What Norwood Am I? Diffused Thinning Or Male Pattern?

[AlexJay80]

I'm 38 so at least I didn't lose hair when I was younger but I'm really starting to thin now.

I've posted on here before and I've been on Minoxidil and Finasteride for a month. There's been some improvement at the temples but the crown has gotten a bit worse.

I've recently had my hair buzzed to a Number 5 which makes the thinning look more obvious and severe - FYI, I can hide the majority of the thinning if the hair is longer.

Looking at the top down images, do you think I have male pattern baldness or diffused thinning? I would have said before having it buzzed that my hairline was Norwood 2 with vertex thinning.

However, where would you say I am on the Norwood scale currently? Am I developing a full blown Norwood 6 or 7? And how long do you think I've got before that develops?

One image is taken in natural light and one is taken in very bright artificial light.

Thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Tommybommy1363]

Diffusing in nw6

 

[reyl]

I can't tell completely, but it looks like a NW3 diffusing.

 

[AlexJay80]

Reyl - Thanks for the message.

My front hairline is better than a NW3 (probably NW2.5) but I agree that I'm definitely diffusing. The Minoxidil and Finasteride has made the crown a fair bit worse thus far but hopefully the loss will stabilise and they'll slow it down or even improve it slightly.

Whilst my crown has gotten worse, my temples are improving rapidly which is bizarre. I've probably got a similar amount of hair there than when I was 25-26.

 

[Tommybommy1363]

Reyl - Thanks for the message.

My front hairline is better than a NW3 (probably NW2.5) but I agree that I'm definitely diffusing. The Minoxidil and Finasteride has made the crown a fair bit worse thus far but hopefully the loss will stabilise and they'll slow it down or even improve it slightly.

Whilst my crown has gotten worse, my temples are improving rapidly which is bizarre. I've probably got a similar amount of hair there than when I was 25-26.

I was below baseline at a month, 2 months on way above baseline

 

[LosingHairIsNotFair]

It looks like your hairline isn't really receded. Diffusion is your problem. Also, just realized you wrote you're 38...you lucky man, haha. I'm 25 and much worse off than you.

Anyway, you've only been treating it for 1 month...if you say your crown has gotten worse, it could just be shedding. Just stick with finasteride/min, that's literally all you can do.

 

[AlexJay80]

@Tommybommy1363 - That's good to know mate. My crown is way worse than when I started but my temples are way better!

Hopefully, my crown should improve as well.

 

[AlexJay80]

@LosingHairIsNotFair - Diffusing hair is definitely my issue as my hairline naturally is probably a NW2.5. However, after close to 1 month on Minoxidil and Finasteride my hairline is reverting to a NW2. It's looking a lot better there and hasn't been like that for 7-8 years.

The crown is sh*t though. At least I'm in the situation where I can grow my hair longer and hide a lot of this. The short hair makes the situation looks worse currently.

At 38 I acknowledge that I've been fairly lucky concerning my hair. If I can stop the rot, slightly improve the crown and keep a decent head of hair for a few more years then I'll be happy. I'm realistic that time will eventually take its toll though.

 

[AlexJay80]

Here's what my hair looked like when it was longer 1 month ago...before I started taking Minoxidil and Finasteride.

As you can see, I could mostly hide thinning at the crown. Hopefully, the Minoxidil and Finasteride will reverse the hair loss due to shedding in the last month and improve it beyond this.