20 Years Old, Thinning Hair

[Ross_Bradley89]

Good Evening Everyone,

I hope you're well.

I have just turned 20 years old, and over the past few months I have had some comments from family members saying im going bald.

My hair seems to be thinning on the top and receeding on the temples but that has been like it since I was 14 ish.

My uncle is bald and he shaves his head and he is the one who comes out with the comments and its really destryoing me inside.

Only him in my family is bald and thats on my mums side, my dad is not bald, neither is his and his dad was not bald either and there was no sign of baldness in any of those generations.

I also have 3 other brothers who are older than me and they have all there hair.

I notice hairs coming out in the bath and shower, roughly about 20 hairs but I know that we lose over 100 a day.

This is only started happening since July so I dont know what to think.

Information Added :

I do smoke, and for the past year my life has been very stress full and I do have depression, could depression cause this?

I hardly eat

[chiko]

hey ross i dont know if depression can cause hair loss but i do know that stress cause hair loss.poor diets also cause hair loss,try to eat more protein.
i suggest you to make an appoinment with your dermatologist or a hair specialist doc,so they will know what to do,they probably will give you two options:rogaine or propecia

[Frustrated23]

I'm in the same boat. Started losing my hair at 21 around the same time I developed Seborrheic Dermatitis. Two years later it's noticeable hair loss. To make matters worse I am a middle child, one older brother and one younger brother who both have extremely think heads of hair. My older brother has so much that my dad complains about how hard it is to cut/shave his hair and saying that he has to buy a stronger shaver just to cut his hair, same with my younger brother. And here I sit with my hair getting thinner and thinner each day. My self esteem/confidence is so low right now, that my parents are noticing a change in my mood and personality over the past few months, from being upbeat and talkative, to very bothered and quiet all the time. I've been taking Finastride since May now and just don't think it's working to be quite honest. My luck too.

[Ragckr]

Firstly, stop smoking. Cigs do not do a damned good thing for you, and last I checked, they can greatly speed up the hairloss process. I'm sort of a hypocrite here, however, as I still smoke myself haha! But seriously, they really are garbage, and I'm working on stopping them as we speak.

Secondly, go talk to your doctor about the possibility of finasteride as a treatment. That is the generic name for proscar/propecia, which are the medications marketed by Merk to stop hairloss. Basically, that stuff is your first line of defense against hairloss, but it does require a doctor's prescription to start on. If you do decide to go on it, don't be cheap, get the real stuff which is either the REALLY expensive propecia (1 mg.) or the much cheaper alternative proscar (5 mg.) and quarter it with a pill cutter (this is the route I have been taking for 8 months and it has worked for me).

Thirdly, you can look into starting a Rogaine regimine. I personally do not use this one myself, but minoxidil (generic druid name) has really worked wonders for some users here. The only problem with the stuff is that you have to actually rub it on your head twice a day, and thats just too much hassle for me personally, but to each their own.

The thing you will find touted around most around here is finasteride and "The Big 3". The Big 3 includes: Finasteride 1 mg. daily, Rogaine twice a day, and lastly Nizoral shampoo every third day. There is a 1% Nizoral that you can buy in any Walmart or over the counter at most places, and then there is a 2% Nizoral that you must have a prescription for. From what I know, using either one of them isn't going to hurt your progress, it can only help.

DISCLAIMER: Nizoral on its own probably won't do much, it is most effectively used in conjunction with other treatments, and even then, most of the evidence that it does anything is almost purely anecdotal. I personally use it (1%), and many others here do (I think Spencer does as well, at least he reccomends it as part of the big 3). All three of those medications are your best bet for doing something about hairloss right now, and stacked together, they tend to have a synergistic effect where one enhances the other.

Best of luck!

[Ross_Bradley89]

Hello Everyone, thanks for the replys.

I live in the Republic Of Ireland and I don't know how to go about getting on pro-pecia, my doctor told me that anxiety is causeing my hair to be like it is but didint do anything about it.

He also said there is no treatment for hairloss.

I am un-employed at the minute and I only get 101 euros every two weeks so I would need to get pro-pecia cheap some where, i'd rather not use the generic crap.

I will book in to see him again, ( he's abit useless so better off getting another dr)

Does pro-pecia actually work ?

[Ragckr]

Yes man, Propecia works for like 86% of guys I think.

And Proscar is actually not a generic, it is just a 5mg. dosage compared to Propecia's 1mg. dosage. The only difference is the cost; it is much higher for propecia because it can be marketed as a hairloss treatment, where Proscar was originally intended for enlarged prostates (thats actually how they discovered its effects on hairloss).

Basically, between proscar and propecia, its the same drug. If you do decide to go with proscar, you will need a pill cutter (like 5 bucks at walmart or something) and otherwise, it is just gonna cost you a ton less money.

[California13]

To the poster from Ireland, go and see another doctor, and keep seeing new doctors until you find one that knows what he is talking about, and prescribes you propecia/proscar.