Some questions...

[Pacino]

I'm 18 and since about 6 months ago I noticed that one side of my hairline (corner) had a little thin area. Since then it has gotten a little worse but no big deal yet. Nobody has even noticed it yet since it's pretty small. The rest of the hairline hasn't thinned or regressed at all.

I'm concerned about the amount of hair I've been shedding though. In the shower I see some in my hands and then when I'm combing one or two hairs are on the comb everytime I run it through my hair. And even running my hands gently through my hair, wet or dry, results in a few hairs coming out. The hair just seems very weak to be coming out so easily and it seems to be coming out all over the head, not just in some areas. My hair is fairly long so if i was thinning all over, it should be pretty noticable but it isn't. When my hair is wet, I notice that it does look slightly thinner than it used to in the parted area but it's not noticeable.

I thought that thinning/balding happens when the hair grows back thinner and thinner over time but that shedding wasn't increased? Either way, I think I'm shedding way too much hair everyday, what should I do?

 

[socks]

Go to a dermatologist and see what he or she says. Also ask for blood work to make sure your hormones are at the right levels (especially your thyroid).

While you're waiting for the appointment do some reading here on Androgenetic Alopecia (male pattern baldness) as well as the other alopecias. That way when you talk to your dermatologist you will be able to communicate with and understand him/her completely.

 

[Pacino]

Thanks for the reply. I am going to visit the dermatologist as soon as I can get an appointment. I discovered this board as I was reading up on some of this stuff and I wanted to post here and see what you guys had to say.

 

[Molecular Help]

Socks-

what other hormone tests are there besides thyroid? I got mine checked (just for TSH) and it came up normal. But since you can see where its thinner at the temples where it would recede, I accepted this as male pattern baldness, though my doctor doesn't think so, probably because of the lack of balding men in my family. Anyways as in the author of this threads case, the temple(s) is thinning.

Isn't that a dead giveaway of male pattern baldness? Is there any hormone imbalance that can cause this sort of hairloss?

One more thing my hair is weird- its much thinner on the left side all across the top, and I lose mad eyebrow hair. Not sure if its relevant...

 

[socks]

what other hormone tests are there besides thyroid?

The idea is to run a full blood work panel on your hormones to insure nothing is out of whack. Your hormones are extremely critical for your body to function normally. Any imbalance in your hormones can cause all kinds of problems.

But since you can see where its thinner at the temples where it would recede, I accepted this as male pattern baldness, though my doctor doesn't think so, probably because of the lack of balding men in my family.

There are guys who have no male pattern baldness in their family tree yet are still unfortunate enough to develop male pattern baldness. Chances are excellent that if you go back far enough someone if your family had male pattern baldness.

One more thing my hair is weird- its much thinner on the left side all across the top, and I lose mad eyebrow hair. Not sure if its relevant...

It very well may be. Have you been going to a dermatologist for your hair problems? Regular MD dont have the specialized training dermatologists do when it comes to hair conditions.

 

[Molecular Help]

Thanks for the response. Good stuff.