Well... I guess it's time to post my own story here as well. I just signed up a few minutes ago, but I've been lurking for a little while. This forum has already helped me out in a way... before I read up on it here, I was about to blow some money on a scam product. Anyways...
I'm currently 18 (more or less... my birthday is just around the corner). It's hard to say when exactly I started losing my hair, but if I had to I would guess sometime when I was around 16 and 1/2. That summer I grew my hair out longer and I began to notice that my bangs didn't seem quite right (i.e. it seemed they couldn't cover quite enough of the forehead). Looking back on it, I realize that my temples were receding and that I was starting to thin at the front.
For the next year or more, my hair troubled me but I was never really worried that I was on my way to going bald. My dad and nearly every other man in his family had high temples, but didn't look bald at all; I figured I had just gotten it from them. Plus, because I kept my hair long for a while, it wasn't really noticeable. By the end of the year though, the reality of the situation was starting to dawn on me. I still remember getting a ride home from my friend one day... my hair was greasy that day (missed a shower to get to class, what can I say -.-) and he looked at me and told me I was going to be "one of those guys that are bald in a couple of years". That was a real slap in the face.
Not too long after that, I decided to shave my head (well, nearly... really thin buzz-cut I guess). My friends did it regularly just for the hell of it so they were suggesting I try it out, and in the back of my mind I figured maybe it would be better than having to trouble with my long hair (and its worsening quality). In retrospect... a mistake. I let my friends do the cutting and in the middle of it one of them exclaimed "f*** dude, you're balding!". That's when the situation fully hit me I think... they definitely had a point. With my hair so short, it was obvious just how much my temples had receded and, for the first time, just how much my frontal scalp had thinned.
After that incident I began to panic and looked for any sort of "cure". My parents were completely in denial, as if telling me my hair was perfectly fine and refusing to do anything about it would make me feel better. By the end of the summer though, I had finally managed to convince them that something needed to be done. Through the information I got from hairlosstalk.com, I decided to start with the Big 3. I opened up the Propecia and Rogaine two days ago.
And that's the end of the 'story'... now more concretely about what I'm facing.
If I had to identify myself on the Norwood scale, I'd say Norwood 3. If I keep going without doing anything, I'm sure I''d get to Norwood 4.5 soon enough... but as it is, even though it's thinning, I still have a vidow's peak. Plus, I'm not really worried about the top of my head at all. You can see a bit of the scalp at the crown, but other than that the quality of my hair there is (I think) decent. This should give you a pretty good idea of what it looks like, even if it's a bit blurry:
I admit that I am worried it might become a problem in the future... but given how it is I'd be perfeclty happy with just retaining what I have. It's with the temples and frontal scalp that I'd definitely like an improvement over Norwood 3. Here's a picture without flash, that shows where I stand pretty well (although the hair does look better in person).
And with flash...
I've noticed people upload pics of their wet hair with flash... I guess to show it at its "worst". I don't have any pictures like that... but rest assured it looks horrible.
Anyways, I guess this is all. I started the "Big 3" two days ago and I'm cautiously optimistic. I'd be happy with anything that would stop my hair loss, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for some regrowth. If I could just get back to Norwood 2, I'd be ecstatic.
I'm currently 18 (more or less... my birthday is just around the corner). It's hard to say when exactly I started losing my hair, but if I had to I would guess sometime when I was around 16 and 1/2. That summer I grew my hair out longer and I began to notice that my bangs didn't seem quite right (i.e. it seemed they couldn't cover quite enough of the forehead). Looking back on it, I realize that my temples were receding and that I was starting to thin at the front.
For the next year or more, my hair troubled me but I was never really worried that I was on my way to going bald. My dad and nearly every other man in his family had high temples, but didn't look bald at all; I figured I had just gotten it from them. Plus, because I kept my hair long for a while, it wasn't really noticeable. By the end of the year though, the reality of the situation was starting to dawn on me. I still remember getting a ride home from my friend one day... my hair was greasy that day (missed a shower to get to class, what can I say -.-) and he looked at me and told me I was going to be "one of those guys that are bald in a couple of years". That was a real slap in the face.
Not too long after that, I decided to shave my head (well, nearly... really thin buzz-cut I guess). My friends did it regularly just for the hell of it so they were suggesting I try it out, and in the back of my mind I figured maybe it would be better than having to trouble with my long hair (and its worsening quality). In retrospect... a mistake. I let my friends do the cutting and in the middle of it one of them exclaimed "f*** dude, you're balding!". That's when the situation fully hit me I think... they definitely had a point. With my hair so short, it was obvious just how much my temples had receded and, for the first time, just how much my frontal scalp had thinned.
After that incident I began to panic and looked for any sort of "cure". My parents were completely in denial, as if telling me my hair was perfectly fine and refusing to do anything about it would make me feel better. By the end of the summer though, I had finally managed to convince them that something needed to be done. Through the information I got from hairlosstalk.com, I decided to start with the Big 3. I opened up the Propecia and Rogaine two days ago.
And that's the end of the 'story'... now more concretely about what I'm facing.
If I had to identify myself on the Norwood scale, I'd say Norwood 3. If I keep going without doing anything, I'm sure I''d get to Norwood 4.5 soon enough... but as it is, even though it's thinning, I still have a vidow's peak. Plus, I'm not really worried about the top of my head at all. You can see a bit of the scalp at the crown, but other than that the quality of my hair there is (I think) decent. This should give you a pretty good idea of what it looks like, even if it's a bit blurry:
I admit that I am worried it might become a problem in the future... but given how it is I'd be perfeclty happy with just retaining what I have. It's with the temples and frontal scalp that I'd definitely like an improvement over Norwood 3. Here's a picture without flash, that shows where I stand pretty well (although the hair does look better in person).
And with flash...
I've noticed people upload pics of their wet hair with flash... I guess to show it at its "worst". I don't have any pictures like that... but rest assured it looks horrible.
Anyways, I guess this is all. I started the "Big 3" two days ago and I'm cautiously optimistic. I'd be happy with anything that would stop my hair loss, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for some regrowth. If I could just get back to Norwood 2, I'd be ecstatic.
