I'm fairly certain it's too late.

[Zan]

I never really post on forums, but as I lay hopelessly in bed on this random night, it's becoming apparent that I can't do this alone. I suppose I'll begin by providing a brief description of myself and my sorry state of affairs.

I turned 18 one short month ago and I'm seeing signs of balding.

I took refuge in the thought of my 50 year-old father's full head of hair for the better part of my maturation, but I can only delude myself for so long. All of the males on my mother's side are bald or in the process of balding. I am now in the process of balding.

I should mention that I'm supposed to be writing one of my college essays right now. I'm looking to attend selective universities and I don't even feel motivated anymore. I'm almost too depressed to expend any energy. In a time where my life is supposed to be beginning, it feels as though it's already impaired.

All my life, I've taken pride in my full, blond head of hair. Save for my eyes, I don't have any physical characteristics going for me. I'm skinny, weak, and I hate my smile. Were I to lose my hair, which, evidently I am, I would simultaneously lose what little self esteem I have.

Though the discovery of my receding hairline was an ephemeral moment, the penalty will be for life. The gravity of this discovery has been ringing throughout my mind for a week now, and I can't take it much longer. Life dealt me a shit card early, and no amount of mental compartmentalization can save me from this.

I've yet to mention anything to either of my parents. I'm not prepared to share this with anyone right now; I'm in a bad state. The thought of what's to come is so morbidly depressing that I've been having nightmares. Some may laugh at how badly I'm taking this news but I really couldn't less. I'm being as blunt as I can because this is an anonymous forum and there's no sense in subduing my emotions in front of strangers.

I don't even want to think about the "solutions". Surgery terrifies me. Yes, there are other treatments that can slow hair loss, but they don't solve the problem.

In conclusion, I'm feeling really lost right now. I've made myself transparent because there's no sense in asking for help if I don't truthfully present you with my current situation. As I read this over, it seems as though I need more emotional advice than anything else. I suppose that what I'm looking for is others like myself. I want to hear from people who lost the characteristics that embody youth and good health when they were young and in good health. I really need something or someone right now.

[Notcoolanymore]

I don't even want to think about the "solutions". Surgery terrifies me. Yes, there are other treatments that can slow hair loss, but they don't solve the problem.

Finasteride can save your hair for a long time. Maybe until we have a cure or better treatment... You don't have to give up now, it's way to early for that. Despite what many say, you do have options. It is up to you whether or not you want to give them a try.

[Rizaan]

I know how you feel, I'm 18 too, and started suffering from Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) since the start of 2014, and I didn't even become fully aware of it until like May or June.
First of all, you have to get over it, you inherited the genes responsible for your hair from your mother's side, and that's bad luck, like mine.
Secondly, talk to your parents regarding this issue, if you won't do that now, you'll be regretting this your entire life starting in a few years. There is nothing to be ashamed of, they're your parents! You're supposed to tell them about your problems, and they'll help you out. Visit a dermatologist, he/she might prescribe minoxidil and/or a shampoo or something else. It will stop your hairfull, and chances are, might even reverse it.
I'm using it myself, and I'm seeing results as well. I might even post my results here in a few months(pictures).

[Notcoolanymore]

first of all, you have to get over it, you inherited the genes responsible for your hair from your mother's side, and that's bad luck, like mine.
secondly, talk to your parents regarding this issue, if you won't do that now, you'll be regretting this your entire life starting in a few years. There is nothing to be ashamed of, they're your parents! You're supposed to tell them about your problems, and they'll help you out. visit a dermatologist, he/she might prescribe minoxidil and/or a shampoo or something else. It will stop your hairfull, and chances are, might even reverse it.

lol

[Rizaan]

What's so funny?

[Notcoolanymore]

"first of all, you have to get over it, you inherited the genes responsible for your hair from your mother's side"

Wrong

"secondly, talk to your parents regarding this issue, if you won't do that now, you'll be regretting this your entire life starting in a few years. There is nothing to be ashamed of, they're your parents!"

What will this accomplish? It definitely won't help you grow your hair back. Most likely your mom will be in denial and say you have no hair loss. Your dad, if he is bald himself, will expect you to get over it and move on like he did. Or if he isn't bald will most likely not see it as a huge deal. Either way your parents wont be able to do a damn thing to help you so you are not going to feel any better after speaking with them. Sympathy isn't a treatment for hair loss.

