21 (M) male pattern baldness or mature hairline?

[jxcke]

Going bald is something i’ve never been worried about until very recently, i’ve always been told i have the hair of my dads side (he has a thick head of hair with a mature hairline at 50, his brother is in his 50s and has a full hairline intact with no maturing, the other is completely bald. Don’t know about his father but his mother has a full head of thick hair with barely a grey hair at 70), however my mums father is completely bald, I only really started worrying when I found out the link between your mums dad and male pattern baldness.

I’ve had a very stressful last 8 months or so, went through a bad breakup & barely ate even a single meal a day for a good while, whilst smoking weed & tobacco at least once every day, also found out recently i have a biotin deficiency (probably caused from a combo of the above.)

Always had a very large forehead but I couldn’t even tell you what my hairline looked like a few years ago as i’ve always had longer thick hair and never payed attention to it, my mum & sister’s hairline also have a noticeable ‘M’ shape pattern but i do feel my temples weren’t this far back a few years ago, best I could do is 2 pics from 10 years ago and the 3rd pic (glasses emoji) which is from last April whilst photographing the state of my lockdown bed head trim. The rest are all in the last month or so as the paranoia has kicked in. Do i likely have anything to worry about or am i worrying over nothing?

For reference my dads hairline is in the last pic

 

[Asianpack2003]

Your definitely balding either a n2-n3 definitely should go to the derm to consider taking medication

 

[Nebula74]

You're a NW2, but your forelock looks thin and wispy. I'd go to a derm and start finasteride

 

[Micky_007]

Going bald is something i’ve never been worried about until very recently, i’ve always been told i have the hair of my dads side (he has a thick head of hair with a mature hairline at 50, his brother is in his 50s and has a full hairline intact with no maturing, the other is completely bald. Don’t know about his father but his mother has a full head of thick hair with barely a grey hair at 70), however my mums father is completely bald, I only really started worrying when I found out the link between your mums dad and male pattern baldness.

I’ve had a very stressful last 8 months or so, went through a bad breakup & barely ate even a single meal a day for a good while, whilst smoking weed & tobacco at least once every day, also found out recently i have a biotin deficiency (probably caused from a combo of the above.)

Always had a very large forehead but I couldn’t even tell you what my hairline looked like a few years ago as i’ve always had longer thick hair and never payed attention to it, my mum & sister’s hairline also have a noticeable ‘M’ shape pattern but i do feel my temples weren’t this far back a few years ago, best I could do is 2 pics from 10 years ago and the 3rd pic (glasses emoji) which is from last April whilst photographing the state of my lockdown bed head trim. The rest are all in the last month or so as the paranoia has kicked in. Do i likely have anything to worry about or am i worrying over nothing?

For reference my dads hairline is in the last pic

Going bald is something i’ve never been worried about until very recently, i’ve always been told i have the hair of my dads side (he has a thick head of hair with a mature hairline at 50, his brother is in his 50s and has a full hairline intact with no maturing, the other is completely bald. Don’t know about his father but his mother has a full head of thick hair with barely a grey hair at 70), however my mums father is completely bald, I only really started worrying when I found out the link between your mums dad and male pattern baldness.

I’ve had a very stressful last 8 months or so, went through a bad breakup & barely ate even a single meal a day for a good while, whilst smoking weed & tobacco at least once every day, also found out recently i have a biotin deficiency (probably caused from a combo of the above.)

Always had a very large forehead but I couldn’t even tell you what my hairline looked like a few years ago as i’ve always had longer thick hair and never payed attention to it, my mum & sister’s hairline also have a noticeable ‘M’ shape pattern but i do feel my temples weren’t this far back a few years ago, best I could do is 2 pics from 10 years ago and the 3rd pic (glasses emoji) which is from last April whilst photographing the state of my lockdown bed head trim. The rest are all in the last month or so as the paranoia has kicked in. Do i likely have anything to worry about or am i worrying over nothing?

For reference my dads hairline is in the last pic

In general, you can almost never compare your hairline at 10 years old to your adult hairline because usually that hairline at such a young age is what people consider a NW0 which is unattainable as an adult.

Your hairline has definitely receeded at the temples but it looks to have maintained that hairline for a solid year now, so it doesn't seem as if you have aggressive male pattern baldness. Unless your noticing thinning on other parts of your scalp.

Have you noticed any thinning of hair on the top of your scalp/crown region?

 

[jxcke]

In general, you can almost never compare your hairline at 10 years old to your adult hairline because usually that hairline at such a young age is what people consider a NW0 which is unattainable as an adult.

Your hairline has definitely receeded at the temples but it looks to have maintained that hairline for a solid year now, so it doesn't seem as if you have aggressive male pattern baldness. Unless your noticing thinning on other parts of your scalp.

