20 year old NW3 story!

[rdawg]

Hi there, just wanted to tell my story. I'm a 20 year old in 3rd year of University now that's a NW3 With some diffuse thinning throughout.

I've been losing my hair since about late 17-early 18. I first noticed it when i shaved my head just before turning 18, my hairline was somewhat receded although not much more than a NW1. It didn't really effect me at first(In fact i hardly paid attention to it) but as I went into grade 12 it was getting worse and worse.

Mid-grade 12 I went on Minoxidil which seemed to slow it down a bit, ended up as a NW2 by the time i graduated. Luckily for me the shaved head look looks decent its just the fact that i have a receding hairline that sucks! People wouldn't say a word if I simply had a 1/8th inch shaved head with a full hairline, but because it's receding it kind of makes people look at it badly, and it's almost funny when im wearing a hat the odd time and someone takes it off and they're like "WOO". I guess it's just the way society is brought up?. Either way I definitely want the hairline back!

anyways, fast forward 2 years to today, I've gradually with the minoxidil gone to a NW3 with diffuse thinning. Minoxidil definitely slowed down but a few weeks ago I finally decided it was time to start on Fin. I'm now 3 weeks or so on that with zero side affects so far which is great! And I do have alot of Vellus hairs(probably thanks to minoxidil) around my hairline, could these potentially come back on fin? I suppose i'll find out. But even going back to a NW2 would be amazing. Would my thinning hair possibly come back too? Not expecting much more than to maintain what I have, but even that would be great, I dont want to have a bald head!

I will say though, the worst thing to do is obsess over this stuff, yea it sucks but ultimately your attitude and personality can really make up for it. There are gonna be people out there that are shallow/mean about your balding head, especially if you're younger but there's also tonnes of people that don't care(or even some that like it!). Ultimately though, I do hope something major comes along soon so that the people that don't want a balding/bald head can just grow their hair back.

Here's a couple pictures for reference. I'll keep track of my progress as it goes along on fin.




-pencil line in the 2nd picture is just around where my vellus hairs are which arent really visible in the picture!
- Oh and my current regime is Nizoral twice a week, Minoxidil 4 days a week when not using Niz, Propecia 7 days a week(one day off niz and Min so hair doesnt completely get killed!)

[rdawg]

Interesting. I've been on proscar for about 3 weeks, we'll see how it progresses. Right now i'm just working so not really in need of a concealer but when i'm back at school i'll probably consider it. Is toppik the best? or what else should I try?

Not really interested in an HT if proscar/propecia ends up holding or slightly improving what i have(i'm not having any side effects so far), I'd rather wait a few years for a better solution(i.e histogen potentially) as I dont want that nasty scar or spend thousands when i usually shave my head anyway!

Thank you for the comment though!

[rdawg]

Just a quick 2 month update. Vellus hairs on my hairline seem to be getting slightly stronger but not 100% sure. My shedding is really minimal compared to what it was prior to proscar. Hair feels better overall and if anything my hair has not gotten worse at all.

very slight if any improvement/growth, nothing big yet. Still no noticeable side effects. Overall pretty happy with it as it is from what i can tell holding my hair together as it is now. i'll do a picture update at month 3 or 4 if there's any noticeable improvement or loss of hair.

[rdawg]

3 month update. Started noticeably shedding again. Hair hasnt really changed for better or worse but still feels good. From my understand the shed around month 3 on fin is usually a good thing right?

Still no side effects from what I can tell.

[DannyBoyy7]

Your pics remind me off my hair when it started going thin (not at the crown though just the front but i think the crown has started now) and i watched it slowly recede over the years now the front almost gone (its like an island) and i think (not sure) that the crown has started now aswell so its only a matter of time until i get my "horseshoe" but thankfully i got over it a while back so what ever happens...happens now for me...but your hair looks ok for now but dont try to worry to much about it like i did when it first started (at 16 im 20 now) its the worst thing you can do.

[dex89]

Pretty sure, are you using nizoral?

check this link out, the guys had similar issues has you did.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=142250361

[rdawg]

Pretty sure, are you using nizoral?

check this link out, the guys had similar issues has you did.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=142250361

Yup, using Nizoral, Rogaine and Propecia.

Started on Min at 18, didnt do much but slow it down(seriously I got off it for a week once and shed like crazy). I'm 20 now. Started propecia 3 months ago, shedding stopped immediately but then started again just past month 2(from my understand though, this may be a sign propecia is working).

and yea that guy uses some S5 cream which he says has the same affects as propecia, I could only hope for those results.

IF I dont get part of my hairline back I would hope at least the thinning reverses a bit, or at the very least for the hairloss to halt indefinitely.

It's too early though, Since the shedding started now, from most cases i've read, if this shed is from responding to the propecia, it should give me thicker hair within a month or two(at least thats what happened to other people.) I'm not expecting the world though.

[rdawg]

Your pics remind me off my hair when it started going thin (not at the crown though just the front but i think the crown has started now) and i watched it slowly recede over the years now the front almost gone (its like an island) and i think (not sure) that the crown has started now aswell so its only a matter of time until i get my "horseshoe" but thankfully i got over it a while back so what ever happens...happens now for me...but your hair looks ok for now but dont try to worry to much about it like i did when it first started (at 16 im 20 now) its the worst thing you can do.

Thanks for the comment! But I dont try to focus on it too much, it's simply an annoyance, not a life ender.

I will say, it was the thinning that really got to me though a little over a year ago, I had a receded hairline all the way back to when I was 17ish, but I didnt thin until just before I turned 20 about 8 months ago or so. I had a massive shed then and decided it was best to go on propecia.

I'm used to it now, I haven't had a full head of hair since I was 16, it was hard when I was 18 and started really noticing it, but I'm slowly becoming "OK" with it and not hiding behind hats and such.

I think people actually admire when you dont hide behind hats and still remain happy even though you're losing your hair, I wouldn't say everyone likes it(some girls are not attracted to 20 year olds going bald) but some are quite fine with it.

[DannyBoyy7]

Thanks for the comment! But I dont try to focus on it too much, it's simply an annoyance, not a life ender.

I will say, it was the thinning that really got to me though a little over a year ago, I had a receded hairline all the way back to when I was 17ish, but I didnt thin until just before I turned 20 about 8 months ago or so. I had a massive shed then and decided it was best to go on propecia.

I'm used to it now, I haven't had a full head of hair since I was 16, it was hard when I was 18 and started really noticing it, but I'm slowly becoming "OK" with it and not hiding behind hats and such.

I think people actually admire when you dont hide behind hats and still remain happy even though you're losing your hair, I wouldn't say everyone likes it(some girls are not attracted to 20 year olds going bald) but some are quite fine with it.

Yeah was the same with me i never hid it with hats etc but i tried doing certain hairstyles (no comb overs though lmao) to cover it but like you i noticed it more when i was 18 i think late 18 and it came obvious to others thats when i stopped caring because i couldnt hide it no more i suppose i could for a bit longer but i thought **** it and buzzed...yeah some will not like it but some will is what it is.

[dda]

To OP,

My balding pattern is similar to yours, except my temple recession is not as high. I started balding at the crown around 18, and if it wasn't for people commenting on it, I wouldn't have noticed until I was about 22, when i started thinning out more all over the top and it became noticable when I looked at myself in the mirror straight on. Good luck with the meds. I am using rogaine and nizoral currently and will be hopping on fin soon.