Male Baldness Info

so im trying grow my hair back out and whenever i do this my hair looks like crap forever before it finally gets to a certain length…so for the first time in about 2-3 mnths i tried spiking it up and noticed that when i did that you can see my scalp..why is this?…my hair is still actually pretty thick…im only 20-21..granted male baldness does run in my family but how can my hair be thick still and my scalp be showing?…any suggestions on what i can use to prevent my scalp from showing