Where am I heading???

[Mat16]

Good afternoon fellows,

 

So I have been loosing hair for let’s say 2 years since the moment I realised it and don’t know how long before that. Currently I am 22. 

There is not much history of hairloss  in my family that I know of except my grandfather on my mother’s side. I don’t know the perfect timeline because as of now he is deceased and there is not much photos to compare with but he was NW2-NW3 between his 30s and 40s. Don’t know the later years but at the end he had a little hair on his head maybe NW5 or NW6 but I’m not really sure about that. It may have been just around his 60s  or 70s. 
On the other, my father and my fathers father still have full heads of hair.

My question to you is that where do you think I am heading in the next years and when should I be able to have my first procedure done.

I am attaching a few photos of my hot (two of them with short hair are from the summer of 2020)

So far, experience with this problem has been devastating for me as all of you know from your experiences. So a little outlook could be very calming for me

 

Thanks for all the inputs

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Mat16

[TrialAcc]

Looks like NW4-5 based on your shaved head pictures. If you're planning to get consults from HT doctors they can probably do a miniaturization test in the NW6 zone to see if there's any indication that you'd go further. 

Are you on medication? If you started fin+min you might be able to improve a bit and hold for years. I started fin when I was in about the exact same spot as you at around 21, and now I'm 28 and only lost ground because I ran out of fin for 3-4 months and couldn't get a new script cause of covid lockdowns, otherwise at 27 I was almost 100% maintained 5-6 years later on just finasteride. 

At 22 you should be looking for the prevention route far more then the HT route because no ethical doctor is going to work on you with the hair you currently have. You're hairline is like a lightly thinned out NW1.5 and your crown looks untouched when your hair is longer. Not in the realm of surgery for a 22-25 year old. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by TrialAcc

[Mat16]

2 minutes ago, TrialAcc said:

Looks like NW4-5 based on your shaved head pictures. If you're planning to get consults from HT doctors they can probably do a miniaturization test in the NW6 zone to see if there's any indication that you'd go further. 

Actually I am not within reach to any verified HT surgeon so I don’t think I can do the miniaturisation test (if it has to be done in person). And if you’re right and I will be heading to NW 4 and NW 5 what could be the earliest age for me to undergo a surgery?

[TrialAcc]

1 minute ago, Mat16 said:

Actually I am not within reach to any verified HT surgeon so I don’t think I can do the miniaturisation test (if it has to be done in person). And if you’re right and I will be heading to NW 4 and NW 5 what could be the earliest age for me to undergo a surgery?

I added to my post after you replied, check out the edit. 

[Mat16]

7 minutes ago, TrialAcc said:

Looks like NW4-5 based on your shaved head pictures. If you're planning to get consults from HT doctors they can probably do a miniaturization test in the NW6 zone to see if there's any indication that you'd go further. 

Are you on medication? If you started fin+min you might be able to improve a bit and hold for years. I started fin when I was in about the exact same spot as you at around 21, and now I'm 28 and only lost ground because I ran out of fin for 3-4 months and couldn't get a new script cause of covid lockdowns, otherwise at 27 I was almost 100% maintained 5-6 years later on just finasteride. 

At 22 you should be looking for the prevention route far more then the HT route because no ethical doctor is going to work on you with the hair you currently have. You're hairline is like a lightly thinned out NW1.5 and your crown looks untouched when your hair is longer. Not in the realm of surgery for a 22-25 year old. 

Thanks for your words.

well I already tried fin and felt like I have been having issues with erection a bit (not sure though) so I stopped. But I am planning to start again in a few weeks. Of course I understand that before the age of 35 it’s a big NO regarding a surgery but I was wondering that if after this age it will be more approachable 

[TrialAcc]

9 minutes ago, Mat16 said:

Thanks for your words.

well I already tried fin and felt like I have been having issues with erection a bit (not sure though) so I stopped. But I am planning to start again in a few weeks. Of course I understand that before the age of 35 it’s a big NO regarding a surgery but I was wondering that if after this age it will be more approachable 

You can defiantly get a HT earlier then 35, anywhere into your upper 20s is where it starts to become a realistic option. The problem is the more hair you lose and the more you will lose (future pattern) will determine what a realistic outcome of the procedure will be.

For example if you have stabilized your hairloss and are approaching 30 you can get a minor FUE HT to build any loss in the hairline. On the other hand, if you're approaching 30 and are also approaching a full NW5 you're looking at 2-3 major procedures with much more conservative possible outcomes and probably the suggestion of a FUT depending on your donor capacity. 

I would 100% be trying to go for maintenance/prevention if I were you. You never know how the technology will improve or if other treatments will come out down the line that youl be able to add as well. Your hairloss isn't that bad (yet) and can probably easily be salvaged. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by TrialAcc

[deeznuts]

Looks like you've got noticeable thinning at the crown and the temples. Those two bald spots would in theory combine down the line and you would get the horseshoe pattern unless you die something to stop it.

[Gatsby]

I'm not a doctor but I would suggest you seek a good dermatologist and see if you can tweak your finasteride dose and start low and titrate it up very slowly. For example if you were on 1mg a day. You may be suggested to trial .5mg three times a week (M, W, F). Have you tried minoxidil?

[Mat16]

5 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

I'm not a doctor but I would suggest you seek a good dermatologist and see if you can tweak your finasteride dose and start low and titrate it up very slowly. For example if you were on 1mg a day. You may be suggested to trial .5mg three times a week (M, W, F). Have you tried minoxidil?

Actually it’s not possible to get fin in my country for this problem, I tried to talk about it to one dermatologist a she was just totally against it so I’m on my own here.

And regarding the dosage, I started with 0.25mg MWF and very slowly upped the dosage to 1mg MWF. I haven’t felt any sides I just got the feeling that my erections weren’t the same as before but that may have been just in the brain. I will start again though

For minoxidil, I haven’t tried it but I was thinking about oral minoxidil, I don’t want to use it in liquid form cause my hair are already so weak that I am happy when I can style them the way I want and the liquid stuff would have just been a destroyer.

[Curious25]

1 hour ago, Mat16 said:

Actually it’s not possible to get fin in my country for this problem, I tried to talk about it to one dermatologist a she was just totally against it so I’m on my own here.

And regarding the dosage, I started with 0.25mg MWF and very slowly upped the dosage to 1mg MWF. I haven’t felt any sides I just got the feeling that my erections weren’t the same as before but that may have been just in the brain. I will start again though

For minoxidil, I haven’t tried it but I was thinking about oral minoxidil, I don’t want to use it in liquid form cause my hair are already so weak that I am happy when I can style them the way I want and the liquid stuff would have just been a destroyer.

What country are you in? 

[Mat16]

36 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

What country are you in? 

Slovakia

[Mat16]

3 hours ago, deeznuts said:

Looks like you've got noticeable thinning at the crown and the temples. Those two bald spots would in theory combine down the line and you would get the horseshoe pattern unless you die something to stop it.

Well that doesn’t sound very heartwarming 😂