confused 19yo male from the uk here

[polo123]

Hi, just wanted to introduce myself to you guys.

About four months ago i got myself a hair cut, after the guy had finished to my shock when looking in the rear mirror i realised i was losing hair. However This wasn't very noticeable though. once home i started looking at my hair a lot more closely. I could see that my left temple also started to recede, but bizarrely my right temple looked fine.

The thing I'm confused about is I've had blood tests to confirm I've got anemia (iron deficiency) which is said to lead to hair loss, I started taking Iron supplements from a week ago. I also have a zinc deficiency which has affected my digestion, which I have also started taking medication for. I've had both of these deficiency's as a child and both of them run in the family. So I'm not sure if I have male pattern baldness however i should mention that my dad has also lost his hair, He is about 5 on the Norwood scale, and has been like that for the past 10 years. the thing is he started losing his hair when he was about 30 I'm losing it at 19.

So far I have ordered minoxidil but i'm not too sure if i should use it as my hair loss could turn out to be due to iron or zinc (or both!) but if does turn out to male pattern baldness I want to treat it as early as possible. Tbh I'm not sure I'm not sure I need to use minoxidil, I think nizoral 2% shampoo might be a better bet.

Any advise? Thanks.

 

[progosu]

Hi, just wanted to introduce myself to you guys.

bizarrely my right temple looked fine.

nothing bizarre about that, it's completely normal. I'm balding and my left temple looks a lot worse than the right one.

So far I have ordered minoxidil but i'm not too sure if i should use it as my hair loss could turn out to be due to iron or zinc (or both!)

your temples are receding, it's mbp, if it was due to iron or zinc deficiency you would be losing hair on your whole head.

post pictures.

 

[talmoode]

your temples are receding, it's mbp, if it was due to iron or zinc deficiency you would be losing hair on your whole head.

post pictures.

Agreed. When I first noticed my hair loss(hair thinning on front, right temple receding), I thought it was due to stress and poor diet. However, I came to a realization that it was simply mbp kicking in as hair all over my head would have been thinning if it was caused by malnutrition or stress.....

But then again, you really should talk to your doctor about your concerns so than you know exactly what is causing hair loss!!

 

[AKindofBlue]

I agree with the above statements. If your temples are going it's male pattern baldness. People often recede at different rates on each side of the head - it's not necessarily symmetrical.
If I were in your position at 19 I would get on finasteride, not minoxidil, but that is purely my opinion. (I have had great results with finasteride at 29 and wish I started when I was 19)