Am i going bald?

[robert2525]

I'm 16, and i have thin wiry hair and recently i have cut my hair quite short (an inch in length about everywhere.) I've noticed that in pictures on the sides of my head, it looks thinner than the rest and i can see some patches of skin. My right side looks normal but the left side looks thinner. am i going bald? is this normal with short hair? To give you kind of a visual it looks like my hair is wet and you can see some of the scalp on the side of my face/head.

[robert2525]

I'm 16, and i have thin wiry hair and recently i have cut my hair quite short (an inch in length about everywhere.) I've noticed that in pictures on the sides of my head, it looks thinner than the rest and i can see some patches of skin. My right side looks normal but the left side looks thinner. am i going bald? is this normal with short hair? To give you kind of a visual it looks like my hair is wet and you can see some of the scalp on the side of my face/head.

[giants]

i started going bald when i was 16 likfe you. Im now 17. I have the same thing you do, recession. In recession one side receeds faster than the other Then The other side starts and catches up. Its like a game of chase, they race eachother to the top. Dude im working like you to prevent worse damage. I am currently on rogaine foam 5%, and saw palmetto, which you can bye ove the counter

[Bill - Seemiller]

robert2525,

 

I can't be sure, however, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

Is it possible that the hair on the sides of your head is cut shorter than the rest? It is also possible that the hair on the sides of your head is less dense than in the back. I know this is pretty common.

 

And yes...shorter hair can appear thinner than longer hair because the feathering effect has been removed.

 

I will also tell you that unless you are experiencing thinning on top of your head, you are most likely not experiencing hereditary baldness (male pattern baldness).

 

If you are really concerned about this, I recommend consulting with a dermatologist or hair loss doctor for an evaluation.

 

Giants,

 

From your description, what you are experiencing is different from robert2525. It sounds to me that you are talking about a receeding hairline where one side is receeding faster than the other.

 

Because you are only 16, I wouldn't recommend Propecia yet...however, it's something worth researching now and considering when you are 18.

 

You may also want to try adding Nizoral 2% or Revita shampoo into your regime.

 

Saw Palmetto won't do anything for you.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[giants]

is recession the same as MPB

[Bill - Seemiller]

Giants,

 

the word "recession" just means to receed or withdraw. MPB can start in a number of different ways (see my links to the norwood scale above), however, one way is recession or receeding of the hairline.

 

You are most likely experiencing MPB if your hair line is receeding.

 

Bill

[PCC]

Robert and Giants,

 

Guys I was where you are now around 25 years ago. I know all too well how devastating it is. What I used to get a lot was the "Do you know you're going bald?" question. I almost have to laugh about it all these years later. It was like they were doing me a big favor by "letting me know" and I should be grateful to them for it! As you can imagine this was instead met with a very sarcastic response from me.

 

Although it is impossible at this point to definatively answer the age old question of "Am I going bald" I think if you stick around here for awhile you will get some great advice, education, and support. We care about you and you are among friends.

 

Phil

[giants]

OK dude your going to be 17 years old now. Most importantly theres not point worrying about it and trying to convince yourself whether you are or not going blad. Trust me i used to look in the mirror until i did not feel that I was going bald even though deep inside I knew I was. Youll feel best when your taking action against it. I got on rogaine 5% when I was your age and I wouldnt rule it out if i were you.

[Matt Skiba]

With all due respect I'm gonna have to disagree with Bill on his statement that saw palmetto doesn't do anything.

 

Saw palmetto is a known inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase types 1 and 2, and some men even say it is even more effective at treating a benign enlarged prostate.

 

I do not argue the fact that finasteride is a much more potent inhibitor of 5-alpha reductase, but with herbal methods the chances of side effects are much less, they are pretty minimal.

 

And also the FDA doesn't approve herbs for any indication.

 

If you are to use herbs to try to combat hair loss, you would probably want to combine saw palmetto with stinging nettle and pygeum.

 

Someone posted a very good link to a page where herbal and natural options are discussed. You can find that page at the following URL..

 

http://hairlosssolutions.blogfreehere.com/going-natural...air-loss-remedi.html

 

As a matter of fact I think I will add that URL to my signature.

 

Just don't end up like me and be sexually incapacitated indefinitely at a young age.

