Am I balding? Long hair guy here

[Shakabra]

My parents both have genetically no balding on both sides, and I noticed on the top of my head recently (about a week ago) that it looks like this. I am genuinely getting depressed just thinking about it honestly, I am only 20 years old, and it looks pretty bad.

I have greasy hair you will have to excuse, but both my parents keep claiming it is a double crown. I am seriously doubting it, and my mum told me to just brush my hair properly, but I did so and took the image.

Perhaps some outside opinion on this would help, would be much appreciated, thank you.

[thehatman]

You are balding, use minoxidil and Finastride

[Artista]

Welcome Shakabra!
Because you are ONLY 20 years old, you are unnecessarily becoming worried about this.
Actually, IF it IS balding, it is VERY MINOR.
You might ONLY have a maturing hairline. Acceptance is important for you and everyone else.
Worry and stress (depression) WILL CAUSE more problems to one's hairline and eventually, one's health too!
So what i mean is that acceptance is important so that things do not become worse for you.
You CAN improve your scalp over time.
Start using the over-the-counter vitamin of the B complex, BIOTIN.
Maybe start using Minoxidil too. Its also over-the-counter.
Stay POSITIVE and realize that, in time, (maybe in 3 to 4 months) you will notice improvements!
One more thing,
you are only 20 years old so you do not yet have the proper FORESIGHT available to you as yet.
When you are in your mid to late 20s, you WILL have that proper foresight, the ability to predict the consequences of your own actions.
This is not an insult to you or anyone else at that age.
Because you are still so young, you can and would become over-emotional about this and that will cause serious, but unnecessary, hair problems for you.
No worries Shakabra. Start on what was mentioned here
and step-back from any worries...stay POSITIVE.
That WILL HELP you! OK?
Cheers!!

[Dfaru94]

Having nobody in the family who is bald/ing doesn't make you immune, it just means you're significantly less likely to go through it. While "hereditary hair loss" is typically, well, hereditary, it can sometimes be very random and hit people with apparently no family history. So no, you can't rule out genetic MPB yet, you might very well be balding. It could possibly be thin for other reasons, perhaps vitamin deficiency, stress or (I don't know your styling habits but just to put it out there) neglect/overstyling. I have to be realistic though and more likely than not it's genetic.

Regardless, be aware that un-washed/greasy and wet hair looks thinner than clean dry hair, and some cameras and lighting conditions can actually accentuate how thin the hair looks.

If all else fails and it does turn out to be MPB, you might be able to thicken that back up again using finasteride and/or monoxodil. However, without surgery it'll never be what it was when you were a child again. At that point, I'd have to suggest something that I know from first-hand experience really sucks if you love your long hair; cut it shorter. I had to let my chest-length long hair go last year, when it was getting so thin it didn't look good anymore, I was ****ing depressed about it too. But seriously, a short haircut really does do wonders, it makes the thinning much easier to mask, and you're putting a lot less strain on your hair and scalp as you're not overstyling or pulling it back into ponytails/"manbuns" so often.

[Shakabra]

Welcome Shakabra!
Because you are ONLY 20 years old, you are unnecessarily becoming worried about this.
Actually, IF it IS balding, it is VERY MINOR.
You might ONLY have a maturing hairline. Acceptance is important for you and everyone else.
Worry and stress (depression) WILL CAUSE more problems to one's hairline and eventually, one's health too!
So what i mean is that acceptance is important so that things do not become worse for you.
You CAN improve your scalp over time.
Start using the over-the-counter vitamin of the B complex, BIOTIN.
Maybe start using Minoxidil too. Its also over-the-counter.
Stay POSITIVE and realize that, in time, (maybe in 3 to 4 months) you will notice improvements!
One more thing,
you are only 20 years old so you do not yet have the proper FORESIGHT available to you as yet.
When you are in your mid to late 20s, you WILL have that proper foresight, the ability to predict the consequences of your own actions.
This is not an insult to you or anyone else at that age.
Because you are still so young, you can and would become over-emotional about this and that will cause serious, but unnecessary, hair problems for you.
No worries Shakabra. Start on what was mentioned here
and step-back from any worries...stay POSITIVE.
That WILL HELP you! OK?
Cheers!!

