Hi all

[DontWannaGrowUp]

Hi everyone. I'm 26, and have been experiencing a growing widows peak for a few years. Looking at some digrams I see it's probably NW3 - and the most extreme NW3 I've seen on anyone.

While it bothers me less than it used to, it still gets to me a bit, especially on bad hair days and whenever it comes to getting my hair cut, and I guess the bad hair days increase as the time to getting my hair cut approaches.

In the past I tried minoxodil, propecia and nizoral. My personal circumstances have changed and I can no longer afford any of them except nizoral, but I guess I'm less concernend about it, or maybe I just got lazy, because I don't even bother with that any more, and it used to really get me down so badly.

So the big deal right now is it's that hair cut time again. I've tried various things to make it work out, covering up, embracing it, I even got frustrated with useless hair stylists (after trying every one in 3 towns) and started cutting it myself for a while.

What hair styles work? Looking online people say try Pierce Brosnan look, Zac Efron, Daniel Craig. The thing is, my hair is much more severe than Brosnan or Craig, and I don't have enough hair to pull off Zac Efron. Others say just cut it really short, which I have tried in the past but really doesn't suit the shape of my face/head.

I think the big issue is that the central piece of hair remaining between the receding sides is very far forward - I just measured and it's 3-4 inches further forward than the receding sides. But I still have a full head of hair on top. I feel like it would actually be better if the front would just move backwards a bit, I actually want to lose more hair at the front - it's driving me nuts! ...what should I do?

Also, anyone know if aspects of my lifestyle cause this? I'm trying to quit smoking, start exercising more and eat more healthily lately. Are these things likely to have a positive effect? I know they can't have a bad effect, but do you guys on here see any correlation between any of them and hair loss?

I will try and post a couple of pictures in a minute.

Thanks, and sorry for the long post!

EDIT: Okay, managed to upload some pictures. The first is how I try to wear my hair normally, but it doesn't work out a lot of the time (or if it is windy!). The second two show the extent of the hair loss. Thanks again.

http://uploadpic.org/v.php?img=9i5CzWUPTX
http://uploadpic.org/v.php?img=P4tzFbK0x
http://uploadpic.org/v.php?img=szR74qP2et

 

[Johnx]

I feel you man... I have this same problem myself.
Unfortunately the links to your pictures fail to open But I can imagine what are you talking about, I have this "widows peak" in the middle too, and no hair styling works good for me.. Plus I have wavy hair which makes styling even more difficult...
You can check my thread, page 6 (link in my signature), this is how I wear it, it looks pretty decent when my hair is short, so, maybe it will be helpful for you too.

Well, if you would decide to get back on minoxidil, I'm pretty sure you would get some thickening at the temples, this would improve the cosmetic look of the front a bit.

Good luck!

 

[DontWannaGrowUp]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Maybe you can try the links again as people seem to have been viewing them (30+ views) so I think they should work!

I also have wavy hair, actually if it gets wet or greasy it is very curly, which makes efforts to style it pointless.

I took a look at your pictures, and it looks like your hair loss is quite a few stages less advanced than mine. I have worn my hair like that before, maybe I can find a picture later, but I'm not sure it would work out for me right now given how much hair I have missing at the temples. I'm kind of at a loss what to do with it right now.

I really can't afford minoxidil or propecia. Maybe I should get back on the nizoral and see if I can get proscar anywhere. Anyone got a reliable source for proscar in the UK?

 

[Johnx]

No, the links still don't work... (Error: Can't find the server)

To tell the truth I don't really believe Nizoral does any improvement for me. Like a fool I bought 5x120ml bottles at the start of the treatment (only used 1 so far), and I'm sure I won't continue Nizoral when this supply finishes, I just don't get any benefit from it..

I think it's more "Big 2" that helps (Finasteride + Minoxidil).
Are you sure you can't afford minoxidil? Rogaine Foam is pretty expensive, but there is a much cheaper alternative - Kirkland Liquid, you can get a full year supply pack (12x60ml) for £60 or less.

Regarding the Finasteride, you can get generic finasteride quite cheaply on unitedpharmacies.co.uk. I earlier bought some "Fistide" £15 per 30 tablets box, and when you divide them into quartes you get 4 months supply. So, a years supply would cost £45.

 

[deadlocks]

Get back on the meds is what I'm thinking to. Especially if you're from the US, it should be no huge problem to afford at least finasteride & minoxidil for a couple of months.

Besides, even though your temples are gone pretty high, there still are some weaker hairs there I see. Those especially could be thickened up with minoxidil.

But I'll say this from personal experience: Minoxidil is very, very messy on longer hair (I wear my hair very long myself, and am a NW3 up front) especially when you're shedding. So you'd better prepare for that. Either by wearing hats, wearing it somewhat shorter or maybe even a concealer.

Did you experience any results in the past in hair growth?

Good luck anyway.

 

[Johnx]

Why the hell pictures don't open to me?.. (shows "can't find the server")

Agreed, the minoxidil is messy on longer hair, so from my experience keeping the hair shorter makes life so much easier with minoxidil...