Please help me. 21yr old & anxiety through the roof over how bad my hair is.

[constipatedmonkey]

Greetings everyone. I have been having immense anxiety over my hair for about 2 years now. I just recently turned 21 and would say I noticed my hair thinning around the end of 19 years old transitioning into my 20's. The problem with me is for one, there really hasn't been anyone from either of my family's side that has been bald or even remotely close to this type of thinning at my age, as well as the type of thinning going on with my head.

It just seems like there's thinning in various spots as opposed to standard Androgenic Alopecia. I also have a patch close to my ear lobe that's just immensely dry skin that has been diagnosed as dermatitis. I need clarity and help from someone to kindly advise me what they believe my situation looks like and hope that I am attempting to address this issue still while there is time/I'm making aware of the situation in an earlier manner before it potentially gets worse.

After I get some feedback from some people here with the knowledge, in the worse case, I believe I will start on minoxidil/microneedling stack (1.5mm) and hopefully get enough results from that to continuously maintain afterward. I mean I'm in my 20's and this is just eating me up alive. I do not think I would start finasteride after hearing some personal stories and the side effects scaring me but I wouldn't entirely rule out perhaps dutasteride a few years down the line but definitely for now I would just do the stack I mentioned above and I would start with shaving my head first.

The pictures below are after washing my hair with ketoconazole shampoo. The only supplement I use is Nutrafol.

Kindly let me know your thoughts as it would mean the world to me.

Thank you so much.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

You may PM me privately if you want. I know about solutions.

janey

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Greetings everyone. I have been having immense anxiety over my hair for about 2 years now. I just recently turned 21 and would say I noticed my hair thinning around the end of 19 years old transitioning into my 20's. The problem with me is for one, there really hasn't been anyone from either of my family's side that has been bald or even remotely close to this type of thinning at my age, as well as the type of thinning going on with my head.

It just seems like there's thinning in various spots as opposed to standard Androgenic Alopecia. I also have a patch close to my ear lobe that's just immensely dry skin that has been diagnosed as dermatitis. I need clarity and help from someone to kindly advise me what they believe my situation looks like and hope that I am attempting to address this issue still while there is time/I'm making aware of the situation in an earlier manner before it potentially gets worse.

After I get some feedback from some people here with the knowledge, in the worse case, I believe I will start on minoxidil/microneedling stack (1.5mm) and hopefully get enough results from that to continuously maintain afterward. I mean I'm in my 20's and this is just eating me up alive. I do not think I would start finasteride after hearing some personal stories and the side effects scaring me but I wouldn't entirely rule out perhaps dutasteride a few years down the line but definitely for now I would just do the stack I mentioned above and I would start with shaving my head first.

The pictures below are after washing my hair with ketoconazole shampoo. The only supplement I use is Nutrafol.

Kindly let me know your thoughts as it would mean the world to me.

Thank you so much.

These are heartbreaking. I am sorry this is happening to you. I was balding at 20 but I didn't have dermatitis yet although it was coming and that was as destructive as the baldness.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Aggressive male pattern baldness. Minoxidil is not going to save you as it does not stop the fundamental cause of male pattern baldness which is DHT. It's like a band aid. You need either finasteride or dutasteride at this point. Your situation is going to be tough to reverse. That's alot of loss in a short amount of time. @randolf_faust, another one to add to your list.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Aggressive male pattern baldness. Minoxidil is not going to save you as it does not stop the fundamental cause of male pattern baldness which is DHT. It's like a band aid. You need either finasteride or dutasteride at this point. Your situation is going to be tough to reverse. That's alot of loss in a short amount of time. @randolf_faust, another one to add to your list.

Minoxidil will just cause contact dermatitis and spread it around. I am convinced that dermatitis and baldness are closely linked at the least in terms of being artifacts of runaway DHT.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I think that he might be gone from here as he has Pm'ed me. I know plenty about male treatments but I also know about dermatitis meds. Please don't anyone say anything more negative on this post. We have a plan. It will just be upsetting. He knows that time is of the essence. Thanks, folks.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Minoxidil will just cause contact dermatitis and spread it around. I am convince that dermatitis and baldness are closely linked at the least in terms of being artifacts of runaway DHT.