"he/she might prescribe minoxidil and/or a shampoo or something else. It will stop your hairfull, and chances are, might even reverse it."

You don't need a prescription for minoxidil and there are no shampoos that will do anything to cure your hair loss on their own. In most cases minox will not be alone to stop hair loss, especially in aggressive cases, which hair loss at 18 is aggressive in my opinion.

If you want to try to fight hair loss, the best approved treatment is finasteride. If you want you can add minox to that.

[Rizaan]

"Wrong"
According to who exactly? You probably haven't noticed yet, but everyone doesn't start getting bald from their late teenage or early twenties. I'm not an expert at genetics, but I have been studying it. There are recessive alleles and dominant alleles, some traits are controlled by more than one pair of genes, i.e., polygenes, which might be the case of hair. So, think twice before calling someone wrong.

"What will this accomplish? It definitely won't help you grow your hair back. Most likely your mom will be in denial and say you have no hair loss. Your dad, if he is bald himself, will expect you to get over it and move on like he did. Or if he isn't bald will most likely not see it as a huge deal. Either way your parents wont be able to do a damn thing to help you so you are not going to feel any better after speaking with them. Sympathy isn't a treatment for hair loss."

I'm sorry, if that was the case with you, but my parents were very encouraging. My father has quite a lot of hair for someone in their late 50s but his dad and uncles are/were bald, the males on my mother's side suffer from baldness too.
You were probably busy laughing but the original poster said his father isn't suffering from MPB. If he does have visible signs of balding, there is no denying from his mother or father, he can just visit a doctor and he/she will confirm that.

"You don't need a prescription for minoxidil and there are no shampoos that will do anything to cure your hair loss on their own. In most cases minox will not be alone to stop hair loss, especially in aggressive cases, which hair loss at 18 is aggressive in my opinion. "

That is specifically why I said "or something else" such as Finasteride. I never said anything about using the shampoo on its own.

Finasteride has shown many sexual side effects in some people who used it, whereas minoxidil doesn't.

[Pboy101]

Hello Zan and welcome to the forum. You can get a lot of information regarding hair loss, available treatments, and what's coming up in the future so I hope you find what you need to cope with here. If you're not ready to accept baldness as it will be too big of a change in identity for you, then the obvious answer is to fight it as best you can.

The science behind hair loss is the conversion of testosterone --> dihydrotestosterone (T --> DHT) in your body and DHT weakens the hair until it's almost non-existent. I think the most common regimen to combat hair loss would be usage of the big 3: minoxidil (rogaine), finasteride (propecia), and nizoral shampoo (1-2% ketoconazole). Minoxidil and Nizoral are readily available at any big Wal-mart and finasteride can be prescribed by a dermatologist. Minoxidil and Nizoral have practically no side effects and finasteride has about 2% of men reporting sexual side effects. The percentage of men with sides is extremely small and sides should go away if you stop taking the med. I personally do not experience any side effects from finasteride 1mg daily and I recommend trying this route if hair is extremely important to you. Read more about the big 3 here -- https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showth...?743-The-Big-3

Perhaps you should upload some photos of your hair so we can help you judge how aggressive it is or how bad you have it. Look around and you'll eventually find some people's hair loss stories and photos showing how treatment affects them, it'll probably give you some hope. Good luck.

[Rizaan]

Hello Zan and welcome to the forum. You can get a lot of information regarding hair loss, available treatments, and what's coming up in the future so I hope you find what you need to cope with here. If you're not ready to accept baldness as it will be too big of a change in identity for you, then the obvious answer is to fight it as best you can.

The science behind hair loss is the conversion of testosterone --> dihydrotestosterone (T --> DHT) in your body and DHT weakens the hair until it's almost non-existent. I think the most common regimen to combat hair loss would be usage of the big 3: minoxidil (rogaine), finasteride (propecia), and nizoral shampoo (1-2% ketoconazole). Minoxidil and Nizoral are readily available at any big Wal-mart and finasteride can be prescribed by a dermatologist. Minoxidil and Nizoral have practically no side effects and finasteride has about 2% of men reporting sexual side effects. The percentage of men with sides is extremely small and sides should go away if you stop taking the med. I personally do not experience any side effects from finasteride 1mg daily and I recommend trying this route if hair is extremely important to you. Read more about the big 3 here -- https://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showth...?743-The-Big-3

Perhaps you should upload some photos of your hair so we can help you judge how aggressive it is or how bad you have it. Look around and you'll eventually find some people's hair loss stories and photos showing how treatment affects them, it'll probably give you some hope. Good luck.

