Hi, 28 year old, lack of hair on crown

[mnx]

Hey all.

I am currently 28, and I became aware of a minor spot on the crown about 4 years ago. For about 3 years time, it was a minor bother, I was not sure as to whether it was the beginning of hair loss or just a hair whorl I had since I was a child being more pronounced.

I kept a loose eye on it, with the help of mirror and camera, but it did not start to genuinely bother me until about 6-7 months ago.

I would say that it had not rapidly diminished, in fact, at times I've not been sure if I'm just paranoid about it, and that it is a non issue. At any rate, I have been watching it closely, and taking pictures.

Over the last month or two however, it went from a concern into an obsession. It appears to me to have gotten significantly worse in a significantly small amount of time, noticeable change in 1-2 weeks after years of little to no change. Over the last two weeks I have trouble thinking of anything else, and I have studied hair loss quite a bit lately.

Even now, it isn't quite what I'd call severe hair loss, but it is getting to being worrisome, and I don't feel comfortable with it. I often feel obligated to wear a hat or beanie. It has finally got to the point where I feel a strong sense of urgency to do whatever I can to turn back this tide.

I will post a pic or a few in a bit, but here's some information.
-no baldness on mothers side of family, tons on fathers side(I had though mothers side was what mattered, and so I hadn't feared going bald)
-I've always been susceptible to stress, and I lost a lot of hairs when I was 19-20 a midst a mental breakdown of sorts, but had since grown them back, never had a bald patch from it
-Several months ago, I had small lighter hairs in my crown. If I died them, almost all skin was covered up and I felt confident. The small light hairs seem to have gone away, and this concerns me.
-I recently moved, and have been relatively stressed lately, but I have my doubts that this is the cause of my problems

Anyways, among my research I've learned that stopping DHT is integral in preventing further loss, and allowing regrowth. I've heard propecia(finasteride) is effective, but I fear the sexual side effects too much to use at this stage. So as a result, I've been looking into all natural ways of dealing with DHT(Saw Palmetto, Pumpkin seed, etc.). I have been somewhat interested in Provillus.

My current planned course of action is to aggressively take supplements geared at stopping DHT and 5 alpha reductase. I have formulated my own regimen based on some treatments on the market as well as my own research. I'll put a complete list of this regimen up if anyone is interested later.

Another prong of my attack is going to be the use of a shampoo http://www.swansonvitamins.com/AVL025/ItemDetail
This shampoo has saw palmetto as well as a few other supplements that supposedly help attack DHT as well.

Thirdly, I am going to start Minoxidil soon. I plan on going to doctor this week to see if I can confirm the cause of my hair loss, then go ahead with the use of Minoxidil. I am somewhat hopeful since Minoxidil is most effective seemingly for people with my description.

Also, as a side, I'm keeping my eye on a product called cabooki. It shakes fibers onto your hair and is a concealer. I want to try to fix before I try to conceal though. I am impressed with the effect of that product though.

Ok, all that is out of the way. I appreciate any advice and encouragement anyone can give me.

Thanks,
mnx