Should I get on fin? [pics]

I posted my pics once before, but I took some newer ones just today which I think show the extent of my hair loss a bit better. Yes, I may be in the very early stages of hair loss, but I would rather attack it early than wait until I lose more.

My hairline is concerning me more than anything. Notice how thin it is, and how uneven the hairline is (as well as the slight recession at my right temple)? It was NOT like this 6 months ago.

Let me know what you guys think. I'm thinking of going on finasteride if this worsens. I'm really willing to take the plunge despite the risk of sides. My hair is honestly one of my better features and I don't know what I would do if I lost it (as terribly vain as that sounds).

I don't think you need anything, let alone finasteride.
You're not even Norwood 1. Don't know how to say this, but you are not bald. Theres so many of us with barely anything in the front or in the back, you have plenty of hair, be happy, even thrilled with what you have, the rest of us - we can only dream of a full set of hair.

You're suffering from a cognitive distortion, man. All I can do is reiterate what StressedToTheBald has already said. This is the hair loss equivalent of someone who is bulimic. I almost want to say you're a terrible person for signing onto a hair loss forum and flaunting your luscious locks.

While I understand how it may seem ridiculous for me to suggest that I'm losing my hair, the amount of hair I have on my head today as opposed to a year ago is different. A year ago I had more hair at the hairline; today the hairline has thinned out and I can even see through to my scalp if I'm looking in a mirror in a well-lit room.

I'm not suggesting that I'm bald or even going bald anytime soon, but I have lost hair and a lot of the hairs at my hairline are miniaturized.

I also use lots of hair products to make my hair appear more voluminous (I blow-dry, use mousse, hairspray, etc.) so the hair in my pics may be a bit deceptive. My hair is naturally very fine.

If fin is not an option for me at this point, then what is? I understand that most other options don't help hair at the hairline.

You could get tested for genetic susceptibility but I agree with the others, your hairline looks awesome and will only attract jealousy :)

How old are you? Perhaps you are developing a mature hairline. Most men lose their childhood hairline and recede a bit but this does not mean you are balding. If you're really concerned about it, go to a hair restoration doctor and let them look for miniaturization behind your mature hairline point to see if anything is actually going on. At least you'll know for sure.

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

Let me know what you guys think.

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Honestly, all I see in the photos you have provided is a natural and normal mature male hairline. The male hair line is not like the female hair line or the adolescent hair line. This is normal and is one of the traits that differ between males and females.

However, if this continues to bother you, you need to see a doctor who specializes in treating hair loss. Such a doctor can help steer in the right direction. Here is a link to help you find one.

http://www.iahrs.org/hair-transplant/

I agree with the general consensus that you have a mature, or maturing, hairline.

Keep vigilant for any changes that indicate you might be progressing to actual full-on MPB, but otherwise, I think you're completely fine.

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Originally Posted by ryan555

How old are you? Perhaps you are developing a mature hairline.

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I'm 23.

I'm a little confused as to how you can tell if some recession is a "mature hairline" as opposed to the beginning stage of MPB. When you develop a mature hairline, does it normally stop there? How can I tell if this is just a mature hairline or if it will progress further?

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

I'm 23.

I'm a little confused as to how you can tell if some recession is a "mature hairline" as opposed to the beginning stage of MPB. When you develop a mature hairline, does it normally stop there? How can I tell if this is just a mature hairline or if it will progress further?

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mature hairline bro, use this as a warning that life could get tough and go out live your life for all of us sufferers here. Appreciate your hair more, etc.

Do it for us...go out there and get laid so that you can forget about hair loss.

Propecia won't help you keep your hairline either...if youre losing your hair all the products out there are to make it a norwood 2/3 at most. It's rare for somebody to keep their norwood 1 hairline with propecia.

You have all these future treatments coming out later bro.

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

When you develop a mature hairline, does it normally stop there?

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Sometimes it stops there and stays that way for many years.

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

How can I tell if this is just a mature hairline or if it will progress further?

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Looking to your male relatives on both sides of your family is the closest thing to a crystal ball you are going to get. Keep a casual eye on it, especially your vertex. If you see it getting a little thin up top, have a talk with a doctor.

You've got way to much hair on your head.

If you really are thinning out like you describe, its going to destroy your self-image if you try to keep it like that.

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Originally Posted by Maradona

You have all these future treatments coming out later bro.

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Theres lots of talk and hope regarding these upcoming treatments. If at least one of them replaces the existing lack of treatments, it would be like a miracle, end to our bald suffering.. but we do need somewhat of a miracle to cure our baldness.

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

I understand that most other options don't help hair at the hairline.

