23 year old receder, considering shaving it all at some point....

[blech]

First of all, to me you don't appear to be balding that bad yet.  Do you even get comments about it?  Honestly if I met you right now, it would not even cross my mind.  I'm not saying that you aren't going bald it's just that to me it isn't all that apparent--you just look like you have a masculine hairline.  Secondly, you don't have a frankenstein head.  Honestly I'd trade you in a second haha.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Well with the pictures, you have some receding of the hairline and definate thinning on top, so the drugs aren't doing that much, but the side effects may be with you for life.  You, like others, are at the point of spending a whole lot of time worrying about something you cannot stop, and that's wasting your life.  Once you get your arms around the fact you're going to be bald notwithstanding the beating the drugs are giving your entire body, not just your scalp, and look aroound at the number of guys who have accepted it, shaved, gotten in front and are controlling your own life again you're going to shave.  Now or later, hair by hair, or take control--it's up to you.  And you only have one body, do you really want to take the chance that you will be one of the unlucky ones that has to deal with the side effects, even after you've accepted baldness and moved on.  Those drugs are dangerous, I can't say that too often. 

[PowerOfCheese]

I think you should go with a close buzz, military style hair cut. It'll be better for your hair, it will look better and you'll be able to see any results from the drug treatments more clearly. Personally, I think you're wasting your time with the drugs, they're crap and will just make you more and more anxious about the impending loss of your hair not to mention possibly having a detrimental effect on your overall health. Physical and mental.

When you go down that road, a lot of guys turn into mirror happy, stressed out, obsessive pansies that have no self esteem. If you're going to stay that course, my advice would be to spend some extra effort learning how to accept who are are and focus on other ways to boost your confidence. Because you struggle with this, even your best hair days won't give you more confidence. You just won't have less. 

Remember, it's called "Male Pattern Baldness". You're not alone and for a lot of us, it's simply part of being a man.

For what it's worth, chicks dig me and my bald head. I'll put my noggin against any thin whispy hairsprayed doo any day. Bring it.

[Razor X]

At this point, I've been using Finasteride for about 7 months (recommended a year before evaluating results) and a form of Minoxidil for about 2 months (recommended 3 months before evaluating), so I'm going to stick out for about another 5 months--I've invested this much already, pointless to stop now.

I disagree.  The sooner you stop wasting your time and money and risking the side effects, the better.

 And actually, comparing these newer pics to the older ones, I can see some slight regrowth and maintenance on the top of my head, and I do feel that the ravenous recession of my hairline is starting to slow.

I never took any kind of drug at all for hair loss, but I also went through periods where I seemed to lose a lot of  hair, and then the hair loss would slow down or even seem to stop for several months at a time.  I wouldn't attribute any slowing down of MPB's progression to the drugs.   And as you said before, you're only 23.  God willing, you'll live another 60 or 70 years.  Do you really want to be on those drugs for that long?? 

I realize that at this point in my life, my hairloss hasn’t yet reached its “tipping point” where I need to make a decision to keep it or shave it—but I’m only 23, so I know this decision will be coming soon, probably within the next few years, which is why I am preparing for it now.

No, it's not at the tipping point yet based on the photos you posted.  But the day is coming.  If you do nothing else, at least stop taking the meds.  I noticed my hair starting to thin and recede when I was about 20, and honestly, it progressed so slowly that most people didn't even realize it.  I started shaving my head when I was 35.  I had some serious thinning and recession going on at that point, but I still wasn't yet what most people would call "bald".  The rest seems to have disappeared sometime duriing the past six years.  I'm probably getting close to Norwood 7 now, but it has taken nearly 20 years to get to this point from where you are right now.  Everyone is different; it's impossible to predict how long it will take for you to reach the advanced stages of MPB, but I do think you have some time before it becomes a major concern.

That being said, I really wish I had started shaving my head when I was about 21 or 22.  It wasn't a common look back then, as it is now, but I really wish I had done it because it would have saved me years of agonizing and obssessing over my hair loss and constantly checking in the mirror to see if it was getting any worse.   Back then my strategy was to hold on to my hair for as long as possible, but I've come to see that line of thinking as counter-productive.  It's really better to accept one's fate, shave the dome, and move on.  It's very liberating and a lot less stressful.  You might not be quite ready for it yet, but do yourself a favor and don't put off the decision for too long.

[Gene_Fighter]

Hey guys, sorry for the late reply, been busy lately. I've been considering all your advice and trying to get my hair closer to shaved, but still leave a bit on the top as well, just as a happy medium. For years I've been getting pretty much the same haircut style and for the past few years it has just looked worse and worse, so I'm really just trying to find out what works for me and my new hairline now. Like I said before I'm not ready to shave it all off at this point in my hairloss progression (because I know from my last experience I wasn't happy with it) so tell me what you think of the following haircut pics, what seems to work, what doesn't.

