Author: Dr. William Rassman

I have read your past answers on weightlifting.

I understand that you don’t believe there’s a proven link between hair loss and weightlifting – but do you think there is any risk whatsoever? If there is even a minuscule risk, I’d rather not weight lift.

There could be a connection if your body increases its testosterone levels in response to prolonged extreme exercise. Most people who exercise normally should not increase their testosterone levels. Some professional weightlifters take steroid-like drugs that accelerate the genetic hair loss process.

Hello Dr.

Question: When hair loss is hereditary, is it always the same type of hair loss pattern? I believe my father suffered a Type V hair loss, and my hair loss has been at a Type 3A for about 4 years now. Will my loss eventually become a Type V over time?

-Thanks!

I do not know your age, I have not examined you for miniaturization or bulk analysis, and I essentially know nothing about you other than a connection to hair loss by one side of your family (father). As you know, there is a 50/50% chance of getting his pattern if we blindly guess using available statistics.

Dr. Rassman:

I am 39-years-old, and while there’s no advanced balding in my family tree, the Norwood 3v pattern is very common, slightly more so on my mother’s side. As a result, I’ve been very vigilant through the years for even the slightest signs of hair loss.

Even still, I recently visited a hair loss specialist who told me that I am still a Norwood 1. She took pictures of my scalp and analyzed the hair follicles, and informed me that the hairs seem uniformly thick and there’s no significant miniaturization.

What are the chances that I could still develop a Norwood 3v pattern showing at this point?

It would be highly unlikely that you inherited any balding if it has not shown at your present age, your hair is thick without miniaturization, and there is no frontal recession.

Thank you for running a great site. I’ve found it immensely helpful in learning about this condition.

My question is – earlier last summer, you mentioned that Prince William would likely be a good candidate for a hair restoration procedure. I am curious though why that is the case. I had always been under the assumption that a young man with an aggressive pattern like the Prince would not be a candidate. Am I mistaken? If so, what particularly sets someone like Prince William apart? Is it the fact that he is a diffuse thinner rather than a receder?

In general if a person has male pattern baldness (like Prince William) and has good donor hair and scalp laxity, they WANT and DESIRE a change, and they have REALISTIC expectations of what is possible, they can be a candidate for a hair transplant surgery.

I have never met Prince William and my answers were just based on the reader’s hypothetical questions. Perhaps Prince William does not want a hair transplant surgery and is fine with his hair and the possibilities of eventually going completely bald in the Norwood class 6 pattern. I do not know if he has (a) fine, medium, or coarse hair, or (b) what his donor supply looks like or how it would measures out if I checked his hair density in the donor area.

From his overall pattern, I would suspect that he might benefit from Propecia (finasteride) based upon his age and overall pattern. Many class 6 patterned individuals who are young and go on this drug, may notice increased coverage, reflecting the thickening of the existing hair shafts or even new hair growth.

Finally based on pictures alone, I do not think he has a disease like DUPA, as it appears that he has good hair on the sides and back of his head.