I'm 33 and my hair has been gradually thinning since I was in my mid 20s or so. My hair has been very long since I was in high school and even now I still get compliments about it, even though I've noticed it not being as full as it once was. It seems like since hitting 30 the loss has progressed, and even moreso in recent months. I've always tried to attribute it to different things ("it's just the light", "it's just the angle", "it's just parted a bit differently", "I've been stressed/sleeping bad lately") and I've never had a stylist comment on it when getting it cut or anything like that. The other day a coworker mentioned it, and it made me wonder how many other people have noticed and not commented.
When I was 21 or so I had a bad case of sebroherric dermatitis and was prescribed some medicated seleniumn sulfide shampoo for it. I used that for a few years, then stopped as the condition abated. Then a few years later it came back, but when I used the stuff again it burned so bad I never tried it again. Finally I found a regiment that worked to keep it away (washing only every other day instead of every day and cutting out shampoo with sulfates + Regenepure DR once a week) and maybe get excessive seb derm/dandruff breakouts a few times a year and they're nowhere near as bad as before. That's another thing I'd also attributed to being a cause of some of the thinning.
Now I realize it's time to do something more active, or I wonder if I've waited too long. I've been occasionally reading this forum on and off for years and am worried about the long term effects of getting on finasteride, basically that you have to be on it for life and that it's not even guaranteed to be effective. I also wonder if the way I wear my hair (parted down the middle since 1996 or so) has had an effect. I've been using a keto shampoo (Regenpure) for over a year now. A while back I tried both regular nizoral and the 2% kind, but the 2% kind also made my scalp hurt.
Most of the thinning is along my part, almost in the Ludwig scale. My temples/hairline have receded/thinned a bit, but it's been very gradual.
Thanks for listening. I've never spoken about this insecurity before, and this post was more for me to get the whole thing off my chest than anything else.
When I was 21 or so I had a bad case of sebroherric dermatitis and was prescribed some medicated seleniumn sulfide shampoo for it. I used that for a few years, then stopped as the condition abated. Then a few years later it came back, but when I used the stuff again it burned so bad I never tried it again. Finally I found a regiment that worked to keep it away (washing only every other day instead of every day and cutting out shampoo with sulfates + Regenepure DR once a week) and maybe get excessive seb derm/dandruff breakouts a few times a year and they're nowhere near as bad as before. That's another thing I'd also attributed to being a cause of some of the thinning.
Now I realize it's time to do something more active, or I wonder if I've waited too long. I've been occasionally reading this forum on and off for years and am worried about the long term effects of getting on finasteride, basically that you have to be on it for life and that it's not even guaranteed to be effective. I also wonder if the way I wear my hair (parted down the middle since 1996 or so) has had an effect. I've been using a keto shampoo (Regenpure) for over a year now. A while back I tried both regular nizoral and the 2% kind, but the 2% kind also made my scalp hurt.
Most of the thinning is along my part, almost in the Ludwig scale. My temples/hairline have receded/thinned a bit, but it's been very gradual.
Thanks for listening. I've never spoken about this insecurity before, and this post was more for me to get the whole thing off my chest than anything else.
