Hi guys, first off I just wanna say thanks to anyone who will help me out with this, its really bothering me lately.
I'm 22, and have always had a fairly mature widows peak, even at 15-16-17, it was high for my age, but I've always had a decent amount of hair on my head.
Some quick facts
My dad was completely bald by 19
His brothers the same
My mums side of the family cling onto their hair with a mature hairline
I have older cousins with full heads of hair
Now my scalp went through a VERY bad phase four-six months ago in which I had lumps on dry patches, white flaky and huge, that could only be scratched off. Unfortunately nothing worked, until my doctor prescribed me Nizoral 2%. Great! Not really. I went on to use it for FOUR-SIX months, after not reading the paper that came with it that said not to use it for that long, and that a side effect could be hair loss
I've provided a little timeline of pictures right until I started using Nizoral, as well as after:
Before Nizoral
http://i.imgur.com/EQ9xN8n.jpg
Edit: I am aware that Nizoral can be used to treat hair loss. That isn't why I used it, as my hair was fine before it, just my scalp wasn't. Hair loss is also a side effect if used incorrectly I've heard ( and read )
After Nizoral (Four months later, last month)
www.i.imgur.com/LkNeiTd.jpg
I never had the best hairline, but until four months ago, I was more than happy with it.
Belgravia Center Experience
So I went to a Belgravia center in London and saw who they said was their most qualified professional on site. They talked to me about treatments before anything, and then I explained my Nizoral situation and how this has only been a problem in the last six months, she seemed to ignore all of this and continue.
Firstly the room was very white and well lit directly above where customers would sit, which really brings out the worse in your hair (scalp becomes very visible) - secondly she took two photos, one of the front/top area, and one of the crown.
She said the crown area is completely unaffected by any thinning or baldness (this is where my dad balded completely at my age) - but that there was thinning directly above my hairline and at the edges of my hairline, she concluded that it was male pattern baldness but said it is a very slow process, so would mostly take years before hair in the thinning areas is completely gone. This was good news, as it meant I can now grow my hair out and enjoy what I have left of it.
The only problem with all this is that they didn't even give me a hint of knowledge as to why my scalp is red in the areas that are thinning, even though I'm doing my best not to scracth any flakes off anywhere on my head.
I chose not to buy, as a year on minoxidil came to £780 with no confirmation that my hairline would really thicken to what it looked like six months ago, but truthfully, they didn't seem to care much about my scalp issue, and were more focused on trying to sell me minoxidil at a crazy price
My question was: Is this male pattern baldness, that coincidentally started during the time I was overusing Nizoral? Or are these the side effects of overusing such a harsh product, and will it return to its normal state?
UPDATE:
It's been a month since I originally tried to make this post, but for some reason it just won't pop up (still not sure it'll be made now..) but I've stopped Nizoral completely, results are below:
www.i.imgur.com/wBwrF5x.jpg
Hairline seems to have thickened, not fully, but much better than while on nizoral, sides are back to normal as is the crown which while not really affected, was still full of dead skin/dandruff on the scalp
I'm 22, and have always had a fairly mature widows peak, even at 15-16-17, it was high for my age, but I've always had a decent amount of hair on my head.
Some quick facts
My dad was completely bald by 19
His brothers the same
My mums side of the family cling onto their hair with a mature hairline
I have older cousins with full heads of hair
Now my scalp went through a VERY bad phase four-six months ago in which I had lumps on dry patches, white flaky and huge, that could only be scratched off. Unfortunately nothing worked, until my doctor prescribed me Nizoral 2%. Great! Not really. I went on to use it for FOUR-SIX months, after not reading the paper that came with it that said not to use it for that long, and that a side effect could be hair loss
I've provided a little timeline of pictures right until I started using Nizoral, as well as after:
Before Nizoral
http://i.imgur.com/EQ9xN8n.jpg
Edit: I am aware that Nizoral can be used to treat hair loss. That isn't why I used it, as my hair was fine before it, just my scalp wasn't. Hair loss is also a side effect if used incorrectly I've heard ( and read )
After Nizoral (Four months later, last month)
www.i.imgur.com/LkNeiTd.jpg
I never had the best hairline, but until four months ago, I was more than happy with it.
Belgravia Center Experience
So I went to a Belgravia center in London and saw who they said was their most qualified professional on site. They talked to me about treatments before anything, and then I explained my Nizoral situation and how this has only been a problem in the last six months, she seemed to ignore all of this and continue.
Firstly the room was very white and well lit directly above where customers would sit, which really brings out the worse in your hair (scalp becomes very visible) - secondly she took two photos, one of the front/top area, and one of the crown.
She said the crown area is completely unaffected by any thinning or baldness (this is where my dad balded completely at my age) - but that there was thinning directly above my hairline and at the edges of my hairline, she concluded that it was male pattern baldness but said it is a very slow process, so would mostly take years before hair in the thinning areas is completely gone. This was good news, as it meant I can now grow my hair out and enjoy what I have left of it.
The only problem with all this is that they didn't even give me a hint of knowledge as to why my scalp is red in the areas that are thinning, even though I'm doing my best not to scracth any flakes off anywhere on my head.
I chose not to buy, as a year on minoxidil came to £780 with no confirmation that my hairline would really thicken to what it looked like six months ago, but truthfully, they didn't seem to care much about my scalp issue, and were more focused on trying to sell me minoxidil at a crazy price
My question was: Is this male pattern baldness, that coincidentally started during the time I was overusing Nizoral? Or are these the side effects of overusing such a harsh product, and will it return to its normal state?
UPDATE:
It's been a month since I originally tried to make this post, but for some reason it just won't pop up (still not sure it'll be made now..) but I've stopped Nizoral completely, results are below:
www.i.imgur.com/wBwrF5x.jpg
Hairline seems to have thickened, not fully, but much better than while on nizoral, sides are back to normal as is the crown which while not really affected, was still full of dead skin/dandruff on the scalp
