21 with receding hairline

[andy22]

Hello all. This is my first post here but I must say I am very impressed with the amount of knowledge, experience, and honesty expressed in this forum - it is truly appreciated.

 

As the subject line states, I am a 21 year old with a very noticeable receding hairline (my hair on the crown and everywhere else for that matter seems to be just as thick as it ever was). I believe it really began receding about a year ago, however.

 

I have spoken with a doctor and received a prescription for Propecia and have been taking it for a couple months. I understand that everyone's situation is very different but my question is, in general, for those of you who first noticed a receding hairline around my age - could you provide a timetable as to how your hair loss regressed over the next few years? Particularly, anyone who has been taking propecia for some time now, how successful has that been in preventing your MPB from developing?

 

I understand this is probably a difficult question to respond to, but I am now beginning to educate myself about MPB and really appreciate any feedback I can receive from any of your personal accounts.

 

Thanks.

[hairbank]

Hopefully others will respond to you any22 as my situation was different. Started with loss around 23 yrs old and gradually lost it to age 38 when had first HT..............and I lost it from the crown forward.

 

Normally (if there is a normal with hairloss ) if you start losing at an earlier age and do nothing you will usually be headed to baldville quicker than those who start later on. Since you're using the meds your a step ahead. Hopefully you'll be a good responder and at least keep what you have and possibly regrow some. I'd encourage you to document with pics if you can, it's really the best way to tell what you've accomplished over a period of time.

[calvinmd]

I'm 28 now. Didn't use any MPB drugs until these last few months. I'm a NW3 with a thinning front/top. If the rule of thumb is that it takes 50% loss to start being visible, then I'd guess I've lost maybe 60-70% of my original hair volume in the front/top affected areas.

 

My hair loss probably started as early as 21 but there's no way in hell that anyone other than me would have known it. At that age most hair/skin doctors would have laughed at me for being a hypochondriac if I'd gone to them asking about hair loss. But I already sensed that something was different from the hair I was growing 2-3 year earlier, even though my hair at 21 still looked great and I would get unsolicited compliments on it.

 

I was thinning VERY slowly in front/top. With almost no MPB in the family, I honestly thought I was just abusing my hair for several years. It took until about age 24-26 before it was anything visible. Even then it was only about 1-2 centimeters of actual front hairline recession. But at age 26ish, the overall thinning on the front/top was finally too much to chalk up to my rough lifestyle & inconsistent hair care.

 

 

That's all I can tell you. It's not very comforting, but I'm 28 years old now and I'd still love to have a better idea about my long-term hair loss situation just as much as you would. The fact that there's so little hair loss in my family leaves me without much to go on.

 

 

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[LaForzaGOP]

From what I've heard Propecia doesn't seem to help too much with the receding hairline in front. Am I correct on this guys? Might want to try Minoxidal (sp). Also, I would definately continue using Propecia. You are lucky that you just have a receding hairline with no crown loss. IMO guys with receding hairlines look just fine as they get older, it's just natural. But guys with just the crown thinning or balding looks a little bit awkward.

[Bill - Seemiller]

andy,

 

Welcome to our community. Keep in mind that every person is different and that hair loss is unpredictable. Some people lose hair gradually over time, and some lose hair quickly, referred to as rapid MPB.

 

For me, personally, I didn't get on Propecia until I was 27, but started losing my hair in the crown when I was about 21 or 22. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of ground while hoping that some of these so called "miracle cures" would work, but turned out to be marketing scams. I was like most people in those days...I trusted these companies wouldn't lie to us. Boy was I wrong.

 

I lost a lot of ground between the ages of 25 and 27 unfortunately. I'd say finasteride has helped me maintain my native hair under my crown, however, just about all the rest of my hair on top of my head at this point is transplanted.

 

Bill