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

I've taken saw palmetto.. it did nothing for me so personally I questions it's ability to make a difference in hairloss. if you look online you can find so many "home remedies" for hairloss including

 

Saw palmetto

Flaxseed

biotin

and more

 

Many of these hairloss miracles contain these and make absurd claims..

 

I wouldn't waste my money but then again, I already did about 5 years ago..

[Matt Skiba]

Mrjb, provided that you aren't offended by this question, but just how old were you about 5 years ago?

 

There is no doubt that the herbal methods are weaker, but I think it can be effective in those that are younger or whose hair loss isn't that bad.

 

Everyone on here knows that some people have more severe hair loss than others, and if you have it bad enough to the point where you're destined to become an NW6 or an NW7 I could imagine that saw palmetto and other herbs would probably do little to nothing, it might slow it down a bit. I still wouldn't consider saw palmetto a waste of time, it is scientifically proven to lower DHT.

 

For some men, (mostly older), they actually do get a "side effect" of an increased libido while on finasteride. This is because with age, testosterone levels decline, but DHT increases. So finasteride helps to balance things out a bit. This doesn't really happen in younger men, and a lot of times the opposite happens, so one must be careful.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Matt,

 

I have read the same thing you have about Saw Palmetto (as well as some of the other herbs mentioned on the URL you've provided) over the years. This is what convinced me to try Saw Palmetto in the beginning of my hair loss experience (I was 22 when I started taking it). I tried it for a year. Experientially, it did nothing for me.

 

But...I recognize that scientifically - one cannot draw conclusions about its efficacy solely based on experience alone.

 

One of the problems I have in recommending any of these herbal supplements is, despite its claims, I have yet to read one convincing testimony that any of these "all natural" products worked for them.

 

I admit, the claims are convincing....but so are the claims of hair loss infomercials trying to sell "miracle cures".

 

So I will change my statement...

 

I can't say with certainty that it doesn't do anything to inhibit DHT and combat hair loss - but there is not enough real time evidence to support it's claims. Therefore, when somebody asks how to combat their hair loss - I stick to what is publicly proven to work.

 

Bill

[giants]

saw aplmetto casued a decrease in libido for me and im only 17. however when i went off it i was back to normal

[shedmaster]

I am also wondering if I'm going bald. In the past year I've lost a significant amount of thickness to my hair mostly on top. And it has been dramatic since the hair was coming out in handfuls(2-5 strands per gentle hair pull). I would see it on my shoulders, on my pillow on my keyboard, on my kitchen counter, in my food. Pretty much everywhere. I had an insane itch accompanied this and my hair was typically drier and fragile almost brittle looking.

 

as I type this message two more hairs have fallen onto the keys and one on my shoulder my hair on my head is diffuse due to the constant shedding and growing of hair. I have large amounts of hair in stubble form under neathe the longer hair. so its weird as if someone had some magic clippers that would cut hair under the long hair.

 

So my question is if this is normal balding? or something else(allergic, diabetes, hyperthyroid) causing this? From online searching seen a large link between those aforementioned things and shedding/excessive hair loss.

 

Honestly I've been under more strain/stress than I have ever been in in my life, and after having a baby and all the responsibilities that brings into life, I was nervous and stressed leading up to it. I know there is such thing as tellogen effluvium where massive amounts of shedding occur. But I was wondering if this is also how some go bald?

 

also an added note, I've done really nothing, and more hair has grown back as far as thickness but and shedding has slowed down but still continues to fall. I've tried to reduce how stressed out I am. But that's like trying to say I don't want to be responsible?

 

Any comments would be recommended.

[Bill - Seemiller]

shedmaster,

 

Welcome to our community.

 

I actually recently wrote a Hair Loss Q&A Blog that you might be able to use as a guide. You can read it here.

 

If you are concerned that you are losing your hair, I do recommend seeing a dermatologist so they can examine you. They will be able to look for things such as hair miniaturization and other signs of hair loss.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[rembrandt]

Well i'm still losing hair, I don't think i'm going to see a doctor because i dont want to take drugs. It pretty much comes out at the back, sides near my ears and on top. Its suh an annoyance with hair everywhere. Never had this problem my whole life. Anyways here is a pic, I never looked at my crown before but this is what it looks like. Is that a bald spot or is that normal?

 

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8894/august20076ib0.jpg