25, COMBOVER, weird balding - w/ pix!

[silverson]

I'll start with a photo:

That's me at age 19. I'd had the widows peak since birth, and it seems to have slightly receded now. My hair is naturally very thin and the top has always been half as thick as the sides and a different color.



In 2007, I had very long hair. At the time, I was a musician, living the musician lifestyle - long spans of time with improper nutrition, high levels of stress, poor hygiene (including only washing hair once or twice a week).

During this time, I started to notice frequent shedding (I couldn't run my hands through my hair without bringing several hairs out). I'd never really had long hair before, so I thought it was probably normal. It kept up for a few months, my hair looked the same, I got bored with the long hair and cut it. No more shedding.

A few months after the short haircut:



Grew my hair long again in late 2008. In summer of 09, a girl friend remarked that I was balding in the back. I said she was crazy and dismissed her comment.



Fall of 09, a male friend remarked that I was balding after a rehearsal. I figured it was probably because my hair is just thin, and was wet from sweating - you could always see my scalp through wet hair. Hell, you could usually see it a bit through dry hair...at least on top.



But, I got a bit paranoid and began checking my hair frequently. The bitch of it all was, I'm one of those guys with the "en vogue" combover. That's how I do my hair when it's long, that's how my stylist cuts it, that's how I like it. I asked my stylist if I was balding - she said no, I've always had a "bald spot" and it's just the way my hair is. Asked my girlfriend, she said - no, it's just your cowlick. I've known both of them since before my initial shed.

I'd never looked at the back of my head in a mirror.



I didn't believe either of them, and shaved my head.

Bad lighting:


Better lighting, bad shadow:


Different lighting, bad shadow:


Front:


I do not shed and don't have the spry-looking hairs at the front, even though I've had some recession.

What you cannot see in the pictures is that, in proper overhead lighting at the correct angle, I can easily see a thinning pattern on the right side of the top of my head, going forward.

Thought I would share with you guys, since this has been a confusing hair-loss experience so far.

I was very emotional the first day about shaving my head, especially when it revealed a bald spot. Now, I'm much more relaxed about it but would like to find a solution before it gets any worse...if it does? I don't know about these things.

TLDR Summary:

-Always had thin hair on top
-Girlfriend and stylist say I'm not balding, no change at all
-No one in family history with MPB
-Some temple recession
-One period of shedding 3 years ago, none since
-I'm convinced it's slow moving MPB

So, is it time to treat or could I make things worse? How should I start?

FYI, I have been using Nizoral 2-3x per week for several months.