23, frontal baldness ...

[sleeptheclock]

I have a question for you folks. I'm a 23-year-old male, and I've always had a thick head of hair. I got my hair cut about a month ago and the hairdresser let me know that my hair was thin and thinning in the frontal area, especially around 2 cowlicks I have. I've since seen a dermatologist and my doctor about this and they've both said that the hair loss is in the male pattern baldness configuration. I've been on Propecia and Rogaine for three weeks now in the hopes of conserving the hair I have left. I can style my hair in a way that no loss is noticeable, but when I part my hair a certain way the loss is very noticeable to me. When my hair is wet I flip out--it's REALLY noticeable to me then. I've heard mixed things about the success or Rogaine and Propecia--the general consensus seems to be that they grow new hair on the crown of the head for a lot of men, but the best you can hope for with frontal baldness is that it'll stop further loss. No new hair will grow.

 

I was wondering that people's experiences here have been. I'm still losing hair in the shower after three weeks of using these products, and I thought the loss was supposed to stop after 2 weeks. Is there anything else I can or should be doing? Does Propecia sometimes take longer to kick in for some people? I really want to stop the loss. I'm lucky in that I caught this early, but I've been led to believe by certain individuals that there's nothing that can be done for frontal hair loss save for getting a hair transplant. That's expensive, and I'm young for it. If I could just keep what I have I'd be thrilled beyond belief. It's only this past year that I've started to feel physically attractive. This is really weighing on my mind and messing with me.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[sleeptheclock]

I have a question for you folks. I'm a 23-year-old male, and I've always had a thick head of hair. I got my hair cut about a month ago and the hairdresser let me know that my hair was thin and thinning in the frontal area, especially around 2 cowlicks I have. I've since seen a dermatologist and my doctor about this and they've both said that the hair loss is in the male pattern baldness configuration. I've been on Propecia and Rogaine for three weeks now in the hopes of conserving the hair I have left. I can style my hair in a way that no loss is noticeable, but when I part my hair a certain way the loss is very noticeable to me. When my hair is wet I flip out--it's REALLY noticeable to me then. I've heard mixed things about the success or Rogaine and Propecia--the general consensus seems to be that they grow new hair on the crown of the head for a lot of men, but the best you can hope for with frontal baldness is that it'll stop further loss. No new hair will grow.

 

I was wondering that people's experiences here have been. I'm still losing hair in the shower after three weeks of using these products, and I thought the loss was supposed to stop after 2 weeks. Is there anything else I can or should be doing? Does Propecia sometimes take longer to kick in for some people? I really want to stop the loss. I'm lucky in that I caught this early, but I've been led to believe by certain individuals that there's nothing that can be done for frontal hair loss save for getting a hair transplant. That's expensive, and I'm young for it. If I could just keep what I have I'd be thrilled beyond belief. It's only this past year that I've started to feel physically attractive. This is really weighing on my mind and messing with me.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest]

Dude, I can relate to you in so many ways. I'm 25 and I, too, was a late bloomer are far as coming into my own state of physical attractiveness, and only a short time after that hits, my hair starts thinning/receding, in the front, just like you are mentioning. It sucks, and it sucks hard...believe me when I tell you you are not alone, and when I step from the shower, I, too, am freaked by what I see of my scalp. Anyway, what can we do? Propecia and Rogaine are a great start...are you using 5% or 2% Rogaine? I can't use it because it makes my head itchy and flaky like you wouldn't believe, but people say using botht those drugs in common is a good idea. I personally have been on propecia since June, and I have not had any hair regrowth on the front of my head. Apparently, that is the hardest place to gain hair. I keep feeling like I am still losing hair, but I don't know if that is just me or my imagination...looking at a picture of me from before I started Propecia, it looks like I am about the same. What I am trying to say is that you need to take Propecia for a long time, like a year or two, to notice it's benefits...this is what I've learned from asking around and reading about it. What else can you do? I highly suggest going to regrowth.com for a lot of great info on other products that we can use, and for news on future treatments. Revivogen and Tricomin sound promising. The guy who runs the site has evaluated a whole bunch or products out there, from regrowths formulas to concealers to thickening shampoos. Hope any of this helps...but don't stop the Propecia...even if it doesn't grow your hair back, maybe it will help prevent the loss from spreading further.

[sleeptheclock]

Kojak--Thanks for your response. At this point I'm not expecting new hair to grow in the area where it's fallen out--I just want the hair loss to stop. I know that, save a transplant, it's practically impossible to grow new hair in the frontal region. I think this is especially sucky because it's the first part of your scalp that you see when you look in the mirror--it's not like guys constantly bend their heads down to examine their crowns.

 

I'm definitely not giving up Propecia. Rogaine (I use 5%) makes my hair flaky, but I'm not giving up on that yet either. 2 years to see benefits is a long time, though. Oh well. I'll be patient.

 

I was wondering if people have shampoo recommendations--something that's gentle on the scalp and maybe prevents more hair from coming out in the shower.