Few weeks ago I had a haircut I wasn't happy with:



You can see how when the hair is longer on the sides it really exaggerates my receding hairline. So I decided to go even shorter on the sides recently, and I wanted more taken off the top as well, but unfortunately she didn't take that much off the top and I didn't really realize it until later:





I tried to get some extreme side-shots in there so you can see where my hairline is at. Keep in mind all these pics are with the hair on the top swept forward a bit.

The following pics are from about a month ago with my hair longer:




While I enjoyed the comfort of having my hair longer, usually it just looked terrible, required way too much styling time to even look presentable, and there were many days where it was just completely un-manageable, and looked like crap.

My current game plan right now is just to find a haircut style that looks decent, continue with my treatments for at least another five months, and re-evaluate my results. I haven't had any side-effects at all with the Finasteride and Minoxidil and while I realize the effects over an extremely long time period are possibly unknown, at this stage in my life it is a price I am more than willing to take.

I know I sound overly narcissistic/vain considering my hairloss isn't extreme yet, but my hairloss has been gnawing on me for years, I know how fast it moves and I know it's only getting rapidly worse, so I really do feel justified in my vanity. There aren't many guys like us who even have to worry about MPB (particularly at this younger age), so I also feel justified in that regard.

I am however realistic about my self-image and about my hairloss in general. I don't want to look completely youthful forever, I just want to maintain a somewhat youthful appearance until I'm hopefully thirty. I don't want to give some sob story about how unfair my life has been--I had it so bad, boo-hoo--and now I'm balding. Life hasn't been a cake-walk for me, but I know it could've been much worse, I'm grateful for everything I've experienced, good and bad, and as Americans, we by default have it so good compared to the hell some citizens in other countries must live with. But suffice it to say, the circumstances of my life have made me feel that I deserve to keep some aspect of my youthful looks for as long as I can.

[Gene_Fighter]

First of all, to me you don't appear to be balding that bad yet.  Do you even get comments about it?  Honestly if I met you right now, it would not even cross my mind.  I'm not saying that you aren't going bald it's just that to me it isn't all that apparent--you just look like you have a masculine hairline.  Secondly, you don't have a frankenstein head.  Honestly I'd trade you in a second haha.

Thanks! That is reassuring, but yeah I've had comments about it, nothing malicious of course but just general comments. Also keep in mind the photos tend to look better than how I look in real life.

Honestly, if I was older, this wouldn't bother me nearly as much, it's just that I'm so young and this is happening, and I've seen it coming for years, and during a pivotal stage where most of us are more insecure and lack self-confidence--it took its emotional toll on me, although I wouldn't accept it at the time. If I was older and balding, really wouldn't be a big deal for me at all.

[Razor X]

Honestly, if I was older, this wouldn't bother me nearly as much ... If I was older and balding, really wouldn't be a big deal for me at all.

Yes, it would.  Do you think there's ever a good time for this to start happening?

Go to a barber and get the top buzzed down to a #2, with the sides and back a little tighter, tapered in the back.  That will be tidy and fairly maintenance free.  It will also help to prepare you to get used to having a little less hair, without being too drastic.

Clearly you're not ready for a complete shave yet, and I don't think you've lost so much hair yet that it's your only option.  But since you're obviously unhappy with your current haircut, a buzz cut is your best option.

[HoodooMan]

dude, you look perfectly fine with hair. i wouldn't buzz or shave or anything like that! your haircut looks cool man. noone else can see the thinning or receeding that you see. it looks good. worry about it in maybe ten years!!

[JasonR]

I save it and let it grow back if you want. What do you have to lose?

[DaDi]

Nice glasses Gene      

[Iconic]

You look like Jude Law and that's not bad!

[jroske]

shave it off. Its going to come off sooner or later then you and everyone else will be use to the bald style

[crazy.irish.celt]

How can I put this delicately....

LIFE DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR RATHERS!!!!!!!

Hell, I'd rather not DIE but nobody asked me...  and that's the bottom line.  You're gonna live and die, and somewhere in the middle you'll go bald and pay taxes. 

I apologize if I seem less than sympathetic, but seeing as how you and I share a pair of shoes in terms of hairloss, I know that no amount of positive feedback from the people in this forum will completely dissolve your fears. You're just gonna have to get there and see for yourself.   You can't make time pass any faster than it always has, so the only other option you have is try the suggestions in this forum. 

PowerOfCheese said it best:  "It's really better to accept one's fate, shave the dome, and move on."

[marty22]

Gene-Fighter: You're not ready for us as of yet. See u in a few years.

[pdxtodd]

I did the drugs for years and nothing other than empty pockets.   I did Rogaine for years (starting back in the late 80's when you had to have a prescription).   I did proscar (brand name for finasteride) for years.    The results for me -- nothing other than a bunch of money down the drain.  Do your body a big favor and don't take the drugs.    The only one who benefits is the drug manufacturer.     

FYI -- one of the side effects of finasteride is an increase in estrogen levels in your body.   Estrogen grows breast tissue.  Unless you're interest in growning moobs and wearing a bro (male form of a bra) -- get the heck off finasteride!