If you have just noticed your hairline starting to recede (or it’s only been a few years since you started noticing hair loss), then you are still in excellent shape. This is because you likely still have a good portion of your hair on the top of your head, meaning all you have to do is strengthen and maintain the hair you have. In addition, some of the hair you have lost (in “bald” areas) may still be in a miniaturized state (not completely gone), which allows the possibility of reviving those weak hair follicles. It is much easier to deal with hair loss now than it would be if you were already mostly or completely bald.
For methods to slow down or stop hair loss and maintain the hair you currently have, see this post.
Another important thing is to try and predict how much at risk you are for further hair loss. Try to match up your pattern of hair loss with someone in your immediate or extended family (your dad or grandpa). Chances are (though it’s not a guarantee), you may have inherited a similar type and pattern of hair loss. This means you can use your dad or grandpa’s current hair situation as a predictor of the hair loss you will have to deal with. If Grandpa has no hair left except around his sides and back, then you can assume that will be the condition of your hair in the future if you do not do anything. Some people, on the other hand, only lose some of their hair. Knowing how much hair loss you would experience or what type of hair loss you will have to deal with can help in your procedure for maintaining your current hair. Note: This is just a rough way of estimating, and is not necessarily guaranteed. It may just help provide some perspective in your plan for treatment.
If Grandpa is 70 years old and he’s only lost a little hair on the temples, you may not have to worry about your hair. In fact, you may just decide to let nature take its course. However, if Dad is 35 and his hair is almost gone, and you don’t want to go down that same path, then you need to watch your hair closely and take steps now to prevent future hair loss, perhaps using one or more of the solutions discussed above.
Since you have caught your hair loss in its early stages, you are in excellent shape and will have much better control of the situation. In short, the options you have for maintaining your current hair and stopping (or at least slowing) hair loss are finasteride or dutasteride, minoxidil, 2% ketoconazole shampoo, and low-level laser therapy. I discuss the scientific studies behind these treatments here.
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* I am not a doctor. You should always consult a board-certified hair restoration doctor before making any decisions about hair loss treatments. However, from what I have researched, minoxidil’s effectiveness to reverse hair thinning at the crown seems to be better documented than it is for hair at the temples. In addition, minoxidil does not block DHT; it only stimulates hair growth, albeit in a somewhat mild manner.
Maintaining Hair For Men 