Hair Mishap Or Male Pattern Baldness Or Cicatricial Alopecia? 22m

[erdowi]

This is my first post, I'm not entirely sure but I believe this can go in this forum, sorry if I misplaced it.

So basically I have a few questions, but firstly I'll give you some back ground info. I've been with my girlfriend for about 5 years and never has she noticed any thinning or balding as I guess I've always had "thin" hair. Recently I went an got a hair cut and probably had a few inches cut all around. However I've now noticed that my crown is very very thin, but also the hair stylist was pretty damn rough with the cut, she constantly scraped my head with a comb the whole time, she change slightly when I stated it hurt but she eventually was doing the same again. So now my crown / head looks like I'm balding and no one has noticed it before and my scalp burns/itches on/off. I've since bought Pura D'or Hair Loss Prevention Shampoo(thoughts?) as I could not find Nizoral in target. If this is one of the loss scenarios, should I use minoxidil(5% foam / Up&Up from target)? Would it be useful without finasteride?

P.S. I know I'm supposed to post one of the questions in the daily thread, however I also wanted to throw in the shampoo and brief story, been stressing about this for about a week now.

P.S. No hair loss reported on mothers side, but father may have had male pattern baldness(He's not in the picture so I'm not sure of his status)

Thanks for any help, insight, or responses.

This spam filter won't let me post my images... Link below.

http://imgur.com/a/jbY6n

 

[Raz]

To me, that vertex thinning looks like male pattern baldness. The two first pics are pretty brutal. Looks a little like my hair when I first started losing it (vertex going, and having that kind of hair texture all over, which I can't really pinpoint or put into words eloquently).

How is your hairline and the temple points? It's possible to not be receding even if you were to be balding in the vertex, but it's pretty common to start losing both. It seems kind of unlikely to me that you would have been roughed up so badly at the hairstylist's that you would be legit having a thin spot from it. But if you think it's likely, then you should give it a little time.

That being said, I don't think it's likely you would have on-off scalp burning from getting your haircut, even if it was a mishap so to say. Perhaps for a day, but if it persisted - I hate to say this to you, but that itchiness is the classic "male pattern baldness itch". I don't know why exactly it happens, but it's been speculated it's basically the inflammation you feel when DHT is attacking your follicles.

A shampoo won't do much as a standalone product to combat hairloss - it can be good for the inflammation and general scalp health, while maybe helping combating scalp DHT by a tiny bit, but that's about it. (Aside from certain products giving you more volume and fullness, cosmetically). It's definitely a positive to be having in your regimen, but for actually doing something actively - Minoxidil and Finasteride are where it's at.

You have a solid head of hair, only having some vertex thinning that I can see of - which is good news, because it's the hardest type to spot, only coming into light in bad lighting and if someone is looking at the hair directly from above, which doesn't really happen much if ever in day to day life. (That combined with people being oblivious to balding before a certain Norwood threshold. unless they are balding themselves, is why people won't see it, and why your girlfriend hasn't felt like you're balding at all).

So in that regard, maintaining and getting a little volume up in there is all that you need. Which means, Finasteride alone would probably be best (maintaining/hopefully getting some recently lost ground back), combined with nizoral/any Keto shampoo. You can always add minoxidil if finasteride doesn't kick in well enough, but if you get on minoxidil without finasteride, you'll still be losing hair beneath the potential regrowth, which means the process can catch up to you pretty quickly.

Obviously, I wouldn't rush you into finasteride, but if you keep observing the situation for a month or so, you'll know. If the itch persists on-off, you'll know it's the male pattern baldness itch. If your hair doesn't get any better, you know it won't. Perhaps your previous haircut made this situation less apparent? Keep taking some pictures while doing your research and don't panic too much. But seeing the pics, hearing about your scalp itchiness/burning sensation and adding it all up, it does sound like you're experiencing male pattern baldness.

Good luck man.

