Hello everyone..

[JOE-91]

The message from Spencer is fantastic, and I think his advice is the best you will get. There is no questioning that going through hair loss at your age is going to be hard, as a hair loss sufferer I hate to say it, but it is a big deal and you have to address it. The first thing you need to do, is reach out to the people that are most supportive to you, ideally family - if they can support you through this it will help so much, from helping you to book physicians and dermatologists to providing the emotional support when your down.

I don't know how other posters feel but 16 is too young to medicate yourself with propecia in my opinion, if you want to start taking action to keep your hair now, I think topically applied treatments are your only route, along with staying healthy and possibly going on a particular diet. Throughout the time between you being 16-18, you can research propecia and other ways of fighting the hair loss. I will say it to anybody, but at least TRY shaving your head, in my opinion a shaved head (whatever grade cut) usually looks better than noticeable extensive hairloss, and if you like it and adapt to it over the years you may not even care about your hair.

Finally, stay active on this forum - don't let it become obsessive, where your on here all the time but this is a great place for support, and such a valuable source for REAL information on hair loss, that won't leave you getting ripped off.

16 is very young to be losing your hair, but I started at 17 and I'm diffuse thinning now at 19 - I anticipate to be bald by 22-24. You might feel like your the only one now, but once your into your twenties you will see that it's actually quite common amongst 20-30 year olds, and well.. Once you get past 30 plenty of other men are totally bald or at least should be shaving the rest off

[Refuse2GoBald]

Hi. I read your story and it reminds me a lot of my own. You are even in a more difficult spot than I was since you are in high school. I noticed hairloss in my first semester of college at 17 years old. It has been, by far, the most difficult thing I've ever been through in my life. I'm 27 years old right now and I gotta say its been a crazy journey. I really believe that the most important step you can take is getting in control of your hairloss. I think you should try to do whatever you can to stop your hairloss. I was on Propecia for several years and it didn't do anything for me, unfortunately. However, my hair transplant doctor placed me on Avodart, which is a much stronger drug than Propecia and is only recommended as a last resort. I know the stomach wrenching feeling that you get when you see hair fall out of your head, and if you can get on a med to stop that, it will significantly improve your life and improve the outcome of future treatments. Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor and I am not recommending you run out and get a prescription. I'm just saying what worked for me. In addition, I'm only 27 and have already had multiple hair transplants. The key to a successful hair transplant is to go to the best of the best doctors. Thankfully Spencer has done his job well and has found the best people for all of us to go to. But as Spencer said in his reply, 16 is probably too young for a transplant. However, if you need to have one in the future, this is the place to begin your search.

So after 10 years of dealing with it, I'll be honest and say that yes, it does still bother me, a lot. However, the education I have received from forums like this has allowed me to make much better decisions in how to treat hairloss. At 27 I am much more social than I was when I was really starting to notice significant hairloss around 18 and 19. People always comment on the amount of friends I have. While it is still a daily struggle, it no longer completely consumes me like it used to. I go out, I'm very social, good at what I do at work.

As Spencer mentioned, counseling is an option. However, he hit the nail on the head when he said that even a lot of counselors don't understand the effects of hairloss, ESPECIALLY in someone as young as yourself.

This is a community that understands what you are going through, so always know you have a place to come to where people understand the emotions that you're going through.

I wish you the best of luck but in the meantime, I would recommend that you continue searching for a way to halt your hair loss. Feel free to private message me at any time if you have any questions, no matter what they are.