Advice requested, hairline hole

[Bob0pedic]

First time visitor to the site with some questions and a picture.

 

A little background first. I've always seemed to have a natural part straight down the center of my hairline, front to back. All throughout my life I've noticed at least some form of bald spot in the front of my hairline too. My father actually has a similar spot right smack dab in the middle of his as well. Its actually tougher to notice his though as his hair is curly while mine is wavy.

 

Anyways, I've gotten worried recently as the spot seems to have gotten bigger and/or the hairs finer. It could also be a perfect storm of a recent haircut but basically it looks like there is a big hole in my hairline. It seems to be about an inch wide and goes back about 2 inches. I went out of my way to make it as obvious as possible in the picture in terms of hair positioning, strong overhead lighting and a flash. There are some hairs in the area but they are rather fine so they don't show. Under a bright light though you can see right through to the scalp in that corridor. While you can tell there is hair there, it just sorta seems ephemeral. Although I'm pretty anti-doctor (Ahh, I'm just a 28 y/o dumb kid), I'm planning to set something up with a dermatologist just to have him take a look.

 

So any thoughts anyone? It doesnt seem to follow any MPB I've seen. There is zero history of that in any known family member too. I've had a pretty piss poor diet lately but I've changed that recently so we'll see on those results. Any input would be most graciously appreciated.

 

Thanks everyone.

[StaggerLee123]

Interesting. Because your father has the same exact thing going on with his hairline, and since you've had it your entire life, I would think it was some kind of genetic blip going on. It could just be a very irregular hairline that is completely normal for you. See what the dermatologist has to say but if it really bothers you a small FUE session would be really easy to do.

 

Good luck amigo.

 

P.S. At 28 you're not a kid anymore!

[Blake Bloxham]

Bob,

 

Although it is a unique pattern, I do believe you're showing signs of miniaturization and androgenic alopecia. Because of this, I suggest the following:

 

1. Scheduling an appointment with a dermatologist or trusted hair restoration surgeon and undergoing a thorough scalp evaluation.

 

2. Investigating (either via your own research or by speaking with a physician) Propecia (finasteride) and Rogaine (minoxidil). Both these medications are proven preventive medications and could greatly help maintain and reverse your current level of loss.

 

Good luck! I hope this helps!

[mattj]

I too think you show signs of male pattern hairloss. I think you have this unusual 'hole' that has passed to you from your father, and that the hairloss process has started and is more noticeable in this area due to it already lacking hair. Hairloss tends to 'eat away' at the hairline first, and as you have this gap in your hairline, the loss of hairs surrounding it will cause it to expand in size. This might be easier to notice than minor recession across the entire frontal area.

 

I do think it looks like your temples might have receded a bit, too.

[Bob0pedic]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

 

I'm going to still see a dermatologist for sure and until then I am really going to concentrate on making sure I'm living much healthier in the meantime. I only made reference to myself as a kid as I've really been phone-ing it in health wise lately. I smoke too much (greens, not tobacco, neither is good), I drink too much, I don't sleep enough, I skip meals on a whim and the meals I do eat are hardly part of a balanced diet.

 

I've also been very unhappy at my job and my live in girlfriend has recently decided she needs to leave the east coast to head back home as she's not happy in a big city. Needless to say there have been a lot of environmental factors that could have pushed this along. I've been fixing whatever I can to improve my mood & health so I'm curious to see if it has any affect.

 

It really does seem like this has gotten worse very quickly though. I'm partially concerned by that as I hope my hair isnt all falling out but I'm also hopeful that it has been more environmental then not. I'm fine to just go on rogaine forever but I worry that it may not be necessary and I would never know. I work a good job and I save my money so I'll bring the guns to bear if the situation needs to be dealt with more forcibly. I just hope I have the luxury of taking a couple months to make the best decision.

 

Also randomly, I had always planned to utilize a service like 23andme for DNA testing as its a personal interest of mine. I know from a female friend that they do have a marker for MPB. Has anyone had any experience with DNA testing like this for baldness?

[Blake Bloxham]

Also randomly, I had always planned to utilize a service like 23andme for DNA testing as its a personal interest of mine. I know from a female friend that they do have a marker for MPB. Has anyone had any experience with DNA testing like this for baldness?

 

I'd be curious to see what they use for a male pattern baldness marker. Frankly, they have not yet identified many gene markers indicative for genetic baldness, and I'm not sure any sort of genetic marker would be reliable (in the current state of testing).