Itsonlyinmyhead's story(age 23, receding)

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

First things first, I am 23, Male and from the UK and I have finally registered for this forum after weeks of reading.

I started losing my hair when I was 15/16 when I took a drug called Roactanne for 3 months to sort out my acne, it worked but it receeded and thinned my hair. Im not using this as an excuse as I already knew I would go bald either in my 20s or 30s. I developed a receeding hairline which didnt really move until I was 21/22, along with this my hair also thinned out abit more and it makes my crown look weak even thought there are still the same amount of hairs there.

My hair doesnt seem to be thinning/falling out anymore(it probably is and Im in denial) but it is causing me alot of discontent, as in serious confidence problems, to the point of I have been meaning to see a girl for about a year now but Im too scared to go incase she finds me ugly(we used to see each other but now she lives far away and it looks like it might start again). Im abit sensitive about my hair

My father is a Norwood 5 or 6, he has a thin tuft of hair on top but bald at the crown and receeding hairline, he is almost 60 so its not really a problem. My brother on the other hand is 25 and is balding rapidly and is a Norwood 3 vertex or maybe more as his hair ontop is thinning.
Mainly I look at my brother and I fill with dread as I dont want to be like that when Im 25, but I suppose things arent that bad for him as he has a long term girlfriend who loves him, his own house and a very good job with good prospects. Though money isnt an issue for me either as Ive got a very good job(I am actually very lucky)

Basically I would love it if I could move onto my 30s and remain with the same hairline and then start balding properly after Ive had a little happiness.

I dont currently have any regimen/treatment as Im still researching. Im a little bit scared by Propecia due to the health risks(liver, etc.) and also the initial shedding.
To try and help myself with confidence I like to exercise and socialise though I no longer gel my hair as you can see through to my scalp(abit like Philip schofield I think, not entirely sure but Im watching him on tv at the moment).

My hair is at its worst when its wet, it looks like my hair is almost non existant but I swear it doesnt look like that dry.

Any advice is helpful. Thanks in advance

 

[Hans Gruber]

hey

i would advise you to start on propecia,sides are very rare and if you are concerned about liver damage then get tests done yearly to keep on top of any problems that may occur.

also use nizoral 2% shampoo 2-3 times a week and if youre really looking for regrowth then add the minoxidil foam


stay on these treatments for at least a year before considering doing anything else




:hairy:

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

What about the shed on Propecia?

 

[Relient2]

from what Ive read the shed varies from person to person it could be bad it could not even happen but most people recover from the shed as it just proves that the pill is working and stimulating new stronger hairs

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

I think Im not going to bother with Propecia as there seems to be too much about brain fog and loss of libido.
Im basing this on the fact that I have reacted badly to drugs before whether legal or illegal. Legal-Roacatane, I got pretty much all of the side affects from this at an advanced level, though it did cure my acne.
Illegal-Weed, I got brain fog basically and lost my libido.

I would love to keep my hair but Im going to go for a natural approach even though Im young as Im not keen on chemicals. Im going to eat more healthily, cut out potatos, cut down more on smoking and get back into the exercise.

What does everyone else think? am I wrong


p.s. this is probably triggered by getting together with the right girl who actually seems to like my hair and likes me because I treat her right.
edited to say that she has known me for a couple of years so she knows how fast my hair is receeding/thinning

 

[Nick4441]

If you really want to do something about it then you should go the Propecia route. The herbal stuff doesn;t work or it didn't for me...ie the Saw Palmetto stuff and I regret wasting time taking that stuff.

You have to forget all the scare stories, most of us have had to and we know that's not easy. It is the only approved drug. Unfortuantely you see more bad press than good because they feel more compelled to write about it.

There are lots of great success on it...look at the stories on here.

I started on 1mg one month or so ago and I think everyone gets maybe a small side..mine is tiredness but libido is up. If you are really worried about the sides then go for the reduced dose which still has a good DHT inhibition but should be much less risk of sides. 0.25mg..its very cheap like that too quarter of a tablet of generic finasteride.


Good luck.

 

[BALD IS BEAUTIFUL]

What about the shed on Propecia?

i believe that propecia is the best medicine with which you can start your hair cure.I am using it for part 4 months and have not experienced a heavy shed.It varies from person to person.As others says ,minoxidil foam is a better alternative for topical minoxidil if you consider growth.

 

[Far Too Young]

The finasteride shed is regarded by many as a farce. It can be chalked up to the coincidental onset of a regular male pattern baldness shed.

