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I am a nineteen year old male (turning 20 in a few weeks) and have noticed many changes in my hair in the past month. I have noticed my hairline receding (and crown slightly), hairs falling everywhere, my hair feeling thinner and weaker (as if i could pull it out, especially in the wind), and an itchiness on my scalp.
I have always had long curly hair that is fairly thick. It has always felt strong on my head and I have never experienced any problems with it. About 5 months ago I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, and could not move half of my face for about 3 and a half months. This was one of the most mentally stressful situations of my life, and i have read that hair loss can be caused by stress. I also took steroids for 18 days at this time.
Then, a few weeks ago I traveled to miami where I rode a motor bike without a helmet for a few days. One day upon returning to the hotel I realized after the windy ride that my hair felt strange and itchy. I then inspected it in the mirror and realized how thin my hairline had gotten! I had never really checked or noticed before but my hair now looked very weak and thin compared to the way I remembered it from photos in the past.
The itchiness continued for a week and I feared I was balding so I went to my doctor. She said nothing looked wrong and if I was balding I was balding and that was all there was to it, that it was natural for my age. I asked her about Propecia and she laughed and said I was too young for it and that it would cause me to have to get my kidneys checked routinely.
I did not want to just listen to her so I went to my dermatologist. He hastily checked my hair and told me it was seborrhaic dermatitis and not balding and gave me shampoos and a condiitoner and instructed me to wash my hair every day. I dread washing it every day though because I watch more and more hairs fall. He did not seem to believe I was balding since I have a lot of hair but I can tell that my hairline and hair do not feel or look the same as they did. My hair feels very fake and not attached to my head and I fear it will only get worse very soon and would like to do whatever I can to prevent it from leaving before my thirties or fourties. At that point I would not care as much!
I realize stress and maybe the meds can cause balding, but my father did start balding in his mid twenties and is now completely bald. My grandfather on my mother's side still has a lot of hair. My uncle's on both sides don't show consistency, some have hair some, do not. I also am not sure if stress or meds can cause hairline receding?
I would like your advice on what I can do. This is a very stressful situation for me as I am an actor and would like to have my hair so I can play young roles. First my face did not work then it came back and now my hair is leaving, so as you can imagine I am totally overwhelmed. I am trying to stay positive though and just figure out what my best options are. If I should start propecia or rogaine. I know the more hair you start with the better chances you have so I would not like to wait until it is very apparent I am losing hair.
Below are some links to pictures: http://tinypic.com/r/2jax2mr/7
Thanks for any advice that may come! (sorry for the long post)
I have always had long curly hair that is fairly thick. It has always felt strong on my head and I have never experienced any problems with it. About 5 months ago I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, and could not move half of my face for about 3 and a half months. This was one of the most mentally stressful situations of my life, and i have read that hair loss can be caused by stress. I also took steroids for 18 days at this time.
Then, a few weeks ago I traveled to miami where I rode a motor bike without a helmet for a few days. One day upon returning to the hotel I realized after the windy ride that my hair felt strange and itchy. I then inspected it in the mirror and realized how thin my hairline had gotten! I had never really checked or noticed before but my hair now looked very weak and thin compared to the way I remembered it from photos in the past.
The itchiness continued for a week and I feared I was balding so I went to my doctor. She said nothing looked wrong and if I was balding I was balding and that was all there was to it, that it was natural for my age. I asked her about Propecia and she laughed and said I was too young for it and that it would cause me to have to get my kidneys checked routinely.
I did not want to just listen to her so I went to my dermatologist. He hastily checked my hair and told me it was seborrhaic dermatitis and not balding and gave me shampoos and a condiitoner and instructed me to wash my hair every day. I dread washing it every day though because I watch more and more hairs fall. He did not seem to believe I was balding since I have a lot of hair but I can tell that my hairline and hair do not feel or look the same as they did. My hair feels very fake and not attached to my head and I fear it will only get worse very soon and would like to do whatever I can to prevent it from leaving before my thirties or fourties. At that point I would not care as much!
I realize stress and maybe the meds can cause balding, but my father did start balding in his mid twenties and is now completely bald. My grandfather on my mother's side still has a lot of hair. My uncle's on both sides don't show consistency, some have hair some, do not. I also am not sure if stress or meds can cause hairline receding?
I would like your advice on what I can do. This is a very stressful situation for me as I am an actor and would like to have my hair so I can play young roles. First my face did not work then it came back and now my hair is leaving, so as you can imagine I am totally overwhelmed. I am trying to stay positive though and just figure out what my best options are. If I should start propecia or rogaine. I know the more hair you start with the better chances you have so I would not like to wait until it is very apparent I am losing hair.
Below are some links to pictures: http://tinypic.com/r/2jax2mr/7
Thanks for any advice that may come! (sorry for the long post)
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