Age – Page 22 – Balding Blog

February 6, 2009

Should I Hold My Breath for Hair Cloning? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am almost 22 and have had a shaved head for at least 3 years. I began going balf when I was 17 out of nowhere and the process was faster than lightning. By the time I was 18 or 19 I felt I had to shave my head because I looked ridiculous compared to my peers, since none of them (still) has any trouble growing hair. At 17 I saw a dermatologist who gave me a rather pathetic once over and concluded that it was normal male pattern baldness, just setting in at a rather unfortunate age. He recommended rogaine which I used for almost a year but to no effect.

I am now almost 22 and completely loathing my appearance, it really is the cause of some pretty severe chronic depression. Now I’m interested in absolutely any solution, but I’m told (or given the impression) that there really isn’t one. Even hair transplant, apparently, is not viable for someone as far advanced as I am. (Can that be true?)

And I’m NOT going to be the 22 year old who brings back the toupee. What are your thoughts?

Also, with regard to hair cloning, is there anything worth holding my breath for in the near future?

Thanks

Block Quote

Blue You need to find a good, caring doctor to sit down with you after a thorough examination of your scalp and give you a Master Plan to work with. I couldn’t tell you if you’re a candidate for a hair transplant without at least seeing you… but even if your balding is as advanced as you hint, a hair transplant might still an option. I’ve transplanted men your age with very advanced balding (see here, here).

I would not hold my breath waiting for cloning. You might turn blue before you die.

January 28, 2009

Hair Loss InformationMy Wife Has Alopecia – Will Our Children Have this Disease, Too? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Sir, My wife is 1 month pregnant . She is alopecia patient & complete bald since at the age of 5 years old. Her 2 other sister are also bald and having the same disease. They all wear wigs.. But her parent is having full grown hair.

My worries is that will it affect our future children ? Will my future child inherit this disease from her mother. how can i be assure for that. What test can be done to confirm it. Please advice.

Regards

Block Quote

Alopecia totalis sounds like the diagnosis and in one form of inheritance, the problem starts appearing in the very young at between 3-4 years old. Once the process starts, all of the hair falls out within months. Angela Christiano, Ph.D., of Columbia University in New York researched this in a town in Pakistan where the population was inbred. She found that many of the children in that town lost their hair at ages 3-4 and it fell out in a distinct pattern. She took samples of their genes, and tested them at the university, finding a connection between their disease and some of the genetic patterns in our more common form of alopecia areata, a disease which she has. Your child may very well inherit the condition. See our previous post on this subject here.

January 23, 2009

My 9 Year Old Daughter’s Hair Isn’t Growing and Falls Out! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My daughter is nine years old and is of the african american origin. Her hair is not growing and is falling out at the nap and temples. Yes I have gone to a doctor and still nothing works. I relax her hair about every six months with a PCJ just for me kids relaxer. Please help me I am at my wits end! What do I need to do to fix her problem?

Block Quote

It is highly probable that you are doing something (without realizing it) to cause hair loss, unless your daughter has some genetic disease. A good doctor should be able to tell with an examination. Make an appointment with a good dermatologist.

January 22, 2009

20 Year Old with High Metabolism – Could Propecia Work in Just a Week?! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman. I am a 20 year old male. I have been loosing my hair for about a year and a half and have thinned quite a bit all over the classic horse-shoe area. My questions are as follows: My hair has thinned, but not receded, my hairline is still intact, just diffuse. I’ve been on Propecia for about a week now,and I swear my hairloss has slowed. Is it possible that it could be working already? I have a VERY high metabolisim; could that be a factor? I’m crossing my fingers! Thanks….

Block Quote

I doubt Propecia would show any regrowth in only one week, but I suppose it is possible for slowing the hair loss. You should take a photo of your hair and keep it as a reference to see how it changes in the next year. That will tell you a great deal. Also, you can map out your scalp for miniaturization and follow the mapping results over time. Changes in miniaturization will show if the medications are working even if your metabolism is high.

20 year olds tend to do really, really well with finasteride (Propecia) and I have seen miracles with this medication on those in your age group. Good luck.

January 22, 2009

What Are the Odds a Teen Girl Will Bald? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor, I wrote to you and want to thank you for posting my question. I have taken my daughter to two different doctors and I received two different opinions. The first doctor said TE due to stress and the second said AGA due to family history. I did not think AGA could cause such loss on the corner forehead down to the temple. I wanted to know what the odds were that a 17 year old could have AGA. I know it can happen, but how unlucky would we have to be? Also, the area I’m talking about looks bald in photos. This has been going on since March with no regrowth.

Block Quote

One doctor says telogen effluvium (TE) and another says androgenic alopecia (AGA), but without an examination, I really couldn’t and shouldn’t try to help break the tie. So while I cannot comment on your daughter’s diagnosis, the general fact is AGA is more common in men. In fact, AGA (also known as male pattern baldness) is the most common cause of hair loss in men in post puberty years, including teens. I have seen rare instances where genetic hair loss can impact young women as well, but I don’t have actual statistics off hand for you. Luck doesn’t play a part, but based on my experience genetic hair loss in teen girls isn’t a common occurrence.

