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I definitely have MPB. MPB runs on both sides of the family and the men are bald with not much hair on the sides. I am screwed.
Today, one of our outside contractors (someone I know well and consider a friend) was telling me that he had long hair in his youth, but keeps it short now as he has MPB and is very thin on top. He suggested I should do that too as I am thin on top. He also stated that long thin hair does not look good and that it looks homeless. Of course I am not going to chop it all off. He told me long hair should be thick to look right. However, I like it long so much better, but am I going to look like a freak when I have a skullet a few years from now. I fear my sides are going to be thin too. I like my hair way too much and it's falling out. :-( I am starting to worry that long hair is not going to look right on me in a few years.
I wonder if that server pixi dust in the IBM commercials will regrow hair?
Mike
Regardless of what happens in the future, enjoy your long hair now and see what happens later. No need to make any decisions now. Perhaps by the time you need it, something new will be developed for preventing hair loss.
Live for the moment, maybe later you will change your mind about having longer hair, but at least you will have experienced it which many men never do.
Edsip80 it's always worth a try!lol
peace, jonalbear
Hey Mike,
MPB runs in my family, too. Actually, I'm kinda lucky because I haven't had hair loss anywhere near as bad as my father and uncles. Must be some genes from my mom's side helping out. So, I'm using Rogaine to see if it helps. It has occurred to me that I may be bald on top within a decade at the rate I'm going. Well, maybe if I manage it well and keep my overall appearance neat, long hair around the sides won't be a problem. Maybe it will look good. I think more than quantity, quality is what matters.
Regards,
Dave
Skullets look like freaks ! Gasp !
Seriously, I am seeing many older men with MPB wearing long hair and it looks fine. This has been the "style" for older men in the past. My feeling is: I have lots of healthy hair on the back and sides......so why cut off the good stuff?
There is a lot of research going on....I suspect in your lifetime there will be a solution for MPB, so hang in there and keep it growing.
WWT
Yeah, when the dentist yanked out my wisdom teeth, I did not say, "While you're at it, yank out the rest of 'em!"
Bill
Hi Mike,
I was wondering if you have considered seeing a dermatologist about your hair concerns. From looking at your avatar picture, your hair looks fine as far as I can see. If you are experiencing early signs of MPB, as you say, the best time to act is NOW, before it is too late. Propecia can be very effective in slowing down, or even reversing, hair loss from MPB, especially in the young, and if treatment is started early. Propecia actually inhibits one of the enzynes that contributes to MPB.
I am experiencing early signs of hair loss myself. Fortunately it is mild, and started late in life, around age 50. I am taking propecia, hoping it will slow down the process.
Take care,
David
I was reading an article recently about how Rogaine isn't nearly as effective as it's hyped to be. The article instead recommended a once-demonized drug called Proscar. Apparently, that works to not only halt the DHT (basically what the testosterone breaks down into; DHT is what kills the follicles), but to help regrow the hair.
Of course, bum that I am, I don't remember the date on said article, so I could be steering you into an iceberg a la Titanic. But as I've yet to see Proscar mentioned here, I just wanted to throw it out there.
Skullets aren't bad, though. They're not typical, but then again, neither is male long hair, anymore. If worst comes to worst, try it out, or, perhaps, invest in a wig similar to your hair.
Best of luck with everything. Please keep us updated on your situation.
Peace
Hi Fallen Angels and Mike,
Sorry to hi-jack your post to Mark, Fallen_Angels, but you are totally correct, I just wanted to confirm this, and offer some explanation to Mark which he might find useful. In fact, Proscar is the generic form of finasteride, which is a 5 mg tablet. Propecia, which is exactly the same drug, is the 1 mg tablet specifically designed for hair loss, whereas Proscar, in its 5 mg form, is prescribed for prostate enlargement, and is considerably less expensive than prpecia. Some users have been known to subdivide a Proscar tablet into smaller fractions, reducing the cost of the mediaction considerably, if it is used for hair loss. (naturally, this will have to be done with a doctor's approval, as some are reluctant to do so)
David
The generic finasteride is cheaper than the brand names. I have an intersexed condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. MPB does occur in women, and is typical for CAH, though we don't go bald like men, just experience overall thiness. Though normally finasteride is not precribed for women (due to potential birth defects), I have been using Proscar 5 mg. for years as an antiandrogen to treat the virilizing effects of CAH. My other choice was flutamide, but my doctor and I decided against it due to side effects. I am not in a position to become pregnant, nor will I ever, so I am pretty safe using Proscar.