Just until week ago, I would use minoxidil and another serum called Kera XL (contains Biochanin-A, which also reduces 5-AR).
Should I continue doing that, or should I stick to the 2x minoxidil a day? The thread in the link you posted says minoxidil doesn't get to the root of the problem.

[Pboy101]

Just until week ago, I would use minoxidil and another serum called Kera XL (contains Biochanin-A, which also reduces 5-AR).
Should I continue doing that, or should I stick to the 2x minoxidil a day? The thread in the link you posted says minoxidil doesn't get to the root of the problem.

Yes, minoxidil does nothing to stop conversion of T-->DHT and without that I think you will eventually lose the hair loss battle unless your hair loss just progress really really slowly. So you know that hormones are the cause of hair loss and we have finasteride available to combat that, why would you not use finasteride and choose Kera XL instead? Finasteride and Dustasteride and the only widely known anti-androgen for hair loss and it's one of two FDA approved product for hair loss. I googled this Kera XL and I didn't find any kind of study or demonstration of effectiveness vs. hair loss. I'm always wary about things that are unproven and the science cannot be demonstrated because the results are usually snake oil results. If the big 3 doesn't work for you, then I would say you should venture as far as RU and CB which are being tested by some members of this forum as well as going through clinical trials and that should be the extent of it.

[Rizaan]

Yes, minoxidil does nothing to stop conversion of T-->DHT and without that I think you will eventually lose the hair loss battle unless your hair loss just progress really really slowly. So you know that hormones are the cause of hair loss and we have finasteride available to combat that, why would you not use finasteride and choose Kera XL instead? Finasteride and Dustasteride and the only widely known anti-androgen for hair loss and it's one of two FDA approved product for hair loss. I googled this Kera XL and I didn't find any kind of study or demonstration of effectiveness vs. hair loss. I'm always wary about things that are unproven and the science cannot be demonstrated because the results are usually snake oil results. If the big 3 doesn't work for you, then I would say you should venture as far as RU and CB which are being tested by some members of this forum as well as going through clinical trials and that should be the extent of it.

I did find a site where it said Biochanin-A had been tested and it reduces the production of 5-AR, Kera Xl also has Acetly Tetrapeptide-3 which does something related to collagen, either provides it or produces it, can't remember( last night I read something about collagen on another forum by someone who had tested it on themself, don't remmeber exactly but I think it increases libido along with providing other hair benefits), it also has some other stuff that I haven't looked up yet.
But here's something I found on a site posted by a doctor -
"Kera-XL has been shown to be more effective than Minoxidil in some studies and has the advantage of once at night application as compared to twice a day for Minoxidil. Once treatment is started the hair fall should slow down in 3-6 months and you should see increased hair density in a year or so."
This doctor had also recommened using Minoxidil in the morning and Kera XL before going to bed, and I'd been following that for a few weeks and seen results. I think I might start doing that again.
I don't think I want to start using Propecia because of it's side effects, I know only a small percentage suffer from them, but I already use Ketoconazole, which has caused ED and low libido.

[Pboy101]

I did find a site where it said Biochanin-A had been tested and it reduces the production of 5-AR, Kera Xl also has Acetly Tetrapeptide-3 which does something related to collagen, either provides it or produces it, can't remember( last night I read something about collagen on another forum by someone who had tested it on themself, don't remmeber exactly but I think it increases libido along with providing other hair benefits), it also has some other stuff that I haven't looked up yet.
But here's something I found on a site posted by a doctor -
"Kera-XL has been shown to be more effective than Minoxidil in some studies and has the advantage of once at night application as compared to twice a day for Minoxidil. Once treatment is started the hair fall should slow down in 3-6 months and you should see increased hair density in a year or so."
This doctor had also recommened using Minoxidil in the morning and Kera XL before going to bed, and I'd been following that for a few weeks and seen results. I think I might start doing that again.
I don't think I want to start using Propecia because of it's side effects, I know only a small percentage suffer from them, but I already use Ketoconazole, which has caused ED and low libido.

If "some studies" show that the effectiveness of Kera-XL is greater than that of minoxidil, then we must have access to "some studies" so that we may see for ourselves. If "this doctor" recommends what and why, then we must have the name of "this doctor" so that we may check his qualifications and his work and see why he does so. Transparency is king and absolutely necessary to shed the snake oil label.

