first post want some opinions (pictures)

[psufan23]

Been stressing over my thinning hair for a couple months now it seems like its happened so fast and I'm only going to be a freshman in college. Went through an extremely stressful school year and a break up in November which I thought was the culprit. I noticed my hair thinning on the sides in january and in late april i noticed the front getting "fuzzy". Now that I've looked at pictures my hair seems to have been thinning since the December. Within the past month or so it seems my crown is thinning practically overnight as well. I went to an internist and had a blood test for Thyroid problems which came back normal and he and my regular physcian both did not consider alopecia. male pattern baldness runs in my family on my mothers side and she also has thinning hair. I'm going to a dermatologist and didn't want to start rogaine or anything until I saw him. The hair thinning is so diffuse its strange (especially on the sides and slightly in the back). Also I noticed white hairs all over and was pulling them out for several months. Many of the hairs that come off my head have white bulbs on the end. The only thing I've done is start taking Biotin supplements once a day

Sorry for the length of post... appreciate having a place to vent and seek opinions. Here's some recent pics

 

[amsch]

Re: first post want some opinions

Hi there!

Well, it's hard to tell that youre losing hair on this pictures. You said that you lose it all over your head, even on the sides? Thats strange though... You should ask balding guys in the familiy how it has been for them. (normal pattern or something else)

btw, the white bulbs are normal, ignore them.

 

[RAKBS]

Do you mind posting a picture of the right side of your head as well?

I'm not sure yet, but it looks like you have the same pattern as loss as I do.

 

[Sean68]

yeah diffuse thinning and a maturing hairline. i have too. i wouldnt even notice if i wasnt in the same boat though.

have a look through the site to decide on some treatments.

the most popular are propecia,minoxidil and nizoral shampoo. a lot of people use them together. theres loads of info on them on this site and on the boards.

good luck if you decide to treat it. best to start early.

 

[king-]

i have the same exact thing you do my sides are thinning and my crown area to very little and i see little bald spots not big like alopecia but very small ones and i went to the derm yesterday and she said she doubts its alopecia more like folliculitis wich is when you have pimples on your scalp and u scratch it it leaves a little spot there but grows back but adding on that my sides are thinning heres pix

right side

left side

 

[psufan23]

thanks everone. The wait for the dermatologist is so long... booked it several weeks ago and still have to wait a couple more weeks. And from the sounds of it it'll just be a quick 5 minute "yes you have male pattern baldness start emptying your pockets for propecia".

 

[king-]

thanks everone. The wait for the dermatologist is so long... booked it several weeks ago and still have to wait a couple more weeks. And from the sounds of it it'll just be a quick 5 minute "yes you have male pattern baldness start emptying your pockets for propecia".

how can they determine if its male pattern baldness?

because i went to my dermatologist yesterday and she couldnt tell if its alopecia or what she said come back in 2 months

 

[Obsidian]

I think you are in the same area I am in, diffusing hair loss usually caused by massive stress. Anyway, my reccommendation is you can watch it for the next 6 months and see if gets noticably worse, I still think if you grew it out a little longer you could hide it.

 

[psufan23]

think i might have found an answer.... looking more and more like seborrhoeic dermatitis, have many of the symptoms for it. Very red face (been like that for a while, just thought of it as acne) and my back is pretty bad as well. This can apparently lead to hair loss and much of my scalp has a pinkish color. Anyone else experience this type of condition?

 

[Obsidian]

Well SD can mix with male pattern hair loss and make it grow quite slower that is what I have noticed so I wouldn't believe just yet. I still say the best thing you can do is set a date say the beginning or end of each month and take pictures where you feel it is thin and areas succeptible to the early stages of mphl and if you notice know no change then you might be lucky but it sounds like to be honest you have diffuse which can be a b**** in my book.

Otherwise, you still have nice hair and I still doubt anyone has even said hair loss.

 

[king-]

like i said earlier in my post my sides are thinning and i seen this on youtube this really makes sence its scaring me though

http://youtube.com/watch?v=alKkOTm80cY

 

[psufan23]

so i go to the derm and its basically 5min in and out. Looks at my mom who has thinning hair doesn't even really look at my hair just glances and says male pattern baldness take rogaine. I ask what about propecia and he said no rogaine. I tell him isn't that best for the crown and show him my sides. All he says is "that's weird". I guess i won't hurt to try the minoxidol but should get a second opinion from someone who actually cares?

 

[Obsidian]

Yeah the reason derms are like that I thought it was a pretty good explaination is anyone over the age of 15 claiming their hair is changing usually points to male pattern baldness. That is weird he did not prescribe you finasteride, I would go to another derm if you can to get another perscription or if you want to, order from an online pharmacy.

 

[psufan23]

somehow lucked out and found a derm who specializes in hair loss who can see me in 2 weeks. I just bought rogaine should i use it or wait to avoid further shedding the minoxidil could cause?

 

[stjimmy]

i am very sure you have diffuse unpatterned alopecia (dupa) like myself,

 

[psufan23]

finally saw a helpful Doctor. got a prescription for propecia and i guess i'll pick up some nizoral. Don't know if i really need rogaine.

Another question.... you can't really tell by looking now b/c my hair is grown out but my temples are gradually getting thinner. If I went to a buzz would that kill any coverage I still have? My hair has thinned out diffusely and the derm said the sides/back should grow back thicker than they are now. He believes it's just temporal and thinning of the crown in the long run.

 

[medmax84]

I think you are in the same area I am in, diffusing hair loss usually contributed-to by massive stress. Anyway, my reccommendation is you can watch it for the next 6 months and see if gets noticably worse, I still think if you grew it out a little longer you could hide it.

fixed.

Good luck... WE ARE!

(ut oh did I give away too much...)

 

[medmax84]

somehow lucked out and found a derm who specializes in hair loss who can see me in 2 weeks. I just bought rogaine should i use it or wait to avoid further shedding the minoxidil could cause?

Please stay way from minoxidil. Big mistake. To be used if propecia (finasteride) doesn't do the job completely...

 

[medmax84]

finally saw a helpful Doctor. got a prescription for propecia and i guess i'll pick up some nizoral. Don't know if i really need rogaine.

Another question.... you can't really tell by looking now b/c my hair is grown out but my temples are gradually getting thinner. If I went to a buzz would that kill any coverage I still have? My hair has thinned out diffusely and the derm said the sides/back should grow back thicker than they are now. He believes it's just temporal and thinning of the crown in the long run.

We'll be starting propecia (finasteride) together then... not expecting it to do anything for my minor temporal thinnign... hoping it can cover my inreasingly-thinning crown (no spot yet though...)

 

[psufan23]

good luck man, the dermatologist really said in his experience he's really never seen any problems with side effects.