After years of beating the whole hair loss game....its finally happening

[andfost]

For the longest time I have been known to have the fullest and thickest head of hair out of all my friends. My hair started shedding more and more a few years back but it always looked the same so I never worried about it...until now

My friends would always ask me what my secret was and I didn't know what to tell them. "I guess I'm just lucky" would always be my response to which they would reply. "It'll happen some day." I always thought that some day would happen deep into my 30's. I'm not too sure what went wrong but my receeding hairline just started getting deeper and deeper but I was still able to style my hair in a way that would still make it look presentable...then the area by my right temple would thin out FAST..."Its ok" I told myself, I still got plenty more overall. Now I've kind always had a very small (about the size of a dime) bald spot in the cowlick region on the back of my head. Just recently, this bald spot started getting bigger and bigger. Now everytime I get out of the shower, I try my best to "comb over" it or conceal its appearance as much as possible but its hopeless. This area has really widened and is now starting to run up my head. Numerous people have pointed this out to me which really takes my insecurity to a whole new level.:sobbing::shakehead: Its gotten to the point where I don't even want to go out anymore because I feel this marks the end of the "golden years" of my life.:sulkoff: I guess I had a good run at age 28 but I honestly feel like this was my only redeeming good quality I had physically and now its fading...

Someone told me that the ingredients in shampoos like Nizoral and Head and Shoulers have an active ingredient known as Pyrithione Zinc which is known to reduce shedding and stimulate hair growth. I have started using Head and Shoulders shampoo daily since July 15. I feel like its thinning my hair even more! Should I only use this shampoo 1-2x per week? What shampoo should I use instead when I wash my hair? Also, is it normal to have my hair thinning accelerated after treating it with something that should help it like Head and Shoulders? Sorry for all the questions, I am new to this whole hair loss thing and I want to know as much as possible so I know what to do. Also, I am walking in a wedding next week and my friend gave me this stuff called "toppik." I guess its used a powder that you put in your hair to temporarily mask how thin it is. Is this safe to use? Thanks!

Sorry for the lengthy post

 

[Agustin Araujo]

Hi andfost,

Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry about your situation with hair loss, it's an incredibly difficult thing to deal with, as you have experienced yourself. I'm not sure how bad your hair loss has gotten, but from what you described, it seems like it has advanced quite a bit. The best thing we can do in our current time is to get on proven treatments. The #1 treatment for hair loss is Finasteride, which I strongly recommend to start taking if you're not on that medication. It will help to keep balding from progressing any further in the long-term. I also recommend to use Minoxidil to encourage hair regrowth and promote maintenance of hair. Shampoos like Nizoral are far too weak to make any major difference at improving hair loss and is why it's not helping very much. And yes, using Nizoral 1-2 times per week is fine. Nice of your friend to recommend you to use Toppik. Yes it's safe to use and you'll be fine using it.

Again, thanks for sharing your story.

 

[DPAMan]

I definitely relate to the feeling of hair loss marking the beginning of the end... can be a scary feeling. Nothing else really to add that Agustin hasn't already said, but much luck to you.

 

[andfost]

Thanks for the feedback Agustin.

I have heard of Finasteride and I kind of wanted to exhaust all my options before trying prescription medication. Do you think I will see results if I just use Minoxidil 5% and the Head and Shoulders/Nizoral shampoo? Also, should I cut back from using head and shoulders everyday and limit it to 1-2x per week max? If so what other shampoo should I use instead when I shower? Thanks

 

[husseinDtheman]

tfw