Why am I balding?

[Guest]

I'm 18.

I had a slightly high hairline. That's natural for me.

I grew my hair long for a year. I also may not have had the best nutrition, and I had a lot of stress. Before it got real long I was channeling my stress into a disorder that involves pulling out hair. Ever since I was a little kid I used to twirl my finger in my hair and sometimes make knots, then undo the knots. I started doing this a lot.. thinned out a patch of my hair bad. Managed to quit through willpower. My hair got longer. It was also always frizzy and dry and kind of.. well, instead of being straight, being all frizzy looking, on top, this I attributed to abusing my hair before. When it was shoulder length, I started brushing regularly. I was getting a LOT of hair in my brush. In retrospect I don't see WHY I was so stupid as to not realize what was going on. I got my hair cut and the guy doing it told me my hair was really dry and said maybe I had a thyroid problem. My mom has one, so maybe I inherited one. Since I could tell my hair was looking a little thin once he had cut it down to normal length, I asked him to guess my age from my hair.

He said 'Oh, you haven't gone too far past 30 yet' or something to that effect. He barely believed me when I told him he was 18 until I pulled out some ID. His response was to tell me I was going bald.

I would note that over the year of growing my hair, I almost never washed it. Bleh. Big move, no shower at one end, no shower at the other. I kept it from getting stinky, no more. Never used any good shampoo or conditioner.

For a few months now I've been using 'damaged hair' shampoo and conditioner. I think my hair is improving a bit. I'm also taking a lot of silica supplement tablets with horsetail. But, my hair on top is still noticeably drier. I think the reason so much came out when it was long is the dry hair was easier to break when it was long. In the mirror, it looks thin on top in a pattern that looks like male pattern baldness. On the sides a little, too.

So. Any thoughts or ideas? As much as I like having everyone assume I'm much older than I am (mostly from my eyes and voice but now the hair too) I don't want to go through life losing my hair this early. Goddamit.

[Sindawe]

The old wives tales were wrong.  You'll not go blind, or grow hair on the palms of your hands.  You go bald!

Its genetics dude.  Some families are predisposed to baldness.  I think its an old secondary sexual characteristic.  If you lived long enough to go bald, you were pretty successfull at avoiding predators, disease and finding food.  All desirable qualities to pass on to your offspring.

At least, that MY rational.

[Preacherman]

I think that Fate is sending you a message...  you're destined to join the Marines!

[thorn]

oh dont make me think about this. i am trying to pretend it isnt happening.
at least i got luckier than my dad. he was total bald at 22, i am receding at 32

[Azrael256]

Most of the stuff that people tell you makes your hair fall out, doesn't.  Brushing too much will, as it pulls on the hair, playing with it too much *can* do the same.  Stress can make it fall out, too, but I don't think that's as big a deal as everybody thinks.

Genes have everything to do with it.  That, and environment.  If you're not getting all the stuff you need to make hair, it will grow back in very slowly when you shed hairs as part of the normal cycle.  This can make it look like it's thinning out.

Talk to your doctor, or, just go buy a rogaine spray.  They sell store-brand rogaine in a pump spray bottle at walmart.  If drugs don't do it, you're outta luck.  Just don't do that stupid combover BS.  Either you're bald or you're not.  Don't try to fake it.

[Preacherman]

It's also a sign of the end times...

Prepare to meet thy dome!

[thorn]

"Brushing too much will, as it pulls on the hair, playing with it too much *can* do the same.  Stress can make it fall out, too, but I don't think that's as big a deal as everybody thinks."

HAHA= first- yeah, thats why i handed off my brush and have a big pile of dreads now, i think it helped.

Second- going thru majorly retarded drama with my ex for months seemed like it acclerated the process,
But- ultimately , i agree, genes are the biggest factor.
i got lucky they say yer moms side whatever, but i definitely have my moms hair (brown) not my dad's (black) and her dad lsot his slowly, and not all of it, so i hope that will be my case.
trying to reduce the stress big time, and i think it is helping

[cfabe]

I don't know any of the medical stuff, but you should probably go to a doctor to see if there's something medically wrong. If there isn't and it is just genetics and bad luck, then just accept it as fact and embrace it. Don't try to cover it up, everyone can tell and it just looks terrible. There's a guy at work who dyes his hair, but he waits way too long to do it and wears his hair pulled back so it's painfully obvious.

Me, I'm 23 and it's not falling out yet but I am noticing a few greys here and there. Such is life.

[Sindawe]

Please, tell me what's so funny about this so I can laugh at it too.

Well the "funny' part is due to your relative youth when its happening.  Company loves misery, that sort of thing.  I'm thinning at 41, but not bald yet.  For me, part of the humor is the vanity.  I've always known that it would go (Maternal Grandfather was bald, my father was thinning when he passed away at 57), so I did not worry when it started falling out in my early 30s.  For some of us, its a fact of life.

[grampster]

You'll never have to worry about having a "hat head" or "bed head".

Seriously, you are more than what grows or doesn't on your head.  "That which does not kill you, makes you stronger".