Edit: seems like there's some filters and autocorrects when it comes to baldite jargon, so apologies if some of the post seems kind of uptight.

 

[dralex]

Its male pattern baldness. You have probably been losing hair longer than you think. It is most likely just hitting that tipping point where you are starting to lose enough hair to really notice it. The "rough" hair cut is almost definitely completely unrelated to the hair loss.

 

[erdowi]

To me, that vertex thinning looks like male pattern baldness. The two first pics are pretty brutal. Looks a little like my hair when I first started losing it (vertex going, and having that kind of hair texture all over, which I can't really pinpoint or put into words eloquently).

How is your hairline and the temple points? It's possible to not be receding even if you were to be balding in the vertex, but it's pretty common to start losing both. It seems kind of unlikely to me that you would have been roughed up so badly at the hairstylist's that you would be legit having a thin spot from it. But if you think it's likely, then you should give it a little time.

That being said, I don't think it's likely you would have on-off scalp burning from getting your haircut, even if it was a mishap so to say. Perhaps for a day, but if it persisted - I hate to say this to you, but that itchiness is the classic "male pattern baldness itch". I don't know why exactly it happens, but it's been speculated it's basically the inflammation you feel when DHT is attacking your follicles.

A shampoo won't do much as a standalone product to combat hairloss - it can be good for the inflammation and general scalp health, while maybe helping combating scalp DHT by a tiny bit, but that's about it. (Aside from certain products giving you more volume and fullness, cosmetically). It's definitely a positive to be having in your regimen, but for actually doing something actively - Minoxidil and Finasteride are where it's at.

You have a solid head of hair, only having some vertex thinning that I can see of - which is good news, because it's the hardest type to spot, only coming into light in bad lighting and if someone is looking at the hair directly from above, which doesn't really happen much if ever in day to day life. (That combined with people being oblivious to balding before a certain Norwood threshold. unless they are balding themselves, is why people won't see it, and why your girlfriend hasn't felt like you're balding at all).

So in that regard, maintaining and getting a little volume up in there is all that you need. Which means, Finasteride alone would probably be best (maintaining/hopefully getting some recently lost ground back), combined with nizoral/any Keto shampoo. You can always add minoxidil if finasteride doesn't kick in well enough, but if you get on minoxidil without finasteride, you'll still be losing hair beneath the potential regrowth, which means the process can catch up to you pretty quickly.

Obviously, I wouldn't rush you into finasteride, but if you keep observing the situation for a month or so, you'll know. If the itch persists on-off, you'll know it's the male pattern baldness itch. If your hair doesn't get any better, you know it won't. Perhaps your previous haircut made this situation less apparent? Keep taking some pictures while doing your research and don't panic too much. But seeing the pics, hearing about your scalp itchiness/burning sensation and adding it all up, it does sound like you're experiencing male pattern baldness.

Good luck man.

Edit: seems like there's some filters and autocorrects when it comes to baldite jargon, so apologies if some of the post seems kind of uptight.

I wasn't expecting this good of a response! Well the front honestly doesn't look bad besides the left temple area which looks thin and I've started Minoxidil 5% today and taking biotin 2500mg x 2. I'm in the US so I believe Finasteride is only available through prescription unless it's sold online somewhere. I've seen mixed reviews but the only bad side effect seems to be impotence, but does that only apply while on the pill or is the impotence/dysfunction a permanent thing?

Here's a picture of the front and again thanks for the long and VERY informative post!

http://i.imgur.com/xX2BKBl.jpg

Sorry the picture is bad, I cropped it on my PC afterwards. I was also wondering how people walk around and etc without people noticing their hair after using minoxidil (since you can't wash for 4 hours) or do most people only use a full cap, once a day?

