Regular Member jacksonbrowne Posted August 4, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted August 4, 2010 After a shower, looked at the top of my head with a handheld mirror angled against the wall mirror. Saw some scalp. How do I track the progress of thinning and is there a way to distinguish between natural age related thinning and male pattern baldness? My day is totally ruined, even with a hat on with this on my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeKid0000 Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I may be wrong, but shouldn't a maturing/thinning hairline be the only thing related to natural age thinning? It all depends on genetics. There are old people with full scalps and younger folks like myself that have been trolled by mother nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jacksonbrowne Posted August 5, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 5, 2010 Even people witih awesome hair thin out. Look at Bill Clinton for example. On the train, i see older guys in there 50's and 60's with all white hair and even with full hair, it's obvious that it's thinner than when they younger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member waveskier Posted August 5, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted August 5, 2010 What I have a hard time understanding is when someone describes "shedding". What is SHEDDING? It sure must mean something different to everyone. I read a post where I young man described his shedding as losing 9 or more hairs after a shower. Geez, I have been losing 20 or more one regular basis for years and I'm not close to bald. I thought that was normal? Can anyone tell me what is considered normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jacksonbrowne Posted August 5, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 5, 2010 What I have a hard time understanding is when someone describes "shedding". What is SHEDDING? It sure must mean something different to everyone. I read a post where I young man described his shedding as losing 9 or more hairs after a shower. Geez, I have been losing 20 or more one regular basis for years and I'm not close to bald. I thought that was normal? Can anyone tell me what is considered normal? Thats one of my peeves in general where terms either aren't defined very well or people just use terms interchangeably. With something as crucial as MPB, I wish terms were defined more clearly, but the thing about 'normal' and hairloss don't apply since every case is unique with patterns and trends only valid as guidelines on an individual basis rather than true prognosis. Shedding/thinning/miniaturization, what's the difference between the 3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted August 5, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted August 5, 2010 waveskier, It's normal for a non-balding person to lose between 100 to 200 hairs per day. Of course, at any given time, the non-balding person will have about the same number of new hairs growing in. This keeps that scalp in balance. The problem for us arises when those hairs we are losing are no longer being replaced at an even pace. When we talk about shedding, we mean any given time when we experience a significant number of hairs being lost to the degree that it noticeably affects our density. Shedding may be caused by medications such as Rogaine (minoxidil) or Propecia (finasteride), stress or it may even be seasonal as described in the this informative thread started by Spex. These types of shedding are generally temporary. Hope this helps to clear up the term a little. David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jacksonbrowne Posted August 6, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 6, 2010 Doc Rassman has a method where he advocates cutting hair into pea sized holes in stragetic locations on the scalp (i believe 8 holes) to track progressive miniaturization. That seems very unpractical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeKid0000 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Has any other doctor come up with a method or is Rassman the only one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Sparky Posted August 9, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted August 9, 2010 Just take pictures, or get someone to do it for you. My Hairloss Website http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=2198 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jacksonbrowne Posted August 10, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2010 Pictures are too subjective and dependent upon variables like a bad hair day, humidity, and hair length. It's also difficult to be truly objective since ones bias makes it exceptionally difficult to admit defeat in this area. I guess what i'd like to do is my own personal 'miniaturization study' as advocated by Rassman. The purpose is to establish a baseline and to quantify changes with treatment on different parts of the scalp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member EpilepticSceptic Posted August 10, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted August 10, 2010 (edited) Shave your head to a #1 or 2 guard and KEEP it that way for 5 or even 10 years. This way you eliminate the "bad hair day" scenario. At this length you will be shocked at just how far your thinning has progressed, and just how much longer hair has concealed it. I tell this to all the newbies around here who have convinced themselves that they have halted MPB and that they are likely 1-2 Norwood levels worse than they think they are. Shave it down and reveal the harsh truth! Like Sparky said keep photos at 6 month intervals. I recently saw some photos I took at a #2 guard 11 years ago when I first started to take proscar. I was amazed to see that my crown is in better shape today than it was back then, and that my mid scalp has not progressed any further. that's why when i see peeps in their 20s on here saying they wont take proscar for fear of sides, I think they are fools who will later come to regret that crucial mistake ! Edited August 10, 2010 by EpilepticSceptic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Sparky Posted August 11, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted August 11, 2010 If I could of taken proscar at the beggining of my hairloss I wouldnt of given it a second thought! My Hairloss Website http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=2198 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member haircut Posted August 11, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted August 11, 2010 I would second that. Start at the first sign of hair loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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