# Men's Hair Loss > Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic >  Mature Hairline or Balding?

## Skippy

I recently got my hair cut shorter than I have in many years, and after styling it for a few days i noticed my temples have receded a little bit. Fortunately I have an appointment with my dermatologist in a couple weeks for an unrelated reason so I can hopefully find out then, but was just hoping to get some opinions from others on here before then. 

Just some info, I am 21 and my father is mostly bald at 50, my moms father has a complete head of hair.

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## Jesse85

That's MPB.

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## Skippy

You think so??

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## Jesse85

Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have said so.

In all my research I have never encountered hairline recession due to "maturity", the hair line recedes because of DHT/MPB. You could suffer hairloss from TE but that is usually diffuse all over the scalp and does not move the hairline back, it could make it thinner where you could see the scalp but actual recession is an MPB thing. It's a pattern after all, easily recognized.

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## Skippy

Where I'm at currently do you think it could be successfully treated?

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## senyoreeta

That's MPB.

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## Skippy

I'll see what my dermatologist says on Monday and see whether your right

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## cichlidfort

There's no question. It's MPB. Don't delude yourself from the fact that life isn't always fair, because it's not.

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## Skippy

Thanks for your input but ill wait til my appointment Monday and get a professional diagnosis. After all this is just random people on the internet looking at a picture. I appreciate your input though

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## ThinningHairFML

What did you come here expecting to hear?

Yes, you have MPB. Whether you hear it from us or a dermatologist, it won't change the fact. Ask for Finasteride.

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## John P. Cole, MD

your hairline is moving up, but that does not mean it will keep going.  You have a low hairline now.  It could be that you are just forming a more mature hairline.  Measure the height above the line between your eyebrows and keep an eye on this.  Signs of MPB are lighter hair color, finer hair, hair that will not grow as long as the surrounding hair.  In some, the hairline simply recedes up to a more mature level.  See if you can find photos of your dad when he was your age.  

Cross sectional trichometry can give you an idea if loss is occurring in other areas on the top of your head.  The CST is a very good predictor of future hair loss, but still too new of a test to verify what will happen to you in the coming years.  If the CST is the donor area is higher than some locations on the top of the scalp, this suggests the potential for further hair loss on top of the scalp.

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## Skippy

Thank you john P cole, your the only one that has given me an actual helpful answer instead of simple typing "that's mpb". I really do appreciate you answering, I have looked at pictures of my dad at about my age but it looks like he didn't start balding until his late 20's and it seems that he started by his entire hairline moving up (or at least that is as much as I could tell from the photos). Hopefully the dermatologist can give me a certain answer to either put my mind to rest or start to take action. Can a derm give a certain diagnosis with tests or something on the subject? Or do they just give their best guess of what's happening given their training and experience?

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## cichlidfort

> Thanks for your input but ill wait til my appointment Monday and get a professional diagnosis. After all this is just random people on the internet looking at a picture. I appreciate your input though


 Hey you're young, I get it. But you willingly came here looking for an answer, and we all gave you one. The correct answer too. The dermatologist will just be confirming what we have already told you. Ask for fin. Good luck!

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## Skippy

Yes I am still young and am already battling Rosacea and am hating life because of it. Most people that even get rosacea don't get it until their older, and the same with balding. So to luck out with both of them like this will just destroy me inside... I find it so hard to willingly except them both being so young while everyone else my age has perfect skin and perfect hair just enjoying life with no worries :/

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## HairIsLife

> Yes I am still young and am already battling Rosacea and am hating life because of it. Most people that even get rosacea don't get it until their older, and the same with balding. So to luck out with both of them like this will just destroy me inside... I find it so hard to willingly except them both being so young *while everyone else my age has perfect skin and perfect hair just enjoying life with no worries* :/


 Welcome to hell.

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## Skippy

If my derm does indeed diagnose me with mpb, then I do plan on asking for finasteride in form of propecia or proscar if I can get it. But is it really effective in literally keeping all the hair you currently have like everyone says?

