Category: Age

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16 Year Old Losing Hair, Prescribed Betamethasone – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Well I just turned 16 today but a few weeks earlier i started to notice my hair thinning on the left side of my head. When i was in school last year i had a bald patch show up by itself like completely bald. My mom took me to the doctor and they gave me this betamuthisone lotion stuff. i used it but i don think thats what made it grow back. Now im noticing this thinning on the left side and im scared im going bald. could it be maturing of my hairline? My hair is not thinning in the crown. Im going to have my mom take me to the doctor soon.

knowing that many others are having the same problem does no calm me down whatsoever. i wanted to know if i should use rogaine or take oral pills which id like very much because i know its good to do something about it this early. So im glad i noticed but maybe it because i stopped working out vigorously? I was on the wrestling team thi year and its extreme conditioning and my hair was growing really thick and fast when i was in it. now that im not in wrestling and lay on my bed im wondering should i start up again myself? My pubic hair growth has slowed as well. please tell me if i should take propecia or any of that.

please dont tell me not to worry because i will even if you say not to. im just curious as to what i should REALLY do about it.

Betamethasone is a steroid cream that on occasion is used to treat itching. It is not good to use it regularly. Your doctor may have given you the medication to treat other conditions, but it will not grow your hair back.

Genetic loss can start early, even around the age of 16 (although it is not extremely common). I can’t tell you if your hairline is maturing without seeing what you’re talking about, and I doubt your lack of rigorous exercise is the cause for this. As for pills, Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is a prescription medication and you must meet with a doctor. The drug was only studied for age 18+, so that is the only data available. I’m not your doctor, and I can’t just tell you what you need to do without examining the problem. I would definitely see a doctor in-person to know what is going on.

Good luck and happy belated birthday.

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Can Propecia Increase Estrogen In Young Men? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello doctors,
I was doing some background research on Propecia (finasteride) and i came across some information that i wanted to seek out your erudite opinion about.

The information i came across about finasteride suggested that it may be counter intuitive to use DHT inhibitiors in young men who have no prostate problems ,because of the androgen effect it produces as related to estrogen increase. There wasn’t really too much said about that as far as the harms it could potentially cause, but i was wonderin? What about gynecomastia? Are any of these concerns of statistical relevance?

I do not believe that Propecia (finasteride 1mg) causes clinically significant increases in estrogen. I also do not believe that any possible estrogen increase is the cause of breast cysts (gynecomastia) when they appear as a rare side effect of Propecia; the reason for this is still unknown.

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Should I Take Propecia at 16 Years Old? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi doctor, I have a question. I am sixteen years old and I feel my hair is falling because I have like a balding twirl in the vertex. It seems like if the hair in my vertex is starting to fall. Also, the hair on the top of my head is thinning. I don’t have a receding hairline, but I am scared to loose all my hair before I am twenty. I don’t know if this could be the cause of genetic hairloss (my dad is bald, but he is 52) or if it is another thing. Also, my pubic hair seems less dense. Do you recommend any drug like finasteride or propecia????

Any good doctor can do this and it is critical (particularly at 16 years old) that you get excellent metrics from a miniaturization study to determine what is happening to your hair before starting on a life long course of Propecia (finasteride 1mg).

You need a Master Plan for your overall management of your hair loss and you should have your scalp hair mapped out for miniaturization prior to starting any treatment. There is no reason not to take it if you are really balding, but you may not be balding, so find out first! That being said, safety of finasteride was studied at age 18 and above. Your prescribing doctor will have to be the one to make the call on whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Get a good doctor to help you with this.

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Teenager’s Eyebrow Never Grew Back After Shaving It 3 Years Ago – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(male) I shaved a good bit of my eyebrow when I was twelve – I’m, fifteen now. In short, they never quite grew back right. Will rogaine work? If not, what can I do?

