Ok guys, I have to admit it, I'm a full NW1

[BrightonBaldy]

with extreme diffue thinning in a NW4/5 pattern.

whats worse, diffuse thinning or a more classic receeding hairline/bald spot? of all my mates theres a few of us losing it, im the only one losing it as a diffuse thinner and i have to say all my mates look alot better than me.

 

[Tiger's Bald Spot]

I think diffuse is far, far worse.

When I grow my hair out, you can't even tell that I'm losing it. At most, you might think my crown is starting to become somewhat questionable.

However, I shaved my hair down last week, and I was horrified to see in pictures with a flash that I am diffuse thinning in a NW7 pattern (I could see the horshoe down the back).

My diffuse is perfectly diffuse - every area is equally thinned out such that when it's long you can't tell it's thinner. My past two hair dressers have told me that my hair is thick, and that I must be "happy" to know that I'm not going to go bald anytime soon. I was like uh....

Diffuse sucks because you never know how fast it is going to go. I am going to grow my hair out again, but I have no idea if it will become too thin in 1, 2, or 5 years. It sucks. At least with a receeding hairline you can kind of gauge how long you have.

 

[Thickandthin]

Diffuse is indeed worse. It looks better in the initial and moderate stages of hair loss, because you can buzz down or use concealer. But like you said - if diffuse in a NW5/6 pattern, that means ALL of that hair is basically living on life support and can vanish overnight.

Receders just look like crap if they buzz down. If there's no hairline, you are pretty much bald, even if you have tons of hair in the crown and midscalp. But receders have more styling options and much better overall prognosis for hair transplants. But then again, diffusers have a much better prognosis for traditional treatments.

 

[BrightonBaldy]

I shave my head, even if I was a real NW1 I would shave my head, its suited me better since I turned 18 (27 now).

Thats what puts me off ever goingdown the hair transplant route, can only imagine it'd look terrible. I know from where I am now that that there isnt too much further to go, once all of my thinning areas have fully gone it'll be over (family history, we all look the bloody same), so I wouldnt have to worry about losing hair beyond the areas hair transplant's have gone into. Besides I'd need a fair amoutn of donor hair that doesnt exist.

 

[BrightonBaldy]

I guess a receeder has to deal with it over a longer period of time, in that respect it is worse, us thinners can tell pretty quickly what the future holds and can come to terms with it sooner. As has been said we can look better shaved intially at least.

I was already buzzing down to a 1/2 guard before hairloss kicked in, so there was no major change to the way I styled myself, I just look a millions times worse.