28 and heading to norwood 3 (pics included)

[rickyrixon]

Hey dudes,

First of all I know my hair loss is probably nothing to whinge about compared to what many others are going through at much younger ages and I am definitely not looking for any sympathy or anything like that. I would just really like some opinions on my situation.

The hair loss pattern in my family is somewhat unusual in that the men seem to get to a norwood 3 pattern fairly early and then stay that way for life (just the forelock gets thinner and thinner over time). My father is 70 and still a norwood 3 and so is my 45 year old brother. The only difference being that my brothers forelock is slightly thicker. Both of them have very thick hair on top and at the crown with no signs of thinning at all.

I was hoping that maybe I would escape this burden completely but the last few months I have definitely noticed some miniturisied hairs around the corners of my hair line.

Luckily at this point it isn't really noticeable to anyone else as I can just cover it (the rest of my hair is very thick and hopefully always will be looking at family history).

But unlike the others in my family I want to do something about it. I just don't really know what yet!

As I only have hair loss in the corners do you think Propecia could help me at all? As Merck themselves have now admitted that it may cause irreversible sexual side effects it is really not something which I want to play around with, particularly as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of evidence that it works well around the hair line anyway. Has anyone had much regrowth with Propecia in that area?

and what about Rogaine? Do you think that could help me? Again from what I have read it doesn't seem to work too well around the hairline either. Also it doesn't really seem like a long term solution anyway so what's the point? I don't really get it.

I guess long term as my pattern progresses I would like to get my corners filled in via FUE/FUT but surely that isn't really an option at the moment? Or is it? If it was and was affordable I would definitely consider it sooner rather than later.

Please share your thoughts

Thank you
Ricky

[Still deciding]

Looks pretty good combed forward. And you are correct - not going to get much sympathy from others who would love to have your head of hair...With that being said, to answer your questions. I can vouch for Propecia and Rogaine (use for crown and hairline) for 10+ years. My family history appears to mirrors yours. Norwood Level 2-3 reared its ugly head in my early 20s, but I kept my hair short on sides and brushed my hair forward to cover it up. I can definitely attest to the effectiveness of the Rogaine and Propecia (I used 1/4 mg proscar) combo. I don't feel as I have suffered any of the Propecia side effects that have been reported. After 10+ years I noticed my corners/temporal region receding a little further back, so I did my research and decided to have a FUE procedure that totaled just over 1000 grafts. I'm about 3 weeks Post Op and very glad I made the decision. My advice - your hair looks good from the pics. But if you really want to do something, try the Propecia/Rogaine combo, see how you feel ref side effects from Propecia, and go from there. I certainly wouldn't look into a HT at your age, but that is just my opinion. Give Rog/Prop time, or just Rog if Propecia isn't for you. I also have used Nizoral shampoo a few times a week for last 5 years and found it to be effective. I'm glad I waited (I'm 37 now) for my HT procedure, even though I was in your shoes in late 20s. Good luck. One final note: These are just my opinions based on my regimen. It goes without saying to check with a doc prior to Propecia or Proscar use.

[amadeus]

Very Good advice! Your hair does look really good and if you are not actively shedding at this point you might want to consider taking some time to see if you are actually progressing. Starting treatment is a life long thing, you want to make sure that you are really balding before you start taking medication. Great hair by the way!

Looks pretty good combed forward. And you are correct - not going to get much sympathy from others who would love to have your head of hair...With that being said, to answer your questions. I can vouch for Propecia and Rogaine (use for crown and hairline) for 10+ years. My family history appears to mirrors yours. Norwood Level 2-3 reared its ugly head in my early 20s, but I kept my hair short on sides and brushed my hair forward to cover it up. I can definitely attest to the effectiveness of the Rogaine and Propecia (I used 1/4 mg proscar) combo. I don't feel as I have suffered any of the Propecia side effects that have been reported. After 10+ years I noticed my corners/temporal region receding a little further back, so I did my research and decided to have a FUE procedure that totaled just over 1000 grafts. I'm about 3 weeks Post Op and very glad I made the decision. My advice - your hair looks good from the pics. But if you really want to do something, try the Propecia/Rogaine combo, see how you feel ref side effects from Propecia, and go from there. I certainly wouldn't look into a HT at your age, but that is just my opinion. Give Rog/Prop time, or just Rog if Propecia isn't for you. I also have used Nizoral shampoo a few times a week for last 5 years and found it to be effective. I'm glad I waited (I'm 37 now) for my HT procedure, even though I was in your shoes in late 20s. Good luck. One final note: These are just my opinions based on my regimen. It goes without saying to check with a doc prior to Propecia or Proscar use.