I tried the topical monoxydil stuff, but found it a pain, and not very effective. The generic finasteride 5 mg. that I take now, has not only lowered my testosterone levels to something closer to what a female would have, but it has also really helped with the hair loss. I have a sister who has polycystic ovary disease, and also suffers from excess androgens, and she has lost a considerable amount of hair. This sister may be a carrier of the CAH gene, as was my mother, who developed thin hair as she approached her 40's. Female carriers of this genetic disorder often have mild symptoms themselves. She is so thin that you can see her entire scalp. Unfortunately, she does not have doctors willing to prescribe finasteride because of all the warning labels about women not even touching or handling the tablets, let alone actually taking them.
Finasteride has saved my hair from excessive loss. I was also having some loss due to other health problems recently diagnosed. I found out I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Osteomalacia. I am now on thyroid hormone for the former, and Vitamin D supplementation for the later. I have been wearing my hair short (around chin length) for some time now. But I am excited because I noticed a lot of short hairs sticking up the top of my head lately, ie NEW GROWTH. Soooo... I decided to let my hair grow (it's now down just past my shoulders). It's still thin at top, and my scalp is still visible, but I'm hoping the new growth will change that. I had long hair down to my waist as a teen, and loved it!
Seriously, if you are experiencing any loss NOW, NOW is the time to address it. Ruling out any medical cause, finasteride 1 mg. might be just the thing for you. I hoestly have no idea of the cost, as my prescription plan covers this, so I only pay a small co-pay. But the generic should be considerable cheaper, and if you can get a doctor to precribe the 5 mg., you can do as David suggested, and split it. I originally started with the 1 mg. because my doctor wanted to run tests and see if I needed the 5 mg. But the precription plan would not cover the 1 mg. , so she had me split the 5 mg. tablets into 4 pieces. You will lose some powdery residue and fragments when you split (the tablets are small), so it comes out close to 1 mg.
BTW The 1 mg. will not have a significant effect on YOUR testosterone levels, as you are not taking as much as someone using it for prostate treatment. So you should not notice any changes in that department. It is simply to little to have an overall effect in males. Here's to a nice head of long hair, both yours and mine! :-D
Carol
Oh, awesome! Thanks for the clarification and the extra information. I'm glad I wasn't totally off-track. :p I'd always thought Propecia was something completely different, but then again, I had never researched it.
Peace
It is a bit frustrating that so many people keep talking about products of the future to treat hairloss. Propecia is on the market TODAY! If a man will not try propecia now then he probably will not try a product that may come out in the future. Propecia does work for most men. I strongly suggest that you talk to your Doctor about propecia very soon and use it in conjunction with Rogaine foam. Use the foam right after you towel dry your hair and it won't cause your hair to stick together. Also, don't waste your money on non-FDA approved stuff. The only product other than Propecia and Rogaine that will help with hairloss is Avodart and it is quite expensive. At this time I pay $108.00 for a 30 day supply. I use Rogaine and Avodart and my MPHL has completely stopped and reversed to a small extent.
jeffrey.
I appear to have lost a lot. :-(
Oh, i had no idea that you've lost that much already, because last time i saw your update you hair seemed to be really thick, i guess it was a long time ago. It seems to be thinning rapidly, how old are you by the way?
Simon
Simon,
I am 27, and from what my Mom told me, her bothers (my Uncles) lost their hair around this age too.