Have you noticed any thinning of hair on the top of your scalp/crown region?

I don’t think so, I’ve had a cow lick on my crown my whole life and so does my dad so it’s hard to give a definitive answe. I don’t think the hairs on my crown feel any different than ones on my forefront when running my fingers through them.

 

[Micky_007]

That's a good sign. My advice would be to take pictures every 2 to 3 months from now, and only if you start to see a noticeable recession of your hairline, then you can consider using drugs such as Finasteride. But i never advise people to try Finasteride unless their hairloss is really aggressive already which isn't the case for you evidently. Because often, Finasteride and Dutasteride actually do the opposite of what you want and actually accelerate hairloss and thinning and makes peoples hair more sensitive to DHT which results in accelerated hairloss. Plus negative side-effects on Finasteride is a strong possibility.

I suggest using safer options in the meantime to prevent or slow down further hairloss.

Use 2% Ketoconazole Shampoo every alternate day. Its said to block DHT locally on the scalp without the side effects of Finasteride. Should buy you enough time and hopefully maintain you until Breezula comes out.

 

[Norwoody]

You look like you have a NW2, just a mature hairline really, not balding at this stage. However the density looks a little bit weak like it may recede further back. If I were you I would start some sort of treatment rather than hoping it's just going to stop, risking further loss. You're only 21 so you should take preventative measures IMO.

 

[jxcke]

You look like you have a NW2, just a mature hairline really, not balding at this stage. However the density looks a little bit weak like it may recede further back. If I were you I would start some sort of treatment rather than hoping it's just going to stop, risking further loss. You're only 21 so you should take preventative measures IMO.

I’ve started using saw palmetto shampoo, should that be enough for now? & could that just potentially be due to the texture of my hair? it does always go from very thick to very fluffy once i condition and brush it which i do everyday. I managed to find this pic earlier from 4 years ago & i’m not sure if i’m seeing things but does it look like you can even see my temple vaguely through the hair covering it here?

 

[jxcke]

That's a good sign. My advice would be to take pictures every 2 to 3 months from now, and only if you start to see a noticeable recession of your hairline, then you can consider using drugs such as Finasteride. But i never advise people to try Finasteride unless their hairloss is really aggressive already which isn't the case for you evidently. Because often, Finasteride and Dutasteride actually do the opposite of what you want and actually accelerate hairloss and thinning and makes peoples hair more sensitive to DHT which results in accelerated hairloss. Plus negative side-effects on Finasteride is a strong possibility.

I suggest using safer options in the meantime to prevent or slow down further hairloss.

Use 2% Ketoconazole Shampoo every alternate day. Its said to block DHT locally on the scalp without the side effects of Finasteride. Should buy you enough time and hopefully maintain you until Breezula comes out.

Currently I have saw palmetto shampoo which i’ve just started using today actually, will that be okay? also, not the greatest of pics by any means but i found this earlier today from 4 years ago, i’m not sure if i’m seeing things tbh but does it look like you can even vaguely see my temple through the hair at the front here too?

 

[Micky_007]

Currently I have saw palmetto shampoo which i’ve just started using today actually, will that be okay? also, not the greatest of pics by any means but i found this earlier today from 4 years ago, i’m not sure if i’m seeing things tbh but does it look like you can even vaguely see my temple through the hair at the front here too?

I can't advocate for Saw Palmetto Shampoo because it isn't as widely recognized as a better treatment for stopping hairloss or reducing it compared to Ketoconazole Shampoo.

If it is within your financial means, you could use both Shampoos. If it's not within your financial means, I'd say continue using Saw Palmetto Shampoo because you don't have any urgent need for Hairloss treatment to begin with. You don't have aggressive male pattern baldness and you possibly just have a maturing hairline that could possibly stay that way for several years.

But I would suggest as a safety precaution to switch to a 2% Ketoconazole Shampoo after your bottle of Saw Palmetto Shampoo is finished and to stick with Ketoconazole Shampoo.

I personally use a Caffeine Shampoo for cleaning/washing my hair on the days I don't use the Ketoconazole Shampoo or a few hours before using Ketoconazole Shampoo. Since I only use the Ketoconazole Shampoo as a Hairloss treatment and I don't consider it as a shampoo for cleaning my hair.

 

[jamesbooker1975]

Ketoconazole shampoo it is proove with many studies ( search for them on pubmed.gov ) that works . While, for why I understand, Saw Palmetto SHAMPOO don't have any study.
You can use Ketoconazole shampoo everyday , 2% , leave it for 10 to 20 minutes before clean it . Most probably , will the only thing you will need since , like already Micky told you, at least for that photos, don't look like agresive hair loss . But, at the end, you are the only one that really know it .

