Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Balding by Race?

Dear Doctor,

How do reconcile your two statements below?

“Studies have shown that there is little difference in balding statistics between races.” source – Sept 29, 2008

“Asians (non-balding) generally have less hair than their Caucasian counterpart and also have less balding than their Caucasian counterparts according to studies I have researched in the past.” source – March 11, 2009

Touché.

There is a common belief that Asians bald less, but I really do not know this. The only race that does not bald is the American Indians who migrated over the Alaska Bridge.

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Balding in the US Congress

CongressHi,

I just wanted to share with you our latest infographic: Bald Power

Feel free to give me a shout if you need an alternative sized version for you blog. Hope you like it!

Feedback appreciated.

I meant to post this a little while ago, but it slipped through the cracks. The graphic is quite large, so click the image at right to see the full size.

I haven’t looked at photos of Congress members for myself, but does your graphic account for thinning hair or strictly those that are bald? The infographic is nice if your numbers are right, but you spelled “United” wrong twice.

The presence of balding in the 5-8% range amongst members of the legislators (more men than women) is much less than the general population. In men, the balding rate (some degree of hair loss) is about 50% in men over 45, the age of most of our legislators. Except for Eisenhower, there has not been a bald president since before World War II.

I have written before that men with hair on the head have a better chance at getting elected than balding men. There is considerable prejudice against balding men in the population, and I’ve written about that here and here.

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Balding in Professional Sports — Rare?

Hi Dr. Rassman! I have a pretty weird question for you.

I just read a comment you made about most politicians having lots of hair compared to the average man. As a big fan of european soccer, I have noticed that almost all of the games biggest stars have a full head of hair (Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Fernando Torres, David Beckham, Luis Figo and more). The only superstar who is balding is Zinedine Zidane from France. Very few choose to shave their head and those who do aren’t balding (ronaldo). For example, Englands national team does not have one bald guy in the starting 11. The same goes for Italy. And a lot of other big soccer teams don’t have much bald guys. Is this a coincidence?

There seems to be a good number of balding men in tennis. I can’t make a case one way or the other on your observations on soccer, but do think that it is interesting to note. Thanks for sharing.

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Balding in Mixed Race Men

Hi, i’m a 21 years old male, and i’m mixed caucasian/african.

Here’s my question. My dad’s (caucasian) been balding since age 30, and is now completely bald at age 60. He is the worst case of MPB in my entire family. On my mom’s side, there is no history of hairloss whatsoever. Myself, i’ve got a lot of hair, semi-african and semi-european, but very dense, with a kind of “coarse” afro look (very far from my dad’s hair). I have my mom’s hairline (mature, typical from her race, where there are no hairloss), and thick hair (i think).

I’m afraid i might end up as my father, but is there really a risk? If i ever go bald, at what age it might happen? Don’t the african genes dominates caucasians’ (i’m dark skinned)? What about mixed people in MPB?

Thanks a lot for your help!

There’s no way to tell if you will be bald simply based on your race… mixed or otherwise. Even with a family history, it is never truly clear. It’s possible that the balding gene exists somewhere in your mother’s family tree, too (and it can skip generations).

The best thing to do is to go see a doctor for an examination. Tests such as miniaturization studies and bulk measurements can establish a baseline so that you can track what is going on with age. You can also get a genetic test called HairDX, which is about 70% accurate, to find out if you have the gene. It won’t tell you if/when it’ll express itself, but it’s a start.

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Balding like my dad? (from Reddit)

23M and am pretty happy with my hair right now and am currently on min(2x a day)+dut(3x week) and fin(4x week). But based on my family history it looks like I have a similar pattern as my pap and will be nw7 by 50/60 and probably an nw4 by 30-40. While I would be completely devastated and depressed to lose my hair right now i know baldness is my inevitable fate and I want to try and gradually shift how much importance I place on my hair. Right now I constantly obsess over it and am frequently checking this subreddit to an almost unhealthy extent. It is understandable to care a lot more right now in my early 20s, but what are some steps that you guys have taken to come to peace and acceptance with hairloss? I will continue to treat it but I want to stop being so damn obsessed with it

Ask your Dad at what age he started balding. Most Class 7 pattern men start in their early 20s so maybe you will not follow his pattern. Age related onset is also inherited but I have seen this happen when it would be inconsistent with inherited timing: See here: https://baldingblog.com/need-master-plan-think-hair-transplants-photos/

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Balding Olympic Athletes Promoted

What are we coming to? Today’s Olympic athlete now must give up Propecia if they want to compete. According to today’s New York Times (1/19/06), Zach Lund is an Olympic athlete who is prematurely balding and he wanted hair. “So in 1999, when he was 20, he began taking Propecia. Then in 2004 he switched to Proscar. And it looks as if he grew hair, or at least stopped losing it….”

