18 and balding (picture included)

[thebaldingkid]

Hi:

 

I'm an 18 year old student entering freshman year of university this year and for the last year and a half or so I've been noticing significant thinning in the crown area of my head and some minor thinning on the temple area. I have no receding hairline, but the thinning in the crown area has reached the point where it's easily noticeable. In the last 2 weeks, I've had surgery on my scalp because I used to have a lump (aplasia cutis congenita) on it from birth that I had removed by a dermatologist. It left a 2-3 inch scar on my head...which I feel would look much better than a lump when I eventually go bald (oh the horror). Before the surgery, I used to keep longer hair in the back of my head to cover the lump, but now that the scar has healed, I've gotten a shorter haircut all around. Regardless, I'm 18 years old and my crown is visibly balding. My dermatologist has prescribed me generic 5mg finasteride tablets from Dr. Reddy, which I am cutting into 5 pieces and taking 1 each day. I have just begun using Nanogen Hair Building Fibers to cover up the crown area completely, but I'm wondering what else I can do. Since I suppose I've caught this relatively early, what would you all recommend to potentially solve the problem? Another thing I might add is that my dermatologist claims that I lost some hair due to the inflammation after the surgery, sending some follicles into a temporary dormant state. This MAY be true, but I was definitely losing hair even before the surgery.

 

The photo I'm attaching was taken just this morning right after a shower. By the end of the day or the next day, it becomes significantly worse as I have a very greasy scalp. The same goes for when I'm under a significant amount of light.

[thebaldingkid]

Hi:

 

I'm an 18 year old student entering freshman year of university this year and for the last year and a half or so I've been noticing significant thinning in the crown area of my head and some minor thinning on the temple area. I have no receding hairline, but the thinning in the crown area has reached the point where it's easily noticeable. In the last 2 weeks, I've had surgery on my scalp because I used to have a lump (aplasia cutis congenita) on it from birth that I had removed by a dermatologist. It left a 2-3 inch scar on my head...which I feel would look much better than a lump when I eventually go bald (oh the horror). Before the surgery, I used to keep longer hair in the back of my head to cover the lump, but now that the scar has healed, I've gotten a shorter haircut all around. Regardless, I'm 18 years old and my crown is visibly balding. My dermatologist has prescribed me generic 5mg finasteride tablets from Dr. Reddy, which I am cutting into 5 pieces and taking 1 each day. I have just begun using Nanogen Hair Building Fibers to cover up the crown area completely, but I'm wondering what else I can do. Since I suppose I've caught this relatively early, what would you all recommend to potentially solve the problem? Another thing I might add is that my dermatologist claims that I lost some hair due to the inflammation after the surgery, sending some follicles into a temporary dormant state. This MAY be true, but I was definitely losing hair even before the surgery.

 

The photo I'm attaching was taken just this morning right after a shower. By the end of the day or the next day, it becomes significantly worse as I have a very greasy scalp. The same goes for when I'm under a significant amount of light.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Looks like it's prolly just MPB at its core...anyways, it looks like you caught it pretty early (obv still a total bitch for you). I would keep on the fin...for a good 12+ months....see how you respond, see how you progress....you could then start given serious consideration to doing some consults with some elite clinics, re: a HT. I wouldn't give it too much thought at this point, though. So ya, keep on the fin, keep up the the nano, and focus on whatever else you can improve your life and make dealing with MPB an easier ride.

[aaron1234]

18 and balding.. isn't that a song?

 

Anyways, yeah it sucks that it struck so young. But you did the right thing by getting on Fin. If I were you I would also give Rogaine Foam a try. I tried it, didn't work out for me... but it has for many. Just stay on Fin. But like Thana said, it's too early to start thinking about a HT. It might be an option down the road... but not now.

