Source
r/tressless•
ohgnuth

Age 17. Receding hairline is a major contributor to my depression

I started receding around September last year. I am now at least a Norwood 2, and I can't stop thinking about it. I'm on nizoral, minoxidil, and microneedling. It just sucks knowing that I can't really do anything about. I can't take finasteride, as I only just turned 17. I used to wear my hair up. but now I have to wear my hair down and covering my forehead. I've also always had a big forehead. A receding hairline and a big forehead definitely do not compliment each other. My dad is 6 foot, and my brother is 6'2. I'm 5'9. If I want to grow any more, finasteride is out of the question. My recession is eating away at me. I just don't know what to do.

Posted May 23, 2019, 7:22 AM UTC

6745
bruhsmh•

Go to a doctor (preferably hair derma), and make sure it's actually mpd and not a 'mature hairline'. I'm 20 and over the course of last year my hairline went from low to high, but I'm not losing hair at a fast rate and it seems stable now and still looks normal. Hair Derma said it probably won't recede more, atleast not till I get older. My sadness due to hairloss lifted right away.

How fast are you losing hair? Is it noticible to the average person. You're 17 enjoy life right now. Enjoy the hair you have right now. Go to a doctor and let them take care of your hair. If you go to a doctor and they give go fin, you'll be living your life exactly the same, just taking a pill before you sleep.

Worrying about it won't do anything. For stuff like this (and plenty of other things in life), I realized the worst part is letting yourself worry and being sad and mopey about it (being sad then causes you to get more sad). Take action or accept it. Hair loss is not the end of your life. At 17 you're worried about girls liking you, but after highschool you won't care about it as much and your dating pool gets way bigger, and getting girls is alot easier. It will get to a point where personality >>>>> looks. And Balding is only ugly when you don't have the confidence or charisma to back it up. There are guys with the ugliest hairline, chubby, less than 5'8 and overall sub-par looks and get more girls than you could imagine cause of charisma. With that said, after highschool and your first girlfriend, you'll stop putting girls on a pedestal.

And your height. Not saying it'll happen to you but I was around 5'10 at 16-17 and I got up to 6'1 a few months after hitting 19. I like my height, but my height hasn't affected my life at all. Girls see it as a 'bonus' AFTER we decide to date. I've never met a girl who was turned off by short guys, and you're average height. As guys there are plenty of things we worry about because of how media wants us to be, and it's bad because no one defends us if we are made fun of for it.

13
Bankai90•

Just adding in. 5'8 here and never had any problems with girls and am really happy about that height when it comes to that. I'd love to be 5'9/6 tho cuz it always seems in lifesituations that the 4-5cm more height would be better for other stuff, like carrying or reaching shiet XD

4
jwtsonga•

yep 5'8' is fine imo from my own experience. you are taller than most chicks! add in good posture+hair up and you can look almost 5'9.5 lololol. a lot of actors are 5'8' - tom cruise, zac efron, wahlberg, Gotham dude.

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

8
WiseGene•

You can try adding laser comb therapy to your regime. It's been fda approved for fighting hair loss.

6
SorryRefrigerator•

Hairloss advances slow in most cases. I started receding at 17, now Im 21 and I am NW 2.5. So hopefully you will maintain until you can add finasteride

4
Beleguer•

Not true, you could lose most of your hair in 3 years or it could take 30. There is no one size fits most.

7
salgat•

That's extremely dependent on the individual.

3
FritoRapGod•

Sending love bro. It’s a tough road for sure.

3
BernatNin•

Bro, sending all my love! I really know what you are going through.

My advice: get on Fin. It will stop hair loss, and density will get better. Fuck side effects, they are rare and the happiness and tranquility you will feel for knowing that your loss has stopped will be worth it.

Good luck!

3
AtlasGhost•

If you dont want to be bald, in case you are balding at 17 which is difficult but can happen (btw, if you have balds in your family ask them about when do they start), your only option in case its MPB is finasteride. Btw pretty shocked about finasteride and growing since it only blocks enzyme 5 alpha reductase, maybe your info is not true.

3
Flamencowo•

You can take finasteride. Go to a private dermathologist. I know cases where some prescribe it even earlier.

2†
countjulian•

That's a terrible idea for a 17 year old. Hair isn't worth stunting his growth, missing out on penis size or making him less muscular for the rest of his life.

3
lasatiharneala•

Growth hormone is responsible for growth of that kind and plain test for muscles but still not sure if its worth taking fin at that age

5
countjulian•

DHT is more important in puberty for secondary sex characteristics

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

-1
WiseGene•

Yeah. I believe the recommended age is 25+ for finasteride. It's a tough choice.

4
gothicusmaximusDutasteride 0.5 mg/day•

You suggested he go on Oral Minoxidil, but you're opposed to him going on Finasteride? Ridiculous.

1
InternationalBerry•

How does Finasteride stunt your growth, penis and muscle size? Is this what you have heard or what you know?

Not saying you're wrong but I never found any evidence of this. The only part I don't believe is muscle growth, because I worked out and got muscular when I was young, then stopped working out and went back to my original size, then didn't start Finasteride (or any treatment) until I was 34 then took up the gym again afterwards and have had no trouble getting back to my original muscular frame.

So at the very least I know that much is bullshit, hence my question, or it if it isn't bullshit the difference is so slight it's unnoticeable.

0†
countjulian•

Look up the role of DHT in puberty or the guavedoces in the Dominican Republic. Without DHT the secondary sexual characteristics of males won't fully develop during puberty. DHT is less important after the end of puberty and growth however for men developing into adulthood it's super important.

