My Story - A College Freshman

[mn10]

Hey everyone, this forum has been helping me out a lot so I decided to finally make an account and make this thread. By the time I graduated high school, I had a full head of hair and went into college full of hope and optimism. By the end of my first year of college, my self confidence is pretty much all but completely destroyed. The best way to describe how my hair affects my daily life is that my hair is constantly on my mind. I sit in the back of lectures so people don't sit above me and can see the top of my head, I shy away from people significantly taller than me, I stopped looking for a partner completely, and I'm counting every hair that falls out of my head.

For a bit of background: I'm currently 19 years old (20 in October 2015), and I live a rather healthy lifestyle in that I'm normal weight for my size and age, I have a lot of physical activity (I play american football for my school and if I'm not playing I'm lifting weights), and I have no significant medical conditions/outstanding health issues. As far as my family history goes, my mother's father died with a decent head of hair, definitely thinning but still hair. My father on the other hand is completely bald, as is his father. The main difference, however, is that my father started balding in high school. Looking at his senior picture his hair was very noticeably thinning before he even graduated. My brother is 2 years older, and his hair is very receded but his crown isn't as thin as mine is. For my treatment, I started finasteride a little over a month ago (I started ~ June 15th) 2.5mg (I couldn't get the 5mg pill any smaller than half), and I honestly haven't noticed much of a change. I know it is still extremely early.

I'm overseas right now but when I return to school in mid-August I plan to pick up some nizoral shampoo and use rogaine 5% as well as the finasteride daily. I would attribute my current hair situation mostly to genetics, but I think it may have something to do with stress as well. I'm a Chemical Engineering major at a pretty good school; I have no downtime in my life and I never stop working. There have been many rough nights in my first two semesters when I could literally pull out clumps of hair from my head. I really hope to grow some of this hair back, but I really don't know whats going to happen. I will attach two pics from the top of my head, one with a flash and one without. My receding hairline is rather minimal, but one side of my head seems to be a lot thinner than the other. I think this may have something to do with the fact that my whole life I've brushed my hair to one side, and I've just recently cut my hair shorter so I've never seen that part of my hair so short. I'm still going to apply some rogaine there and see what happens. My goal is pretty simple, I just want to get to a point where people don't take one look at my head and say "oh wow, he's balding." My one last thing, I suppose, is I was wondering what kind of haircut I should go for with this kind of hair. I'm thinking of just buzzing my head as close as I can without actually shaving it off... I feel like that'll be pretty comfortable for football and if anyone asks I can always use that excuse.

Updates to follow in the following months.

PROPECIA START DATE: June 15th.

 

[mn10]

Hang in there buddy. Look at yourself, and picture yourself with a buzz cut. You think you have the facial features to pull it off?
It will be kind of hard to tell, but if you think you do then get a buzz cut. If you're feeling SUPER self-conscious, then buzz it. The last thing you want is to feel stressed out about your hair. However, I'm warning you that buzzing it might make you even more depressed. That was the case for me, I was not able to pull it off cuz I'm skinny as ****, I looked like a cancer patient.

Hey, thanks for the reply.
I'll be honest I do think I might have the facial features to pull it off... I'm pretty well built but most importantly I can grow facial hair like a champ:mrgreen:. I was thinking about just going for it, I still don't want to shave it off but a buzz might do me some good.

- - - Updated - - -

This isn't really so much of an update but more of an observation. After being on finasteride for approximately 1 month (more like 5 weeks), I've began to notice some shedding. After looking at the hairs, they are definitely thinner, i.e. darker at the top and lighter at the root. Additionally, the hairs that started falling out when I first noticed the shedding were longer, whereas now they tend to be much shorter, almost eyelash-length hair, despite my hair being generally longer. I'm not sure if this truly is shedding, or if the thinning is getting worse to the point where the hair doesn't grow long enough before it becomes too thin. Hope it's the former.

 

[2tite2014]

Sounds like you're shedding miniaturized hairs, which likely means they'll grow back thicker and stronger. Stick it out and power through it mate, it sounds like good things are coming your way.

 

[mariaabril]

Hey, thanks for the reply.
I'll be honest I do think I might have the facial features to pull it off... I'm pretty well built but most importantly I can grow facial hair like a champ:mrgreen:. I was thinking about just going for it, I still don't want to shave it off but a buzz might do me some good.

- - - Updated - - -

This isn't really so much of an update but more of an observation. After being on finasteride for approximately 1 month (more like 5 weeks), I've began to notice some shedding. After looking at the hairs, they are definitely thinner, i.e. darker at the top and lighter at the root. Additionally, the hairs that started falling out when I first noticed the shedding were longer, whereas now they tend to be much shorter, almost eyelash-length hair, despite my hair being generally longer. I'm not sure if this truly is shedding, or if the thinning is getting worse to the point where the hair doesn't grow long enough before it becomes too thin. Hope it's the former.

That's the spirit man. And good improvement for you. I didn't get the full improvements by several products and therapy besides Laser hair therapy.

 

[berkshire192]

Hang in there, look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[lanceu]

hang in there bro

 

[mn10]

Hey all! Thanks for the replies. I've been seeing people use some things outside of the regular propecia, nizoral, and rogaine routine. I still have about 15 days until I'm back in the US, so I'm wondering if there's anything else I should be looking into to help, I've only been looking into this topic for about two months now. Thanks!

