19 Years Old - How Bad Is It/what Norwood Am I? Is It Too Late?

[Tdc66]

Hi
I'm new to this forum so let me introduce myself.
I am 19 years old, and first noticed my hair loss a year and a half ago.

At first I thought I was losing hair on my vortex, but part of me still thinks that because I've had it for quite some time, it may still be a cowlick. I also have balding in my family; both my dad who lost his hair in his 30's, and my maternal grandad, who started losing it in his early 20's (though my dad's brothers still have full heads of hair...)

Anyway, my hairline has definitely gotten worse to the point where I'm seriously considering taking generic finasteride - I don't have much money so can't afford the big three or normal propecia.

How bad is it? Am I norwood 1.5, 2 or worse? Could starting treatment now keep my hair for at least another 5 years? Is it too late?



Thanks

 

[shookwun]

Embrace it

 

[Tdc66]

Embrace it

The point of this forum, and my thread, is to perhaps avoid or delay that. Thanks.

 

[Samson123]

I would recommend getting a dht test as that will give you a little guidance as to why you are losing your hair. If your dht levels are on the lower end then that suggests that the androgen receptors are more sensitive and finasteride may not do anything for you but it is still worth a try at a lower dose, like .25 mg. A lot of guys have had success with that. I will say this because it happened to me and many others, that finasteride can accelerate hairloss. My best guess on why this happens is that guys who have low dht and take 1 mg or 1.25 mg of finasteride are way over dosing and the body counters with increased androgen receptors in the hair follicle leading to potential disaster. Try finasteride for a year alone before anything else, like minoxidil, which has around a 40% response rate, so you know exactly what finasteride is or isn't doing for you.

 

[Falco4758]

Dosent look bad at all.

 

[Derpicus]

To me its never to late to start, you could hold on to your hair longer on finasteride, or you may only keep it for five more years, no one can give you that answer. Everyone reacts differently you may maintain, you may get some regrowth, only time would tell.

I think you'd benefit greatly from getting on finasteride, you have some temple recession as well as crown thinning. You're about a Norwood 2 in the front with some crown recession. Make sure you discuss the side effects and what not with your doctor if you do consider taking it. Trust your doctor get his opinion, or dermatologist based on where you live.

If you're looking for regrowth minoxidil combined with finasteride is your best bet. Remember if you do hop on either or both you're gonna be experiencing a shed, this is a good sign that the treatment is working. It's gonna make your hair look worse, but you'll see some sort of result by at least 7 months in, good results normally are in by 1 year, and better results by year two.

 

[stachu]

Everyone will repeat it thousand of times.

NW2A. Jump on minoxidil and finasteride. Short haircut for one year just to see and control improvements and gains

 

[Illusions]

I would recommend getting a dht test as that will give you a little guidance as to why you are losing your hair. If your dht levels are on the lower end then that suggests that the androgen receptors are more sensitive and finasteride may not do anything for you but it is still worth a try at a lower dose, like .25 mg. A lot of guys have had success with that. I will say this because it happened to me and many others, that finasteride can accelerate hairloss. My best guess on why this happens is that guys who have low dht and take 1 mg or 1.25 mg of finasteride are way over dosing and the body counters with increased androgen receptors in the hair follicle leading to potential disaster. Try finasteride for a year alone before anything else, like minoxidil, which has around a 40% response rate, so you know exactly what finasteride is or isn't doing for you.

Is it reasonably common that finasteride accelerates hairloss? I've been on 1mg generic finasteride for about 5-6 months and it's made my hair worse.

 

[Tdc66]

To me its never to late to start, you could hold on to your hair longer on finasteride, or you may only keep it for five more years, no one can give you that answer. Everyone reacts differently you may maintain, you may get some regrowth, only time would tell.

I think you'd benefit greatly from getting on finasteride, you have some temple recession as well as crown thinning. You're about a Norwood 2 in the front with some crown recession. Make sure you discuss the side effects and what not with your doctor if you do consider taking it. Trust your doctor get his opinion, or dermatologist based on where you live.