January 19, 2009

Hair Loss Information » 13 Year Old Getting White Hairs – Balding Blog

Hi. I’m 13 years old and i’ve been having a lot of white hairs. about 5-10. I’m not sure if its because of stress. but i’ve only started to notice when i was about 11-12. Do you think it’s maybe generic or something on the lines of that? because my dad thinks i have an illness…

Getting white hair at an early age does not mean you have an illness. Some people will see their hair turn white or gray at a very early age. It is genetics. In very rare instances, if there are gray hairs in a patch it can sometimes signify a rare genetic disease such as Waardenburg Syndrome, but you are not describing that problem.

January 15, 2009

Hair Loss InformationWho Sees More Propecia Side Effects – Young Men or Older Men? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Would you say that a young man is more prone to side effects from Propecia than an older man? Maybe this is related to the fact that Propecia has more effect when started at a younger age than an older age?

Block Quote

The studies that were done did not classify sexual side effects by age. As young men are far more sexually active than older men and more prone to demand the best sexual performance with their young girlfriends, I would suspect that there are more complaints from the younger men. Many older, married men accept a lesser libido and the incidence of erectile dysfunction is much higher as a man ages, so men may not challenge their penis to do what they may feel it will not do.

January 13, 2009

Is Age More Important than Donor Density in Hair Transplant Patients? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Dr. Rassman and staff,

Doc thank you for your time, you speak your true feelings and I appreciate it. Ok, I started losing my hair around 19, which wasn’t very fun. Within a few months, I did start taking Propecia. I’m 21 years old right now, Propecia has been working for me but the damage was done early enough. I would say I’m a Class 3 on the Norwood Scale and would someday hope to change that. Personally I would love to have all of my hair back right now but it doesn’t look like that will happen too soon, but I’ll live. The hair loss process actually hasn’t been all bad; it actually has been a good humbling experience for me, although, in the end I plan on winning the battle.

I’m not really looking for a hair transplant in the near future, from what I have read on your website almost every 21 year old isn’t a good candidate. Although, is age always so relevant? I would think the biggest factor would be the donor density. Lets say you have two men who both have the same amount of hair loss (Norwood 4), one in his early twenties and the other in his mid thirties to forties. Wouldn’t a healthy 22 to 24 year old with a high density be a much better candidate than a person who is 35, 40 with an average density?? What’s your opinion on this, also where would someone go and get their hair density tested, would a dermatologist typical offer some type of test?

Donor density and where you are on the balding process are two different variables. Maturity of the balding pattern is also important for that 21 year old you referenced. There are no absolute rules with regard to having a hair transplant, but a bond between doctor and patient is critical in understand the meaning of all of the variables (age, donor density, hair characteristics, donor laxity, etc…) including the maturity and financial stability of the patient considering a hair transplant.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 12, 2009

Should Teens Be Proactive About Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Should teenagers be proactive about their hair i.e. can they take propecia as a safeguard against losing their hair in the future especially if both parents have experienced hair thinning? At what age can young men take finasteride?

The best way to be proactive is to get serial mapping of the scalp for miniaturization. When early hair loss occurs, the use of finasteride may be a good idea. You will need to get medical attention for this process.

Propecia studies that lead to the FDA approval were conducted on men age 18 and up, but if a doctor should prescribe to a 16 year old, for example, that is up to him/her ultimately. I would never recommend just popping a Propecia pill each day or applying minoxidil if you have no hair loss.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

January 8, 2009

Did My Eating Disorder Trigger My Teen Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(male)
I hate to admit it, but I used to have an eating disorder.

For about a year I was bulimic, I purged just about every day after dinner. I had periods where I tried to stop, the longest I went without purging was a month. After a while though, I noticed significant hair loss (a spot on my crown so thin it’s almost bald). I stopped my bulimia about a month ago, and no hair has grown back and it still seems to be falling out! Now, I am a male so it may be male pattern baldness right? But I’m only 17!

As for genetics, all the men on my mom’s side of the family still have hair, and the only person on my dad’s side that’s gone bald is my father himself (he started going bald at 26).

Will I regrow my hair? Or is this male pattern baldness beginning to rear its ugly head?

Bulimia can certainly cause nutritional deficiencies that may cause many health issues, with hair loss being one of them. The most common cause of hair loss in men, however, is genetic male pattern baldness (MPB) — otherwise known as androgenic alopecia (AGA). Hair loss from nutritional deficiencies is diffuse (you lose hair all over your scalp), but in some men with AGA, bulimia can trigger the genetic process, though this is rare in males under the age of 17. Hair loss from male pattern baldness is in a specific pattern (as the term implies).

From your perspective, it does not really matter if your mom’s or dad’s side of the family has hair loss, because if you have the gene, you have the gene. It can skip generations, but it can also be passed down directly from your father to you. I can’t tell you that you will regrow your hair, because as I said, the bulimia could’ve triggered the process early. The only way to really tell what’s going on is to map your scalp and repeat the process over time to see how your hair loss is progressing.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):