 

[Dench57]

The 3 things you're using are the best hair loss regimen we have.

 

[Beating Baldness]

Hey man,

I would really re-consider using Propecia at such a young age. Have you considered natural DHT reducing supplements such as Saw Palmetto? I believe stress does have a lot to do with it. Try and get as much good quality sleep as you can, small amounts of exercise and learn to relax when you can. I was in a very similar position to you - during my last year of University I was losing so much hair, I was constantly stressed and my scalp felt tight against my skull all the time. I genuinely believe that lots of people just accept these feelings when it is your body trying to tell you something is wrong. We are over stimulated with so much information and made to work so hard in today's society. If more men relaxed and listened to their body - I don't think there would be such high incidences of hair loss. Just my 2 cents.

Best of luck. Keep us posted.

David

 

[mn10]

Hey Dench57 & Beating Baldness,
Thanks for the replies. I have thought quite a bit about taking propecia at my age, but I figured that it honestly probably is the best route. My physician had no quips about prescribing it, and I'm going to a dermatologist the first day I get back so I'll see what they have to say about it.

 

[mariaabril]

by the way your positiveness is quite impressive

 

[vineet]

i can feel you man really , i know how the hell this thing eats your life , you are going right , i am on my 3rd month and really looking for some changes in coming months .

 

[hanz123]

Hair loss

Try adding RU58841, neogenics, and lipogaine to ur regiment. If money isn't the issue, try getting on CB 03-01, I heard it drastically reduces hair fall

 

[Baldingyoung111]

Good work

Good work

 

[mn10]

Update #2 - Aug 10th

:worthless:

Hey everyone! Here's update number 2. I've been on propecia alone for a little less than two months now (approx 1 month, 25 days), and as I said last time my hair seems to be stabilizing. I mentioned in the previous post that the hairs falling out where smaller, and much thinner. Those hairs were, at the ends, the same color as the rest of my hair. A month later, the hairs that are falling out are about the same size, but a completely lighter color than the rest of my hair. Before I wrote this I was looking at the pictures, and I do think the non-flash one does look a little bit better, the flash one is about the same. I'll be home in 5 days, and I'm excited to get on the rogaine and nizoral shampoo. You may notice my hair is longer here as well, I'm planning on getting a buzz when I get back home. I'll post those pictures.

Thanks for all of the support, it means a lot. And in response to my attitude being positive, I just figure that I can't take it too seriously. I kind of like doing these experiments and, in the end, if it doesn't seem to work and I just can't get away with a short buzz I'll chop it all off and call it a lifetime of hair. Yeah, maybe people are more attracted to those with a full head of hair, but I can't be bothered with that. And who knows, maybe I'll run into a lot of money one day and get that hair transplant if it's bad enough. But at that point, it wouldn't be to attract someone else, it'd be so I can feel the wind in my hair while driving my Ferrari :laugh:

 

[youngandshedding]

Looking forward to seeing more progress pics

 

[mn10]

Looking forward to seeing more progress pics

Ask and you shall receive. Here are two more pics, at home this time and with a haircut. I think because the lighting will be changing from time to time the flash pictures give a better impression of what's happening (although the non-flash picture is the one I care about in the real world). I don't think there's been much progression, but again I'm only two months in.

I've started rogaine 5% and nizoral shampoo. Do you guys think the rogaine is worth it? I've seen some things about really nasty sheds on rogaine, and I'd rather not do that if I didn't have to. It's also just very messy (I'm using the liquid form),

I went to see a dermatologist, he classified my balding as non-scarring and diffuse (although I'm pretty sure I could've gotten that classification here if I had asked for it). He did also mention using rogaine once a day at night and then showering it out in the morning would be just as effective as using it twice a day. Thoughts on this? I'm mostly looking for experiences, because at the end of the day I'd probably take his advice over claims on some other website.

About to go to head back to school, so you will all probably receive another update in a few months. Good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

I thought I'd add that I was looking through old pictures just now to see when the most recent time without any hairloss was. By at least December of 2014 I had no signs of visible hairloss, and by may I had already received a few comments about how my hair was looking thinner/I had a bald spot. While that 5 months is about right for noticeable changes in hair density, I must also say that I think my thinning has a lot to do with stress. I was incredibly stressed in my spring semester, and it didn't really stop being stressful until early summer. I don't mean my hair (although that may have added to it initially), I'm talking about putting my life together stress haha. With that in mind my biggest goal is to stay relaxed, if not for my hair then at least for my physical well-being. Relation to hairloss aside, I know that kind of continuous stress definitely didn't do me any favors.

 

[mompo]

Hey man we were born the same year and we have exactly the same story! Even our hair looks the same lol looking forward to see your results and best of luck to the two of us !

 

[mn10]

Hey man we were born the same year and we have exactly the same story! Even our hair looks the same lol looking forward to see your results and best of luck to the two of us !

Hey! I actually saw your post the other day. I know you're using rogaine, I don't know if I want to go through the shed or not,, and deal with the oil every day. Did you experience any kind of shed?

 

[Bumblebee]

I'm 19 here too. Although I do have a little thicker hair right now than you had before taking finasteride, I just hope that I'll be able to regrow some hair like you when I go on it.