Am I beginning to bald?

[yeahdood]

I'm 18 and I've been noticing sort of a bald spot on the back of my head for a few years now and some thinning but never thought anything of it and I'm becoming scared that I may be balding I posted pictures. Please let me know what I should do if anything.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Man I've been there!! It's hard to be 18 and thinning. Has any of your friends said you look like your thinning? Your hair dresser? It's just kinda hard to tell from your pics, BUT it does seem you have some miniturization starting.

[ManinSpace]

Difficult to tell to be honest, like Newhair says there does appear to be some minaturisation but its not definate, we have no way of knowing if your hair is naturally fine etc, so that in a way, is a good sign as the back of your head does not look bad, I knew people your age at school who were completely bald by your age. Still, Its worth you keeping an eye on it with photos every 3-6 months under same natural light conditions, do not use flash as you have fair hair and flash makes it look thinner.

 

Obviously you have options if the thinning looks like it progressing such as minoxidil, nizoral and finesteride, the last of which is the best but also it affects your hormones and thus is not advised for younger people so the longer you can stay off it the better, but on the flip side, its easier to get hair back the sooner its lost and much easier still to prevent it going in the first place.

 

I would say keep an eye on it over the coming months and then consider your options, maybe post more pics as you take them but give it a few months, people will be honest with you here. best of luck

[yeahdood]

Thanks guys. People have told me my hair looks thin but I used to have really long straight hair that I recently cut. I've been complimented with having the best hair and I dont want to lose it to balding. I'm a pretty healthy kid as well. I'll keep updated with this.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

If people are telling you that "your crown" in relation to the rest of your hair is thin,then yes you are probably starting to lose some hair...

[yeahdood]

I was just reading a little more about this and they say most people don't look for help until the process of balding is pretty far in. So is there anything I can do right now just as a minor treatment to see what happens?

[ManinSpace]

Finesteride is the best drug but you need to do some serious research and you are young to be taking hormone altering drugs. Minoxidil will grow some back but it wont halt the balding process like finesteride and Nizoral is a good shampoo. Also supplements such as biotin are good for general hair health though wont help reverse loss. You can use concealers on the crown if it appears worse than it is here again these do nothing to halt loss but can make it look better. You can also use thickening shampoos which can cosmetically thicken your hair. Take your time, consider these options and try not to worry

 

Hair loss medications are something that you will need to take for the whole time you want to keep your hair so i wouldnt jump on them until necessary. You still seem confused, one second your balding, next your hair is the best.

[yeahdood]

Thanks for the detailed advice ManinSpace! I just want to be able to stop it if I can, before it's too late.

[ManinSpace]

No problem, but you have a long way to go before its too late so try not to worry though i know its difficult. Just make sure you do plenty of research. One thing i completly forgot to mention is if you were to see a dermatologist they would be able to diagnose you with loss or not so that might be a good place to start