He is now faced with a choice, should he become a balding gold medal winner or a person who was eliminated from competition because he wanted a full head of hair. That is the stupid quandary that today’s potential Olympic champion must face. To be a bald champion or not an athlete at all.

The New York Times states: “At the end of 2004 the World Anti-Doping Agency added finasteride to its list of banned drugs in international sports. The agency calls finasteride a masking agent that hides the use of more nefarious drugs like the steroid nandrolone. So, one imagines, every Olympian with a spasm of hair growth must fear surprise follicle checks…. Better he should have had erectile dysfunction. The trinity of impotence relievers – Viagra, Levitra and Cialis – is not prohibited, though these drugs are performance enhancers in a certain athletic way.” Sooner or later, these three medications are bound to be added to the list of banned drugs.

What a world we live in! We may ask our athletes to give up sex to become a star. Maybe without hair, they won’t feel sexual anyway, or am I too shallow in my assessment? To see the entire article, go to: Fighting Baldness, and Now an Olympic Ban (registration required).


2006-02-10 18:43:54Balding Olympic Athletes Promoted

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Am I Balding or Just Developing a Maturing Hairline? One Side Is Slightly Higher Than the Other.

This sounds like a maturing hairline. While it is maturing, it is not unusual for one side to move up slightly ahead of the other side. It could also be an early recession, but at this stage, I would not worry about it. Just keep an eye on it. If you are really worried, see a doctor with a HAIRCHECK instrument to find out if there is any balding that you can’t visually see. (See here: https://baldingblog.com/value-haircheck-bulk-measurements-two-patients-seen-today/)

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Balding spots hot to the touch

Anyone ever notice the balding spots are hot to the touch? Way more so then other parts of the head?

The scalp receives, second to the brain, the highest blood flow of any organ in the body. If you are recently balding and the skin of the scalp has not become atrophic, then this area may feel hotter than other parts of your scalp. Usually, if complete balding in an area occur, the skin become atrophic and cooler to the touch.

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Balding when I was 16, now I’m 23 and now fairly bald

I’ve been thinning since the age of 16. Now I am 23 years old. At first it wasn’t anything I thought was serious. After a few years it got super aggressive and I didn’t do anything about it like an idiot. Now I stand a Norwood Class 5. I will be going for multiple transplants and getting on Fin very soon. I’m going to buzz my remaining hair for easier application of Min. Any positive suggestions?

See a doctor and develop a Personalized Master Plan for your future fight against hair loss. Don’t rush to start the hair transplant process until there is no real better alternative. Men with genetic balding continue to bald no matter what we do to try to stop it. If we are lucky, we can slow the time line down enough never to face the end stage balding we are genetically programmed for, even with the use of finasteride (best drug to slowing and possibly reversing hair loss). But to be safe, you must assume that you will not be the lucky one and figure out a worst case scenario with your doctor. Think about this and its meaning. Best to find a great doctor and then develop a long term relationship with that doctor working according to a Master Plan that this doctor will put into writing for you, something I do on every patient at your stage of genetic hair loss.


2020-07-09 14:38:32Balding when I was 16, now I’m 23 and now fairly bald

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Does Balding Start At The Hair Whorl?

I have a question regarding to human hair whorl, if we talk about the hair loss on the top for men, does it normally begin to thin from the whorl area? Cheers

Genetic hair loss in men have a certain “pattern” as described by Dr. Norwood. That is why it is often called Male “Pattern” Balding. For those patterns that start on the top crown area, it starts around the whorl, but I do not think you can say it starts exactly at the whorl as it often appears as general thinning of the entire area around and including the whorl. It certainly looks like it may start at the whorl because that is where the hair changes direction and looses its ability to overlap hair on hair, so it looks the thinnest and it is a focal point that draws the eye to the center of the whorl (even for non-balding men).