My Dermatologist told me I was thinning at my Temples.

[Josh1995]

This visit was rushed and he took about 2 minutes with me. I wanted to check with you guys, and see what you thought. He recommended rogaine or a minoxidil wash, but before I hop on any of that, I just wanted confirmation.

As for background:

I am 18.

My dad went bald early, but he said it started from his crown.

My moms side of the family has a full head of hair, even the men in their 70s.

Thanks

http://imgur.com/a/H4hve

[Dfaru94]

Among the thickest and most intact hair I've ever seen on a panicked "Am I balding?!!!" thread on this forum. I'm serious.

I don't know exactly what the dermatologist did in terms of scalp examinations, but he might have picked up your hair loss incredibly early. Typically most guys aren't fortunate enough to notice it until it gets, well, noticeable.

It's possible to inherit balding genes from either one or even both sides of your family. At this point you could possibly go more Mom's way or Dad's way, or you could inherit a mixture and go somewhat bald but not as much as your Dad. You will likely see some balding since your Dad did, I'll be honest.

But anyway, you have a few options. At your current level, if the balding isn't very aggressive and rapid (which it really doesn't look it at all), you can wait it out and see if it progresses any more. It might not, at this stage it might just be that your little bit of receding is just your hairline slowly aging (which happens to absolutely every man, even if he doesn't go bald and keeps most of his hair).

If however you see more noticeable receding and thinning at the crown, and/or feel lots of itching in the typical balding areas, and/or get general thinning all over the top of your head, then it's likely balding. In this case, you could get a second opinion from other dermatologists, and you can also talk through your options with them. There are a few things you can do to slow it, stop it, or potentially even re-thicken to some degree, at a cost and with some risk of side-effects.

Oh and btw Rogaine/Monoxodil is said to not be very effective for the hairline, it's typically used to treat crown balding I think. I might be wrong on that though, so anyone else feel free to correct me.

[Josh1995]

Derma checked my head, than checked my temples and said the temples were thinning.

Yeah I heard about a mature hairline, I was just unsure what my own was considered!

Thank you for your response!

[pkipling]

First off, you have a ton of really thick hair, so even if you should ever need a hair transplant at some point in your life, you seem like you'd likely be a great candidate for that.

That being said, it's hard to tell if what you're experiencing is indeed MPB, especially with a 2 minute consultation with a dermatologist. (Seriously - With the amount of money doctors make, I can't understand why they often seem so rushed. It's a huge turn off for me when I see a doctor who does this, but I digress....) As Dfaru mentioned, there's a good chance that this is simply the natural maturing of your hairline and this will eventually subside. So before you jump on any treatments, I would first monitor your hairline closely for the next 6-12 months, documenting your hair with pictures every 2-4 weeks. Make sure all the photos are taken in the same exact settings each time so that the comparisons are accurate. If at the end of your evaluation period you find that your hair loss is increasing, I would set up an appointment with a trusted doctor/surgeon (who you've vetted) who specializes in hair transplants and MPB. They will be able to test the miniaturization levels of your hair to get a good idea of how your hair loss is progressing (if at all) and recommend a plan of attack from there. Unfortunately, a standard dermatologist won't be as helpful, as proven by your experience.

In the meantime, don't stress out about it. Theres a great chance you're not losing your hair, and as mentioned before, even if you are, there are OPTIONS.

Best of luck!
__________________
I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My views/opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

[burtandernie]

Yeah. Here is your plan of attack... take propecia or dont and keep losing hair. 18 is a little young for propecia, but I would think about just using the minox. Minox is so cheap and safe why not just use it as a preventative measure? its better then nothing and no harm done
I would listen to the above though and do what they tell you over random people in the forum giving different advice.