12 Year Old Has Alopecia — Is a Hair Transplant Possible?

Hello Dr.

I hope you answer my question. My 12 yrs. old daughter has been diagnosed with Androgenetic Alopecia at UCSF. Her hair has been thinning in the front and at the temples. We have been using the 2% Rogain for 3 weeks, as recommended by her Dermatologist. The hair in the back of her head seems normal. CBC, TSH, Iron, ANA were normal.Ferririn was 18, a bit below normal.

This is starting to affect her emotionally.

Is it too soon to think about hair transplant? should we wait until she is 18 or more? Please let me know.

Thank you for your time

It is extremely rare or unheard of for a 12 year old female to have androgenic alopecia. Androgenic alopecia (AGA) generally affects men past their puberty who are genetically susceptible to the effects of dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Does your daughter have hormonal irregularities? You need a good dermatologist to make an evaluation of her and I am not saying that the docs at UCSF are not good doctors, but a second opinion may have value. There are other forms of Alopecia and considering her age, I would want to explore all possibilities.


2007-10-01 15:31:5412 Year Old Has Alopecia — Is a Hair Transplant Possible?

14 Year Old with Bald Spots

I am 14 years of age. I don’t know how many bald spots I have, but when my hair is wet, I notice quite a lot, especially on the spots where I gel my hair. When I gel my hair, I do notice hairs in the comb. You said it should grow back, but I’ve been waiting 6 months to a year, and no signs of regrowth. How long should it take? Is this normal?

Oh, yeah. 1 more thing. My cousin hit me with a baseball bat, and then there was a bump where I got hit. After my mom put some green oil (it’s an Asian thing, not sure what it’s called). Now there’s a bald spot there. Will it grow back?

These bald spots need to be evaluated by a good dermatologist. A fungal infection is the most common cause of such spots and there are other medical conditions that need to be evaluated as well. You don’t want to be your own doctor here.

The traumatic baseball bat type of injury has been know to produce temporary hair loss at the point of impact. It should grow back in under 6 months.


2006-09-13 10:17:0414 Year Old with Bald Spots

14 weeks minoxidil, microneedling and finasteride (photo)

Hair length alone can not produce such a dramatic effect in this 27 year old male. Great result. The frontal hairline is less sensitive to these treatments in this man. You would have to keep up the combined minoxidil and finasteride treatment after the hair transplant to maintain the gains you made in the top and crown of your head. Despite this, you should be congratulated for this spectacular turn around.

16 with early balding

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.

A 15 Year Old Female Speaks About Hair Loss, Its Causes, and What to Do About It.

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!!

12 Days After Transplant And Hairs Haven’t Fallen Out Yet

First – thanks for a wonderful blog!

It’s been 12 days since the transplant procedure and while almost none of the transplanted hair have fallen out yet, much of the transplanted fat tissue (I assume) is still clinging in small beads to the hair. Is this the “crusting” that many people write about? Any suggestions as to how to remove it – or is it just a matter of time before it comes off.

Also curious is that the small hairs have not fallen out yet… assume this is normal and just be patient and wait for them to fall out? Seems like the key to this whole process is to get on with your life and check your head in 8 months!

The crusting by this time can be removed by washing and then with the hair wet for a good 10 minutes, layer conditioner on the crusts and let it sit there about 10 minutes. Then, gently with your finger tips, rub these crusts — you should see them fall out. There is little danger in losing the grafts at this stage in time as long as you are gentle. The little hairs will generally fall out between 10-25 days after the surgery.

14 Year Old With White Hairs

hi. i am 14 year old (male) and i am having a lot of white hairs. My cousin had experience this when she was in teen age but later her hairs turn black again when she grown up. Is it possibility that my hairs will turn black when i grown up?

I have not heard of black hairs turning white and then back to black. White hair in very young people does occur, although it is not common.


2007-06-22 08:31:4514 Year Old With White Hairs

13 Year Old’s Crown Hair is Shorter Than the Rest of the Scalp

the hair in my crown area is short, not bald but shorter than the rest of my hair. everything else is fine. im only 13 and i dont want to be bald, especially at this age.

is there something wrong with me? and if there is how can i fix it?

I have yet to see a healthy 13 year old bald young man, but I can’t say if there’s something wrong with you. We haven’t established whether what you’re seeing is actually even hair loss. Perhaps you had a bad hair cut? Sometimes if you look at yourself in the mirror or woke up from sleep with bed-hair, your crown area can look thin. This does not mean you are balding. I’d give it some time and let the hair on your crown grow longer.

You should see a doctor for a mapping of your scalp and hopefully the examination will not show miniaturization in the crown. Get your parents involved and let them know what you’re going through. It could just be that you’re looking for something that isn’t there.

15 months on finasteride (photos)

This is a great result from taking finasteride which tends to work better in the crown than elsewhere on the scalp.


2021-01-19 10:34:0215 months on finasteride (photos)