Mature hairline or....something else? (hairline pics inside)

[Thickandthin]

My hairline has gotten a little worse since I joined this site last April. BUT - for some crazy reason I have been thinking I *might* only have a mature hairline. This was unthinkable to me a year ago but I have slowly come to that realization. On the other hand, I have some solid recession going on. Do you guys think it has receded too much to be classified as one?

April 2008

June 2008

Today

IMO the last picture is a little scary but could just be a bad angle - it makes my recession look huge but it's only about a finger's breadth on both sides. It could also be due to a shed as I started minoxidil foam about 2 1/2 months ago (hairline only).

Right now I am happy with my hair. I've come to terms with the recession and in fact have started styling my hair to expose my hairline. I think it looks kinda cool. But what I want to know is if you guys think I am just a typical early stage receder or will perhaps keep this hairline for a while.

And finally......don't trust all hairline pics you see. I took this one right after the last with my hair styled. Looks very......NW1.5? I love hair wax, but very misleading in terms of the actual status of my hairline.

 

[muhu]

I think you have no business on this site

 

[toocoolforhair]

I can't see any thinning hair so I think you should be safe.

 

[BodyDysmorphic]

i think it would help if you took a "profile shot" so we can see the temples better

 

[s.a.f]

How old are you? It does'nt seem to have gotten any worse.

 

[barcafan]

NW2.

 

[Tyler_Durden]

Yeah you need to take a better shot of the temples, without the hair in the front obscuring it. That last pic looks to me like you have some thinning in the temples and could up with the island of hair in the front, ala Jude Law, but I think you are doing the right thing by just documenting it and seeing how it goes.

I would/did jump on propecia at around this stage, so that is clearly what I would do if I was in your position, but others may disagree. I figure if you have caught it pretty early and find out you can tolerate propecia well, then why not get it as soon as possible before waiting and trying to reclaim what you had at this position.

Edit: Sorry, meant the 2nd last, not the last pic.

 

[heyitsthatguy]

Really hard to tell because your pulling the hair back with one hand instead of two. If it is still receding atleast its going back slowely I spose....

How old are you btw?

 

[Thickandthin]

I am 22, almost 23.

My frontal forelock has gotten worse over the last year. It has gotten smaller, and I have receded just a little more.

My left side has stayed about the same but my right side has now caught up with it.

My hair is still thick everywhere else, although under certain lighting I can see a tiny bit of scalp in the vertex area (if the entire area is spiked up). Not sure if that's normal or a sign of thinning though. It still feels as thick as the sides.

I'm really on the fence about it. I like my hair now and wouldn't worry about it if I knew it wasn't going to recede anymore, but I'm afraid I'm just going to keep receding until I'm a NW3...

 

[macimate]

I really don't think you have anything to worry about man

 

[Thickandthin]

Here's a couple of profile shots

This side looks better

I don't normally wear my hair so "Elvis" like, but thought that might show my hairline a little better.

Also, the forelock looks thick but is about 2/3rds of the density of the back and sides. Is that normal?

 

[Mr_T]

I'm not really sure about the forelock. Are you sure you're not just imagining that it's thinned out?

I remember your original post and I thought to myself "this guy has absolutely no reason to be worried about losing his hair". I highly doubt you'll lose much in the next 20 years or so. Am I right in saying there's not much history of male pattern baldness in your family?

It'd be a shame if you left the site though. You're one of the most level-headed people on here (no pun intended).

 

[Thickandthin]

I'm not really sure about the forelock. Are you sure you're not just imagining that it's thinned out?

I remember your original post and I thought to myself "this guy has absolutely no reason to be worried about losing his hair". I highly doubt you'll lose much in the next 20 years or so. Am I right in saying there's not much history of male pattern baldness in your family?

It'd be a shame if you left the site though. You're one of the most level-headed people on here (no pun intended).

I appreciate that.

I have major baldness on BOTH sides of the family. I don't think anyone was NW5+ in their 20s, but baldness abounds. My brother is 27 and has a slightly thinning crown already, and similar temple recession. Dad is basically a NW6 in the crown with a very high, thin hairline

I need to look into having a miniaturization test done, or perhaps buying a USB microscope and doing it myself.

The main thing that worries me is that I used to have long, thick bangs. Now my "fringe" is rather sparse and looks like crap. So I had to change hairstyles. Probably the very definition of hairloss, but I don't know if it's just a result of having more recession in the temples (hairline maturing) or actually losing in the forelock as well.

 

[Mr_T]

I have major baldness on BOTH sides of the family. I don't think anyone was NW5+ in their 20s, but baldness abounds.

Ah ok, apologies. I don't know why I thought you had relatively little male pattern baldness in our family. Looking at your hair if you are going to go bald it probably won't be for a while, in my opinion. Getting your hair mapped for miniturisation is a very sensible idea. That way you can have a better idea of what is going on and what measures you should be taking/don't have to take.

If there's no miniturisation you're as well to drop treatments and just keep a careful eye on your hairline and crown. Perhaps taking monthly pics? I just feel it's a shame for a young man like yourself to be wasting his youth worried about something that isn't even happening.