I don’t think that giving a 15 year old advice on medication should come from me. Assuming that you were of legal age to make such decisions on your own, minoxidil might grow back eyebrows… and then again it may not. See a doctor and have your problem managed. You should also get a parent/guardian involved in your situation.

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Hair Loss InformationLong Black Hairs Growing on My Shoulders and Back – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Well, let me try to explain my situation: I am a 30yo male with hairy legs and dark eye brow hair and I’ve been told I have a very hairy public area (I am Italian and Spanish). The thing is, the hair on top of my head is very thick. But My chest has a little bit of hair and occasionally I find single LONG black strands of hair on odd parts of my shoulders and back. So I am wondering, being that I just turned 30yo, is it possible that those lonely ONE-hair strands will be joined by a whole team of others? In other words, should I be expecting to be a hairy man when I get much older? Do people still grow body hair after 30yo? Is there any way one can speed up or “help” the growing process to get a healthy full hairy chest? I’d rather be either very hairy or smooth, not in between. I’ve also noticed that older men with thick eyebrows usually are hairy allover. And I am the only sibling out of 5 boys that has thick eyebrows. (I am not sure about their pubic areas as that would be embarrassing to ask, hehe). Thanks!

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I really can not predict what will happen to you. Generally, as you get older, more body hair appears in most people, but “most people” are not you. I couldn’t say for sure whether these few stray hairs are going to result in a wild forest of hair as you age. Some people have reported that they lost body hair as they aged. Each person is different.

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Heavy Baldness In My Family and I’m Already Thinning At 23… – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

To whom it may concern,
Thank you for maintaining this site; the information is valuable and welcomed.

Well, I am a 23 year old male. My father and his entire side of the family experience heavy baldness. My hair is definitely thinning.

My question: Rogaine, Propecia, hair transplants – these are the major treatment options I’m aware of (and to some extent, experimental laser treatment). With only the few short details I’ve given you, can you give me an educated guess as to which option or combination of options might suit me best? I’d love to hear your opinion on hair transplants for males in their mid-twenties with projected substantial hair loss.

Thank you so much

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If the hair loss is early or just starting, simple drug use with Propecia (finasteride 1mg) is often the best approach to slow, stop, or reverse the hair loss. Propecia is a prescription medication, so you’ll need to meet with your doctor. I’m not convinced that the laser treatments actually are worth the time or money, and a hair transplant would likely not be an option for you yet, particularly because you haven’t been on any medication to treat your hair loss — a simple pill may eliminate your need for a surgery.

The first step in addressing your hair thinning problem is to have an examination by an expert doctor who can help you navigate the diagnosis and develop a Master Plan. This would include a miniaturization study. There is no substitute for a one-on-one consultation and examination to understand what you want and need. If you’re in California, I’d be glad to meet with you. If you’re looking for a doctor more local to you, I’d check the physician search at ISHRS.org to find a doctor in your area that specializes in hair loss.

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Hair Loss InformationFrom a Reader – A Note to Teenagers About Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Well doc, I’ve got to hand it to you. You’ve solved all my problems. I’m 20 years old, and had been losing hair for over 2 years now. I was worried,stressed,depressed.. dreaEverything you can imagine.

I also tried all the products on the market that claimed to stop hair loss- creams,oils,herbal ‘remedies’. I didn’t use propecia though,it required a prescription which would mean I’d have to tell someone I was losing hair. No product seemed to work. Suddenly,long after I stopped using these products, my hair loss stopped.

Finally, I realize that my hairline was just maturing. All thanks to your site. I never knew such a thing existed!

Anyways, the point I would like to put across is to teenagers, who seem to be flooding your site with questions. The point is, your hair will be there till you are in high school, and till you graduate from college(assuming you arent unusually old for school). These are the two places where girls would superficially judge you (and where you’re just looking for thrills). After high school and college, its a different world. Girls turn to women, and they’re looking for more than just arm candy then. Your hair would NOT matter as much as you’d think.