If you're looking for regrowth minoxidil combined with finasteride is your best bet. Remember if you do hop on either or both you're gonna be experiencing a shed, this is a good sign that the treatment is working. It's gonna make your hair look worse, but you'll see some sort of result by at least 7 months in, good results normally are in by 1 year, and better results by year two.

Thanks a lot for your advice. I was thinking of starting generic finasteride and then minoxidil after 6 months/a year.
Is it a good idea to start finasteride before the big three?

 

[Derpicus]

Thanks a lot for your advice. I was thinking of starting generic finasteride and then minoxidil after 6 months/a year.
Is it a good idea to start finasteride before the big three?

Yah there's nothing wrong with starting finasteride before the others. Finasteride is for mainly for maintaining your hair; so waiting because you won't be starting minoxidil for another 6-12 months would just hurt you more since you would be more likely to lose more hair due to how male pattern baldness works. The sooner you start the better.

 

[Derpicus]

Is it reasonably common that finasteride accelerates hairloss? I've been on 1mg generic finasteride for about 5-6 months and it's made my hair worse.

Your hair being worse at the stage could be a sign of the treatment working due to shedding, if you linked before starting finasteride pictures and current pictures its easier to give a more accurate opinion. Did you ever experience a big shed near the 3-4 month stage or was yours later on say around the 5 month mark? Or have you just been progressively shedding since you've taken finasteride/or even before being on finasteride.

My hair was worse while on finasteride till around 7-8 months before I started to see results. Just make sure to document your progress, finasteride is a DHT inhibitor so it normally will slow down/halt the progress of male pattern baldness.

But make note that not everyone actually responds to finasteride, I've heard stories of people saying it made their hair worse even after one year. But I believe they were either. 1) Not responding to the treatment (it does happen) 2) Their male pattern baldness was just that severe that it still progressed even through the use of a DHT inhibitor. But this is just my opinion it's been awhile since I've actually looked through medical studies, as well as FDA study results so I could be wrong on that aspect.

 

[Illusions]

Your hair being worse at the stage could be a sign of the treatment working due to shedding, if you linked before starting finasteride pictures and current pictures its easier to give a more accurate opinion. Did you ever experience a big shed near the 3-4 month stage or was yours later on say around the 5 month mark? Or have you just been progressively shedding since you've taken finasteride/or even before being on finasteride.

My hair was worse while on finasteride till around 7-8 months before I started to see results. Just make sure to document your progress, finasteride is a DHT inhibitor so it normally will slow down/halt the progress of male pattern baldness.

But make note that not everyone actually responds to finasteride, I've heard stories of people saying it made their hair worse even after one year. But I believe they were either. 1) Not responding to the treatment (it does happen) 2) Their male pattern baldness was just that severe that it still progressed even through the use of a DHT inhibitor. But this is just my opinion it's been awhile since I've actually looked through medical studies, as well as FDA study results so I could be wrong on that aspect.

I haven't really taken pictures of my hair to compare, but its obvious when I look at older pictures from 6-10 months ago that I've lost a ton of density since starting finasteride. I'm shedding hair still but I also used to shed a lot before finasteride (maybe 50-100 hairs a day) but it didn't seem to effect my hair density and although I'm not shedding noticeably more hair on finasteride, my hair is much thinner and lifeless.

I'm not sure whether I'm still in the shedding phase and should continue, if finasteride is indeed making my hair worse and I should quit, or if it's having no effect on me and my hairloss has naturally accelerated in the past few months. Hairloss can really f*** with your mind lol.

 

[Derpicus]

I haven't really taken pictures of my hair to compare, but its obvious when I look at older pictures from 6-10 months ago that I've lost a ton of density since starting finasteride. I'm shedding hair still but I also used to shed a lot before finasteride (maybe 50-100 hairs a day) but it didn't seem to effect my hair density and although I'm not shedding noticeably more hair on finasteride, my hair is much thinner and lifeless.

I'm not sure whether I'm still in the shedding phase and should continue, if finasteride is indeed making my hair worse and I should quit, or if it's having no effect on me and my hairloss has naturally accelerated in the past few months. Hairloss can really f*** with your mind lol.