8
InternationalBerry•

Puberty ends around 15 for girls and 14-16 for boys though (according to the searches I just did and my own memory).

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

4
countjulian•

Also I haven't tried it but there are special pharmacies that brew 10, 15, 20, and 30% minoxidil creams. If you do decide to get on fina before age 24 (BAD IDEA) get on topical fina. Also I forgot to add use tretinion as well. My hair transplant doc can do a consult and prescribe oral minox plus a concoction of minox, tretinion and latanoprost. You still have options left to explore.

2
Grimdreader•

May I ask, why is it bad to be on fin before 24?

2
countjulian•

That's the latest date I've seen documented evidence that men continue to grow. Most people are done by 21 but I'd err on the side of caution.

1
Bankai90•

My beard definitely did change between the ages 20-24. Went from patchy shiet to fullbeard within 4-6years. But it feels like even now at 29 that it is continuously getting thicker. But same time my hairs started to take a huge hit. As someone who has a 9/10 beard, def would trade hair for beardgains.

2
Beleguer•

The only thing finasteride could hinder growth of in a 17 year old is facial and body hair. Testosterone is what is responsible for muscle growth and height. Besides, at 17 you are done growing in terms of height. Anecdotal information about 1% of guys gaining an extra 2 inches after 18 is negligible.

2
firestotle•

But DHT has many important physiological actions besides the growth of body hair; this sub tends to downplay these actions to a high degree, and I'm unsure why... it isn't as if these other functions are in question: they're well known in endocrinology and have been for quite some time. If you would like to keep your hair and get on some type of DHT-blocker or reducer, that is completely fine and respectable, but it's almost bizarre that people are so against the chemical such as to say that it's only responsible for body hair, lol.

1
ohgnuthOP•

Thank you so much for this reply. I was worried I would just be a sitting duck until 20+ when its considered "safer" to start fin. I will definitely look into other options, and for sure go to a derma. The derma part is just hard because I live in the middle of nowhere and the closest dermatologist specializing in hair is 4 hours away. But again, thank you for these comments. Knowing I have more to look into besides minox, nizoral, and microneedling definitely reduces my pessimism.

1
gothicusmaximusDutasteride 0.5 mg/day•

If you do decide to get on fina before age 24 (BAD IDEA) get on topical fina

Bullshit. If I hadn't started on Finasteride at 18 (and then switched to Dutasteride), I'd be completely bald BY 24. My brother rapidly lost hair in two years, and by 24 was almost completely bald. Stop fearmongering. (I've had zero side-effects with both Fin and Dut, btw.)

1
underlying_unity•

Get on finasteride(&min) then wait for Breezula (upcoming topical anti-androgen cream w/o sides)

2
BrogCanadian•

Idk if this will help your situation but I took a bunch of psilocybin mushrooms and it put my whole life in prospective and changed my outlook on the hair (or lack thereof) on my head and honestly helped me cope

1
countjulian•

Throw some rosemary on top too. Switch to piractone olamine 1% shampoo and go to the derma and get a prescription for 2% nizoral cream and put that in at bed time. Keep your hair short to avoid drawing attention to it and allow easy access for topicals. Get on 5 or 10 mg oral minoxidil (consult with a doctor about this as it is a blood pressure med, but the the more the better). I know the temptation is strong but try to avoid fina until you're 24.

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
[deleted]•

I'm on nizoral, minoxidil, and microneedling

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
underlying_unity•

Wow

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
underlying_unity•

No actually I've seen ppl on reddit saying they gained inches of stature and continued growing some facial hair till age 22-23 even after being on fin.. 🤔..

0
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

-3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2
LaudanumIngester•

Don't wear a heavy backpack

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
robbiedigital001•

Are the meds helping?

1
Swimming_Pool•

You are in a tough place. Some places will mix minoxidil in higher percentages. But even that might not be enough to help. Maybe go and talk to a derm about starting finasteride and see what they say.

1
gothicusmaximusDutasteride 0.5 mg/day•

You can take Finasteride. I started on Finasteride after just turning 18. You've just turned 17. You should be fine, assuming you weren't super later to start puberty. People will attack me for saying that, but if his hair loss is affecting him that much, it's a choice to consider.

1
lobbi-frikken•

I want to chime in on this. I think it’s wrong to say tout-court that you cannot take Finasteride. I would go to the doctor, explain the situation and how it is making me feel, and let them decide. My boyfriend has been on Finasteride since he was 17 and he grew up just fine.

1
gothicusmaximusDutasteride 0.5 mg/day•

I agree with the sentiment, but even if my doctor said "no", I still would have took Finasteride. Most GPs (at least in the UK) are clueless about this sort of shit, and I'm not going to put my happiness on the line just because of an ignorant doctor. If OP can see a specialist? That's different, but not just a generic physician who probably doesn't have a clue.

1
salgat•

He is also lamenting his height (reread his post), if he goes on finasteride that could kill future growth (men can continue to grow into their early 20s).

0
gothicusmaximusDutasteride 0.5 mg/day•

How would suppressing DHT affect your height?

1
johnnybassoon•

I remember feeling exactly the same at your age. It really sucks and its a shame society does t recognise how damaging premature mpb can be to a young man. You really might just be finding your mature hairline, so don't worry too much. I spent the best years of my life worrying as I slowly lost my hair. Wish I'd shaved it off and had an amazing time in my early 20s. Instead I let hairloss define me. Don't make the same mistake

1
BLOOD_PALADIN•

Bro don't worry, there is transplants. They are expensive but it's far better than nothing

1