 

[Norwoody]

You'd be better off taking saw palmetto as a supplement and doing keto shampoo about 2 times a week. You can still use the saw palmetto shampoo on the other days. You need to let those shampoos sit in for at least 5mins to have an effect.

 

[Micky_007]

You'd be better off taking saw palmetto as a supplement and doing keto shampoo about 2 times a week. You can still use the saw palmetto shampoo on the other days. You need to let those shampoos sit in for at least 5mins to have an effect.

In your opinion, why do you believe that a Saw Palmetto supplement would be any safer than taking oral Finasteride, since the mechanism by which they both work to stop hairloss is by blocking DHT systemically?

I would think that whether a person blocks DHT systemically via a drug or a natural substance such as Saw Palmetto, would result in the same negative side effects (and/or positive effects) especially when administered at dosages that result in the same amount of DHT blockage.

Genuinely curious on your opinion on this.

Also, what dosage do you believe is best for a Saw Palmetto supplement to have sufficient DHT blocking capability to stop hairloss? Some say only 320mg and above is sufficient.

 

[Norwoody]

In your opinion, why do you believe that a Saw Palmetto supplement would be any safer than taking oral Finasteride, since the mechanism by which they both work to stop hairloss is by blocking DHT systemically?

I would think that whether a person blocks DHT systemically via a drug or a natural substance such as Saw Palmetto, would result in the same negative side effects (and/or positive effects) especially when administered at dosages that result in the same amount of DHT blockage.

Genuinely curious on your opinion on this.

Also, what dosage do you believe is best for a Saw Palmetto supplement to have sufficient DHT blocking capability to stop hairloss? Some say only 320mg and above is sufficient.

If I remember correctly, SP reduces serum DHT in the 30 percents, while finasteride is 60-70. The effect would probably be like the equivalent of taking 0.1mg or something. Would be worth a try in the early stages IMO. A lot of guys tolerate finasteride, but a lot less seem to tolerate dutasteride (which blocks 20-30% more DHT), so I figure you would see a significantly lower risk of sides with something half as strong as finasteride. I've taken it, but it didn't seem to either benefit or harm me. I was taking like a gram a day just to make sure it would work, but a few people seem to get results at the same dosage as is recommended for prostate issues, 320mg. If it's enough to effect the prostate it probably is enough to effect hair so long as you're in the early stages.

 

[Micky_007]

If I remember correctly, SP reduces serum DHT in the 30 percents, while finasteride is 60-70. The effect would probably be like the equivalent of taking 0.1mg or something. Would be worth a try in the early stages IMO. A lot of guys tolerate finasteride, but a lot less seem to tolerate dutasteride (which blocks 20-30% more DHT), so I figure you would see a significantly lower risk of sides with something half as strong as finasteride. I've taken it, but it didn't seem to either benefit or harm me. I was taking like a gram a day just to make sure it would work, but a few people seem to get results at the same dosage as is recommended for prostate issues, 320mg. If it's enough to effect the prostate it probably is enough to effect hair so long as you're in the early stages.

Yeah I read that low dosages like 120mg of Saw Palmetto, which only blocks 20-30% of DHT, is usually insufficient to cause substantial hair loss stoppage/regrowth. Worth a try if @jxcke is interested in trialing it, just wanted to make sure I checked the safety background before advising it to @jxcke.
Although it would be highly rare that such a small amount (equivalent to 0.1mg of Finasteride) would have any noticeable improvements.

I would probably advise higher doses of Saw Palmetto if you're considering trying it out @jxcke like 320mg which probably would give you around 70% + serum DHT blockage which is similar to 1mg Finasteride, but you can reduce dosages if you do experience side effects. Just to find the perfect dosage for you.

 

[Will Be an Egg in 5 years]

Your hair type are very similar to mine, so is your hairloss.

Is that you in the last pic or your father?

 

[Norwoody]

Even at his stage I would say 0.25mg of finasteride 3 times a week is worth trialing

 

[jxcke]

Your hair type are very similar to mine, so is your hairloss.

Is that you in the last pic or your father?

father, that’s his hair at 50

 

[Jeju]

What was your Dad’s hair like at 21?
You’ll probably just follow your old man and his hair is pretty damn good for a 50 year old! Just monitor your hair for the next year. If you do follow your dad you won’t lose hair quickly in the next 29 years lol why risk meds yet.

 

[Ourkes]

What was your Dad’s hair like at 21?

You’ll probably just follow your old man and his hair is pretty damn good for a 50 year old! Just monitor your hair for the next year. If you do follow your dad you won’t lose hair quickly in the next 29 years lol why risk meds yet.

Agreed, parents are a great indicator more often than not.