[thebaldingkid]

Thanks for the feedback. The reason I'm hesitant to get on any sort of Minox right now is that it not only seems like a giant pain (waiting for it to dry, applying it every day - not ideal for a college student sharing a bathroom and all), but it also seems to have side effects that I don't really want to deal with. Finasteride is already giving me some aches and pains, which is why I'm lowering my dosage now. It will probably take a long time before I can even figure out whether it's working or not, but I can only hope that the Fin is at least halting the hair loss...I know it only very rarely promotes new hair growth. I can spend about a minute in the bathroom to cover my current spot up with Nanogen, but I'm definitely worried about people running their hands through my hair and things...not sure how I'd explain that one haha. Would you recommend also getting on Nizoral 2%? I can't find that in stores..only 1%. Damn college is going to be even harder than I thought now that I have the hair of a 50 year old.

[thanatopsis_awry]

I was going to say at least you're applying the nano to just your crown, but on 2nd thought I girls are most apt to stroke a man's vertex....

 

I used to be a nano fiend myself so I can relate, and I've had some embarrassing situations. I wrote/posted a story about one of them on here a while ago....was in my jiu-jitsu class....

 

Anyways, I honestly don't think nizoral will do much aside from maybe drying out your hair -- what happened to me. I'd recco using Toppek/Nanogen's shampoo/conditioner line. I would also really stick with the fin -- I've never heard of aches/pains from it, but I would do your best to stick with it for a year or so. I feel with your loss that fin could do wonders for you; hopefully enough to get you through most of school.

 

You do have options if the shit really hits the fan in the next couple years and your hairline starts to go, so don't think you're doomed and in an inextricable quagmire throughout all of college.

[thebaldingkid]

Well you sparked my curiosity and I looked up that story of yours. To be completely honest, I probably would have fallen to the ground, pissing in my pants from terror. (Sorry, I know that's not a pleasant image, but neither is the one your story produced hehe).

 

I'll have to see. I'm not sure that my loss is so severe yet that I'll have to ALWAYS use the concealer, but just when I know it's likely to show. I suppose a late-night frat party with limited light would let me go by without the concealer...and this also happens to be where a curious hand might creep up the back of my head, in which case I'd be relatively safe.

 

All of this has prompted me to question whether to convert to Judaism just to have the privilege of a yarmulke to hide my imperfections! No offense to anyone, by the way haha, it just seems like such a convenient device in my situation. Oh how I self-deprecate.

[Marvin]

Assuming the aches and pains are "down there", this is a really common side effect of first starting fin and it goes away after a while.

[thebaldingkid]

What I noticed today as I took a shower in a white tub for once is that all the shedding that is occurring seems to be occurring as I shower. When I wake up in the mornings, I find maybe 4-5 hairs on my pillow at most and when I dry my hair with a towel after showering, I rarely shed any. But while I shower, applying shampoo and all, I seem to be shedding perhaps up to 30 hairs. Is there something to be said about this?

[thebaldingkid]

And to reply to Marvin:

 

My aches and pains are actually not "down there;" rather, I feel it most severely in the form of head and shoulder-aches.

[Marvin]

Sorry to hear that about the aches and pains; that seems like a serious side effect. Are you still getting it with decreased dosage?

 

I fear that given how aggressive your hair loss is, a decreased dosage may be like a band-aid on a broken arm.

[Marvin]

Originally posted by thebaldingkid:

What I noticed today as I took a shower in a white tub for once is that all the shedding that is occurring seems to be occurring as I shower. When I wake up in the mornings, I find maybe 4-5 hairs on my pillow at most and when I dry my hair with a towel after showering, I rarely shed any. But while I shower, applying shampoo and all, I seem to be shedding perhaps up to 30 hairs. Is there something to be said about this?

 

I don't believe that there is any evidence that not bathing retards hair loss.

 

After graduating from college, I switched from showering once a day to showering twice a day and I do not feel that it has increased my hair loss.

[thebaldingkid]

Does the picture appear to show extremely aggressive hair loss? I keep getting different opinions...my dermatologist acted like it was no big deal and just prescribed me 1mg fin per day. I leave for college in 6 days and this is definitely leading me towards a breakdown...

