17 and pretty bad

[mike92]

hey

im 17 and i noticed in the last few weeks that i have very obvious signs of male pattern baldness. My hairline has always went in at the corners like a mature hairline, and my friends used to joke i was balding, but now i realise it wasnt a joke, im losing my hair, and fast. Its very upsetting, especially at this age. The first time i realised was i looked in a mirror facing out towards a window getting strong direct light from outside, and lowered my head and saw obvious thinning areas. I then went into the bathroom with the strong overhead lighting, and put the mirror over my fair hair to see it at all angles, and under the light i could see the thinning areas on the front of my fringe, the back, and the middle, when i comb it down flat its less noticable, just slightly, but when it comb it against the grain its pretty bad. I'm really at a loss, my dad has a full head of hear, he has a mature hairline but not recession beyond that, my mom has quite thin hair,well not that thin but thinner than my dads, my grandad on my dads side was just like my dad, and my grandad on my moms side didnt go bald till his mid-40s. The hairdresser always says "Jesus look how thick your hair is" and i understand it looks thick, but i guess experienced guys on this site will know by now that means shit, you can go bald even if you have a mane of hair, look at jude law. I've tried speaking to my mom about it, she just says "your not going bald", and i almost convinced her last night but shes changed her mind - my dad just thinks im being paranoid about it, i even asked my hairdresser she said "i dunno i guess its natural", but im not convinced, you guys should see it under the light - pretty patchy i guess. I have been really stressed the last year cause of school, exams and a girl, i dunno if this is the cause or if its pattern baldness, either way its not good news.

I really don't want to go on any medication for it, i respect that some dudes on here may want to go that route, fair enough, but its not for me i dont think with the side effects at this age. From what ive researched no reputable hair transplant doctor would fix it at my age, not that i can afford it anyway hahaha. Anyway im really down about it, it doesnt make sense genetically to me but i guess its stupid to play a guessing game with genetics without the proper knowledge. I go through phases of denial, and tell myself "nah its just the way my hair is" or "its because of the lighting and the colour of my hair" made more convincing by the added denial my mom tells me, and my dad saying "your not going bald, im in my 40s and have a full head of hair", but there is no denying it, i just need to come to terms with it i guess, but its hard when my parents are denying me that - i seem kinda alone with it, with no one to talk to about it. But i was wanting to ask how its affected you guys n if any of you started as early as me, and how to tell if its stress or genetic, and also how long it took for it to look really obvious as ive got pretty thick hair just now, but its going. Its depressing me, i don't really wanna go out and socialise just now, i think because i learnt about it so suddenly, i have a bad outlook just now on the future if im honest, especially socially and relationships, i dont really persue girls anymore as i feel they will be disappointed in my lack of hair in a year or so when it gets really bad. A lot of guys can pull of the bald look, but i dont think i cant, my face only really works with hair, ive got a kinda large forehead.

thanks

[Winston]

I’m sorry to hear that you are going through hair loss at such a young age. It’s more common then most people think You should have your parents take you to a hair loss specialist to check for hair follicle miniturization. I hope your parents are right, but if they are not, at least they’ll know that you're not being paranoid and can help you pursue proper treatment.
Medication is really your best hope at stopping or slowing your hair loss, so seeing a doctor as soon as possible is a good idea.

I hope this helps and good luck!

[JOE-91]

I'm in the same boat but I'm 19, I started at 16/17 and I am diffuse thinning now. If you have decent coverage and you can grow it back, I would always recommend shaving it, the way I see it is if you can't handle a shaven head with reasonably good hair then actually going bald will be extremely traumatizing. A shaven head at no.2/3 on the clippers is no big deal really. As to halting the hair loss, the best thing you can do is try medication (finasteride) and topical treatments such as minodoxil, and nizoral shampoo. If your parents aren't understanding ask them to help you out with booking a dermatologist that can check for minitiurization.

If you don't take finasteride or at least minodoxil your going to lose the battle, if that's what you choose just try and come to terms with it best you can, and hopefully the shaved look will suit you.

[mike92]

thanks for the advice

ive made an appointment with a dermatologist, ill probably worry about it until a professional tells me if its MPB, stress or nothing to worry about, ill let you know the results.

[Winston]

thanks for the advice

ive made an appointment with a dermatologist, ill probably worry about it until a professional tells me if its MPB, stress or nothing to worry about, ill let you know the results.

A professional will not tell you it’s stress. You either have MPB , or you don’t. Ask if this derm checks for miniaturization. If not you should also make an appointment with a hair loss specialist. There's a list of doctors on this site.
Good luck!

[JOE-91]

Does anybody know of any hair loss specialist doctors that could help me out, in the UK?