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There is a very good (and natural) reason for this. Is is a normal male trait. I do not believe there is anything a male can do to prevent a mature male hair line. But I am not a doctor so what do I know?

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

If fin is not an option for me at this point, then what is?

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I do not believe you need to be on Finasteride but you would need to talk about that with your doctor. I also do not believe you would see appreciable benefit from Min0xidil - but again, you can talk to your doctor about that. You may benefit from using Nizoral or Nizoral A-D shampoo in place of your regular shampoo once per week. You may also benefit from using a laser comb.

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Originally Posted by Maradona

It's rare for somebody to keep their norwood 1 hairline with propecia.

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It is rare for a male to keep a NW1 hair line.

you annoying

Sorry but it's true.

what is tracy? my post wasn't directed at you sorry

Oh, never mind then. :p

I agree with tracy, start nizoral now as keeping a healthy scalp can only benefit your hair and ketoconazole (active ingredient in Nizoral) may even slow any possible hair loss by a small amount.

I don't think you should start fin right now but a doctor would be best at advising you on that.

I agree with the rest, do NOT start fin now, your hair is far too good. you only stand to loose hair in the first 6 months from the hairline/front, I'm now concerned with mine that I may not even go back to baseline in the front:( They are not kidding when they say its really only for the crown/vertex!

Live your life, improve/change your diet to a more soy based / mederterainean one. eat green veg etc. Maybe nizoral VERY occasionally;) enjoy what you have. most of us here are at least NW2-3:)

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Originally Posted by alex82

They are not kidding when they say its really only for the crown/vertex!

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Hi alex82,

It would be a good idea for you to take the time to understand more about hereditary hair loss.

The medicine does not care where on your head the damaged hair follicles are. All it does is block the hormone that triggers hereditary hair loss. The vertex and mid anterior are the areas that respond best for most men but that does not mean the hair line will not respond for anyone.

For the most part, I don't think there is anything a male can do to prevent developing a mature male hair line because this is a natural and normal physical trait for males. Like a lower voice, facial hair, bigger muscles, bigger hands, bigger feet, thick body hair etc.

successful troll

Update: I finally got around to seeing a dermatologist. I've been shedding a lot of hair these past few weeks and have had a pretty itchy scalp, so I felt I needed to have a professional look at it.

The doctor was very quick to prescribe Propecia, which surprised me. He took a look at my hair and asked me about my family history, and said it would be good for me to go on in now at the early stages as a preventative measure. I trust him though, he's a well-known dermatologist here in NYC who specializes in treating hair loss.

He also addressed the issue of sides, and said that he's been prescribing it for over a decade and hasn't had any of his patients come back to him complaining of sides...or any "permanent" sides for that matter.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to finally start this and be able to get my mind off of my hair. :D

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Originally Posted by captainmoon

Update: I finally got around to seeing a dermatologist. I've been shedding a lot of hair these past few weeks and have had a pretty itchy scalp, so I felt I needed to have a professional look at it.

The doctor was very quick to prescribe Propecia, which surprised me. He took a look at my hair and asked me about my family history, and said it would be good for me to go on in now at the early stages as a preventative measure. I trust him though, he's a well-known dermatologist here in NYC who specializes in treating hair loss.

He also addressed the issue of sides, and said that he's been prescribing it for over a decade and hasn't had any of his patients come back to him complaining of sides...or any "permanent" sides for that matter.

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to finally start this and be able to get my mind off of my hair. :D

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I can't see any loss in your pics but your Dr saw you in real life and knows best.

As far as the hairline goes, I am going to have to disagree with some here as far as Propecia is concerned. It may not be common but it does sometimes work at the hairline. I went on it strictly for my vertex area but was surprised when my hairline started filling in. It was real terminal hair too.

I would not count on it, but I would not count it out ether.
good luck...

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Originally Posted by jman91

successful troll

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Mhm.

10char

You defiantly need Fin, I mean your approaching an NW8.

No sarcasm, your like an NW -0.5

your hair looks really good to be honest

Jman91, I was not trolling. Just a warning to the op, I was in a simmillar situation to him before starting fin. Had very thick hair with only temple thinning. nw2 at most. Now 7 months into fin I have lost maybe 50% density and receeded to nw3 with a bald spot beginnning in the crown :(

looking at photos of myself pre fin is enough to make me cry :(

I really don't feel that younger guys with good hair to start with are aware of this possible side effect that you can accellerate your hairloss by using fin.

Obviously some have good results but having looked into this now there is a lot of anectdotal evidence that fin can actually speed up the mpb process in some patients especially at the front.

