26 Year Old Should I Hop On Properica?

[ChrisKangaroo]

When I was 24 I started to get paranoid I would lose my hair. I went to 3 Derms:
1st: You have male pattern baldness but you most likely will not go bald.
2nd: I do not see anything abnormal. I do not recommend any treatment.
3rd: Most men recede a little as they get older you can tryMinoxidil but I do not see a point.

It has been a 1.5 years since then and from my previous photos it looks like my temples have gone back slightly maybe a CM. I have much longer hair then I did 1.5 years ago.

What do you guys think should I hop on Propecia?

Family History:
Mother - No hairloss
Father- NW0-1
Grandfather(Father)- NW2-3
Grandfather(Mother)- Bald spot by my age
Grandmother(Father)-No hairloss
Grandmother(Mother)-No hairloss

Thank you for your time.

Old(1.5yr ago):


New:

 

[biddybomb]

You are receding yes. If you want to prevent your hair from getting worse you will need to get on propecia.

 

[ChrisKangaroo]

Thank you for the reply. Anyone else input would be great. The 3 Derms confused me because they all contradicted eachother. Any clarification would be great.

 

[g.i joey]

Thank you for the reply. Anyone else input would be great. The 3 Derms confused me because they all contradicted eachother. Any clarification would be great.

Yes, you are experiencing male pattern baldness 100%. At your stage it's very possible you can keep your hair the way it is without any treatment.

The most likely scenario is you will continue to recede and eventuall thin as the years go. It can kick into overdrive any time it feels like, or it can come to a halt. It's really unpredictable.

If you notice the hairs near the recession are thin then I would advise you getting on treatment. But on the other hand, your density is great right now

 

[g.i joey]

Actually at second glance, it looks like yourntop isn't as thick as the sides. I'd imagine you'd be in for a huge surprise if you would cut your hair short. Don't.

 

[ChrisKangaroo]

Thank you for the input I am pulling my hair in all pics so that may be why it does not look as thick. That is my dilemma I want to catch it early but if my hairline maturing I don't mind letting it go as I would prefer not to be on Propecia and save the money. Again thank you for input.

 

[Samson123]

Get a DHT test. This is important because Propecia(finasteride) works to slow hair-loss by suppressing DHT by knocking out the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT. If your DHT levels are in the mid to high range then finasteride could work well for you. Unfortunately, not everyone losing hair will benefit from finasteride and in some cases it can actually accelerate hairloss/thinning. I think this happens to men losing hair with low DHT levels. This is very important to understand because accelerated hairloss from finasteride is a hairloss nightmare from which there is no escape because the hair follicle receptors have adapted to the low DHT levels and have become way more sensitive to DHT than before through the process of AR upregulation. If your follicle sensitivity has changed in this way there is no guarantee that they will normalize again even if you quit finasteride. So, if you start the drug, get sides and want to quit, you may have permanently altered the timeline of your hairloss for the worse. This is something that is not often talked about but is absolutely true.

Lastly, dose according to your body's needs. Everyone is different and the 1 mg every day is a 'one size fits all' dose that can worsen hairloss in some. A lot of people have success with just .25 mg a day (that's an available dose in japan) and the guy that does well on .25 mg a day MIGHT destroy their hair on 1 mg. More is not necessarily better because I think the key to finasteride use is to 'trick' the body just enough, but not too much, lest your body goes into a panic mode and scrambles to compensate for very low DHT levels by creating way more receptors for DHT.

One more thing, I would recommend, if you decide to start the drug, to start at .25 mg every day and to not go above .5mg a day because there is almost no extra DHT inhibition above .5 mg....remember, sometimes less is more.

 

[ChrisKangaroo]

I really appreciate the insight. Thank you. Does anyone think waiting another year would be prudent to see if it is just maturing or if I am going bald? Like I said the recession to took almost 2 years for a CM loss.

 

[Samson123]

Idk if I would wait. You definitely have male pattern baldness but you are in a great position to treat it. Generic Propecia (finasteride) is cheap as hell at Costco, $26 for 90 1 mg pills and considering that there is no reason to take more than .5 mg, that's 180 days for $26. Minoxidil, if you are looking into that route, doesn't address the underlying process of hairloss. It is only a growth stimulate and only about 40% respond well to it and it is a bit of a pain to apply twice a day. But if you respond well to finasteride and min, you will keep your hair for a long time.

 

[shookwun]

Treat it early or live in regret.


Most people seek options early, bUT post pone there actions to the idea that they won't be affected as they get older.


I lived in this belief for awhile. Snail pace hair loss then hop on meds when everything's hits the fan. To key tonpreventimg hair loss is catching it early while the hair is in the mild to moderate stage. Medicantsnunfortinately don't work well when the hair loss is to advanced.




By the way, most people don't know how fucked there hair is until they shave it. Suddenly they see the process of Androgenetic Alopecia, and how your hair slowly erodes
3s become 1s and eventually become vellus and fall out. Spaces between hairs form and you are left with a scalp that looks like it's cracking.
Hair loss is an art once u understand it.

 

[kj6723]

1st: You have male pattern baldness but you most likely will not go bald.
2nd: I do not see anything abnormal. I do not recommend any treatment.
3rd: Most men recede a little as they get older you can tryMinoxidil but I do not see a point.

Wtf kind of garbage advice is this from medical professionals?

At a glance it def looks like male pattern baldness

Yes, get on propecia if you don't want further loss

 

[ChrisKangaroo]

Thank you all for providing your opinion. I have scheduled a Derm appointment with someone who specializes in hair.

He was one of the previous Derms I visited. He was the one who said that it looks as if your hairline is maturing to a Norwood 1 or 2. Since your grandfather(father) is a 3 most likely you will slowly recede to a 3 over time. You have no frontal, crown or vertex thinning just temples. He would not and refused to provide me with Propecia because as he said unless someone is close to a NW3 in 20s. He does not provide Propecia for someone in 20s that is NW0-2.5 as this is a mature hairline and you could very well be taking Propecia for no reason. Now that my temples have gone back maybe about a CM in a about 2 years lets see what he says. Does anyone think he is being too stingy with his Propecia script or is this sound reasoning by him?

Thank you all again.