23 year old male with thinning hair, scalp problems, PLEASE HELP!!

[moonlightknight]

My Story

Hello everyone, I am generally healthy 23 year old male. For the last two and a half months I have noticed a change in my hair. It has gone from thick and curly to light, thin and fluffy. I have noticed my temples receding (oddly more so on the right), my hair looking like straw as well as an itchy scalp with dandruff. I am worried about having male pattern baldness but am not sure if it's that or something else... I use to take my hair for granted, using various gels, blow-drying, rough towel drying, rough combing etc... all of which habits I have stopped.

To explain things better I came up with a time line of my hair change and what I have done about it.

July 8th 2014 Hair Cut
Possibly unrelated but I'd thought I'd include it in case. I was fed up with trying to control my overly thick hair (ironic seeing as I'd kill to get it back now lol) so I got it cut/thinned. I still wanted it to appear long just a bit tamer so the hairdresser cut quite a bit underneath and at the back whilst thinning out the rest. At the time I was ok with the cut as it still seemed thick.

September 29th 2014 Initial Hair change
I had a stressful week of uni work and moving. I was only eating one meal a day and going to bed at 3-4 in the morning as I was really busy. Needless to say I lost quite a bit of weight during that week, this is also when I noticed my hair turn into a thin frizz. I initially thought my shampoo conditioner was to blame (I was using argan oil, a change from years of Head and Shoulders) so I quickly stopped using it and started using Alpecin Caffeine shampoo. I also starting washing hair with cool water and letting it dry naturally.

October 8th 2014 First Doctor visit
As I had weight/hair loss in such a short space of time I decided to visit my GP just in case. He ran various blood tests and took a urine sample, hoping to rule out any diabetes, thyroid problems etc...

October 17th 2014 Second Doctor visit
I returned to the GP where he told me that all the blood results were fine expect that I had some enlarged blood cells which could be due to a vitamin deficiency or drinking too much (which I been at the time). He told me not to drink for a month so I could retake the test, which I did. When asking about my hair he was dismissive claiming it looked thick. At this point I started taking Biotin and Vitamin B12 supplements.

November 11th 2014 Belgravia consultation
I decided to go for a free consultation at the Belgravia hair loss clinic. When there they told me my hair line was receding at the temples and they suspected male pattern baldness. They offered me a year course of Propecia at £500, which being a student with no job, couldn't afford. I told them I would have to come back if I had raised the money.

November 25th 2014 Start of Regaine
I purchased a three months supply of Regaine a began using it routinely.

December 4th 2014 Third Doctor visit
My scalp was getting worse with dandruff and itching, so I saw my GP who prescribed me daily drops. I was told to come back after two weeks to see it it had improved.

So I am kind of in the dark not sure if my hair change was due to my week of stress/bad diet, my hair cut/styling, male pattern baldness or just comeuppance for treating it badly It's causing me great worry and is really distracting. I am also finding it frustrating as people tell me it looks thick, which is an allusion compared to how it feels. I haven't noticed anymore hair loss when washing my hair than I have had all my life. On a side note I have noticed that my back hair (the hair that was cut) has grown back a bit thicker and curly compared to the soft frizz of my front.

I have attached various pictures (including two older ones to show the difference). If anyone could offer any advice I would greatly appreciate it.

[Thinnerrr]

I'm just gonna repost what I did for another chap...cuz you fall in the same category so it still all applies.

Have necessary blood work done to rule out anything that could affecting your hair. Especially thyroid. Now I'm not talking the TSH, you have to ask for free T3 and free T4 as well. If you have taken all those steps, than you can rule out any disorders or diseases affecting your hair.

I also want to say that it is normal for hair to change (quality, texture etc) as we age. Doesn't mean you gotta be 40 plus, things change as our body does. So you can very well just be experiencing your hair changing in regards to getting older. Hair falling out or shedding, with or without white or pigmented dark bulbs at the end... its all normal. Every human sheds hair, like up to 150 hairs a day (please dont begin counting your falling hairs ahah). I've had gf's with beautifully thick hair, and you should have seen the hairs just everywhere in our place...floor, laundry, sink...let alone their hair brushes hah. And they had amazing hair. Its life. If you begin to lose hair in legit handfulls or patches...thats different story. But dont focus on hairs falling in the shower while shampooing or brushing...its madness.

I unfortunately am losing my hair, due to mpb. I know this because my hairs that are falling out, are growing back miniaturized. I can seen them in my hairline. People who do not suffer mpb, or baldness period, when they shed their hair - it grows back 100% like the rest. Where as mine just came back smaller and thinner and smaller and thinner...you get the picture. So this is all you need to look for. To really get a gauge on this process you need either a miniaturization study, or hair bulk analysis done. So even if you have these done now, you can kinda keep track every year to see if things are actually changing.

Finally bro, what you really wanna hear. I know where you stand...feeling a change and knowing it is taking place while nobody else does. Even to this day, no one would say I was balding. Through the years after my hair has thinned, still even HT surgeons say I shouldn't be worried. Though I have had those tests done and have quantified and observed the changes over time. Its a tough place to be, in limbo. BUT!!!

Your hair looks great!! You have no recession, a NW1. I am a NW2 and both NW1 and 2 are not considered balding in the traditional hair loss sense. If you happen to be a diffuse thinner at the top like me, get those tests and just follow up every year to see if there are any changes...thats all you can do. But I seriously see nothing that would suggest that either. Its so early in the game, I've been at that point and to a degree, still am. But you have nothing to worry about right now. No thin areas to be seen in those pics, no recession...you are in the clear in all regards to anything mpb related.

[moonlightknight]

Thanks for your advice and kind words Thinnerrr, I really appreciate it.

I will look into getting a miniaturization study, still going to keep on with the investigation, don't want to leave it till it's too late....

[mrbaldcuck]

Holy shit, you're Michal Szpak from Eurovision!!!

[Jamjamx]

I was looking for some thread on the forum, and found this one. So i decided to share my experience. I am a 29 year old male that has been taking this medication for the past three years. Once my hair started thinning when I was 26 years old (My father at 23), I started Propecia. I have had great results with the medication.