So don’t worry about your hair too much; even if it’s rapidly falling,it would take a while for you to bald completely. And by then,you’d be through the superficial stages of life. And remember, nothing really causes hair loss apart from your genetics, which you cant change. So don’t worry about things that are not in your control.

Otherwise,there’s always Dr.Rassman ;).

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Thanks for the comments! For those that still don’t know what a maturing hairline is, you should certainly read Maturation of a Hairline — Moving From Juvenile to Mature.

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Hair Loss InformationMustache Problems – One Spot Is Growing Slower Than the Rest! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, I’m 19 and I am trying to grow a mustache. However, theres this one little spot that takes longer than the other hairs to grow out. I can see little hair in that particular spot and it also seems very faint in color. I was wondering what would that mean? Would that spot ever grow out to be the same length as the other hairs or is it always going to be like that? Why is it like that? And does shaving have to do anything with it, like if i shaved that spot more, it’ll come out faster? THANK YOU!

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At only 19 years old, you will see one part of your beard grow differently than the other parts. In ten years, you will wish it never grew out! It is possible you had a scar or burn in that area, or that your genetics are at play here. Shaving it will not get it to grow faster.

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Hair Loss InformationTransplanting Hair While Still In the Early Hair Loss Stages – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

Why do you say it is such a bad idea to thicken up an area that you may lose in the future? Say if you had hair that was 50% of it’s original density and thinning continually, could you not get 50% of the original transplanted into the thinning so that as the remainder eventually thins out and has gone your still left with what was transplanted earlier?

Thanks!

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Shocked!If your hair loss is in its early stage and a hair transplant procedure was in that early stage there are problems with that approach. I have little doubt that in the young man with early hair transplants, the hair that is destined to fall out, may fall out at a faster rate than they would have had a transplant not been done. I am not talking about hair transplant shock alone (which is short term by months), but rather mid and long term by years from a time frame point of view.

Even though Propecia (finasteride 1mg) works in most men to prevent hair transplant shock, there is no better treatment for hair transplant shock than not having a transplant into areas of early thinning. So if you transplant hair that causes native hair in the vicinity to fall out, you could possibly wind up just replacing miniaturized hairs with a lesser number of transplanted hairs. The net effect may be zero and the preventive hair transplant would have been unnecessary and wasteful. Hair transplantation is a permanent process and it must fit the Master Plan of your hair loss process.

I do not believe surgery is in their best interest for younger men thinking about getting hair transplantation when the hair loss is just starting. All hair taken from the donor site is ‘finite’ which means that transplanting donor hair depletes the donor supply. If a person had 6000 grafts in his lifetime and he uses 2000 of them in an attempt to anticipate what might happen, the reserves for treating what will happen will be less than had the person had no surgery. The young patient can always delay the decision to have a hair transplant. Perhaps meeting again 8-12 months after your initial consultation will allow your physician to reassess the Master Plan to see where your hair loss is going.

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There Should Be An Anonymous Survey of Propecia Users About Side Effects – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr:
I have read several of your postings regarding men on propecia and a decrease in penis size. It has happened to me also. I can clearly say that propecia has had an effect on libido and penis size while flacid. I have always been very sexually active, but since I began propecia all has changed. Getting aroused is more difficult – but i do get there eventually. My erection seems normal. I am 50, in shape and in good health. Patients confronted in person may not be apt to disclose that their flacid penis has shrunk. I wouldn’t. We’re men. Perhaps there should be a nation- wide anonymous survey of propecia taking men to once and for all prove that there is an effect.

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Thanks for your comments.

I generally ask my patients on finasteride about their libido and the ability to get erections when I see them. I couldn’t say for sure whether everyone is being 100% truthful, but I do get some very candid, honest responses and I like to think that there is a good doctor/patient relationship and everyone is being honest.

Perhaps many men would be embarrassed to discuss these issues amongst friends, but not everyone is embarrassed about these issues when it comes to speaking to a physician. I will consider adding a question about flaccid penis size to my regular questions and report back in a future blog posting.