Author: Dr. William Rassman

I recently turned eighteen years old and have noticed a recession of my hairline in the corner’s of my hairline. My grandfather’s father and father both have hair loss and my mother’s father as well, though not as significant.

I recently went to see a doctor(after a long wait, grr) and he wouldn’t give me a prescription for Propecia because of the effects on hormone’s for someone my age. But as I recall, reading through this site, Propecia ought to be most effective for someone my age.

He referred me to a dermatologist, whom is booking for November(my god, about 5-6 months…).

My question is ‘What are the effects on the hormone’s on someone my age taking Propecia and is it worth the successful hair regrowth which should come from someone my age?’

Thank you.

It is not unreasonable for an 18 year old with proven genetic hair loss to take Propecia (finasteride 1mg). You’re likely past the age of puberty, so I don’t understand what problems your doctor has with the medication. Propecia does work best when the genetic hair loss is caught early.

To prove that you have genetic hair loss (and not just a maturing hairline), then you should get your hair mapped out to see if there is any substantial miniaturization behind the mature hairline, and if so, then this drug will be effective and generally indicated. Your doctor will make the final determination on prescribing you this medication, however. Also, you might consider asking your doctor to refer you to a different dermatologist — one that doesn’t have you waiting half a year to see him.

I thought I’d send you the picture of my current hair situation for use on your Blog because it’s hard to find pictures of men who are truly in the early stages of balding. And not just a maturing hairline or are in the more advanced stages. It’s also hard to find any good pictures on the internet because of camera quality, lighting and such.

This is a picture of me three and a half months ago when I went to Dr. Bernstein for a consult. He put me on Proscar and said to comeback in a year.

So far, I’m starting to see small hairs growing out above my temples in the 1/2″ area of my hair above my temples that I lost about two and a half years or so ago when I was 22. This loss caused a more pronounced widows peak and moved me from a NW2 to a NW3. You can also clearly see the thinning in the anterior mid-scalp. I’m not sure when this started because I used to use gel and leave my hair wet which made the loss undectable. But you can better explain what is going on in this picture, so I’ll let you do it. Do you normally see a good response from Proscar with this type of thinning? Thanks for all the great help this Blog offers!

 

Thank you for allowing me to publish your photo. Click it to enlarge.

It is difficult to assess your hair loss from the photo you provided, but if Dr Robert Bernstein found miniaturization during an in-person exam, then it is there. Since your hair loss is quite early, finasteride should do wonders for you. I should note, however, that if you were prescribed Proscar (finasteride 5mg), you are only to take 1/4 tablet a day to treat your hair loss. After a year on finasteride, another miniaturization exam will show whether the medication was beneficial for you in halting your hair loss. I suspect that it will be.