If they do happen, side effects of propecia/finasteride are not permanent because your body will flush it out in no time once you stop taking the medicine. Given the extremely low chance of getting sides and the ability to quickly remedy them if they happen by getting off the meds, I think that it's almost no-strings-attached to try out fin/propecia. The risk is almost all in the head and almost none in reality and the reward is that it's the most effective proven weapon to fight hair loss. I think that the science about hair loss is decently laid out and until something comes along that can be shown to be as effective/better than what we currently have, the Big 3 reigns and anything else that's $30/bottle/month is more than likely useless.

I don't get paid or anything like that by advocating for fin/propecia. I just remember when I saw that I was losing my hair I felt really shitty and the Big 3 has done wonders for me. If you look around this and other hair loss forums, you will see much of the same as well as many sad stories about hair loss due to fear of sides and/or turning to unproven snake oils. I just want to help other men reach the right decision without going up in the NW scale first and learning the hard way because I bet that would feel even shittier than how I felt.

[Rizaan]

If "some studies" show that the effectiveness of Kera-XL is greater than that of minoxidil, then we must have access to "some studies" so that we may see for ourselves. If "this doctor" recommends what and why, then we must have the name of "this doctor" so that we may check his qualifications and his work and see why he does so. Transparency is king and absolutely necessary to shed the snake oil label.

If they do happen, side effects of propecia/finasteride are not permanent because your body will flush it out in no time once you stop taking the medicine. Given the extremely low chance of getting sides and the ability to quickly remedy them if they happen by getting off the meds, I think that it's almost no-strings-attached to try out fin/propecia. The risk is almost all in the head and almost none in reality and the reward is that it's the most effective proven weapon to fight hair loss. I think that the science about hair loss is decently laid out and until something comes along that can be shown to be as effective/better than what we currently have, the Big 3 reigns and anything else that's $30/bottle/month is more than likely useless.

I don't get paid or anything like that by advocating for fin/propecia. I just remember when I saw that I was losing my hair I felt really shitty and the Big 3 has done wonders for me. If you look around this and other hair loss forums, you will see much of the same as well as many sad stories about hair loss due to fear of sides and/or turning to unproven snake oils. I just want to help other men reach the right decision without going up in the NW scale first and learning the hard way because I bet that would feel even shittier than how I felt.

This is the site - http://www.justanswer.com/dermatolog...spoke-few.html
I can't find the other site where I found the info on biochanin and collagen, but I'll search for it.

[DanitheBoy]

Hi I'm going through pretty much the same thing at the moment. I also struggle a lot but you've just got to try to remember life is about doing the best with what you've got, you can still live a good life without looking like Brad Pitt. Use your hairloss as motivation to achieve things in other areas of life to compensate, such as working hard and getting a good job or get really good at an instrument. Good hair is all well and good but its a small part of the make up of a person.

Get on fin (ignore the noisy minority who have had sides) and who knows what there will be there in the future.

[Pboy101]

This is the site - http://www.justanswer.com/dermatolog...spoke-few.html
I can't find the other site where I found the info on biochanin and collagen, but I'll search for it.

I really don't want to hijack someone's thread and make this an argument between you and me so this is probably the last I'll post here unless you want to start a whole new thread asking about this Kera-XL. You are clearly grabbing straws in this case bro. Your one cited case is for a single female and women deal with a completely different type of hair loss than us men. We are in the business of fighting male pattern baldness, a different beast with completely different available treatments. The strongest FDA approved treatment that is women have available to them is 2% minoxidil which is about as effective as the non FDA approved Nizoral (Ketoconazole) shampoo, the weakest out of the Big 3, and even then minoxidil doesn't deal with the hormones that causes hair loss in the first place. If finasteride was available to women, I'm sure they would take it up as much as we men do and not venture too far into shits like this.

Where are the studies showing that Biochanin-A combats 5AR production? If so, is it the correct 5AR type? How much of the 5AR production is blocked? Where are the studies showing the effective concentration/dosage of this stuff? Where are the controlled clinical trials? Are you even sure it's for men? You have a ton of questions you still need to answer and you can't really be serious when you stand by something so obscured that its research/ingredients can't even be googled and then try to put it up against something as transparent as finasteride. Fin has been tested on thousands of people with all results made public not to mention testimonies from hundreds if not thousands of people like myself on hair loss forums that will tell you it works and works well.