if my mom’s father and brothers are all bald and my dad’s family including my dad all have hair, where does that leave me in the genetic mix?
Balding genes can be inherited through the mother or father’s family line (54% may be the maternal side connection). Even if you have the gene, there must be environmental influence to express it and for men it is hormones, time, and stress. The balding genes are not fully understood and there is what is called “expression” of the gene, which means that having it and showing it are two separate things. In other words, you may or may not have the gene and if you do, you may or may not show the gene with genetic balding in your lifetime, yet you can still pass that down to your children or children’s children who may then show it with balding in their lifetime. You won’t know until you begin to lose hair and then you will have to be examined thoroughly.