3 Signs of Balding You Might Not Have Considered
The most important step to fighting hair loss is to take a proactive approach. The sooner you take action, the better your chances are of keeping a full head of hair. The longer you wait to take action against male pattern baldness, the less effective your treatment program is likely to be – especially in the late stages of male pattern baldness. For this reason, it’s important that you’re able to spot early signs of balding so that you don’t wake up one day and notice that half your hair’s gone.
How to Notice the Warning Signs of Balding
The truth is that many men let male pattern baldness go unchecked until they've reached a critical stage in their hair loss – even when the signs are all there. But why would someone ignore balding until it's too late? More often than not, because of denial. Many young men associate hair loss with middle age and refuse to believe that a youthful person under 40 could be balding. Unfortunately, they’re wrong. Male pattern baldness can happen to anyone, even people in their late teens and early 20s.
So how do we catch hair loss before it gets out of control? The first step is to be realistic. Denial isn’t going to get you anywhere. Once you come to terms with the fact that your hairline is receding and your hair is thinning out, you can take action.
Also, you need to know the warning signs that often go unnoticed. If you see any of these early signs of balding, you may want to consider starting a hair loss treatment program.
1. Your Hair Is Acting Differently
Unless you’ve kept a buzz cut for most of your adult life, you should have a good idea of how to brush and sculpt your hair. You know where cowlicks are, where that swirl on your crown is, and how to style your hair so that it doesn’t stick up or curl in specific areas. Generally speaking, the way your hair behaves will only change for two reasons: you’re using products or chemical straighteners or you’re experiencing hair loss.
If you’ve not switched to a new type of shampoo, conditioner , or styling agent and suddenly your hair is not styling the way it used to, you may be in the early stages of balding. While that’s probably not something that you want to hear, there is a bright side to it. When you catch it this early, you have a far greater chance of stopping it before it becomes noticeable.
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2. There’s Hair Everywhere!
Shedding hair is natural. The average person loses between 50 and 100 hairs every day, so don’t freak out when you find a couple strands of your hair lying around. Keeping that in mind, just make a mental note of how many hairs you find in your hairbrush or sitting at the bottom of the shower. If you start noticing more than usual, you might want to start looking into hair loss treatment regimens.
3. Your Head’s Getting Bigger
Is your forehead looking a slightly larger? Take a look at the Norwood Scale to see if your hairline has changed over the years. If so, you might be getting the dreaded receding hairline. Realistically, it’s hard to keep track of your hairline when you look at yourself in the mirror every day, so look at some photos of yourself from a couple years back and compare your hairline to how it is now.
For most guys, the hairline recession starts on the corners of the head and eventually spreads until it forms a narrow widow’s peak. When left unchecked, a receding hairline could eventually grow into a bigger problem that leaves much of your head with a profound M-shaped balding pattern.
I’ve Noticed Early Signs of Balding. Now What?
First off, don't panic. Medical science has come a long way since the days of our fathers and grandfathers. Just because you've noticed that some of your hair is falling out doesn't mean that you're going to go bald. Now that you've caught it in time, it's important that you take a committed approach to combating hair loss. For some people, that means making a lifestyle choice: dht blocking shampoos and conditioners, eating healthier foods, and exploring medical options.
Two of the most common treatments are minoxidil and finasteride. Both are scientifically proven and MHRA approved to help prevent hair loss in the majority of men, and some people can even regrow hair they’ve lost. The trick to success with these treatment programs is to be patient and committed. Results don’t appear overnight, they take several months.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment or medication.