Hi all,
I've glanced at a few topics before posting and am familiar with the "Big 3." Please see the attachment for the images (in one montage).
Genetics: Dad is ~56 and bald. He had a bald spot at 29 which expanded and met his receding hairline at ~50-53. His father was bald too. Mom's side doesn't have male pattern baldness.
History:
Age 15-16: I remember someone teasing me for having a "bald spot" but I'm pretty sure that has always been there.
Age 18: Massive hair shedding begins, concurrent with physical and mental stress (overwork, sleep deprivation, crash dieting, and depression). It might have just been "natural" hair loss due to my maturation, or it could have been a telogen effluvium sort of thing. I had hairballs clogging the shower drain, hair all over the pillow, etc. After about a year of this, I went to a hairstylist (it was my first time going to one) and she said that my hair was thin.
Age 19: Still shedding tons.
Age 20: Still had a lot of hair loss, stress, and another crash diet (didn't learn). My relatives, who I hadn't seen in years, told me my hair was thin. I was definitely concerned with hair loss at this point.
Age 21: My friends told me my hair was thin (lol).
Age 22: I don't remember whether my shedding had stopped or not. Started using over-the-counter Nizoral 1% on and off. It makes my hair look better cosmetically (the hairs are more separate, I think), but I'm not sure if it has any effect on the actual hair density.
Age 23: Lost a lot of weight over the past year. I don't lose TOO many hairs in the shower or on my pillow, but I have thin hair. I think it's worse than 2 years ago.
It's the thinness between the "bald spot" and my hairline that's most concerning to me. My hairline and temples have both receded a bit too, I think. I don't mind male pattern baldness so much as I mind premature male pattern baldness. If I were 43 and thinning, that's not terrible, but I'm only 23! I have an itchy scalp and hair that needs to be washed almost everyday. I often find sebum plugs (small greasy lumps? ew), sometimes with miniaturized or full-bodied hairs embedded in them. I wear my hair long-ish with a sort of combover style (I'd wear my hair like that even if I didn't have male pattern baldness).
Current plan:
Exercise, eat, and sleep right
Take multivitamin a few times per week
See family doctor; get blood work done just to make sure
See dermatologist and ask him/her to do a hair count; check again in 6 months?
I can't take finasteride right now and risk getting a shed because I have some upcoming interviews. Should I take generic finasteride and 2% Nizoral next year when I'm 24? Thanks in advance!
I've glanced at a few topics before posting and am familiar with the "Big 3." Please see the attachment for the images (in one montage).
Genetics: Dad is ~56 and bald. He had a bald spot at 29 which expanded and met his receding hairline at ~50-53. His father was bald too. Mom's side doesn't have male pattern baldness.
History:
Age 15-16: I remember someone teasing me for having a "bald spot" but I'm pretty sure that has always been there.
Age 18: Massive hair shedding begins, concurrent with physical and mental stress (overwork, sleep deprivation, crash dieting, and depression). It might have just been "natural" hair loss due to my maturation, or it could have been a telogen effluvium sort of thing. I had hairballs clogging the shower drain, hair all over the pillow, etc. After about a year of this, I went to a hairstylist (it was my first time going to one) and she said that my hair was thin.
Age 19: Still shedding tons.
Age 20: Still had a lot of hair loss, stress, and another crash diet (didn't learn). My relatives, who I hadn't seen in years, told me my hair was thin. I was definitely concerned with hair loss at this point.
Age 21: My friends told me my hair was thin (lol).
Age 22: I don't remember whether my shedding had stopped or not. Started using over-the-counter Nizoral 1% on and off. It makes my hair look better cosmetically (the hairs are more separate, I think), but I'm not sure if it has any effect on the actual hair density.
Age 23: Lost a lot of weight over the past year. I don't lose TOO many hairs in the shower or on my pillow, but I have thin hair. I think it's worse than 2 years ago.
It's the thinness between the "bald spot" and my hairline that's most concerning to me. My hairline and temples have both receded a bit too, I think. I don't mind male pattern baldness so much as I mind premature male pattern baldness. If I were 43 and thinning, that's not terrible, but I'm only 23! I have an itchy scalp and hair that needs to be washed almost everyday. I often find sebum plugs (small greasy lumps? ew), sometimes with miniaturized or full-bodied hairs embedded in them. I wear my hair long-ish with a sort of combover style (I'd wear my hair like that even if I didn't have male pattern baldness).
Current plan:
Exercise, eat, and sleep right
Take multivitamin a few times per week
See family doctor; get blood work done just to make sure
See dermatologist and ask him/her to do a hair count; check again in 6 months?
I can't take finasteride right now and risk getting a shed because I have some upcoming interviews. Should I take generic finasteride and 2% Nizoral next year when I'm 24? Thanks in advance!