 

[Sokubo]

I would also agree than your thinning, even though the second picture doesn't look like more than a hard cowlick (be thankful for that, you caught it early). Minoxidil will definitely help with your crown and it will be looking good sooner rather than later. I assume your using the foam, which is more manageable and blends in more. Even with that said, it can be a bit difficult to have it work when your out and about. I would suggest you use it at night about a half an hour before bed (so it can dry), when it doesn't really matter if it looks fantastic. On the weekends or when your not in public as much you could opt for a second dose, though one does the job fine.

As to Finasteride, I think you should definitely test it out and see if it works for you. Some people are bad responders, and they're obviously more vocal than the majority who stay stable or make gains with their hair loss (which is actually the majority).

 

[erdowi]

I would also agree than your thinning, even though the second picture doesn't look like more than a hard cowlick (be thankful for that, you caught it early). Minoxidil will definitely help with your crown and it will be looking good sooner rather than later. I assume your using the foam, which is more manageable and blends in more. Even with that said, it can be a bit difficult to have it work when your out and about. I would suggest you use it at night about a half an hour before bed (so it can dry), when it doesn't really matter if it looks fantastic. On the weekends or when your not in public as much you could opt for a second dose, though one does the job fine.

As to Finasteride, I think you should definitely test it out and see if it works for you. Some people are bad responders, and they're obviously more vocal than the majority who stay stable or make gains with their hair loss (which is actually the majority).

Thanks for the response! I will definitely take your advice.

I have seen people say use half a cap, but I have also seen some say use a full cap worth of the foam.. Any advice on which one is going to be more useful? I also was debating on Finasteride as the only downside that I can see is impotency / ED and I assume that is only an issue while taking the drug, correct?

Thanks again!

 

[Sokubo]

Thanks for the response! I will definitely take your advice.

I have seen people say use half a cap, but I have also seen some say use a full cap worth of the foam.. Any advice on which one is going to be more useful? I also was debating on Finasteride as the only downside that I can see is impotency / ED and I assume that is only an issue while taking the drug, correct?

Thanks again!

I think you should gauge once you start using it, if your using it and feel a certain amount is what works for you, then use it. It's something you definitely get a feel for once your using it. If you are going by something, I would say it would be better to use half a cap.

And yeah, the decreased libido (and that's what is, decreased, not eliminated whole stock) will only last for the duration of the dose.

 

[erdowi]

I think you should gauge once you start using it, if your using it and feel a certain amount is what works for you, then use it. It's something you definitely get a feel for once your using it. If you are going by something, I would say it would be better to use half a cap.

And yeah, the decreased libido (and that's what is, decreased, not eliminated whole stock) will only last for the duration of the dose.

Should I even worry about seeing a dermatologist or should I just start treatment? I see a few people get finasteride from https://www.healthwarehouse.com/solr/result/?q=finasteride but am not completely sure if it is legal/legit here in the states.

 

[Sokubo]

I wasn't expecting this good of a response! Well the front honestly doesn't look bad besides the left temple area which looks thin and I've started Minoxidil 5% today and taking biotin 2500mg x 2. I'm in the US so I believe Finasteride is only available through prescription unless it's sold online somewhere. I've seen mixed reviews but the only bad side effect seems to be impotence, but does that only apply while on the pill or is the impotence/dysfunction a permanent thing?

Here's a picture of the front and again thanks for the long and VERY informative post!

http://i.imgur.com/xX2BKBl.jpg

Sorry the picture is bad, I cropped it on my PC afterwards. I was also wondering how people walk around and etc without people noticing their hair after using minoxidil (since you can't wash for 4 hours) or do most people only use a full cap, once a day?

Should I even worry about seeing a dermatologist or should I just start treatment? I see a few people get finasteride from https://www.healthwarehouse.com/solr/result/?q=finasteride but am not completely sure if it is legal/legit here in the states.

Yeah, go to a dermatologist. You won't have any problem getting a prescription.

 

[erdowi]

Yeah, go to a dermatologist. You won't have any problem getting a prescription.

Thanks! I set up an appointment for Nov 7th as many around here are booked.