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## cichlidfort

> If my derm does indeed diagnose me with mpb, then I do plan on asking for finasteride in form of propecia or proscar if I can get it. But is it really effective in literally keeping all the hair you currently have like everyone says?


 Everyone responds differently due to genetics.

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## Skippy

But how about your opinion or even hopefully personal experience if you have used it? Does it work quite well?

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## cichlidfort

> But how about your opinion or even hopefully personal experience if you have used it? Does it work quite well?


  I have retrograde alopecia and fin doesn't do much to combat it. If you have a mild hair loss fin will work wonders but if you have aggressive hair loss them you're looking at a lot of frustration.

Edit- give it a try anyways. My experience is irrelevant to you because everyone responds different.

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## Skippy

I will... Hopefully it will work, or at least work for a few years until I'm married lol

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## cichlidfort

> I will... Hopefully it will work, or at least work for a few years until I'm married lol


 I think that's almost every guys biggest fear- losing confidence with girls. Trust me, it's not a game changer as much as many think. I've seen a lot of bald guys recently with smoking hot girlfriends. It's all about confidence.

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## Skippy

Except when you have a baby face like mine, baldness will not go well..

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## John P. Cole, MD

Wow, what a bunch of geniuses!  Let's clue you in a bit.  First, he has a double cow lick.  Double cow licks and hair loss due to MPB are exceedingly uncommon.  I've seen two instances thus far.  I think this portends quite well for you, Skippy.  Second, his loss is on the lower part of his hairline.  That in no way implies MPB. Hair in the "temple recession area" is supposed to fall out with puberty.  In many ways this is what is happening here only the loss is perhaps a bit delayed rather than suggestive of MPB.  You have fine hair.  This will make anything happening on your scalp appear worse than it really is. 

I'm no fan of medications especially those that negatively impact your hormones for a life time.  Having said this, if you can justify taking finasteride, I'd consider it for you at some point, but not now.  Personally, I would not take it only because I don't like medications.  If you are considering surgery, I think a trial of medication is a personal thing that you should highly consider some day.  At this point, I would not recommend surgery for you.  I'd also be hesitant to recommend medication only because I'm not convinced that your hair loss will progress further.  I've seen many men your age who loose to this point and that's it.  If the loss progresses further, I'd probably be more convinced that you should use finasteride.  

Now all I have to look at is your hairline, which is not all that diagnostic.  This is one reason I like cross sectional trichometry (CST). Not many physicians do this test only because it takes time and it costs money to do.  Cheap is cheap.  What can i say?  Right now, all I'd say is that you are loosing your adolescent hair.  I would watch it closely and not be too upset about it.  I'd also get a dermatology option, because photos show only so much. I'm not in any way convinced that you have MPB based on these photos and I'd not recommend a life long medication based on them.  I'd also recommend against surgery at this point based on your age and the limited degree of hair loss you have. Let's not forget that double cow licks and MPB are exceedingly uncommon.

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## Skippy

I added some better photos, I realized my first ones weren't the best. What's a double cow lick though? Isn't that having two swirls on the back of your head?

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## John P. Cole, MD

A cow lick is when your hair in the front of the scalp grows backward toward your ears.  It is common to see this on one side of the frontal scalp when there is hair loss. you have it on both the right and left side of your scalp.  Cow licks are due to the spirals we see in the front of the scalp and the back of the scalp, but they also occur anywhere on the body including the chest or beard areas.  You have fine hair and a juvenile hairline.  I can't confirm MPB from these photos.  In fact these photos look less confirmatory than the original ones.

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## Skippy

Ok, thank you so much for your information it's very appreciated. I will let you what my derm says on Monday  :Smile:

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## cichlidfort

> I added some better photos, I realized my first ones weren't the best. What's a double cow lick though? Isn't that having two swirls on the back of your head?