[Guest]

You won't know you're really getting old until you start growing hair in new places anyway.

[Sindawe]

"My hair moved from my head to my ears."

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger".

I've always liked the way that was phrased as I first heard on Eon Flux.  "That which does not kill us, only makes us stranger"

[Fatcat]

Probably just genetics.. my Mom's older brother was completely bald by the time he turned 20. Nothing wrong medically, just the luck of the draw.

I think you just gotta get past it and get on with your life.. easy for me to say, I know, but my uncle does fine.

[Azrael256]

You won't know you're really getting old until you start growing hair in new places anyway.

Ok, that one is not funny.  I'm 23, look like Ed Asner, and the cute little coeds call me "sir."

Wow.  I'm 23, and I know who Ed Asner is...  that's scary by itself.

[Guest]

Get your thyroid checked.

[Azrael256]

Get your thyroid checked.

Yeah, I did that one.  My mother, the projective hypochondriac, immediately thought I had every disease that could possibly cause hair loss when I was 13 and developed my father's (early) hairline.  They tried everything short of shooting me with a silver bullet to try to explain why my hair seems to be trickling down my neck (although such a procedure is likely forthcoming).  The doctor finally came up with a diagnosis of "his dad was bald as a cue ball by 30."  Luckily my hair loss seems to have slowed down quite a bit.  I've got the front pattern thing from dad, but I guess I lucked out elsewhere, as it's all thick and healthy in the back (thus far).  The only problem is that whatever fell out of the front seems to have regrouped along my shoulders.

Since we're talking about mom, it is worth noting that she limped around on a sore ankle for nearly a year convinced that she had some sort of nerve damage.  Ostensibly, this came from a Yoga-related accident.  Fortunately, she did not need surgery to repair her torn achilles tendon.  This was diagnosed after I threatened to "beat [her] about the head and shoulders with a two-by-four."  She seems to be quite good at caring for other people, as her reviews in her nursing job are always sparkling, but anyone who carries her genes would be well advised to seek medical advice elsewhere.

[Sean Smith]

So. Any thoughts or ideas? As much as I like having everyone assume I'm much older than I am (mostly from my eyes and voice but now the hair too) I don't want to go through life losing my hair this early. Goddamit.

You might just want to see a doctor.  Some of your symptoms are a little wierd.

If it is just genetic baldness, shave your head.  100% bald is always better than f'ed up looking hair.

[Ben]

Come on buddy, be one of us.......

http://www.headblade.com/gallery/Default.htm

[Stickjockey]

Another one for getting the Thyroid checked. Problems here can cause other worries as well.

[roo_ster]

Have a physical done, to include blood work, and have the thyroid checked as suggested above.

Make sure you get enough protein in your diet.  If your fingernails are slow-growers, too, that (not enough dead cow in the diet) might be your problem.  Also, for the dry hair, get some quality fats/oils in the diet (olive oil, yummy).  A good diet, to include protein & fats, is essential to happy hair.

If none of that pans out, get ready to join the Hair(less) club for men.  I am a provisional member and will be admitted in some number of years.

If it really bothers you, get into body-building/powerlifting.  Who cares if a muskrat lives on your head if you can bench press folks through the wall?  You can tell folks you went bald after being a pharmeceutical steroid experiment gone awry.  The price you paid to be the manly stud you are.

[Scix]

In my case its almost definitely the genetics, though I did have some stress as well.  At 18 I had a high hairline.  I'm 24 now, and I'm just about half bald.  I've been thinking about getting a headshave, but I figure I can just wait another three years and save the $6 for the haircut.  

It's not fair.  :-(

[Antibubba]

If your facial hair disappears, you'll have to change your name to Lackburn[i/]!  

[Typhoon]

Not a cheap solution, but something you may want to try.  There is a hair care line called "Nioxin" and it is specifically formulated for fine and/or thin hair.  I'm not a guy, so I don't have the genetic issues, but I have baby-fine and curly hair.  Since I started using this stuff, I have noticed a definite improvement.  You can get it at most salons and beauty supply stores.  

You may not be able to prevent the hair loss, but you can keep it at bay for as long as possible.

[RaggedClaws]

By the way, genetically, isn't male-pattern baldness carried on the X chromosone?  If so, it doesn't matter whether or not your father was/is bald.  Look at your mother's father...

My mother's father was bald as a cue-ball, and my younger brother is losing/lost it real quick.  I'm thinning, but I'm married now, so what do I care about my hair?  

Just make sure you wash your hair regularly with shampoo, because it's just gross if you don't.  Dirt and oil clogging up the pores on your head can't be good for hair growth.

[Waitone]

--Genetics has something to do with it.  Maybe.
--Women have a lot to do with it
--Health is involved.
--Emotion and psychological state have a lot to do with it.  Extreme stress will cause hair to drop out.  My daughter was under incredible stress and for a while her hair was coming out by the handfull.

See a doctor.  Internist or Family practice is a good place to start.  A dermatologist is in order if primary docs find no organic cause.