20 years old/student/NW 3/Help (!!)

[jfox223]

Hi guys! With mounting panic, I'm estimating my hair loss to be at NW3 standard? I've always had a chunky forehead (:P) so what hair loss has occurred seems rather noticeable. Thankfully I haven't lost much density, except for maybe a tiny little bit in the middle, but I've always had a sort of indentation there, and presumably it's just moved up a little further in accordance with more general hair line recession. To be honest, I think it's worsened somewhat since the summer, and the stress/depression it's causing has left me suicidal on more than one occasion across the last few weeks...really can't bear to think of losing my hair, vain though it incontrovertibly sounds! At 20, I wish it was just a mature hairline, and I've crinkled my brow to show where the juvenile hair line (?) would be...

Maybe you guys could help me out (pwetty pwease) and offer some input with regards to your own Norwood estimations? I went to the doctor at the beginning of my academic term (October), but she refused to prescribe medication on the grounds that a) she didn't see anything wrong; and b) androgenic alopecia isn't a medical problem, so she won't prescribe medication baselessly. I've tried ketoconazole shampoo, but it reallllly hasn't done anything for me. I've also got a lot of what I thinkkkk are miniaturising hairs along the hairline...shit. Sorry if I seem very maudlin; 'tis not my intention...would just love someone to say you're not losing your hair/it's not that bad/it's not very visible.

Both corners of my hair line are rather asymmetrical, with the right assuming a more rounded shape compared to the left, yet I attribute this to my always having had a sort of cow's lick or more rounded shape to this part of my hair line. You'll have to take my word for this...I won't upload ghastly pre-teen pictures:P

I have, however, attached some horrendous pics for your entertainment...:P Thanks so much guys for any help you can give.

[typicallyconcerned]

Hi guys! With mounting panic, I'm estimating my hair loss to be at NW3 standard? I've always had a chunky forehead (:P) so what hair loss has occurred seems rather noticeable. Thankfully I haven't lost much density, except for maybe a tiny little bit in the middle, but I've always had a sort of indentation there, and presumably it's just moved up a little further in accordance with more general hair line recession. To be honest, I think it's worsened somewhat since the summer, and the stress/depression it's causing has left me suicidal on more than one occasion across the last few weeks...really can't bear to think of losing my hair, vain though it incontrovertibly sounds! At 20, I wish it was just a mature hairline, and I've crinkled my brow to show where the juvenile hair line (?) would be...

Maybe you guys could help me out (pwetty pwease) and offer some input with regards to your own Norwood estimations? I went to the doctor at the beginning of my academic term (October), but she refused to prescribe medication on the grounds that a) she didn't see anything wrong; and b) androgenic alopecia isn't a medical problem, so she won't prescribe medication baselessly. I've tried ketoconazole shampoo, but it reallllly hasn't done anything for me. I've also got a lot of what I thinkkkk are miniaturising hairs along the hairline...shit. Sorry if I seem very maudlin; 'tis not my intention...would just love someone to say you're not losing your hair/it's not that bad/it's not very visible.

Both corners of my hair line are rather asymmetrical, with the right assuming a more rounded shape compared to the left, yet I attribute this to my always having had a sort of cow's lick or more rounded shape to this part of my hair line. You'll have to take my word for this...I won't upload ghastly pre-teen pictures:P

I have, however, attached some horrendous pics for your entertainment...:P Thanks so much guys for any help you can give.

2 at worst. Doesn't look like you're balding at all to me. Did you ask doc that question <--? Family hist?

[jfox223]

2 at worst. Doesn't look like you're balding at all to me. Did you ask doc that question <--? Family hist?

My paternal grandfather has maintained a solid head of hair for his whole life, as has my dad. All his brothers, however, definitely have receding hair lines, but they all appear to have halted at the NW3 mark. One's in his fifties, and his recession just seemed to stop. Conversely, my maternal grandfather went entirely bald verrrry early (like 18 or so), as did one of my uncles on that side; the other, however, has a full head of hair. So there's MPB on both sides, but it's just a luck of the draw scenario for each man!

I asked the doc and she said it looks very normal, but she had to look it up to see how MPB works...awkward. I do think it's progressed somewhat since the beginning of October.

My temples have sort of always been inwardly drawn, but I'm pretty sure they've gotten worse too, as they sort of curve further inwards past a certain point (not sure if it's all to visible on my poor res webcam!)

Thanks so much for your input!

[clandestine]

Honestly, I was sympathetic until I saw your pictures. You're not really balding, and this is certainly nothing to be suicidal over. Reality check, please. Sorry if this is rather harsh, but it is truth.

[jfox223]

Honestly, I was sympathetic until I saw your pictures. You're not really balding, and this is certainly nothing to be suicidal over. Reality check, please. Sorry if this is rather harsh, but it is truth.

Clinical depression perhaps has a way of excising rationality from self-perception! 'not really balding' is, however, a little vague. To me, my hair line looks in pretty bad shape, but maybe I'm not thinking all too clearly. Thanks also for your input!

[win200]

Just to be perfectly clear: this is NOT a NW3. It's not even a NW2. I know it can be panic-inducing when you think you're experiencing hair loss, but you have NOT advanced up the Norwood scale. Granted the pictures aren't very clear, and nothing anyone can say here is a substitute for a doctor's opinion, but it looks like you just have a mature hairline, and a very nice head of hair to boot.

[BigThinker]

No reason to believe you're balding at all. I wouldn't dwell too much on which side of your family has balding. My maternal side all the guys have hair, opposite for my paternal side - I have a receder and a bit of thinning. I would just say keep an eye on it and enjoy life while you can.

[rdawg]

That is a NW1-1.5 at worst(if balding at all). stop worrying about it seriously.

Monitor it for a bit, if it gets worse, get on some products, otherwise move on with your life for now.

[jfox223]

Thanks guys for all the reassurance; it's helped silence some of the fears, conscious though I am still of the rather thin state of my temples:P

[elnino]

mate def a norwood 1.5 at the very most!!! no way are you more than that. i think its fine honesty. getting on meds now for that hairline is no need!

[notat24]

Wow, you are complaining? I wish my hair was as thick as yours, I wouldn't be worrying about a thing!

[jfox223]

Thanks for the support, guys I guess I'm also concerned at the alarming count of miniaturisation occurring across the entirety of my hairline; including, I think, at the central hair line area and front central area just beyond the hair line. Maybe I'm just worrying too much, but I thought mature hair lines didn't display a lot of miniaturisation?

[jfox223]

Hey again guys - just adding a few pics more to see if they alter your perspectives. I heard once that you can be sure you're receding if the corners of your hair line move past the outward-most extent of your sideburns (or something like that)...is that true? Apologies for some of these pics...I was chatting to my friends online, and decided to pull faces as I sent them for their inspection:P

[win200]

I think there might be some recession there; the very, very beginnings of receding temples.

I've gotta say, though, that the pics still aren't cutting it. Webcams just don't have the resolution to be helpful, and you're too far away from the camera. Use a digital camera that has a decent resolution, and take some stable, clear pics from a close enough distance to be helpful. These heavily pixilated images just aren't that useful.

[jfox223]

Yeah, perhaps they aren't helpful. But I equally feel that if temple recession's evident from a poorly pixelated camera, it's probs very much there. I knew deep down I was losing my hair, and it looks awful.