 


> Wow, what a bunch of geniuses!  Let's clue you in a bit.  First, he has a double cow lick.  Double cow licks and hair loss due to MPB are exceedingly uncommon.  I've seen two instances thus far.  I think this portends quite well for you, Skippy.  Second, his loss is on the lower part of his hairline.  That in no way implies MPB. Hair in the "temple recession area" is supposed to fall out with puberty.  In many ways this is what is happening here only the loss is perhaps a bit delayed rather than suggestive of MPB.  You have fine hair.  This will make anything happening on your scalp appear worse than it really is. 
> 
> I'm no fan of medications especially those that negatively impact your hormones for a life time.  Having said this, if you can justify taking finasteride, I'd consider it for you at some point, but not now.  Personally, I would not take it only because I don't like medications.  If you are considering surgery, I think a trial of medication is a personal thing that you should highly consider some day.  At this point, I would not recommend surgery for you.  I'd also be hesitant to recommend medication only because I'm not convinced that your hair loss will progress further.  I've seen many men your age who loose to this point and that's it.  If the loss progresses further, I'd probably be more convinced that you should use finasteride.  
> 
> Now all I have to look at is your hairline, which is not all that diagnostic.  This is one reason I like cross sectional trichometry (CST). Not many physicians do this test only because it takes time and it costs money to do.  Cheap is cheap.  What can i say?  Right now, all I'd say is that you are loosing your adolescent hair.  I would watch it closely and not be too upset about it.  I'd also get a dermatology option, because photos show only so much. I'm not in any way convinced that you have MPB based on these photos and I'd not recommend a life long medication based on them.  I'd also recommend against surgery at this point based on your age and the limited degree of hair loss you have. Let's not forget that double cow licks and MPB are exceedingly uncommon.


 So much ignorance here. MD huh?

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## John P. Cole, MD

> So much ignorance here. MD huh?


 Good luck, Skippy.  I hope he does not find loss behind the frontal hairline.  An in person evaluation is always the best option.  

What are you specifically saying, cichlidfort?

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## FlightTL

> Good luck, Skippy.  I hope he does not find loss behind the frontal hairline.  An in person evaluation is always the best option.  
> 
> What are you specifically saying, cichlidfort?


 Dr. John P. Cole is honest as heck! All hail Dr. Cole!!!

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## Skippy

So I had my derm appointment today. She actually ended up saying just about everything John P. cole had stated. So in that sense, she suggested I take biotin and start using rogaine as these are the easiest first steps to take and wont hurt to try and to be safe rather than sorry if it does happen to continue.  

So I am going to go buy those and give them a shot. But I have also read around the forum of some shampoo that people use that really seems to help too. I am currently just using head and shoulders dandruff shampoo. Is that ok to keep using or do you have any suggestions of what type or brand I should try using?

Thanks!

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## John P. Cole, MD

Pretty good news, I think.  You can use Nizoral shampoo.  The 1% is available over the counter.  The 2% needs a prescription.  Apply this three times a week.  Leave the shampoo on for 5 to 10 minutes and then rinse.  It's topical so you need to leave it on for awhile to get the benefit.  You can use the head and shoulders the other 4 days of the week.  Keep me posted on how you are responding.  Rogaine is indicated only for the crown, but it works anywhere on your scalp.  All the best.

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## Skippy

Thank you John for continuing to reply. Is nizoral a brand of shampoo or an ingredient? And as for the Rogaine foam, I am partially ambitious to try it but at the same time am nervous to because I don't want to have to apply it twice a day forever to maintain any results. Do you think its still worth a shot for me to try it?

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## John P. Cole, MD

The Rogaine foam is better tolerated and dries faster than the solution.  I would use it.  Nizoral is an anti fungal that you should be able to find at any pharmacy.  Nizoral fights dandruff by attacking malassezia globosa, which is the cause of most dandruff.  Of course not everyone likes to take medications.  Up to you really.  How bad does you hair loss bother you?

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## Skippy

As of right now it does not bother me too much as the temple recession comes to a sharp point and is not rounded, so to me it looks like a potential mature hairline. What bothers me is the potential possibility of it continuing in which case any further hairloss would very much bother me as I would much rather keep my hair. So if you think trying rogaine is worth it I think I will go buy some tomorrow and start on it. I'm not too against medications, so if things do happen to take a turn for the worse, I am willing to risk side effects and take finasteride.

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