how did u first notice you were losing hair

[carmelo2005]

help! i am confused. my hairline is not receding but the top of my head appears to be thinning.

I've had long hair for a while and then i shaved my head(now its about 3 cm long) and it looks like hair at the top of the head is thinner than it used to be. What makes this confusing is that I don't remember what my hair used to look like when i used to have it short. The hair at the top of my head grows different though, it grows straight up, so could it be that it only looks like its thinning because light is hitting my head differently and its not flat against the skin like on the sides? My hairline is not receding at all. So, does someone here know what I'm talking about? How did u guys notice you were losing hair? did any of you have the same thing i have and if so, did major hair loss occur and how soon?

also, is it possible that hair just naturally thins out like this after puberty (i am 21) but that it doesnt progress to baldness?

 

[The Gardener]

Yes, it is possible for someone to go through thinning and not end up with a full-on male pattern baldness horseshoe. Is male pattern baldness common in your family history? Does your scalp itch? Have you noticed changes in the calibre of your hairshafts, i.e., if you pull hairs from the top of your head, are those hairshafts thinner than similar hairs pulled from the sides and back? Does the top of your hair seem to 'grow slower' than the sides and back? These are the signs to look for, at your stage, in my opinion.

If there is any sense of itch in your scalp, or if you answered YES to any of my questions I'd suggest picking up some Nizoral shampoo for starters right now. Can't hurt, can only help, and if you do have itch it will help with it.

 

[Guest]

Your story sounds like mine. I play with my hair a lot as far as cutting is concerned. Three months longish, three months very short (#1).
10 weeks ago I cut it short (#3) and a week later shorter (#1) and I noticed that my hairlines have thinned a bit (5%) but the right side was more than the left so I ran to my doctor and he did not know what I was talking about. I had to point it out. He says it looks like male pattern baldness.
I wasn’t convinced but did not want to take my chances so I was put on Proscar.
10 weeks later and I am still not convinced as it happened literally over night.
Next week I have an appointment with a dermatologist who’s specialized in hair.
I would suggest that you go and see your doctor.
DON’T WAIT.
Good luck
Ventje

 

[KevinW]

It's all about perception. I thought my hair thinning came on all of a sudden, but I think I just experienced a seasonal shed in the fall that really made me notice. Now I look at pictures from even 2 years ago and certain light makes my hair look like crap, but I never noticed.

So you might have just had a shed, but I bet it has happened gradually and since your hair was long you didn't notice. You might have diffuse thinning (like me) which makes it harder to tell that any loss is occurring until all of a sudden then you notice it and you think it happened overnight.

I have convinced myself that I have a gradual diffuse thinning so I don't think I will be a horseshoe too soon. (I have been on Propecia for a week and a day)

 

[Free Bird]

About three years ago I went on the Atkins Diet. I was on it for about a year to begin with. Then off and on after that until I gave it up for good a year ago. Not that I think smoking had too much to do with it (it could have been a small factor), I did start smoking about the same time. I was also going through a stressful period in my life.

Like with any weight loss program where you lose a lot of weight fast (and I did), hair falling out is a natural occurrence. Most people grow it back once the body is over the shock and is not shutting down non-vital functions. My problem is that my hair did not grow back. I took all the hair supplements that low carb gurus recommend, like Biotin, Lecithin, etc., all to no avail. Even when the stress subsided, that didn't help. My hair has continued to thin. I'm a diffuse thinner.

Atkins was the catalyst for launching me into the hair loss world. My hair was probably bound to start thinning anyway, but things were pushed ahead of schedule by it. I still think the low carb lifestyle is a good one. I just wouldn't try it if I were you if you are at all worried about hair loss.

I'm not sure that answers your question.

I just looked in the mirror one day, and BAM, I noticed what had been going on.

 

[Bone Daddy]

Had a haircut, during the spring shed even I suppose, and noticed when I gelled my hair, it looked.. sparse? on top, and in the front.

I had been worrieng about hairloss for years, as I've had a high hairline since youth, and my uncle is a baldy on my mother's side.

None of my hairdressers had said anything..

I got a free ASSessment at the HCFM, and was given the terrible news. I was a diffuse thinner, but luckily?!?.. a slow one. I also had some temple recession from the diffuse thinning on my already high hairline.

My mother said I was nuts, and they were quacks, but when I pulled my hair back and compared it to the norwood scale 2.. she shut up.

I also noticed later a patch in back (dependong on how I comb my hair its a line or a circle patch) that I had had for years getting thinner, and since I've stopped being blonde from the bottle, it stands out, and I know people see it.

HCFM ARE quacks, but the scope they use, and that damned poloroid doesnt lie. Not to mention seeing my hair wet for the first time in bright light.

MY GOD, I HATE THIS.

f*** YOU MOTHER NATURE, YOU RANCID wh***.

 

[carmelo2005]

diffuse thinning? what is that? can u guys elaborate on that briefly?

see, when my hair is wet and flattened, u cant see the thinning at all... thats why i wonder if its just the perception (ie. lighting, the way the hair grows...)

anyways, thanks for the responses

 

[Free Bird]

Diffuse thinning is also called FPB (female pattern baldness). Instead of the horsehoe thinning in the front and a round bald patch in the back, like with male pattern baldness, diffuse thinners have their hair gradually thin out all over the top of the head. Lots of men suffer from diffuse thinning.