Yupe it really can that's why I suggest taking photos at least once every 2 months, 1 month if you really are skeptical. It helps alleviate the stress that comes with hair loss since you're already to notice the change in your density/hairline a lot more easily then going back through memory/doubting.

I'd go see whoever prescribed you the finasteride and discuss your options. As well as explain what's going on. If all your hairs are feeling thinner and whispy it may be the finasteride, but mine did the opposite. It'd be best to talk to a doctor who has the information more readily known. Since there could be some sort of other issue causing it as well, or it could be the finasteride itself.

 

[Cue Bald]

i think you are a NW2V. for a 19 year old it is quite bad i am sorry to say, but with finasteride you will keep your hair for at least 5 years in my opinion, probably a lot more than that.
Without any treatments I would estimate you will be NW4 in 5 years time

 

[Tdc66]

Yah there's nothing wrong with starting finasteride before the others. Finasteride is for mainly for maintaining your hair; so waiting because you won't be starting minoxidil for another 6-12 months would just hurt you more since you would be more likely to lose more hair due to how male pattern baldness works. The sooner you start the better.

If the purpose of finasteride is for maintaining then surely it won't hurt to start minoxidil a bit later right?

 

[Derpicus]

If the purpose of finasteride is for maintaining then surely it won't hurt to start minoxidil a bit later right?

Yupe, I'm sorry if my response was misleading. I was meaning starting finasteride 6-12 months later would just hurt you more in the long run.

Start finasteride as early as possible, then start applying minoxidil when you're able to afford it/wish to actually start using it.

 

[Illusions]

Yupe it really can that's why I suggest taking photos at least once every 2 months, 1 month if you really are skeptical. It helps alleviate the stress that comes with hair loss since you're already to notice the change in your density/hairline a lot more easily then going back through memory/doubting.

I'd go see whoever prescribed you the finasteride and discuss your options. As well as explain what's going on. If all your hairs are feeling thinner and whispy it may be the finasteride, but mine did the opposite. It'd be best to talk to a doctor who has the information more readily known. Since there could be some sort of other issue causing it as well, or it could be the finasteride itself.

I feel that pictures close up of the hair isn't really a fair judgement at least for me, my hair is really inconsistent and could look fine one day then look like sh*t a couple of days later, even more so now my hair is worse than it was 6+ months ago. I buy finasteride online but I was thinking of going to see another derm (although some of them are clueless) but I'm still not sure yet.

 

[Derpicus]

I feel that pictures close up of the hair isn't really a fair judgement at least for me, my hair is really inconsistent and could look fine one day then look like sh*t a couple of days later, even more so now my hair is worse than it was 6+ months ago. I buy finasteride online but I was thinking of going to see another derm (although some of them are clueless) but I'm still not sure yet.

Well sometimes online sources won't give you legit finasteride and it could be fake, not saying it is but there is a chance of it. Prescription based is generally cheaper as well.

As for taking photos yah they can be misleading, but there are guidelines to help with this. Since our minds do jump back n forth between it being good, and it being bad. I'm prone to this as well but photos never lie.

1. Always take the photo from the same angle, this is easier if you can get someone to do it for you.
2. Always take the photo in the same room, lighting, and spot.
3. Try to ensure you're pulling the hair up (if you have a decent length of hair) in the same direction.
4. Take photos only once a month or once every two months.
5. This step only works if you routinely get a hair cut and the same hair style. Get a haircut around each time you're gonna take the photo.

 

[Illusions]

Well sometimes online sources won't give you legit finasteride and it could be fake, not saying it is but there is a chance of it. Prescription based is generally cheaper as well.

As for taking photos yah they can be misleading, but there are guidelines to help with this. Since our minds do jump back n forth between it being good, and it being bad. I'm prone to this as well but photos never lie.

1. Always take the photo from the same angle, this is easier if you can get someone to do it for you.
2. Always take the photo in the same room, lighting, and spot.
3. Try to ensure you're pulling the hair up (if you have a decent length of hair) in the same direction.
4. Take photos only once a month or once every two months.
5. This step only works if you routinely get a hair cut and the same hair style. Get a haircut around each time you're gonna take the photo.

I get it from superdrug so it's definitely legit

 

[StevenS7766]

not too late