink every day. Then my temples started to thin out, and my forehead became clearly visible. Then the left side of my head thinned more than the right, and my left bald spot became clearly visible.

 

[Jake1996]

It all started the same way for me. First, my hair density decreased, and I shook out hundreds of strands of hair in front of the sink every day. Then my temples started to thin out, and my forehead became clearly visible. Then the left side of my head thinned more than the right, and my left bald spot became clearly visible.

I guess mine isn’t that bad yet. I am just questioning if I should start Finasteride to see if I can keep my hair for as long as possible. Of course always worries about side effects.

 

[Yar]

I guess mine isn’t that bad yet. I am just questioning if I should start Finasteride to see if I can keep my hair for as long as possible. Of course always worries about side effects.

The sooner you start, the better. Don't miss the opportunity to identify androgenetic alopecia.

 

[Jpw1999]

Your temples have clearly receded and when I look at your old photos from 2019, you had the warning signs of male pattern baldness which were the small miniaturised hairs at the hairline.

Your hair looks great for a 30 year old that has never taken meds.

 

[Elithair]

Hi everyone,

If you check my profile, you'll see I've been worrying about hair loss on and off for the past 8–9 years. Looking back, my hair was actually thick and healthy. My hairline has matured a bit since then, but I still think my hair looks good overall.

Recently, though, I've noticed a significant increase in shedding. The first photo shows the amount of hair that came out after a 10-minute scalp massage. Does that seem normal, or could it be an early sign of male pattern baldness?

I have an appointment at a hair clinic next week to get it checked professionally.

I'm also considering starting finasteride to preserve what I have for the next 10–15 years.

What do you think?

Let me start with the photo worrying you most, because it's misleading. That sink is hair from a deliberate 10-minute massage, and vigorous massage dislodges everything already loose and at the end of its cycle at once, gathering a day or two of normal shedding into one dramatic pile. It looks alarming, but as a measure of whether you're balding it tells you very little.
From the scalp photos your hair looks good, and a matured hairline at 30 is a normal change, not balding in itself. So on appearance I wouldn't raise alarms.

That said, a real rise in everyday shedding, separate from the massage test, is worth taking seriously as a possible early sign, and your appointment next week is the right step. The thing to have them check is miniaturisation, whether finer, thinner hairs are mixed in among the normal ones, because that distinguishes early pattern loss from ordinary shedding far better than any sink count.

On finasteride, your reasoning is sound. If this is early pattern loss, the best time to preserve is while the hair still looks good, since finasteride holds far better than it regrows, so protecting a full head is easier than rebuilding a thinned one. I'd just let next week's assessment confirm it's genuinely pattern loss first, so you're treating the right thing rather than starting a lifelong medication off one alarming photo.
This is general guidance and not a substitute for being assessed in person.