I'm 17; am I balding or is it in my head?

[Seventeen]

Hi all,

Earlier this year I discovered that hair loss wasn't something that was restricted to those 40 and older, and my entire life turned upside down. After some reassuring words from my parents, I decided to forget about it and move on. However, in the last few months it's gotten worse--worse to the point where I can't look at mirrors without stopping to check for any form of hair loss, and being unable to focus on my studies because I keep worrying that I'm losing hair. I count hairs that I lose throughout the day to make sure I don't lose more than 100, and I'm constantly touching it to test if it has thinned out or not. Most recently I've decided a lot of my worries might be in my head, maybe some form of BDD. I have always had a slightly uneven hairline, and more hair on one temple than the other.

Since around this time last year I have been blow drying my hair up, and I had never had any haircut before than that showed my forehead, so I have never taken this into account before. I have had a part on the right side of my head for as long as I can remember (which is also where I'm worried my hairline is receding) and every time I ask my parents or my significant other, they report that my hair is thick and looks healthy. So why is it that I am never satisfied with it? It's almost as if every time I touch it or look at it I won't stop till I find something wrong with it.

Anyways, I'm seeing a dermatologist in February (hard to book appointments on short notice in the city), and am getting a haircut next week (the same woman has cut my hair for maybe 6 or 7 years now, and I will ask her if she has noticed any changes too.) Should I also be seeing my doctor? The stress from this is unbearable, and I've always worried that should I post in a forum like this I'll get a bunch of paranoid people telling me I'm bald and to get on Min/finasteride immediately, but after some lurking I've noticed that most people are usually positive about this.

I have washed every day since 2009 (obviously with some breaks on weekends or during holidays) and recently started using shampoos with either low sulfates or none at all.

Here are some pictures:
Hair from above (like in the Norwood scale)
Crown with a mildly bright light source
Temples

Here are some time-lapse pictures:
right temple (the one i'm concerned about)
and finally my forehead (including a picture of me at age 7 w/ full forehead showing)

I would really like to know if this is all just in my head or if I'm legitimately suffering the early stages of hair loss. I want to be able to rest easy at night, enjoy my youth, and stop bothering my loved ones about this. I want to move on.

Thank you for all your replies!

 

[hair_nag]

Hard to tell, I think it looks fine, but who knows there might be very slow recession. You might have to wait and see. You are still bellow a NW2 in my opinion, Norwood 1.5 at most.

 

[Seventeen]

Hard to tell, I think it looks fine, but who knows there might be very slow recession. You might have to wait and see. You are still bellow a NW2 in my opinion, Norwood 1.5 at most.

Would my general physician be able to offer any insight on this?
Also, I have never applied any kind of product or dye to my hair.

 

[Vim]

Would my general physician be able to offer any insight on this?
Also, I have never applied any kind of product or dye to my hair.

I don't think so, but your general phys can send you to a dermatologist. Some are helpful some are a waste of time.

 

[Seventeen]

If you have noticed something- it most probably is what you think it is.

And your right temple has receded. I would say male pattern baldness , not gonne lie.
I would reccommend to get bulked up(hit the gym), and in meantime find a regimen without finasteride or saw palmetto.

Dermatologists are full of BS, they know nothing about male pattern baldness early stages. They can only spot male pattern baldness at NW3.

If you want to know if you are balding for sure, you should see a hair transplant doctor or a trichologist.

My right temple has always been a bit bigger than the left, and like I said, I have been blow drying it up and have always had a side part there (which is sometimes known to cause tearing.) My girlfriend also has the same type of thing, in that her part has always been on her right, so her right side is a bit more "receded" than the rest.

Regardless, I am and have always been a generally very thin person. Would working out help? Also, no adult male in my family has experienced hair loss before the age of 40, and both grandfathers have thin hair on their head, but it still looks nice for an old man. Do you really think it has receded? I have no memory of what it looked like before this aside from photos taken in March/April of this year.

And finally it should be noted that I only began to notice things once I read that male pattern baldness could affect people at my age too. I have a very paranoid personality to begin with, and I know it sounds like I'm just grasping at straws to justify what it looks like, but I just want to have all the facts laid out.

 

[hair_nag]

Op if you can see small hairs around your temple corners then your hairline has receded (AKA miniaturized hair). if you have a solid hairline without small hairs in front of it, then either your hairline has stabilized or you are NOT receding!

 

[Seventeen]

Op if you can see small hairs around your temple corners then your hairline has receded (AKA miniaturized hair). if you have a solid hairline without small hairs in front of it, then either your hairline has stabilized or you are NOT receding!

I have small baby hairs on the top (some longer than others), but nothing else.

 

[Eightballd]

I feel baby hairs is another term like mature hairline where people use it because they are still in the denial phase, and OP your right temple looks exactly like mine and I'm balding, my temple used to be dead straight but now only like 1.5 CM at the very bottom is straight the rest has slowly moved back