Any advice fellas? 18 years old with a receeding hairline.

[Oliver2004]

Im only 18 so i don't really want to buzz and was kind of scared of finasteride with the side effects. Have you got any advice for something natural or is it time to make the jump to finasteride? Kinda just hide it with a middle part which is effective but will probably get worse in the long term. Any help is really appreciated.

 

[Jpw1999]

start finasteride, blocking DHT is the only way to stop hair loss long term.

 

[Oliver2004]

start finasteride, blocking DHT is the only way to stop hair loss long term.

Cheers for the reply. I'll have a look into it. Should I go to a derm ( reluctant with wait time etc ) or just buy it from boots or superdrug?

 

[Assemblage23]

You look exactly like our pictures of when we regret not having started finasteride. If you have a doubt about finasteride buzz and see for yourself because it is the only alternative.

 

[Oliver2004]

You look exactly like our pictures of when we regret not having started finasteride. If you have a doubt about finasteride buzz and see for yourself because it is the only alternative.

Do you think now is a good time to start then and be able to see some good effects? Kind of glad I've caught on

 

[fatelephant]

Geezus. Another one. Your hair looks fine. Quit worrrying.

Not everyone has a hairline that goes in a straight line from one corner of the forehead to the other. In fact almost nobody does.

 

[Oliver2004]

Geezus. Another one. Your hair looks fine. Quit worrrying.

Not everyone has a hairline that goes in a straight line from one corner of the forehead to the other. In fact almost nobody does.

Had a load of people on other forums telling me to go on finasteride. Definitely had some thinning and deciding to jump on it early.
Not every one thinning is full on bald straight away you know.

 

[fatelephant]

Had a load of people on other forums telling me to go on finasteride. Definitely had some thinning and deciding to jump on it early.
Not every one thinning is full on bald straight away you know.

The hair loss community is dominated by paranoid hypochondriacs with completely unrealistic expectations of what "normal hair" looks like. Yours looks completely normal.

Did a doctor prescribe you that finasteride or are you self-medicating? I have a hard time believing any doctor would give an 18 year old with what appears to be a full head of hair a powerful hormone-altering drug.

That all said, maybe you are thinning. It's impossible to tell just from a few photographs. We'd have to see what it looked like 6 or 12 months ago. All I can say is that the photos you have provided don't show any evidence of it.

 

[Oliver2004]

Okay thanks for the reply. I didn't want to self medicate without first consulting a doctor.
I understand what you mean but this hairline has definitely been giving me some worry and when I've spoken with other forums mainly redditors, they've told me to jump on finasteride right away before it gets too late and they wished they would have done it at my stage etc. Your one of the only people to tell me its normal. So I'm kind of conflicted on what to do. Think I might try eating healthier for a year or so yet and see where that takes my hair. Thanks

 

[fatelephant]

Okay thanks for the reply. I didn't want to self medicate without first consulting a doctor.
I understand what you mean but this hairline has definitely been giving me some worry and when I've spoken with other forums mainly redditors, they've told me to jump on finasteride right away before it gets too late and they wished they would have done it at my stage etc. Your one of the only people to tell me its normal. So I'm kind of conflicted on what to do. Think I might try eating healthier for a year or so yet and see where that takes my hair. Thanks

Looks totally normal to me. You definitely have a V-shaped hairline, which is also normal. Actually it used to be so fashionable that old-time movie stars would get electrolosis on their temples to get that shape. It's what gives people like Henry Cavill their distinctive "old time movie star" look.

I'm not saying you're not going to go bald. I don't want to give you false confidence. I'm saying that your hair looks fine in those photographs and it's impossible to tell without seeing the same photographs from 6 or 12 months ago in order to compare.

I've seen ridiculous statements made on Reddit and HairLoss forums giving hopelessly bad advice. Treat them with a grain of salt.

My advice is to procede with caution. Keep these photos, and take some comparison photographs every couple of months. If it becomes obvious that you really are losing your hair and that is causing you significant psychological distress then start looking into treatments. I would start with a very low dose of topical finasteride and minoxidil. Studies have shown finasteride can be effective topically as low as 0.025% strength with basically none of the side effects.

Ultimately it's your life and your choice. But I'm 45 and definitely balding somewhere between Norwood 4 and Norwood 6 and I wouldn't even take 1mg of Finasteride a day. I'd rather just go bald.

 

[Jpw1999]

V shaped hairline = balding. Jude law had it and he's a nw4 now, Henry Cavill is balding and on finasteride.

 

[BurningCoals]

"Just a mature hairline bro"

 

[Oliver2004]

"Just a mature hairline bro"
View attachment 175240

Yeah this is what I mean lol. surely its better to jump on some meds early rather than waiting for more recession.
Seems like its only thinning when your practically bald.

 

[fatelephant]

V shaped hairline = balding.

Total nonsense.

