Is my hair thinning and receding or is it just me?

[thesukh03]

Hey guys, I sometimes have a bad habit of my sleeping with my hair gel on, though I only ever use it on special occasions. Despite this I am seeing the consuquences of not washing my hair before I sleep after a day of wearing gel.

As you can see in my attached picture, I think that I may have spotted a slight, yet very significant bald patch in the front of my hair. I can’t tell whether this is a bad sign. If it is then what could I do to regrow this spot of hair, close to its normal state? Would this be possible?

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

The sukh03, 

Certainly appears like a normal parting of very healthy hair. It may look a little thinner because of the dark color of your hair shafts and lighter color of the scalp. Any other areas where it looks thin, like the frontal "corners" or the "crown" in the very back? If you were going to develop androgenic alopecia (genetic male pattern hair loss), you would likely see it in these other areas first. Also, how old are you adn what is your family history of hair loss like? 

Look forward to your reply, 

Dr Bloxham 

[LaserCap]

You have 3 strikes against you.   First one....Dark hair light scalp.  Second, Lengthy hair weighs and it pulls away from the area making it seem worse.  Third one, gel clumps the hair together.  So a couple of suggestions....

Trim it.  There is a particular length where all hairs seem to work together and make it seems as if you are fuller than what you truly are.  Ease up on the gel.  

Lastly, comb to the side.  Shingling is what creates the sense of layers...this results in a much fuller look.

Yes, from the photo you've submitted it seems you're thinning.  Are you doing any type of medical therapy to help you with retention of the native hair?

 

[thesukh03]

26 minutes ago, Dr Blake Bloxham said:

The sukh03, 

Certainly appears like a normal parting of very healthy hair. It may look a little thinner because of the dark color of your hair shafts and lighter color of the scalp. Any other areas where it looks thin, like the frontal "corners" or the "crown" in the very back? If you were going to develop androgenic alopecia (genetic male pattern hair loss), you would likely see it in these other areas first. Also, how old are you adn what is your family history of hair loss like? 

Look forward to your reply, 

Dr Bloxham 

Hi Blake, thank you for your response. There are no other areas of my hair that I can find where it would be thinning. I am 23 years old that is about to turn 24 next month.

For my family history, I have an older brother that began to lose his hair in his teenage years and his hair had receded  to shorter lengths in his twenties, until he went bald. My father however had a full set of hair and didn’t lose it until his four ties and my mother has a full set of healthy hair.

Any suggestions on what I could do to help it grow back. I believe acting early could really help me with regaining some of this lost thickness.

[thesukh03]

29 minutes ago, LaserCap said:

You have 3 strikes against you.   First one....Dark hair light scalp.  Second, Lengthy hair weighs and it pulls away from the area making it seem worse.  Third one, gel clumps the hair together.  So a couple of suggestions....

Trim it.  There is a particular length where all hairs seem to work together and make it seems as if you are fuller than what you truly are.  Ease up on the gel.  

Lastly, comb to the side.  Shingling is what creates the sense of layers...this results in a much fuller look.

Yes, from the photo you've submitted it seems you're thinning.  Are you doing any type of medical therapy to help you with retention of the native hair?

 

At this time I am not doing any kind of medical therapy to help with my hair. What sort of things would you suggest? I believe that I can’t afford any kinds of expensive treatments like transplants, as I am unemployed and seeking work, though I have enough of a budget for any kind of hair products.

[LaserCap]

Rogaine, Propecia, PRP,  Laser.

Rogaine you can find OTC, there are several manufacturers.  Should cost you about $10 per month.

Propecia/Finasteride.  You need a prescription.  Costco on Line has it for $14, (cash price, no insurance), for a 3 month supply.

PRP, consult with your local hair transplant doctor.

Laser...There are several out there...including Chinese knock-offs.  These can range between a couple hundred to a couple thousand depending on what you're looking for and how much you want to invest.

Lastly, SMP.  This is an organic ink drawing on the scalp and it helps to minimize the contrast between the color of the hair and the color of the scalp.

A word of caution....most people expect....and become disappointed when they don't see a difference from using the medications.  The meds are not meant for you to grow anything.  Rather, they help you with retention. So if a year from now you look the same as when you started, the medications are doing what they're supposed to do.  Some patients can enhance hair.  Meaning, the caliber of the hair improves.  Seems like re-growth but it isn't.  Nothing regrows hair.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

8 hours ago, thesukh03 said:

Hi Blake, thank you for your response. There are no other areas of my hair that I can find where it would be thinning. I am 23 years old that is about to turn 24 next month.

For my family history, I have an older brother that began to lose his hair in his teenage years and his hair had receded  to shorter lengths in his twenties, until he went bald. My father however had a full set of hair and didn’t lose it until his four ties and my mother has a full set of healthy hair.

Any suggestions on what I could do to help it grow back. I believe acting early could really help me with regaining some of this lost thickness.

Your first step should be seeing a doctor in person. It is not even clear whether there is anything to "grow back" at this point. Get a good sense of whether or not there is an issue before trying to treat it. If the doctor does believe it is the beginning of some male pattern hair loss, then there is a lot to be gained by starting early. But that's a big IF, and I would not put the cart in front of the horse here. See a doctor in person and let us know how it goes.