Author: Dr. William Rassman

My father lost his hair in his early 20s, and nearly all the males in my family are bald or balding. This can’t be normal, I refuse to believe that other teenage boys who are not experiencing AGA go through something like this. What are your thoughts? And when you started shedding hair, did it actually progress to visible hairloss?

If all of the male members of your family have extensive hair loss, it is likely you will follow that course. The use of oral Minoxidil or Finasteride might slow down the course of the process, something that your father and grandfathers might not have tried when they experienced the balding process. I would strongly recommend that you get a HAIRCHECK test to establish a baseline so that you can follow the hair loss with a good measurement. You can repeat this test yearly to determine the effectiveness of the treatment you select. Find a doctor who has this instrument as I believe it is critical for you to know what is happening to you over time.

I’m 19 and started to notice I was shedding a lot about six weeks ago. In those six weeks I’ve lost probably half of my density at the front, and a decent amount at the crown. What the hell is happening? How can this happen so quickly, this is genuinely devastating. I have an appointment with my GP on Friday where I’ll be trying to get a fin prescription, but I don’t even know if fin can help. If the GP won’t give me a script I’ll probably end up having to wait 8-12 weeks to see a dermatologist, by then it’ll be too late I imagine.

See a doctor who has the HAIRCHECK instrument to find out exactly how much hair you have lost. I doubt that you lost half of your hair in just 6 weeks. If your doctor prescribes you the drug finasteride, then when taking the drug you will know which way you are going, better or worse over time. See here: https://baldingblog.com/2017/01/10/value-haircheck-bulk-measurements-two-patients-seen-today/

This is a great result. I would hope that if you continue it you will keep the hair for a long time. What is really impressive is the according to the creases on your forehead, the hairline came back to its normal mature position which is what I would have done had I transplanted your hairline.

Great response from microneedling plus finasteride with some other things like Nizoral shampoo

If you presently have gynecomastia, taking Finasteride will not raise your risk of making it worse more than others your age who do not have gynecomastia. You should see your doctor to find out what you can do about your problem.

18 months on finasteride and minoxidil with some reasonably good reversal of the hair loss

I performed this surgery on this man with 1800 grafts. Note the picture on the left which is one day after the surgery. Because he washed his hair using our washing technique, he formed no scabs (crusts) on the wounds after the surgery. Note also in the after pictures, that the center forelock which was not transplanted looks like the transplanted corner hairline does with respect to density or fullness

With just the use of finasteride and minoxidil this man got almost complete reversal of his hair loss. He shaved his head to get the minoxidil to apply to the scalp more effectively

African American took finasteride orally and minoxidil topically for 18 months with this nice reversal of thinning. Lighting in the after picture on the right could be better

You most likely have traction alopecia, the result of pulling on your hair when you were young. These pulled out hairs are connon in the AfroAmerican community and they exist on the sides of your temples and it can be addressed nicely with hair transplants