[Severn]

Your early loss pattern looks just like mine at about 24. I started the minoxydil and it brought it all back pretty quick. It dries fast since it's alchohol based. Oh, and I used the 2% solution and it was fine. I've tried the 5% but it caused way too much flaking. However, the minox only worked for me for about 3 or 4 years. Then the finisteride worked equally as well. I also initially had pain "down there" but it went away after a month or so.

[aaron1234]

Yeah, the Minox made my ears really chapped. No kidding. So after a couple weeks I stopped the Foam.

 

The Fin actually gave me some pretty strong testicular pain for a couple weeks. I almost quit but it went away and I haven't had a problem for three years.

 

Your hair loss doesn't look totally extreme right now. The thing is is that you are so young, so you never know how it's much further it's going to progress.

[Marvin]

Originally posted by thebaldingkid:

Does the picture appear to show extremely aggressive hair loss? I keep getting different opinions...my dermatologist acted like it was no big deal and just prescribed me 1mg fin per day. I leave for college in 6 days and this is definitely leading me towards a breakdown...

 

For an 18 year old, it does seem like unusually extensive crown loss. Of the many people I know (including myself) who started losing their hair at that age, I've only seen one other 18-year old with that kind of crown thinning and he has extremely aggressive loss. I just checked his pictures on Facebook, and he's currently a 24-year old NW5.

 

But maybe you have no or little loss in the front and crown-first is the pattern you happen to have the genes for.

[thebaldingkid]

Will the fin be sufficient for now then or is necessary that I start with Minox too? As I said, minox would be a pretty big pain for me to apply during college, but we'll see.

[thebaldingkid]

Also, has your friend been on medication or did he reach that stage naturally?

[Marvin]

I have no idea if my friend who is really bald ever used meds. We never talked about his hairloss.

 

I had another friend in college who started going bald around then, used minox, and got no results. He was a NW3 the last time I saw him (when he was 23 or 24).

 

There are tons of people here who use minox and got results, though. Personally, I don't use minox because, like you, I think it would be too much of a hassle.

[aaron1234]

Yeah, not going with Minox is fine as long as you stick with Fin. Though some seem to think the two used together have a kind of synergistic effect.

[thebaldingkid]

I'm going to guess the answer is no, but I'm going to ask anyway. If I begin using Minox now along with the Fin i'm already taking and see hair growth, will it be OK to then stop using Minox? I can see myself taking a pill for years, but applying rogaine twice a day just won't work for a long time.

[Marvin]

You will lose everything the Minox accomplished once you stop taking it.

[folliclediabolical]

Good on you for coming to these forums at your age and catching in early.it certainly leaves you more options than a lot of us.I wish someone had popped a packet of fin through my letterbox 10 years ago!.

 

with regards to the hair foams,i feel your pain.Ive tried regaine and procerin which i both found left my hair looking like someone had just cracked a raw egg into it,so i too have recently started on finasteride.

 

All the best with your journey mate.

[thebaldingkid]

Thanks for all the help and advice so far! I've finally started feeling a LITTLE more confident about this...

 

I wanted to address the idea of Rogaine foam again after having a free consultation with someone at Dr. DiStefano's office. From what I was told, Rogaine foam even works if just used once a day (right before bed probably) and dries very quickly...making it easy to apply nanogen on top. From all of your experiences, is it truly that easy to use? I know the liquid is far more tedious, but from what I've seen about the foam here too, it seems rather annoying as well. Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

 

Lastly, I was also told that a "handheld laser comb" thingamajig would be beneficial too and that a huge percentage of people who have used this ~$500 contraption see increase in hair density. Again, any experiences?

 

Thanks again!

[aaron1234]

Don't listen to Kanum. I eat an apple everyday and I still lose hair. Laser combs are a hoax. The foam does apply easier than the liquid. However, if you put in nanogen you'd have to wash that out before applying the foam. But you should wash out nanogen before you go to bed anyways.