How long would you say I have until I have a large bald spot?

[UnluckyGenes]

Hi all,

New to the forum, 32 going on 33 in November. I was hoping some of you could help me in estimating how long I have until hats become my best friend, and this slightly fuzzy blad spot that friends say they only notice when standing above me becomes a large one. Long story short, two years ago, I happened to notice when I got out of the shower that hair around my crown looked a little thin. However, there's no baldness in my family on either side for three generations, so I, mistakenly, assumed it was just because my hair was wet and didn't think anything of it. Then, last week, I was sitting down with friends and family and some walked behind me and said hey, you know you have a bald spot back here? And there most definitely is.

I accept that I'm balding, but I just don't have any good photos to show progression, as it's not something I've been tracking. I don't have any desire to start taking medicine, as my understanding from discussion with balding friends is that if you start Minoxidil, it works, but it's for life. If I'm wrong on that, please feel free to correct my ignorance. I've been trawling through photos to try and find photos that might show any evidence of progression, and I'm struggling, but I don't have the eyes that a lot of you have. Anyway, apologies if all of these except the few I took this morning are useless. I know the resolution is crap on some, but thought I'd just post what I could find. Any suggestions on timeline of progression are appreciated. Thanks in advance for all replies.


October 2014
September 2015
September 2016
October 2016
July 14th 2017
July 14th 2017
July 14th 2017

[hctr]

I'm 33 and spent way too much of my life on my bald spot. Tried finasteride, had side effects and quit. Used minoxidil for 10 years, maybe it slowed the progress, I don't know. Just like you I wanted to know how much I have time left, because after the bald spot my life would be totally ruined. I went for a hair transplant, and that was a huge mistake. I was thinning and did not yet have a bald spot, so I might just end up with less hair. Messed up my donor area with FUE, messed up my scalp with scars.

You should slowly go into shorter haircuts, like in the 2014 pic. What I realized is that it's not that bad having a bald spot in your 30's. I would rather not have it but people treat me just the same. The worst part about the spot is how you see yourself, not how others see it.

My point is try not to think "how much time you have left", you already have a bald spot! And life goes on. Probably it will grow slowly as you get older. And getting to our 40's we start to notice other side effects of getting old that are worse than a bald spot. Less time taking selfies and looking in the mirror and less time on hairloss forums will make your life so much better. All efforts to hide the spot, such as Toppik and hats will make your life worse.

Wish someone just told me this before my transplant. Well I should have understood it myself...