Mom blames me for hairloss :P

[mike92]

I've just turned 18 (yep not even out of high school) and i've got a receded hairline, plus wispy unmanageable thinning hair on top, you know the type when you try to wash it and make it not look balding it ends up looking like this:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.yuddy.com/photos/20071129213504al_pacino%2520WITH%2520A%2520PHIL%25 20SPECTOR%2520HAIR%2520STYLE.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.yuddy.com/celebrity/al-pacino/photos&h=400&w=300&sz=37&tbnid=6TDX6DqVQqZH6M:&tbn h=259&tbnw=194&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dal%2Bpacino%2Bhair&zoom=1&q=al+pacino +hair&hl=en&usg=__hnAMHXNvLN6KutCLA0SmgFFiKP4=&sa= X&ei=eoaBTJOPGsOk4QbQhrnTCw&ved=0CBkQ9QEwAg

Well not quite as bad as that, but still, way to young for the wispy bangs donald trump look. But i just keep it short, it still looks relatively thick when its short for some reason. I'm sure most of you guys that suffered it from a young age remember the point when you just trim your hair, said goodbye to regular female company and just got on with your life. My folks used to tell me for years that it was 'just my hairline' and 'its the same as your dads', but my dad has a pretty decent head of hair for a man in his 40s, its what gets called a mature hairline - he has way more hair than me which really sucks. I'm handling it not too badly, but the one thing that really is grinding me is the feeling that its my fault & ive put this upon myself, it really grinds me. See i went through a rough year, was stressed & depressed (before i realised i was losing my hair), and once i got over it i started obsessing with my hair (around the stage i noticed hair loss, it wasnt has bad as it is now) and i used to pull my hair back and play with my hair all the time checking the density, and pulling it back to see my increasing non existant hair line. My mom, although at least having the decency not to blame it on my depression, always said and keeps saying "if you keep pulling your hair back like that you are going to go bald", which made me think - have i caused this? Has my constant nip-picking with my hair, pulling it back & depressed state for a few months made me start losing my top? Thats the one thing that would really get to me, that if i didn't have a rough year & didn't play about with my hair would i still have a headfull of hair. What do you guys think? Is it possible that getting stressed etc can cause MPB, not stress loss, actual full on permanent MPB? I mean its not uncommon for 17/18 year olds to be stressed, about school, parents, growing up in general, and depressed - but i dont think ive ever seen anyone my age with hairloss, not saying it doesnt happen.

[silverson]

Dude, no.

Although it's said that the onset of diffuse hair loss can be triggered by stress/depression/malnutrition/etc and many doctors agree that these factors can speed up the process of MPB - one fact remains...

....male hair loss is genetic.

Maybe in your case it started a bit early from stress, but this is doubtful and even if it's true, it probably didn't start very much earlier than it normally would have.

In other words, talk to a doctor to make sure you're dealing with male patterned hair loss (which you most likely are). The most effective treatments are basically this - finasteride, minoxidil and nizoral. Everything else is merely an add on.

Sorry this is happening to you so young, man. My advice is to educate yourself as much as possible by reading online forums and reading through http://www.baldingblog.com/ and take action.

Most young people have great success with treatments due to catching their thinning early on.

[mike92]

So you are saying that no matter if i was stressed for a year or not, i would of went bald sooner rather than later, i.e. lost my hair early.

[Winston]

It’s obvious that your mother doesn’t know much about hair loss so you can’t blame her ignorance. Male pattern baldness is genetic and while stress can make things worse for some people, it usually has very little to do with the process. Some young men see a mature hairline early on and maintain that hairline for decades. Best thing to do is to see a doctor to get checked out.