20 Years Old, Too Much Thinning - Help!

[tjm127]

Hey all, first time poster here, I just don't really know what to do...

 

I just turned 20 less than 2 months ago, I'm about to be a junior in college, and I'm starting to notice a lot of thinning on my crown. When I was a freshman, I had a period of MAJOR shedding - I mean, the hair was falling out on my pillow, on my books in class - but I talked to my doctor and he suggested it could be a number of things: diet, stress, even the water in DC (where I attend school). So I stopped thinking about it. The shedding stopped as mysteriously as it had began, and I moved on with my life. I knew my hair was thin, but I dismissed it...people don't start going bald when they're 18, 19...right???

 

Wrong. I noticed these last few months that when my hair was wet, you could see way way too much scalp. I just got a short haircut, and I can STILL see way way too much scalp. I took a few pictures and this is what I found: (check images)

 

I'm obviously horrified. I had NO IDEA that it looked like that, it looks better when it's longer and when I'm not illuminating it with a flash obviously, but there's still a LOT less hair than I'd figured...especially up top, where I have a hard time seeing without that camera...

 

So, have I experienced a hopeless amount of thinning? Background, my dad and his whole family have luscious heads of hair (bastards) but my mom's father was mostly bald by 22. I think I'm behind his record pace, but maybe not by much. My sides are beautiful, as is my back, and my hairline's fine I think, but not my top. Is it curtains for me? I'm planning on doing the Nizoral shampoo treatment and getting some Rogaine Extra Strength, and then praying...also some biotin vitamins...should have started this a year ago, I'm kicking myself, but I just didn't notice anything this alarming until it all punched me in the face at once...any advice from the forum on what else to do, and whether i'm salvageable? Thanks!

[almostdone99]

Similar situation for me at 20/21 (read my profile and don't do what I did "learn from my mistakes"). You can try rogaine and finasteride, wait 18 months, and see if you are content; it will most likely never look as it once did (sorry). If, at 18 months, you are still unhappy......do tons of research on different hair loss treatments. Don't rush into any procedures. Hopefully you will be happy maintaining the hair you have, with a short haircut; try a buzz cut as it might look good. Also, see a shrink to help you maintain a healthy perspective on losing your hair.

[tjm127]

Not particularly concerned with it looking "as it once did," if it stays more or less the way it is I'll be perfectly happy. I can live happily with it being thin, I'll just be troubled if it continues to decrease in volume until it shrinks away!

[tjm127]

I also am extremely wary about finasteride...those possibly sexual side effects, and the recent George Washington University study suggesting they are more common and longer lasting than previously thought, scare the willies out of me...I might be too young to be going bald, but I'm DEFINITELY too young to be having THOSE sorts of problems!

[tjm127]

(Shots from in my parent's front yard - it doesn't look nearly so bad in the natural light, thank Christ, but still worse than it was 6 months ago)

[chrisdav]

Tjm127, your hair loss is very aggressive at a young age which isn't good if I am honest.

[Stuart01]

Tjm127,

 

Do not have a hair transplant right now. For your age your hair loss is very aggressive. We see individuals such as your self come into our clinic every once in a while. There are a small percentage of guys your age with hair loss similar to you and it is very important to see how aggressive your hair loss is going to be over the next couple of years. I know you are hesitant to go on Propecia right know especially with all the new information that has been coming out with side effects. I can tell you first hand that propecia is very effective for guys like you, but I also understand your concerns. I would never push Propecia on anyone. I have been on Propecia for over 20 years, even before it was FDA approved and never experienced any side effects, we have also put 100's of patients on Propecia with a very small percentage of them experiencing side effects, but it can happen and you need to made aware of it. You need to way the pros and cons of Propecia and determine what is best for you. Stay on Rogaine 5%, nizoral shampoo is very good. If you continue to lose more hair you can always have a hair transplant a couple years down the road, but first see if you can control further hair loss right now. A patient only has some much donor area available and if your hair loss gets very aggressive you need to conserve your donor area to rebuild the frontal 1/2 of your scalp, which might not be able to be acomplished if you start using up a good portion of your donor area to fill in what you have presently lost in the mid and back area of your scalp.

[tjm127]

Well, hopefully I get started on something immediately and it halts where it's at. It's not nearly so noticeable when my hair is longer, I JUST got a short haircut yesterday, which may be influencing how it looks.

[tjm127]

And I'm not really thinking of getting a hair transplant. If worse comes to worse, I got the Jason Statham look and I very close-crop my hair. It would be a change, but I think if I had to I could pull it off. Most of all, I want to keep the vast majority of the hair I have. Any regrowth would just be gravy.

[tjm127]

For when I start using Nizoral (which will be when my Amazon shipment comes in:) how often should one use it, precisely? I'm using the 1% shampoo. I know you're NOT supposed to use it every day, but how often? Every 3 days? Three times a week? Twice a week? I looked around the interwebs and there seems to be no real consensus.

[gillenator]

tjm127,

 

I agree with Stuart's comments. In addition, the first wave of hairloss in your freshman year could have been a period of telogen effluvium which is a momentary period of mass shedding. It does happen to many younger men as they reach their late teens and early twenties. I hear about it more than you would think.

 

It definitely sounds like you are more disposed to your maternal grandfather and you could potentially be headed for Norwood class 7 ultimately. I also read the GWU study on Propecia and IMHO, it had a fair amount of negative bias in it. I do not doubt some of the side-effects that were reported, it's more the fact that the publishing physician was already opininated regarding the drug and they never detailed those who did not experience sexual side-effects. Still, it is an individual decision whether or not to use effective medicinals in curbing the effects of MPB. FYI, low dose finasteride like propecia and minoxidil are the only two proven FDA approved products that are the most effective in dealing with MPB.