My pic is about two years old, so I think this is normal.
I am more at the point where I should just accept it and not worry. I don't have to chop the sides short. I can keep them long and tailed and still enjoy what hair I have left. :-)
Maybe in a couple years I will change my mind and chop it off, but right now, the hair is going to stay. :-)
I feel right now, I am fighting a lost cause by trying to remedy the issue. But I will try the Rogain again. I stopped using it when my scalp turned red and get irritated. I want to give the foam a try, as Rogain seemed to help some. Hard to say tho.
Mike
Yeah of course you can still keep the hair you have, i think that's what i would do as well if i'll go bald someday, even though it's hard to know that now.
My father is only bald right on top but he still has alot of hair in the back and sides, and a little bit above the forehead as well, and his hair is totally grey, alomost white, most of his brothers have quite thin hair also.
But on my mothers side it's better, most of them have most of their hair left, so hopefully i have earned my genetics from my mother:)
Simon
Glad to see that you're right with it.
I support you ;)
Bye
Vivien
I had an area on my crown about 2 inches in diameter that was quite thin and people started telling me about it. Aren't people sweet?
Well, my crown has filled in nicely and the edges of the front have become fuzzy. The receding hairline does not respond, in my opinion, in the same way that the crown does. I did notice that in the picture you posted that you have not "slicked out", which is good. I would start Propecia very soon and would use Rogaine foam as well. Rogaine, when used as directed is a good product and may be as effective as Propecia. (I base this on FDA studies involving hair count) and personal experience. I know, because I have gone on and off Rogaine just to examine its effectiveness. Rogaine will not inhibit DHT, so Propecia is necessary in that regard. There is mounting evidence that suggests the two products work well together.
You will need to give the products a full year to see if they work for you. That is a full year using them exactly as directed. You may hear things like 4 months, but give it a full year and be sure to take pictures. You may experience some negative side effects, but you will probably get over them rather soon if you even experience them at all.
See your Doctor soon and see exactly what you can do about it. I believe these products will make a noticeable difference.
Jeffrey.
Well, I answered under David's post below, before I saw this. Yeah, you gotta start the Propecia stuff. But see if you can get a doctor to precribe the 5 mg generic finasteride, so you can split it to save some money. MPB run's in my family to, and all of my brothers save one, have dealt with it.
Carol
Well i think it's quite expensive actually, but hopefully when i start to go bald the scientists have come up with something better that can stop hairloss completely.
Simon
It is expensive, Simon and that's one of the reasons that I work all the time. The other reasons have nothing to do with hair. Well, at least not mine.
I think that within 10 to 15 years that the problem will be solved, however, that may just be wishful thinking.
Keep in mind that when they do crack the code it probably won't be cheap, so, now would be a good time to start saving ;)
BTW, aren't you growing your hair back out?
Jeffrey.
Ok i understand you. By the way your hair looked great in your last update, how long are you planning on growing it?:)
Of course i'm growing my hair out again, i'm in my 4th month now, i will post some pics at the 22 this month, it feels like it's grown a bit since last time actually, and i keep running my finger through it more often, lol:D
Hi Mike,
You have my empathy. I am in no position to give you any comments as I've not tried any of those hair loss remedy pills.
Have you tried doing daily brushing of your hair? Brushing with a non-static brush (wood-based or boar bristle) encourages blood circulation on the scalp, which would aid nutrient production to the hair follicles. But be careful on over-brushing as I understand you have sensitive scalp. I personally noticed a greater amount of hair loss on my own head for the past few months, and began daily brushing about two months ago. It somehow helped and my hair loss volume was reduced. You might wish to try daily scalp massage using the pad of your fingers. Simply place the your ten fingers evenly distributed on your scalp and gently massage in small circular motion, shifting the positions of your fingers periodically. Do this for 10 minutes a day, before going to bed. This would be more gentle on your scalp than hair brushing.
I've previously tried Biotin 600mg, which somehow helped in maintaining the thickness of my hair.