Just because Jude Law is going bald doesn't mean everyone with a V-shaped Hairline is going bald.

Henry Cavill might go bald one day. But he's not yet and he's 38 so it seems unlikely. That is just his mature, adult man hairline. The problem is not his hair, it's your unrealistic idea of what "balding" means.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LadyBoners/comments/pa85yj

 

[20YearsOnFin]

Henry Cavill has been balding since his late 20's and Jude law has been balding since his late teens.

Regardless if you are predisposed to becoming bald in five years or fifty, The idea of a hairloss treatment protocol is to delay that process and stabilize your hair to maintain the lowest Norwood level possible for the longest amount of time your genetics will allow.

Waiting until you have reached an Norwood 3 or above before you start treatments is the antithesis of this approach.

@Oliver2004 going back to your original post, you are only 18, read up and educate yourself on the treatments available if your hairline starts to move then at least you will have the option to take them if you so choose.

but like others have advised at this point monitoring your situation is the balanced option, as nobody can predict with any certainty where your future hairline is heading, it may well hold in its current position for several years before you need to commence actual treatments.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

But I'm 45 and definitely balding somewhere between Norwood 4 and Norwood 6

Just for clarification the guys on here using terms like 'balding' are likely to be just referring to hair loss that is noticeably still progressing rather the level that somebody is at.

Nobody on hair loss treatment forums is classifying Norwood 4 going on 6 as balding, for all intents and purposes that is already bald.

and unless people are responders like 'welshman123' The likelihood of non surgical recovery for people who have held off treatments until they get to that position is extremely slim.

 

[fatelephant]

Henry Cavill has been balding since his late 20's and Jude law has been balding since his late teens.

Regardless if you are predisposed to becoming bald in five years or fifty, The idea of a hairloss treatment protocol is to delay that process and stabilize your hair to maintain the lowest Norwood level possible for the longest amount of time your genetics will allow.

Waiting until you have reached an Norwood 3 or above before you start treatments is the antithesis of this approach.

@Oliver2004 going back to your original post, you are only 18, read up and educate yourself on the treatments available if your hairline starts to move then at least you will have the option to take them if you so choose.

but like others have advised at this point monitoring your situation is the balanced option, as nobody can predict with any certainty where your future hairline is heading, it may well hold in its current position for several years before you need to commence actual treatments.

Jude Law is obviously going bald.

Henry Cavill has a widows-peak hairline, which is a common genetic thing like attached ear-lobes or dimples and entirely separate from male pattern baldness. He may also be balding, but if he is, then he's had treatment that makes it impossible to say for sure either way.

 

[fatelephant]

Just for clarification the guys on here using terms like 'balding' are likely to be just referring to hair loss that is noticeably still progressing rather the level that somebody is at.

Nobody on hair loss treatment forums is classifying Norwood 4 going on 6 as balding, for all intents and purposes that is already bald.

and unless people are responders like 'welshman123' The likelihood of non surgical recovery for people who have held off treatments until they get to that position is extremely slim.

Whatever your definitions. I see no evidence of either being bald or balding in the OPs photographs. That is not to say that he will never go bald, or even that he has not already started. Just that with no before-and-after pictures, there's no obvious sign of balding in those photos by themselves.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

Jude Law is obviously going bald.

Yes but the point i'm making is to me Jude Law has obviously been going bald since he was 19, as he has been balding a similar length of time as I have.

Henry Cavill has a widows-peak hairline, which is a common genetic thing like attached ear-lobes or dimples and entirely separate from male pattern baldness

Generally if you see a specialist the definition of male pattern baldness will be the evidence of miniaturization.

If you are a certified Norwood spotter like most on here its been fairly obvious for the last decade that people like Henry Cavill & Jamie Dornan have evidence of miniaturization in the zones behind their Hairlines

Jamie Doran displaying the Illusion of a v-shaped hairline/widows-peak hairline.

Jamie Doran the reality of miniaturization behind hairline (aka Balding)

Henry Cavill is a bit difficult to judge as like people said he is likely to be on treatments so the full extent of his actual miniaturization will be masked

This is his roughly his natural v-shaped hairline/widows-peak hairline.

This is him showing miniaturization behind hairline (aka Balding) and the recession of his hairline into these zones.

Whatever your definitions

This are not my definitions, like I said these guys have been showing obvious miniaturization behind the hairline for a long, long time so there is no need to question if Henry Cavil is balding or not as its fairly obvious that's not just his widows-peak or a mature hairline.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

I see no evidence of either being bald or balding in the OPs photographs. That is not to say that he will never go bald, or even that he has not already started. Just that with no before-and-after pictures, there's no obvious sign of balding in those photos by themselves.

I agree.... that's why "am I balding'' threads are often pointless, as the best judge will always be the OP themselves, actual miniaturization (aka balding) its often quite self detectable, long before its visible in photos.