Balding or maturing?

[andand]

Hi guys,

I am a 25 year old male wondering whether my hairline is balding or maturing and if I should take action. I went for a check in Belgravia centre and they "diagnosed" me with male pattern baldness but they are known for finding problems where there aren't any just to get people pay £100/month for finasteride so I thought I would come here for some more opinions.

I am not shedding hair any more than normal and if it has any relevance, have very little body hair on face / body. My family however is full of bald men so I haven't been blessed with the best genetics.

The last one is a picture of my hair 6 years ago when I was 19, it's a little hard to see as the hair is pretty long but might give some idea.









2012:

[andand]

Hello,

Well no one replied but I decided to jump on Finasteride 3 weeks ago, I took some close ups of the temple hairline and there were definitely some miniaturised hairs. (attached pic). Unless of course these are new hairs but I highly doubt it after 3 weeks. I also shaved my hair very short and temples are thinner.

My question now is related to minoxidil. I kind of want to see if finasteride is enough to thicken the temples slightly but at the same time I'm unpatient to add minoxidil to the mix. Plus I want a grow a beard with it

Will minoxidil affect the possible hairs that will be grown by Finasteride? As in do the new "finasteride hairs" also then become dependent on the minoxidil as well, or is it just any additional new hair that will rely on it?

Just in case mino is not for me and I eventually end up leaving it out, I don't want it to ruin progress that would have been achieved without it anyway.

Would you add it in if you were me based on the below?

[mattj]

I missed your post before. On the basis of the first set of photos I would have said that you appear to be in the early stages of male pattern balding and I see a difference between your hairline now and how it looked in 2012. Your latest photos confirm that, with the visible miniaturization and it also looks like you could have lost some density at the midscalp area. The one photo isn't enough to go on, but it looks like you might end up thinning behind your frontal forelock.

I believe it to be true that any effect that Finasteride has can be seen as separate to whatever the Minoxidil does. If hairs thicken or re-grow due to Finasteride, then it is only Finasteride that is required to keep those hairs. Same for Minoxidil. It's very common to use both treatments together.

Both treatments tend to work better for the crown and midscalp than they do for the hairline, but you could be lucky and see improvement there too. Only time will tell.

[andand]

Many thanks for your response mattj, much appreciated. I will be adding minoxidil and nizoral into the regime today. Do I just rub it all over the top of the head and temples? What about the fringe and other areas?

Regaring the midscalp area, attached are some recent pictures. I've always had a very prominant crown but perhaps there is some thinning too.

[mattj]

It does look like you're thinning at the crown and midscalp. You've caught it early so hopefully you'll see improvement with the treatments. If Finasteride just slows down the rate of loss or puts a stop to it, then that counts as success even if it isn't as exciting as regrowing hair.

Regarding Minoxidil application, I would just follow the instructions. I've not actually used it myself. It can affect areas wider then where it is actually applied, but I would apply it from the front right back to the crown.

Is it the foam type that you got?

[andand]

It does look like you're thinning at the crown and midscalp. You've caught it early so hopefully you'll see improvement with the treatments. If Finasteride just slows down the rate of loss or puts a stop to it, then that counts as success even if it isn't as exciting as regrowing hair.

Regarding Minoxidil application, I would just follow the instructions. I've not actually used it myself. It can affect areas wider then where it is actually applied, but I would apply it from the front right back to the crown.

Is it the foam type that you got?

That must be one of the worst type of balding where only the front remains... ugh. Really hope these medicines work.

Just put on the first application of minoxidil, it's indeed the foam that I got. Will try it on my beard as well, always wanted sideburns.

[mattj]

Will be interesting to know if it works on the beard. It's not something I've really looked into as it's different from my main focus. Have you heard of worthwhile beard growth with it?

[andand]

Will be interesting to know if it works on the beard. It's not something I've really looked into as it's different from my main focus. Have you heard of worthwhile beard growth with it?

Yes, we shall see what happens - I will post some before & after pictures if it works! I have heard a lot of people having success with this, with results starting to show in just a couple of weeks. Many have apparently managed to grow these into permanent hairs even when the minoxidil is quit, which is interesting as this would not happen with the scalp hair.

I'm also a bit cautious about the finasteride, it's now been over 3 weeks but no clear sides so far. I have a slight pre-existing gynecomastia from teenage years on my left side (used to have it on both sides but only one remained) so I hope this doesn't start growing again as I clearly have tendency. I thought I felt a slight pain there the other day which could always be a warning sign... but now it seems fine so maybe it was just saying hello.

[sayian]

There is no such thing as maturing.

You either have genetic alopecia or not; in your case, you do. You are balding slowly.

[Uzii52]

19 and balding!

19 and balding! I am currently on finasteride for 2 months! Can't see any real results! See the pictures so that you can see how bad my hair is

[andand]

Update time!

2month on finasteride and week 5 on minoxidil - see pics below.
I started seeing the first signs of improvement three weeks ago when I grew this thin transparent hair on my temples, now it's starting to turn dark.

For those of you interested in the minoxidil beard progress, the density has already at least doubled in the 5 weeks - I might post pics later if anyone wants to see.

[BaldBearded]

It would be cool to see the beard progress!

[mattj]

Sounds like miniaturized hairs are thickening. I don't see much of a difference between photos (especially with the haircut) but I know that the difference is in the details and the camera won't necessarily pick it up. If that temple corner has filled in as much as it appears to have, then you've responded well.