The bottomline is, scientifically, hair loss is due to insufficient nutrients to your scalp, resulting in malnutrition on the follicles. Genetic issues may be a big factor to play too, but no harm trying some harmless alternative means to see if it could solve the problem before concluding that it's genetic :).
In any case, all the best to you.
Jin
This outside contractor had lots of opinions for you didn't he? I sure hope you don't take his suggestions seriously! Here is another angle. He might be sorry he cut his hair off and bitter because he doesn't think he can have it long now. I am not so sure what "looking good" and "looking right" is when it comes to fashion or hairstyle, or by extension, many things. From all the pictures you've ever posted, I think your hair looks fine just as it is. There is certainly nothing wrong with having long hair with a balding spot. I have one too and couldn't care less about what some may think about it. I make no effort to hide it, unless wearing a hat, and that's to keep from getting sunburned, not to cover the bald spot. My bald spot is more oblong across the crown rather than a circle.
As for looking like a freak, I don't think you have much to worry about for you will not. I've seen a fair measure of guys over the past few years who have a smooth top and longer hair past the shoulders or longer. I saw that the manager of the Dollar General store in my town has past mid-back hair kept tied back with almost none on top. And, one day I saw a guy with nice blond hair to the shoulders with a perfectly bare top, and I thought it looked really good.
As for me, I have ridiculoulsy thick hair on the back and sides, so I can get as much volume with what hair I have as lots of guys with a full head of hair, so I ain't(*) worried about it. Soon enough, I will not have much left up there, but I'll be damned if I'm going to cut the rest.
I am going to enclose a link to the Narnia (a metal band of Sweden) photo album. One of their bandmembersm (CJ Grimmark) has long hair and with nearly none on top. This is so that you can get an idea of how cool you will still look in years to come.
* Ain't is actually a contraction of am + not, but amn't doesn't sound right. Ain't used in the first person is technically correct, although grammarians loathe it.
You're right, Carl-Johans hair did look rather cool actually, although i don't think i've ever heard the band before.
Simon
I found the title a bit misleading. MPB and thin hair are two separate things. There are large variations in hair thickness, and I don't think it's even affected by MPB. Why people think it is, is probably because the hair first appears to be thin in the areas where hair loss occurs, and that is because each hair has it's own life cycle, so some hairs switch over to be vellus hairs, like leg or arm hairs, while others are still OK for the time being.
OTOH, if you have naturally thin hair, then the hairs are further apart to begin with, and if you have fine hair, then the hairs themselves are naturally thinner (I have both characteristics). These things can't be changed by any substance known to man! At least it's a stable situation, though, unless you also get MPB!
I have thin, fine hair, and it's been that way all my life, but I don't have MPB. There is a notion that only people with thick hair should grow it long (as expounded by Mr. outside contractor), but I don't worry about it. I never seem to have enough hair to brush it both in front of and behind my shoulders at the same time, and I will always wish I had more volume, but it ain't going to happen! This comes back to doing the best with what you have. At least I will never have to worry that my hair is too heavy, even if I could grow it to my feet, which isn't likely because fine hairs break more easily, so it's also hard to get as much length as someone with coarse hair.
I wouldn't minimise MPB. I'm pretty glad I don't have it (and at nearly 50 next birthday, probably won't get it). I just thought that we needed a little more accuracy here. You don't have to have MPB to have hair that's "not thick enough to grow long", but why listen to the naysayers? I don't.
In fact, if you do have MPB the hair at the sides is likely to stay at whatever thickness it is now. "Thinning" is much misunderstood. So, if you are comfortable with long hair, whatever else your hair does by itself, then keep it.
One is best off to avoid the terms "thick" and "thin", because they have two meanings - both of the meanings below:
Use "coarse" and "fine" to discuss hair shaft diameter.
Use "dense" and "sparse" to discuss hair shafts per unit area.
Doing the above will avoid confusion.
Bill
Agreed
Alun