Author: Dr. William Rassman

I’m only 18 and just wondering if my hair looks like it’s starting to recede or not. I know I have my dads hairline but my dad is bald and that does creep in my head sometimes as he started balding in his 20s. Both my grandfathers have most of their hair. And my uncles on my moms side all mostly have their hair and my dad has no brothers. When I style or just do my hair, it’s never noticeable and I always get compliments on my hair and its thickness. So does it look like it’s receding or could this just be a normal hairline? It also bothers me that the right side of my hairline has a little more hair.

With your family history and some early frontal hair loss, you should be concerned about progressive hair loss. Your biggest enemy is progressive thinning leading to a balding pattern that is not evident at this point in time. The degree of thinning that you are experiencing suggests that you should see a doctor who most likely perform a Bulk Measurement of your hair to determine the degree of the thinning that you are presently having.

If the diagnosis is early genetic hair loss, the most common cause of hair loss in young men, then the best treatment is the drug Finasteride. This medication is highly effective in men of your age and may not only stop the hair loss but possibly reverse it. If you are developing a more advanced balding pattern, the best test to get is the Bulk Measurement. This will show, over a one-year time frame, how effective the treatment will be. Once you know this information, then you and your doctor need to develop a MASTER PLAN which will define what you need to do in the years to come.

Check out my video. In it I talk about donor hair supply and bulk measurements.

Early hair loss in an 18 year-old.

Hi, I’m Chloe. I’m also 15 and I have the same thing! Everyone is commenting the same stuff but where are the answers? My hair was SUPER thick and SUPER long for ages, I’m in year 10, and since around year 8, my hair has been falling out A LOT and I don’t know why!! I have curly hair and I wash my hair only once a week. I straighten my hair after washing only once a week (I use a heat protectant spray and I let my hair air dry completely before straightening). I’ve been doing this for about 3 years but only recently has my hair been falling out so much! People have told me to not brush my hair after straightening and in the morning before school to keep the straight hair longer. This does work obviously because it lasts a week before I have to straighten it (so do this if u want to straighten less). I tie my hair into a pony tail every morning, so this could be it, but I’ve done that my whole life? I guess I don’t have the best diet because I’ve read in a lot of places that healthy diets are good for your hair. Since no one is really replying to other peoples comments with answers, I thought I’d add some things that I know.

1. Losing about 80-100 strands of hair A DAY is normal. If you don’t brush or wash say every 3 days, then think about the 3 days worth of strands that are supposed to drop and fall out; so all at once will seem daunting and really bad.
2. IT’S NOT CANCER. There may be some forms of diseases like alopecia that make you lose your hair, BUT people lose hair from cancer due to the TREATMENT of cancer, which is chemotherapy and not the cancer itself.
3. It could be hereditary — so ask your parents if they’ve ever had this or their parents. This is harder to treat because its in your genes so you can’t avoid it.
4. Have a healthier diet and eat MORE fruit and vegetables and milk. If you’re already eating enough, drink more water (I know you’ve probably heard this everywhere).
5. This is could be a result of you’re mental issues (ie – depression, anxiety, stress, lack of sleep or whatever), so I guess there is no simple answer for those causes. Try to de-stress and sleep more. (Also if you take antidepressant pills or anything those also have side affects of hair loss)
6. Try and buy some good hair vitamins or iron vitamins or any vitamins you might be lacking (Check with your doctor). These will actually help but you will only notice results 6-8 weeks after. You have to give it some time and be consistent. (Combine this with a healthy diet and it’ll be even better).
7. Hair styling -Try to cut down to no more than once a week straightening or styling with heat. USE A HEAT PROTECTANT SPRAY; it will help more and try to air dry your hair. Trust me, it’s way better. Try to find alternatives such as wearing your hair naturally without straightening it.
8. Try and do less tight hair do’s such as REALLY high and tight pony tails or braids or a bun everyday. Try to keep it in one loose braid. Also, when taking out hair ties, hold ur head so that it pulls less which might make it easier.
9. USING REALLY HOT WATER IN THE SHOWER IS LIKE A HEAT PRODUCT. Try to use cold or lukewarm water, because it makes your head really hot. Therefore, when you run your hands through your hair in the shower, more will fall out. Also, brush your hair before you wash it (like right before entering) as it makes it easier for your hands to glide through when it is wet or when you are using conditioner as it makes it easier. Don’t be rough with you hair because it is vulnerable and soft at this point.
10. Sort of connects with number 9, but don’t rub your hair a lot in the shower or when you’re towel drying it because that makes it frizzy, more damaged and easy to break.
11. DONT WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY —THIS IS BAD. Washing it every 2 days is okay but it is best to do so every 3-5 days. Hair loss is occurs most often in the shower, so more showers means more loss. When you brush your hair, don’t brush it for too long or too hard, instead take little bunches and brush through the fix knots along way rather. Don’t brush youur hair too often either, give it time to be still and not disrupted.

COMBINE ALL THESE TOGETHER AND IT SHOULD HELP (I hope).
Sorry it was really long but I hope all of us get our hair back!!

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.

Noticed my hairline has been receding since I turned 16 and since then it’s just got worse but wondering what treatment I am able to use the now for hair loss as I can’t take finasteride and if minoxidil will be affective long enough until I turn 18

See a good hair doctor and get real good advice from proper diagnosis and treatment. This is too important than to be your own doctor

Your biggest enemy is the progressive thinning leading to a balding pattern that is not evident at this point in time. The degree of thinning that you are experiencing would suggest that you should see a doctor who most likely will get Bulk Measurements of your hair to determine the degree of the thinning that you are presently having. If the diagnosis is early genetic hair loss (the most common cause of hair loss in young men), then the best treatment would be the drug finasteride which is highly effective in men of your age and may not only stop the hair loss but possibly reverse it. If you are developing a more advanced balding pattern the best test to get will determine the Bulk Measurements of your hair and this will show, over a one-year time frame, how effective the treatment will be. Once you know this information, then you and your doctor need to develop a MASTER PLAN which will define what you need to do over the years to come.

Do you think that it is safe taking finasteride and minoxidil at my age? My result are excellent.

Speak with your doctor, as I don’t give direct advice over blogs. I suspect that it will be okay. These topicals go systemic, so maybe you would be better off sticking with the oral forms of these medications so that you know exactly what your system is getting.

At 16 with a Norwood Class 3 pattern of balding evident, I would want to know more about your family history. Is there advanced balding in the family (father, brothers, grandfathers, uncles) and if so, how young were these relatives when the balding finalized their pattern? Drugs like oral Minoxidil might work. Even drugs like finasteride have been found safe for boys 14 and up, based upon a recent polling I did with about 60 experts in the field. If you are fully grown, then finasteride ss a reasonable option, but you need to have a conversation with a knowledgeable doctor and have your parents present during that conslutation.

I’m 14 and look at my hair, it is falling out big-time. I have met with 2 doctors so far and no doctor has given me a reason or a treatment

This is a 20 year old male who got a partial return of his corner hairline with finasteride and Minoxidil. Because he was 20, the hair loss is recent and more easily reversed.