Guitarmy's Story (Hair loss at 20)

[guitarmy]

ok. ive read some of these posts and i see that hair loss can occur at a young age. However.. Not a SINGLE person in my family has any hair loss. I even looked at some old photos of grandfathers.

Im 20 years old and i think i am in stage II maybe III on that chart thing.

So since it doesnt run in my family, i have been thinking about what it could be... I dont know a lot about hiar loss but i think it might be affected by the following...

I smoke cigarettes and marijuana frequently.
I am a vegetarian.
I dont excercise or eat very healthy.
I use wax in my hair to style it.

Please if anyone can help me out with this i am embarrased to talk to thers about it. Im 20 and its affecting my self esteem. I consider myself attractive but this is really hurting my confidence.

[HairLossFight.com]

Hello guitarmy and welcome!

However.. Not a SINGLE person in my family has any hair loss. I even looked at some old photos of grandfathers.

That's a good sign for you... reduces that chances that you have androgenetic alopecia, which is hereditary. Now, wheyn you say not a single person in your family has hair loss, are you including all uncles and aunts, parents, grandparents and greatgrandparents? If NONE of these people have hair loss, then it doesn't mean that you don't have androgenetic alopecia, but it makes it unlikely that this is the case. Androgenetic Alopecia is the type of hair loss where you see a general "pattern" to the loss. The patterns usually fit the Norwood chart and most people can find their level of hair loss in that chart. So when you say...

I'm 20 years old and i think i am in stage II maybe III on that chart thing.

...this makes me wonder whether you actually see a pattern to your hair loss. Are you thinning at the crown, and receding at the temples and hairline? Or is your hair loss a general overall thinning out of your hair? Is your hair brittle? Does it pull out easily? Is your scalp tender or do you feel even the slightest pain if you touch parts of your scalp? The answers to these questions are important.

So since it doesnt run in my family, i have been thinking about what it could be... I dont know a lot about hiar loss but i think it might be affected by the following...

I smoke cigarettes and marijuana frequently.
I am a vegetarian.
I dont excercise or eat very healthy.
I use wax in my hair to style it.

First of all, regardless of your hair loss, start taking care of yourself a bit more man!

I am concerned primarily about the bad eating habits combined with the vegetarianism. If you're a vegetarian, you have to make sure you eat the right combinations of food to get the protein your body needs, along with various other nutrients. Make sure if you want to stay a vegetarian that you start eating right! Another question: Do you have weak or brittle nails?

Please if anyone can help me out with this i am embarrased to talk to thers about it. Im 20 and its affecting my self esteem. I consider myself attractive but this is really hurting my confidence.

A number of things you can do right away that will help you out.
With regards to your hair, I recommend always keeping it short, as paradoxically, this will give the appearance of better density. Keep it short and clean. Second, find out if there are any dermatologists specializing in hair-related conditions in your area. If you find one, pay him or her a visit to get a diagnosis of your condition. If they say its male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness (both of these are different types of androgenetic alopecia) then there are other things you can do--just come back here and let me know and I'll make some recommendations.... First find out what type of hair loss you have. If it's because of a nutritional deficiency then you may be able to reverse your hair loss just by fixing your eating habits.

Second, start working out and drop the cigarettes if you can. These two things will immediately start giving you more confidence if you set your expectations right. Don't try to become Arnold, just get lean and fit in a healthy way.

Do the best you can with what you have and do the best you can to keep your hair, then stop worrying about it.

All of these things will help improve your self esteem. Last but not least, know this. If you consider yourself good looking, then you are. If you take care of yourself, you'll start to project more confidence.

If you can't find a good derm in your area, the doctors in the hair loss experts section may be able to help you out. They are all good, but in your case, I would recommend Dr. Bauman because he often takes the time to give detailed answers:

http://www.morphollica.com/hairloss_experts/

Let's confirm the type of hair loss that you have, then you can take the appropriate action to deal with it.


Regards,
Sam

[Tricia]

Be sure to get all the protein you can. I don't know if you drink soy milk or not, but it's a good source of protein. If you eat eggs, make sure you do that.

I'm a female and it's hard for a lot of ladies to get enough protein to promote hair growth. Many of us, even if we're not vegetarians, are not meat eaters. I can remember having some thinning hair in college (not too bad). I didn't know what was going on at the time, but looking back on it....I wasn't eating any protein...hardly any. I had the typical colllege diet of ramen noodles and cheese pizza. My hair recovered after college and I didn't think a thing about hair loss until I started losing it again in my 30's.

See a dermatologist and I recommend minoxidil (and propecia). They will help you hold onto your hair for as long as possible.

[guitarmy]

i appreciate the feedback. I should have mentioned that i am male. In response to the points you made Morphollica, no one in my family including aunts and unlces have any hairloss whatsoever.

My hair is not thinning out all over, my hairline is receding at the temple and hairline quite rapidly it seems (Mid summer i had a full head of hair and started noticing it going downhill since about august.) My scalp feels fine, my hair isnt really brittle. it does however pull out easily. I dont feel any pain touching my scalp anywhere.

And yes my eating habits are admittedly bad. Im skinny so i dont really think about what i eat too often. I do drink soy milk occasionaly but i also live on cheese pizza and mac and cheese and stuff like that.

THanks again for the feedback!

[HairLossFight.com]

Guitarmy,

If your hair pulls out easily that's an indication that something other than androgenetic alopecia may be at play here. One of the first tests that a dermatologists will do when diagnosing your hair loss is a "pull" test, where they gently pull at your hair in a few areas to see if it comes out easily.

I am not a doctor, so take what I say with a HUGE grain of salt, and go visit a dermatologist as previously recommended, but I think that you may not be getting enough protein. You may also have AGA but if you're not getting enough protein that will make your situation worse.

I would recommend that in addition to fixing your diet, start using topical minoxidil 5% (Kirkland Minox from Costco is one of the less expensive brands). As for Propecia, first lets find out if you have androgenetic alopecia by paying that visit to a dermatologist.

Regards,
Sam

[Jacob]

Also, see this: http://www.mercola.com/2000/oct/22/baldness_insulin.htm