Hi:

I'm an 18 year old student entering freshman year of university this year and for the last year and a half or so I've been noticing significant thinning in the crown area of my head and some minor thinning on the temple area. I have no receding hairline, but the thinning in the crown area has reached the point where it's easily noticeable. In the last 2 weeks, I've had surgery on my scalp because I used to have a lump (aplasia cutis congenita) on it from birth that I had removed by a dermatologist. It left a 2-3 inch scar on my head...which I feel would look much better than a lump when I eventually go bald (oh the horror). Before the surgery, I used to keep longer hair in the back of my head to cover the lump, but now that the scar has healed, I've gotten a shorter haircut all around. Regardless, I'm 18 years old and my crown is visibly balding. My dermatologist has prescribed me generic 5mg finasteride tablets from Dr. Reddy, which I am cutting into 5 pieces and taking 1 each day. I have just begun using Nanogen Hair Building Fibers to cover up the crown area completely, but I'm wondering what else I can do. Since I suppose I've caught this relatively early, what would you all recommend to potentially solve the problem? Another thing I might add is that my dermatologist claims that I lost some hair due to the inflammation after the surgery, sending some follicles into a temporary dormant state. This MAY be true, but I was definitely losing hair even before the surgery.

The photo I'm attaching was taken just this morning right after a shower. By the end of the day or the next day, it becomes significantly worse as I have a very greasy scalp. The same goes for when I'm under a significant amount of light.

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Hi:

I'm an 18 year old student entering freshman year of university this year and for the last year and a half or so I've been noticing significant thinning in the crown area of my head and some minor thinning on the temple area. I have no receding hairline, but the thinning in the crown area has reached the point where it's easily noticeable. In the last 2 weeks, I've had surgery on my scalp because I used to have a lump (aplasia cutis congenita) on it from birth that I had removed by a dermatologist. It left a 2-3 inch scar on my head...which I feel would look much better than a lump when I eventually go bald (oh the horror). Before the surgery, I used to keep longer hair in the back of my head to cover the lump, but now that the scar has healed, I've gotten a shorter haircut all around. Regardless, I'm 18 years old and my crown is visibly balding. My dermatologist has prescribed me generic 5mg finasteride tablets from Dr. Reddy, which I am cutting into 5 pieces and taking 1 each day. I have just begun using Nanogen Hair Building Fibers to cover up the crown area completely, but I'm wondering what else I can do. Since I suppose I've caught this relatively early, what would you all recommend to potentially solve the problem? Another thing I might add is that my dermatologist claims that I lost some hair due to the inflammation after the surgery, sending some follicles into a temporary dormant state. This MAY be true, but I was definitely losing hair even before the surgery.

The photo I'm attaching was taken just this morning right after a shower. By the end of the day or the next day, it becomes significantly worse as I have a very greasy scalp. The same goes for when I'm under a significant amount of light.

Looks like it's prolly just MPB at its core...anyways, it looks like you caught it pretty early (obv still a total bitch for you). I would keep on the fin...for a good 12+ months....see how you respond, see how you progress....you could then start given serious consideration to doing some consults with some elite clinics, re: a HT. I wouldn't give it too much thought at this point, though. So ya, keep on the fin, keep up the the nano, and focus on whatever else you can improve your life and make dealing with MPB an easier ride.

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

18 and balding.. isn't that a song?

Anyways, yeah it sucks that it struck so young. But you did the right thing by getting on Fin. If I were you I would also give Rogaine Foam a try. I tried it, didn't work out for me... but it has for many. Just stay on Fin. But like Thana said, it's too early to start thinking about a HT. It might be an option down the road... but not now.

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2008 Dr. G – presumably 1,000 grafts / 2,142 hairs
2009 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 2,348 grafts / 4,258 hairs
2011 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 1,999 grafts / 3,624 hairs

My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group

Thanks for the feedback. The reason I'm hesitant to get on any sort of Minox right now is that it not only seems like a giant pain (waiting for it to dry, applying it every day - not ideal for a college student sharing a bathroom and all), but it also seems to have side effects that I don't really want to deal with. Finasteride is already giving me some aches and pains, which is why I'm lowering my dosage now. It will probably take a long time before I can even figure out whether it's working or not, but I can only hope that the Fin is at least halting the hair loss...I know it only very rarely promotes new hair growth. I can spend about a minute in the bathroom to cover my current spot up with Nanogen, but I'm definitely worried about people running their hands through my hair and things...not sure how I'd explain that one haha. Would you recommend also getting on Nizoral 2%? I can't find that in stores..only 1%. Damn college is going to be even harder than I thought now that I have the hair of a 50 year old.

I was going to say at least you're applying the nano to just your crown, but on 2nd thought I girls are most apt to stroke a man's vertex....

I used to be a nano fiend myself so I can relate, and I've had some embarrassing situations. I wrote/posted a story about one of them on here a while ago....was in my jiu-jitsu class....

Anyways, I honestly don't think nizoral will do much aside from maybe drying out your hair -- what happened to me. I'd recco using Toppek/Nanogen's shampoo/conditioner line. I would also really stick with the fin -- I've never heard of aches/pains from it, but I would do your best to stick with it for a year or so. I feel with your loss that fin could do wonders for you; hopefully enough to get you through most of school.

You do have options if the shit really hits the fan in the next couple years and your hairline starts to go, so don't think you're doomed and in an inextricable quagmire throughout all of college.

__________________
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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

Well you sparked my curiosity and I looked up that story of yours. To be completely honest, I probably would have fallen to the ground, pissing in my pants from terror. (Sorry, I know that's not a pleasant image, but neither is the one your story produced hehe).

I'll have to see. I'm not sure that my loss is so severe yet that I'll have to ALWAYS use the concealer, but just when I know it's likely to show. I suppose a late-night frat party with limited light would let me go by without the concealer...and this also happens to be where a curious hand might creep up the back of my head, in which case I'd be relatively safe.

All of this has prompted me to question whether to convert to Judaism just to have the privilege of a yarmulke to hide my imperfections! No offense to anyone, by the way haha, it just seems like such a convenient device in my situation. Oh how I self-deprecate.

Assuming the aches and pains are "down there", this is a really common side effect of first starting fin and it goes away after a while.

What I noticed today as I took a shower in a white tub for once is that all the shedding that is occurring seems to be occurring as I shower. When I wake up in the mornings, I find maybe 4-5 hairs on my pillow at most and when I dry my hair with a towel after showering, I rarely shed any. But while I shower, applying shampoo and all, I seem to be shedding perhaps up to 30 hairs. Is there something to be said about this?

And to reply to Marvin:

My aches and pains are actually not "down there;" rather, I feel it most severely in the form of head and shoulder-aches.