 

[dietcola]

i'm only 21 and wanted to wait a few years before going into real hair loss drugs, i keep healthy and refrain from smoking just to keep things like my hair healthy. unfortunately i keep losing hair anyways, that's male pattern baldness, so i have started finasteride and even just ordered rogaine foam. i want my hair for a few more years so i'll take the proven path that has worked for so many. hopefully i can have hair with no surgery until i'm at least 30.

if you feel uneasy about finasteride, why not try topical minoxidil? some huge success has been seen with just minoxidil.

try the natural route if you wish, there are people here that can offer you good information on which treatments have yielded results.

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

well I thought it was time for abit of an update.
Ive decided to start taking propecia and am currently still thinking about buzzing my hair down.

I split with my gf which has knocked my confidence abit and my smoking has got worse. But this was my decision as things were not going well even though I really liked her and my hairloss didnt seem to bother her that much. So thats made me abit happier that hairloss doesnt really seem to bother girls that much even if I am young(23).

Ive also started using a thickening shampoo which seems to be making my hair look better than "Wash and Go" which I swear was destroying my hair(but I obviously cant prove this and its probably me just being paranoid).

So Ill order the Propecia tomorrow and hopefully get it in a week. Ill update but havent got photos/too scared of taking them in case I see the extent of my hairloss.

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Well Ive just ordered 2 months worth of Propecia from inhousepharmacy which will probably end up costing me £2 a tablet but hey I need to do something when Ive got hair left. So in a months time I need to order another batch of Propecia but ideally from somewhere which doesnt seem so expensive.


Just thought I would add that I was chatted up about 2 weeks after dumping the ex by a cute girl but wasnt in the mood so left it alone, so things are alright, but I really do need to start the propecia

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

thats my hair in medium light, dont think it looks too bad


thats in bright light


hair parted dry


my crown in the dark


my crown in the light

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Probably the worst pic I have


my hair wet and flat and parted


and the final picture, just an angle after my hair has dried and it shows alot of scalp through thin hair

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Ok as you can tell Im either a NW2 or NW3 with diffuse thinning, its even like that down the sides. Ill get some pics soon for my sides.

Im about to start taking Propecia(just waiting for it to arrive) and am seriously considering shaving my head

 

[Lorenzo_91]

Looks good. You caught it early. Propecia is all you need. Plus nizoral of course.

 

[Clarkyboy]

your hair is very similar to mine, i just haven't got the minerals to take a picture of it when wet!
Good move on the propecia, in my eye's no side is as bad as going bald!
good luck mate, look forward to see your progress!

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Lorenzo_91- I really havent caught it early, Ive been receeding since I was 15/16. Ive been thinning for over a year now.

Clarkyboy- yeah looks similar apart from Ive receeded as well.

in my eye's no side is as bad as going bald!

there is alot worse things than going bald, but the sides dont bother me, Ive got low body fat so hopefully the breast thing wont get me and Ive got problems at getting my dick out of being erect so often and for so long. The brain fog might be a problem though. Dont panic so much, women become less shallow with age.

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Ive finally got the Propecia through the post today so Ive taken my first tablet, its made me alot happier to know that Im trying to do something now rather than letting my hair fall out gradually.

Im also thinking of starting to use Nizoral but dont know anything about it.

Im not going to start minoxidil as that requires you to take it forever.

But at the end of the day, if I lose the rest of my hair, I lose it, never mind, shave it down and get on with life.

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Well Ive been taking propecia for 8 days now. No sides though on day 5 I thought I was having erection problems as I couldnt get it rock hard, I was just tired, everything is fine, semen seems abit watery though but that isnt a problem.
So no sides, touch wood :lol:

 

[Itsonlyinmyhead]

Well I looked at my signature and thought I would update "my story".

Ive been taking Propecia for 2/3 months now. Havent really noticed anything apart from my hair seemed less greasy in the morning when I have a shower. When I was washing my hair before I would brush my hands through my hair when it was wet and it felt greasy so maybe that was the DHT.
Ive decided to keep on taking propecia since I dont have any side affects and to see if it really does maintain though Ill never start minoxidil as Ive read some very bad things. It seems to get your hair addicted to the substance so you cant stop using it.

Finally Ive buzzed my hair which highlights my recession but as I said to a friend "Im still receeded with longer hair" so I dont really care. Its actually a big confidence boost, along with this buzzed heads seem to be in with women!!! :lol: Ive accepted that Ill go bald to a NW5 so basically never bald. But hey Ill shave my head, Ive already decided this and Ill probably do it in about 2 or 3 years. I look good with a buzzed head and everyone keeps on saying Ill look good with a shaved noggin

Ill probably post some pics around the 6 month mark