Suddenly Shedding at 24

[newtothis7]

Hi all. Two weeks ago I was showering and noticed 5-6 loose hairs on my wrist after shampooing my hair, which I thought was odd and decided to look at my hands after washing my hair from then on. Over the next week I noticed several loose hairs while in the shower (only when washing my hair) and when combing my hair. It seemed to be coming from the top of my head, slightly to the front of my cowlick.

My allergies were also kicking in around this time and even after taking allergy meds I noticed my scalp felt ticklish/itchy sometimes, especially where I thought the hairs were coming from. I thought either that was the cause or the extreme stress I was under at the time (was also under a lot of stress a few months prior) because the hairs were coming out so fast. Faster than what I assumed male pattern baldness would do, though I did worry it could be the case.

I made a dermatologist appointment that I had earlier this week. Prior to that, thinking my scalp was irritated/scared of seeing more hairs from washing my hair, I decided not to wash it for a few days. I told the dermatologist everything and that my dad started balding at ~21, but my mom and all my grandparents have their hair. She told me I was showing early signs of male pattern baldness, which sort of shocked me and while she did see irritated/slightly red skin near that area, she dismissed it as likely not the culprit. She also thought all the stress was a major contributing factor, which could explain why they were going so fast.

She advised I use minoxidil, viviscal, and nioxin shampoo which I started doing immediately afterwards. She also said I should consider propecia, a scalp biopsy, and bloodwork for a thyroid test. I washed my hair after my appointment for the first time in a few days with the nioxin shampoo and saw roughly 30-40 loose hairs which scared me. It could've definitely been buildup from the days I didn't wash it, but even then I became concerned that this could be a health issue causing me to lose the hair, not male pattern baldness, since it was coming out so fast. Washed again the other night and only saw a few thankfully.

I'm not sure what to do from here. Should I immediately start using propecia? Is getting a scalp biopsy or bloodwork worth my time? Is what I'm experiencing typical of male pattern baldness or does this sound like symptoms of something else like stress or scalp inflammation? I know people a little older than me who have showed barely any difference in two years and if you look at part of the very top of my head you can see thinning in two weeks. I don't know if I'm holding onto false hope that this is something else or what, but this was something that wasn't even a concern three weeks ago...

[Kissh]

Welcome!

...photos?

[SmoothNation]

From what you've said it does indeed look like the start of male pattern baldness. The exact thing happened to me, and do you know what my exact reaction was haha? I literally said to myself "oh well, seems like I'm going bald, what shall I do about it". I'm not saying you necessarily should this, but what I did was go to my local barber shop and ask for a buzz cut. When I saw the final result I actually felt so empowered and actually thought I look pretty good bald.

The moral of the story is that instead of letting male pattern baldness get the better of me, I got the better of it by preempting my baldness. Use your hair loss to improve your physique, your health and your confidence in public. It's what I did and honestly I couldn't be happier dude .

Oh btw, if you think women/men won't find you as attractive anymore compared to before, you couldn't be more wrong ha! I honestly am honestly far more successful with the ladies now than when I had hair, and it is because I am more confident in myself.

https://www.instagram.com/smooth__nation/