Month: September 2015

Doc, after years on propecia I reduced the dosage due to sides. Obviously you can’t predict my situation, but what has been your clinical observations in patients who after years of use reduced Propecia dosage due to sides. I’d expect 1mg to .5mg to be the usual reduction. Did your patients experience increasedd hair loss?

BTW after 2 to 3 weeks I chickened out and went back to my regular dosage. Any guess What a 2 to 3 week reduction might do?

It is always a good idea to keep your doctor informed about your side effects and changes to the medications you are taking. It has been reported that half dose of Propecia should be 70 to 80% as effective as the full dose.

Part 1:

I really enjoy the website and find it very informative. I have read on this website many times, that many individuals who are destined to be a norwood 6 or 7 and eventually do become either of those stages, are typically men under the age of 30. Moreover, the final balding pattern is established or completely stops typically between the ages of 40-50.

So, how come there is so much uncertainty regarding hair loss between the ages of 30-40 and what will happen and if further progression of hair loss will occur? I would think if an individual has reached their 30’s with a significant amount of hair, then balding should stop.

Part 2:

My situation is like this, I started balding at 19 and am currently 33. I have been on finasteride for the past the 14 years and have remained a norwood 2-2A. I don’t have much body hair or facial hair and have always felt I have low testosterone. What am I a destined to become then, any ideas?

Thank you for following BaldingBlog!

There is no firm rule on what age you will lose your hair. For most men, genetic male pattern hair loss occurs in their 20s and30s. But it can also happen in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Hair loss does not completely stop. We don’t necessarily fit neatly into a box. This is why patients go to doctors for an examination.

If your hair loss is a Norwood 2 there would be questions of why you would have needed to be on Propecia in the first place. A Norwood 2 hair loss pattern do not progress to a Norwood 6. Norwood classification is not a chart for “progression” of hair loss. It is merely a pictorial description of your genetic hair loss trait. In the end only your doctor can tell you about your treatment plan. If you suspect a low testosterone level you should discuss your concerns with your doctor and have a test to confirm this (…if it is an issue). Testosterone levels have nothing to do with genetic male pattern balding. You can have a very high testosterone level and have no balding and no beard. You can have a very low testosterone level and be completely bald with a full beard. There is no correlation with facial hair and testosterone levels.

Hello Dr.R. I am an 18 year old. I have been classified as a NW1 by a hairloss center online in London. I however observer minatuirzed thin hairs on the leading edge of the hairline and the leading edge of the hairline corners but the hairs beyond this very forward part of my hairline are very thick. Does this indicate Male Pattern Baldness or future hairloss? If not, till where should miniaturisation exist beyond the leading edge to say that MPB exists.

Other details- I have 12% vellus hair and 88% terminal hair (I checked) and good hair density in general.

I sincerely hope you clear my troubles like you have for several other people on this blog. Thank you for all the information Dr.R.

It didn’t know there was a NW 1 classification. Many non balding men and women have fine miniaturized or vellus hairs on the leading edge of the hair line. This does not mean you are balding. There is no way to determine if you are going bald based on these things. If you see a hair loss “pattern” that develops, then it may be male “pattern” balding.

I get oily skin and increased libido while on zinc 50mg/day. As Zinc increases testosterone so I fear that it may increase the progression rate of my baldness. Considering that I’m also on Finasteride, will the use of zinc negatively affect my hair?

The short answer to your question is that zinc does not necessarily negatively affect hair loss. Some studies show zinc supplements increase testosterone levels.
There are other studies that show zinc supplements do NOT affect testosterone levels.

For a normal healthy individual with genetic male pattern balding (MPB) taking over the counter supplements such as zinc would not negatively or positively affect their hair loss. It is always a good idea to follow up with your doctor if you have concerns.