 

Be careful to not introduce too many products at once because it can cause/promote another shed. Products like Nizoral are a scalp invigorator however does nothing to inhibit DHT. I see little benefit with it.

 

I also encourage you to wait it out (surgery) to see where your hairloss is headed. Still, without the meds, the progression of MPB can speed up and slow down at intervals which are unpredictable.

 

If you do end up towards the Norwood 7 class, then your goals can be adjusted more modestly if you still want some light coverage in the frontal to midscalp zones.

 

Feel free to contact me as I live in the DC area if you ever want to chat more.

 

Best wishes to you my friend! :cool:

[RCWest]

Nizoral should be used twice a week max, every 3-4 days. Anymore can make you shed.

[BadBeat]

Nizoral should be used twice a week max, every 3-4 days. Anymore can make you shed.

 

This. And really pay attention to your shedding even if you're only taking it every 3-4 days. I had to completely stop using it. It practically ruined my hair. I went from having 10+ hairs in my hands when I'd apply Rogaine to having 0-2 after a few months of discontinuing use of Niz.

[tjm127]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I guess I'll just do Nizoral/Rogaine and keep it up for six months and see what happens. If it stays exactly the same, I will be pleased. If I start to somehow grow some hairs back, I'll be tickled. If it gets worse, well, all that means is that it doesn't matter and it wasn't meant to be, and I should start figuring out ways to look good with a very short crop.

 

And seriously - it does NOT look bad once my hair grows out...it's been thin for a couple of years, but the hair that grows grows quickly and long and dark and thick, and by mid September it will be impossible to tell I have thinning hair on my crown unless it's wet and the hair clumps together. And I only get my hair cut once every two and a half months or so. Plus, I'm tall, so it's not like people are looking down at my scalp all the time. So I guess I should feel blessed that it's the way it is and not worse! Gotta look on the bright side, I'm young and intelligent and good-looking apart from the hair, I don't got time to overly worry about this. Now I just pray that if worse comes to worse, I look good with a shaved head...

[tjm127]

Although I'm also wondering if my hair thinning might be due to stress? I've been undergoing MAJOR stress for over six months now (school, family, working two jobs, the works). And yet, I haven't been shedding at ALL, not in over a year and a half, which is kinda what I though stress-based hair loss manifested as. Can it just manifest as new hairs not growing in? If that were the case, wouldn't it also impact the hair on the back and side of my heads, which are healthy as can be? I don't actually know, any insight would be appreciated. If I can kill the stressors in my life, would the hair grow back, or is it permanent?

 

(It might also be dietary, maybe? As an unpaid intern in DC for the summer, I ate a looooot of fast food - I run a lot, so I didn't gain a pound, but that can't be great for your hair. Would altering my diet perhaps give my hair a little boost? I'm stabbing in the dark here).

[KO]

Nothing to do with diet. You have MPB and the only thing that will stop that is fin. Get proscar, as it is cheaper than propecia.

 

 

Honestly, I don't think it looks that terrible, take your meds, and see how you do....

[AdamAJ]

There are homeless men with full heads of hair and fat men with full heads of hair so I do not think diet and stress plays a big part. It's mostly genetics. Just my opinion.

[tjm127]

All I can do is shrug, I suppose. Shrug and do what is suggested to me, of course! I'm still quite worried about Propecia and Proscar, I was brought up to not take anything with side effects that severe, so I just started with minox and nizoral shampoo this morning and I'll see how it goes from there. Besides, I'm not even shedding at all right now, and haven't noticeably shed for a very long time, so even if the treatment fails, perhaps I can hang onto my youthful good looks for a while longer yet!

 

At work, where I'm the youngest guy in the office by 15 years, they always poke fun at me for looking like I'm 16. Maybe if I need to shave my head at some point, I'll get some more respect!

 

BTW, what is the deal with saw palmetto? My research (such that it is) shows an internet unsure of whether saw palmetto is effective or not, and also an internet unsure about whether it would give the same side effects as Proscar or not. Does anyone here have any experience with saw palmetto and its benefits and side effects (if indeed either exists)?

[gillenator]

There are homeless men with full heads of hair and fat men with full heads of hair so I do not think diet and stress plays a big part. It's mostly genetics. Just my opinion.

 

 

I totally agree!

[KO]

Get on finasteride. Seriously man, there is no other way. I wish you'd not waste another minute! Look at the 5 yr graph of finasteride v placebo. Let me know if you cant find it, ill post it.

[Raphael84]

tjm, hey man. Sorry your feeling this way. But by your comments you seem to be a sensible guy and are doing the right thing by getting some answers and doing your research as early as possible. I was in a similar place to yourself when I was your age, and yes my pattern progressed and I lost further hair. Its great that your hair looks better when its longer but dont allow this to mask the real situation. I also tried to attribute my hairloss to stress and lifestyle, but at that age in my experience, its almost wishful thinking. Like KO said, its MPB.

Its great that you dont feel that you would ever want to go the HT route, and the Jason Statham look would suit you. Good decision, good for you. And I understand the hesitancy regarding starting Propecia with possible side effects at your age, but consider it. I hate the thought of taking any type of medication consistantly. Our bodies are not designed for this. But, I started Propecia at 20, and whilst further loss continued initially, my hairloss has stabalised now for at least 4/5 years and I have never experienced any side effects. My hairloss is still advanced but I hate to think where I would be in the hairloss battle if I had never started Propecia.

Im sure youll make the right decision for you! Best of luck!