22 y.o with male pattern baldness coming for advice

[ImGino]

So I have really thick hair and nobody in my family believes me when I say I think I'm going bald. My dad went bald in his 20's and my older brother is 26 and definitely started balding around my age and barely has hair now so I'm thinking about getting minoxidil because I heard the earlier the better but I figured I'd ask you guys for advice before I see a dermatologist/order minoxidil. Here are some pics and thanks guys!

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I know maybe it's hard to really see but I know how my hair was a few months ago and I think this is literally the veeery early stages of hair thinning.

 

[zzzzz]

Looks like you have very minor recession. Very small but it's there. minoxidil is not a good idea here imo. Your goal is to maintain long term. minoxidil does nothing to stop male pattern baldness, it just stimulates thicker hair growth. A good analogy I have heard is pouring more water into a tub full of holes. minoxidil would only get you a few years absolute max, and there is nothing really to regrow since you barely even have any signs of recession.

I would take finasteride only. It should stop hairloss longterm especially if you start it at this early stage

 

[ImGino]

Thanks a lot I will look into that. What's your thoughts on generic finasteride? It seems to be so much cheaper and is something I could afford with my budget. Here's one more pic I took right after a shower of the back of my head. Granted the hair is wet but it gives a better idea of how uneven the right side of my head is and the slight thinning is more noticeable.

 

[MoHairMoBetta]

Generic finasteride is fine. It's even cheaper if you get the 5mg version and cut it into smaller doses. The recommended dose is 1mg daily. Your recession is minor so finasteride should be all you need to try at this point.

 

[zzzzz]

generics are good. if you get the 5mg pills buy a pillcutter along with it so you can cut them into quarters

 

[ImGino]

I appreciate it thanks a lot guys I like reading all of your stories. I'm going to be calling my hospital monday to schedule an appointment because they don't make appointments on sundays to refer a doctor and its too late today so hopefully monday I can schedule an appointment for some time next week and then get things rolling! Wish me luck and I found the generic proscar 5mg right? I will definitely look into getting that or if I'm too scared I might just end up buying generic propecia it's about double price but it still ends up being about $30 a month instead of $15 which is still affordable. Either way thanks again guys!

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One last thing I just remembered.. thoughts on ketaconazole shampoo. Is it worth it for me to use or would the finasteride be enough?

 

[MoHairMoBetta]

I wouldn't bother with the shampoo. IMO, it's best use is soothing the scalp if you're rubbing minoxidil on your head.