Is my hair too far gone?????

by William Taylor

I'm a white 21 male with fairly tight curly hair. Problem is when I was younger I used to wear my hair pulled back more often then leaving it down. I finally cut my hair and noticed that my hair along my temples is basically missing, one side worse then the other. AM I DOOMED??? Because it looks pretty bad and its not as though I can cover it up all the time. I can see minuscule fine baby hairs where there's the traction alopecia, and I'm praying that this is a good sign, right??? What signs should I look for, and how long would take to grow back out???