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Originally Posted by alex82

Jman91, I was not trolling. Just a warning to the op, I was in a simmillar situation to him before starting fin. Had very thick hair with only temple thinning. nw2 at most. Now 7 months into fin I have lost maybe 50% density and receeded to nw3 with a bald spot beginnning in the crown :(

looking at photos of myself pre fin is enough to make me cry :(

I really don't feel that younger guys with good hair to start with are aware of this possible side effect that you can accellerate your hairloss by using fin.

Obviously some have good results but having looked into this now there is a lot of anectdotal evidence that fin can actually speed up the mpb process in some patients especially at the front.

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7 months is not long enough as you will most likely go through several loss/growth cycles before you know what to expect. I saw results up front in about 4 months but crown took 9 months before I knew it was working. I asked a well known hair Dr why this was and he explained my front was most likely inactive while crown was undergoing active mpb aka miniaturization. I saw my crown shrink and expand several times before things got better. Use minox as well if you are not already... good luck..

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Originally Posted by mpb47

7 months is not long enough as you will most likely go through several loss/growth cycles before you know what to expect. I saw results up front in about 4 months but crown took 9 months before I knew it was working. I asked a well known hair Dr why this was and he explained my front was most likely inactive while crown was undergoing active mpb aka miniaturization. I saw my crown shrink and expand several times before things got better. Use minox as well if you are not already... good luck..

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Cheers for the vote of confidence. Did you not loose anything up front then mpb47? I've lost so much its insane! I know people get sheds but the hairs I'm loosing are terminal thick hairs and seems these are being replaced by thin short vellus hairs. like rapid minaturization.
Getting checked out at the docs this week anyway for other poss problems. Maybe I should add Minox... my original plan was to go fin an niz for 1 yr and see then maybe add minox if it had stabilized. I don't want to start more shedding by adding minox at this stage.

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Originally Posted by alex82

Cheers for the vote of confidence. Did you not loose anything up front then mpb47? I've lost so much its insane! I know people get sheds but the hairs I'm loosing are terminal thick hairs and seems these are being replaced by thin short vellus hairs. like rapid minaturization.
Getting checked out at the docs this week anyway for other poss problems. Maybe I should add Minox... my original plan was to go fin an niz for 1 yr and see then maybe add minox if it had stabilized. I don't want to start more shedding by adding minox at this stage.

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Honestly at that time I was not paying attention to the front so I can't remember, but if you are losing hair up front that is probably a good sign. People will tell you that you can never get your teenage hairline back. Maybe it is rare, but I can tell you that I certainly did and it caught me off guard because I never realized how much I had lost till it came back. My hairline changed right at puberty and it had been gone about 20 years at that point. It was like going back in time to circa 1983 and I felt great till I got sides and had to stop. Oh and I did have to use Minox as I tested without and it made a big difference for me. So I would add that and just give it more time- you are probably just going those cycles. I started taking pictures of my crown right when it started thinning and I remember flipping out when I started on fin and saw it get much bigger. But it just takes time....
Good luck!

Cheers man, feel like I've hijacked the thread a bit, sorry!

I do think that as far as the op is concerned he should hold off for nowand closely monitor situation. I know as a young guy ifyou take a hit, I.e big shed, then it really saps your confidence. And if iit does grow back, 6-12 months is a long time to loose when you are young.

I'll look a trying minox in a few months, just was to see some stability before changing the regimen. Btw, I'm more than happy to get back to baseline nw2 and maintain. I don't expect to get teenage hairline back. Although that would be amazing;)

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Originally Posted by alex82

Cheers man, feel like I've hijacked the thread a bit, sorry!

I do think that as far as the op is concerned he should hold off for nowand closely monitor situation. I know as a young guy ifyou take a hit, I.e big shed, then it really saps your confidence. And if iit does grow back, 6-12 months is a long time to loose when you are young.

I'll look a trying minox in a few months, just was to see some stability before changing the regimen. Btw, I'm more than happy to get back to baseline nw2 and maintain. I don't expect to get teenage hairline back. Although that would be amazing;)

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yes apologies to the OP for rambling so much in his thread. And to me he looks like he has a full head of hair and lots of it. Some women, including 2 of my old GF's would love to have that much hair. Before jumping on the drug train, he should consider monitoring his hairline/crown by taking pictures with a camera every few months. That way he will know for sure and will have a documented history. I did this from almost day one and sure glad I did.

I doubt FIN could have kept my teenage hair for long but it was fun while it lasted. It was a wakeup call to how much I had actually lost though. Along those same lines, I generally think I am doing pretty good hair-wise compared to many other guys my own age, until I get a reality check by seeing an old high school photo of myself. Talk about embarrassing/depressing seeing how low my hairline used to be. WTF happened?