Very upset - Please take a look and help

[drdowdz]

Hi everybody, I lurked around a bit today and there's some great information on here!

But I wanted to get a little more specific and personalized advice on my particular situation.

Growing up I always had a great head of hair, very full and thick. So I am extremely upset and becoming pretty obsessed with my hair now that I have noticed some major changes.

My hairline probably started receding some time while in college (between 2008-2012) although I didn't really take notice until this year. Now I not only see my hairline has drastically changed, but my hair is thin, frizzy and kind of "dead" looking.

I've attached a bunch of pictures throughout the years, so you guys can see what my hair/hairline used to look like and what it looks like today.

I was my hair twice a week with a moisturizing shampoo and 3 times a week with a volumizing conditioner but haven't noticed much of a difference.

My hair dresser said that I may not have enough oils in my diet, although I do eat salmon pretty often for dinner.

I also began experiencing what I can only describe as dandruff this year. I had had issues with it in the past, but it usually went away rather quickly. However, this seems to persist even with regular shampooing and conditioning. At it's worst, I could scratch and scratch my head, some times peeling off flakes of skin and at the least getting a build up under my fingernails. At the least, I can be sitting on the couch and notice a lot of flakes on my shoulders/back.

I'd rather not get on finasteride as I've heard some bad things regarding the side effects that I would rather avoid. I'd like to try a more conservative approach at first, trying a combination of products and seeing what the results are like before being left with no other choice but to start taking finasteride if need be.

What do you guys think? Is it possible that it could be some type of hormonal/thyroid/something along those lines? What regimen would you suggest I start with? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! These pics are in order from senior year of HS throughout college and the last 3 are from this year:

 

[badgenome]

Incredible, your hair loss also affected your jaw line, and eyebrows. The first pic shows your eyebrows ending almost in line with your eyes, but some of the other pics clearly show your eyebrows tapering off much further.

 

[Notcoolanymore]

You can get hormones/thyroid checked out if it will make you feel better, but most likely you are in the beginning stages of male pattern baldness. As far as proven treatments, we only have 2, finasteride and minoxidil. Minoxidil can work wonders on some people but for the most part it is most effective when used with finasteride. I understand the fear you have for finasteride, I had it too, but unfortunately it is the best thing available to stop male pattern baldness.

You can try the experimental stuff, lasers, oils, supplements, but doing so will just result in a loss of time. In the battle of hair loss, not wasting time is very important. Take it from somebody that wasted years.

 

[SayifDoit]

Wow one of the few guys on here who has an extremely strong Hairlines experience male pattern baldness.....
Looks like male pattern baldness...... best chance to save, or even recover what you loss to some extent is get on finasteride plus minoxidil.

I can understand why someone like you who had and still does have such incredible hair would be pissed! Your forehead is only getting bigger!

 

[DoctorHouse]

Your hairline is receding. It can happen at any time and fast. The good news is you still have great hair for a hair transplant if you want one later. Right now you have to work on saving as much hair as you can. Propecia and minoxidil unfortunately do not work well in the front but they are still worth a try. I have receded a lot in the past 10 years ON both Propecia and minoxidil and lost 20 percent density so obviously these meds don't stop the hairline and stop balding for everyone. The genes always win in the end.

 

[drdowdz]

Yea I'm pretty beside myself about it. My father was always bald so I knew it was definitely in my genes but I always had such thick and full hair that I didn't think I would lose my hair.

I try to look at the brightside and be happy that I have hair on my head compared to what my dad had at my age and what some of my friends are experiencing but it's tough to go from such great hair to dealing with this now.

I didn't even notice just how much it has receded until I posted this and saw these pictures in chronological orders - kind of makes me more depressed about it haha

I'm also very upset about how think my hair how gotten. I know the finasteride and minoxidil will work to prevent further hairloss and help to regrow - is there anything I can do to restore some of the thickness?

What about those shampoos that are supposed to block the DHT? Do they work at all?

Also, my eyebrows have not thinned or anything - I get them threaded once a month so I'm sure the shape has changed due to different people doing it and what not, but those are still thick and growing haha

 

[I.D WALKER]

Drdowz thanx for sharing your personal experience with us. Your experience sadly resonates that familiar and foreboding knock so many of us veteran and freshmen sufferers of M.P.B.. Like yourself, I believe most of us here can attest that their first or initial realization of their own hair loss came as a shock. Although hair loss is generally not a physically disabling disease/disorder it can certainly disrupt our emotional/mental fortitude and overall sense of wellbeing. For me it's just more slop added and mixed into an already mixed up hodge podge brew of overdone randomness often referred to as life. In other words hair loss, as insignifant as it it may appear to the "outsider" or "non-sufferer" can further complicate our daily affairs in so many surprising ways. My hope is that you possess better coping skills than myself or the average Joe Hair Loss cripple and adopt a "foolproof" strategy so to speak that will insulate you from the blows of the fall-out and effectively keep the negative residual in check. From what I can gather, you already have your good health (#1!) and we have a couple debateably modest working weapons (primitive nonetheless) that may help offer you a fighting chance to combat this undeniably offense presence in your life. Best wishes in whichever course you travel.

 

[drdowdz]

I was also curious about the whole shedding thing.

It seems that shedding is a side effect of all these products.

Say I were to begin using finasteride and minoxidil and started this shedding phase... If I have some adverse side effects to either and decide this stuff isn't worth it - once i stop taking/using it will hair grow back or now that it is shedded it's gone for good and I'm worse off then I was prior?

 

[I.D WALKER]

There's no way we can realistically predict your results from these treatments. There is no exact science when it comes to medical intervention. Therefore unfortunately your guess is as good as anyone's. However I can promise you that without treatment your situation will most likely deteriorate. All the best.

I was also curious about the whole shedding thing.

It seems that shedding is a side effect of all these products.

Say I were to begin using finasteride and minoxidil and started this shedding phase... If I have some adverse side effects to either and decide this stuff isn't worth it - once i stop taking/using it will hair grow back or now that it is shedded it's gone for good and I'm worse off then I was prior?

 

[ryanita]

nice share..I have same problem..

I experienced hair loss since going to college and still continues to this day. thanks very much for share