His dermatitis is mostly induced by keto shampoo. For some it can be harsh.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

His dermatitis is mostly induced by keto shampoo. For some it can be harsh.

I will definitely relay that and that is helpful. If you want to Pm Op anyone, that would be fine. I just don't want 50 guys asking him why he waited so long. That's irrelevant now.

 

[Almas]

Read a few topics on this forum about Bicalutamide. This is the only promising treatment for early aggressive hair loss. You need Bicalutamide 75-150mg. I'm still looking for the right dosage myself, but it is in this range. Use it in conjunction with Finasteride to reduce receptor competition (reading DHTcel's threads will tell you what I mean)
This will not return 100% of your density, but it will return some of it and stop baldness if it works. Among the cis treatments for gender men, this is the best we have, and you should move on to it.

I also can't help but mention HRT. You must have been scared by reading these three letters. However, there are people who change their hormones to women in order to treat baldness. Some do it temporarily, and some for life. If Bicalutamide works for you, you will be able to restore 100% density on HRT, and then maintain the results on Bicalutamide. If you are really concerned about baldness, you should consider this option.

In general, start with Bicalutamide first. You can ask for help in this thread, here they will help you. I am in it and will definitely answer you.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/exploring-the-hormonal-route-hair-life.109288/page-876#post-1973708

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Read a few topics on this forum about Bicalutamide. This is the only promising treatment for early aggressive hair loss. You need Bicalutamide 75-150mg. I'm still looking for the right dosage myself, but it is in this range. Use it in conjunction with Finasteride to reduce receptor competition (reading DHTcel's threads will tell you what I mean)
This will not return 100% of your density, but it will return some of it and stop baldness if it works. Among the cis treatments for gender men, this is the best we have, and you should move on to it.

I also can't help but mention HRT. You must have been scared by reading these three letters. However, there are people who change their hormones to women in order to treat baldness. Some do it temporarily, and some for life. If Bicalutamide works for you, you will be able to restore 100% density on HRT, and then maintain the results on Bicalutamide. If you are really concerned about baldness, you should consider this option.

In general, start with Bicalutamide first. You can ask for help in this thread, here they will help you. I am in it and will definitely answer you.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/exploring-the-hormonal-route-hair-life.109288/page-876#post-1973708

OP please do not use these treatments. These are not fda approved for treating balding for a reason. If you want my plain advice here it is: finasteride. If you get side effects then try cutting the dose but that might impact the efficacy for your case seems early and aggressive. You might be a super responder and experience a lot of regrowth. Talk to your doctor about it. You can combine it with minoxidil as well for more effect.

Just don't go down the rabbit hole with these alternative treatments because if you thought finasteride side effects were scary, these drugs are worse.

 

[Almas]

I can say one thing: everything I had to, I said. Now everything depends only on you, OP. I, too, was once afraid of Bicalutamide and HRT, but over time I realized that Finasteride and Dutasteride are powerless, and these methods of treatment are not so dangerous, since they are used for HRT. I am leaving this thread. I do not argue with fans of Tressless and Dr. Rassman, but I always give a chance.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

OP please do not use these treatments. These are not fda approved for treating balding for a reason. If you want my plain advice here it is: finasteride. If you get side effects then try cutting the dose but that might impact the efficacy for your case seems early and aggressive. You might be a super responder and experience a lot of regrowth. Talk to your doctor about it. You can combine it with minoxidil as well for more effect.

Just don't go down the rabbit hole with these alternative treatments because if you thought finasteride side effects were scary, these drugs are worse.

Dutasteride is not FDA approved either. Should people discuss dutasteride with him or not since the FDA says no and they don't even say no. Doctors can prescribe any approved med for anything. It's called off-label use and virtually all of us are getting duta via off-label use unless we are prostate patients.

 

[Evocator]

I think that he might be gone from here as he has Pm'ed me. I know plenty about male treatments but I also know about dermatitis meds. Please don't anyone say anything more negative on this post. We have a plan. It will just be upsetting. He knows that time is of the essence. Thanks, folks.