Thanks for the kind reply, perhaps I am getting worked up over nothing, most of my family thinks so, and I only really wanted to know what you guys think, going bald wasn't part of the plan, haha. I might have to post back here as an update in 5-6 years time if significant changes have happened to my head. The rest of my hair is fairly long, and maybe the long hair makes the parting more noticeable, I don't really know.

But I will take your well written advice and try to not get annoyed by it, so thank you.

[Shakabra]

Yeah, I don't usually put my hair in a man bun or anything, but I might try uploading more pictures when my hair is a lot cleaner looking, the picture I had taken was literally just from waking up at night. Yeah, I do not mind thinning hair out when I am older, but like I said, 20 years old would suck for me to be going bald. Does it really look that bad that I could just be balding? I sent it to my sister who is a hairdresser and she said it is nothing to be worried about, but family is family, and I think they say anything to make you feel better. Thoughts?

[Shakabra]

Here are two pictures of my hair when dry and in a different bathroom (workplace, haha, this is getting stupid of me) but it looks less noticeable. Should I still be worried about balding? I cannot tell anymore if it was greased hair from that picture or the intensity of the light on my pale head either. Thoughts or replies would be appreciated.

[thehatman]

the angle of the photo is not the same as your first photo, your problem aria is on the swirl on the crown of your hair not in the front section of your head, you are just fooling your self in to thinking -nothing to worry about- if i where you i would get on minoxidil asap, it will save you allot of stress. I used it my self 5 mg two times a day for 2 months now and the results are great, amazing intact!

[Shakabra]

the angle of the photo is not the same as your first photo, your problem aria is on the swirl on the crown of your hair not in the front section of your head, you are just fooling your self in to thinking -nothing to worry about- if i where you i would get on minoxidil asap, it will save you allot of stress. I used it my self 5 mg two times a day for 2 months now and the results are great, amazing intact!

I honestly think my hair is just parting from the weight of my actual hair, I have long thick hair, I barely lose hair in general, I mean the more I think about it, the more I realise how much I am scaring myself over nothing.
This minoxil thing you guys keep marketing on this kind of sad, don't you think just embracing baldness if it happens is the ideal thing to do anyway?

I can't upload another picture at the moment, but I would show from all angles, and judging from them, there is only a parting down the right-ish side of my hair, from the fringe, all the way through to the double crown. I don't even have receding hairline yet, nevermind balding yet.

Edit: also my hair in the first picture was greasy, I hadn't washed it in two days.

[Shakabra]

judging from your previous posts, it sounds like you have had a hair transplant. Yeah, I have a bald patch on my double crown, is that even considered balding? lol

[Shakabra]

[thehatman]

Not trying to piss you off man! just stating the facts. in fact your hair loss is not even that bad, but i can se a slight beginning of a bald spot. in fact i can also see that your hair on the crown is a bit dryer and lighter than the rest of your hair, thats a classic mark of the beginning of the end. Minoxidil is not a sad thing, not if you care about hair as you and every other dude on this forum is, there is nothing more sad than a balding guy with long hair. just giving you my advice.

[thehatman]

And yes i had a hair transplant not because i was balding but because i didn't like the mature look. Best thing i ever did! now i got the same hairline as Brad Pitt, and the girls love it just as much as me.

[Shakabra]

I think the lightness of the hair in the parting is actually just my grey hairs, my dad had a bunch when he was younger with a full head of hair, and he is around 60 years old now, still has a full head of hair. I understand that you are giving advice, but like i said, people give conflicting views, and just posting "you are balding, buy minoxil before it is too late" just seems like serious fearmongering. I have been looking back on older pictures of me as a kid and always seem to have that open spot on the top of my head for as long as I can remember. Have you looked at the other pictures I uploaded for a better idea?

[Shakabra]

To me, this is usually what I should be looking for, and with crown balding comes the receding of my hairline, right? So far it hasn't receded at all.