Hey Janey, I'm 17 and my dermatologist diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis is there anything you can help me with?
Because she just prescribed me Salidex, she told me to use it twice a day on the places that itch (When I came back to her a month later she told me to stop using it, even though I didn't complete 1/4 of the bottle) she also prescribed me useless meds for my Acne even though I told her countless times that Acne isn't my problem here.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Hey Janey, I'm 17 and my dermatologist diagnosed me with seborrheic dermatitis is there anything you can help me with?
Because she just prescribed me Salidex, she told me to use it twice a day on the places that itch (When I came back to her a month later she told me to stop using it, even though I didn't complete 1/4 of the bottle) she also prescribed me useless meds for my Acne even though I told her countless times that Acne isn't my problem here.

Definitely. Just DM me. I actually am trying to sleep but the computer dings me so I usually check in since I have chronic insomnia/don't need much sleep.

Janey

 

[yurguardianangel]

Definitely. Just DM me. I actually am trying to sleep but the computer dings me so I usually check in since I have chronic insomnia/don't need much sleep.

Janey

Chronic insomnia I sometimes have. I used to stay up very late doing gaming or reading my iPad which was a bad idea...

I find a potent strong CBD oil I use makes me very relaxed and knocks me out in a higher dose...

 

[yurguardianangel]

He should try a hair system, tbh.
Or shave it.

Hair loss meds can have terrible side effects and only stop it getting worse.
They don't grow back hair, in my experience. But can thicken it up.
The severe side effects I experienced in the past wasn't worth it. Testicle pain and libido problems.

A hair transplant can be successful as he's only I think a Norwood 3.
But you need to be on meds with that too to prevent the hair loss getting worse.
And a hair transplant is super expensive like 30 grand. Unless you get it done in say Turkey but not possible with the pandemic travel restrictions currently...

 

[trialAcc]

Read a few topics on this forum about Bicalutamide. This is the only promising treatment for early aggressive hair loss. You need Bicalutamide 75-150mg. I'm still looking for the right dosage myself, but it is in this range. Use it in conjunction with Finasteride to reduce receptor competition (reading DHTcel's threads will tell you what I mean)
This will not return 100% of your density, but it will return some of it and stop baldness if it works. Among the cis treatments for gender men, this is the best we have, and you should move on to it.

I also can't help but mention HRT. You must have been scared by reading these three letters. However, there are people who change their hormones to women in order to treat baldness. Some do it temporarily, and some for life. If Bicalutamide works for you, you will be able to restore 100% density on HRT, and then maintain the results on Bicalutamide. If you are really concerned about baldness, you should consider this option.

In general, start with Bicalutamide first. You can ask for help in this thread, here they will help you. I am in it and will definitely answer you.

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/exploring-the-hormonal-route-hair-life.109288/page-876#post-1973708

In general, start with Bicalutamide first? What kind of advise are you giving 20 year olds who are too scared to take finasteride? This is ridiculous.

This guy should be starting with finasteride, period.

 

[trialAcc]

Dutasteride is not FDA approved either. Should people discuss dutasteride with him or not since the FDA says no and they don't even say no. Doctors can prescribe any approved med for anything. It's called off-label use and virtually all of us are getting duta via off-label use unless we are prostate patients.

Poor excuse, dutasteride is approved in many countries for hairloss and in those countries is preferred over finasteride. Find me one where Bicalutamide is prescribed for hair.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Poor excuse, dutasteride is approved in many countries for hairloss and in those countries is preferred over finasteride. Find me one where Bicalutamide is prescribed for hair.

Again off-label use. Not to mention you are forgetting that a doctor again, would be prescribing, someone far more qualified to make such determinations.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

In general, start with Bicalutamide first? What kind of advise are you giving 20 year olds who are too scared to take finasteride? This is ridiculous.

This guy should be starting with finasteride, period.

Have you interviewed this person? Have you spoken to him about his treatment? I asked specifically that people not come on here and rile things up for the fellow.