Category: Age

I have perused your website and your answers to many questions relating to hair loss but have not found an answer that addresses my question. I am a 72 year old male. I still have a full head of hair with very little greying but I have begun to notice that there are long hairs (few each day) in my comb. Can I stop any further loss?

Hair loss does appear in the elderly. I’m not calling you elderly, as you are only 7 years older than I am — and I am certainly not near elderly. What I mean though, is that even the elderly lose 100 hairs per day. As long as you do not look like you’re balding, don’t worry, be happy (as the song goes)!

Hello Dr. Rassman

I am a 22 year old male who has been having chronic telogen effluvium for almost a year. Now I am finally correcting the underlying condition, and hopefully the 60 % of hair I have lost will grow in.

During this time my hair has gone through short truncated anagen cycles (maybe 2 or 3), does this mean the hair follicles have aged for many years so that genetic balding will start a lot sooner than it is supposed to?

In other words: is it the number of hair cycles or the person`s actual age which signals the onset of male patterned baldness?

I think many men who experience CTE or TE are worried about this, hope you can give a definite answer.

Thanks

Some doctors believe that hairs have a certain number of hair cycles in their lifetime. That would indicate that you are correct — more cycles might mean acceleration of genetic hair loss. Drugs like Propecia and minoxidil are thought to prolong these hair cycles, theoretically keeping the number of cycles lower over a given number of years.

Hello sir,

I really respect your advice and in the past your forum has been very helpful for me. I do have one question however, and that has to do with regard to age and hair loss.

Currently I have a full head of hair, but for the past 2 years now, i have had some frontal recession and a thinning of the crown. Neither of these has progressed for the past two years. Since I am 22 however, does that mean with absolute assurity that I have inherited aggressive balding since I am only 22, despite the fact my hair has not gotten any worse?

Male pattern balding (MPB), androgenic hair loss, and genetic hair loss are terms used to describe the SAME thing. If you have miniaturization in the crown, then I suspect you have genetic patterned hair loss, and that means that it will probably kick in to another phase of the hair loss process sooner or later. Finasteride (Propecia) may slow down the appearance of the next hair loss cycle, but first get a good doctor and then a diagnosis before you commit yourself to a lifetime of this medication.

Genetic hair loss can start as early as the teenage years. The degree of hair loss — from small frontal recession to full baldness — is difficult to predict at such early age. There is no way for me to diagnose your hair loss without a proper exam, but genetic hair loss at the age of 22 is a good possibility. With regard to your frontal loss, be sure you understand the difference between the progression of a mature hairline and balding.

hi. i am a 17 year old male who lifts while taking protein and creatine. lately i have been noticing thinning in the temples of my hair. i am wondering if this is due to the use of creatine or the whey protein.

I assume by “lifts” that you meant lifting weights. You are taking these supplements to build muscle mass, I suspect. Do any of the supplements that you are taking have steroids in them? I doubt that the ones mentioned are the cause. You may be developing a maturing hairline and what you think is frontal thinning may be that maturing process in the first 1/2 inch of the hairline. Send me pictures to the address on the Contact page.

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Dear Dr,

Great website. I had a question. You have stated in the past that the balding process tends to end at the age of 30. Can you elaborate on this? It has been my experience that most men lose more hair in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.

The very bald person loses most of his hair in his 20s, although this is just a general rule. There are different patterns of balding and these patterns often slow their progression as a person ages. But of course, the older you are, the more balding you will see in the overall male population. That means that the 20 year old with early signs of advanced balding may be that Class 7 pattern man by their late 20s. Some of the patterns of balding do start later in life, but these men rarely get very advanced hair loss patterns. The key to good control of the balding process is early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment. The earlier the treatment for genetic male pattern balding, the better the medication works (like Propecia).

I often see men in their 30s start thinning and then progressing slowly to a balding pattern like the 3V pattern shown below. Over time, the crown balding in these men may expand to a larger area as they get into their 40s and 50s. Propecia works very well at slowing, stopping and possibly reversing the hair loss in those men who have this 3V pattern appear in their 30s or 40s.

For your reference, here is the Norwood Chart that shows the different patterns of male genetic hair loss. One rarely sees the Class 7 pattern start appearing in men past 30 years pf age.

Hello,

I am 18 years old. Ever since I was little I’ve had the widows peak shaped forehead. My dad has the same forehead, except I have cowlicks and he doesnt, but he is 49 and isnt going bald. I don’t think my hair has really gone back much ever and my hairline is maybe half an inch from my highest rinkle in the center. Should I be worried about going bald? I’ve been stressing out over it ever since a comment my uncle on my moms side of the family made about how I was going to go bald because he is. But I dont think he developed a widows peak until he was in his late 20’s and then his hairline recided in his 30’s, he also has a different father than my mom. His father and sons are all bald. Thanks for any info/ tips.

Sounds like your uncle is the problem, not your genetics. You could, of course, wind up with your uncle’s hair loss, but then again, you could end up with your father’s full head of hair with the cowlicks. If you are really worried, get your hair mapped out for miniaturization yearly. Any signs of balding in their earliest phase will be picked up easily, well before it becomes a problem. If it is caught early, you’ll want a Master Plan which probably will include finasteride (Propecia).

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yesterday afternoon my mom noticed that i had a patch of hair missing from the back of my head. i dont know if its a disease because my friend had the same problem but he had patches missing everywhere in his head and i dont know if im heading in that same direction. i hope not but it scared me when i found out i had a patch of hair missing. could you tell me what i could do to regain that hair back or what i should do to cure it? thank you for your time. have a nice day

I would like to have more information about your situation. A bald spot in two people who are friends could have environmental or infection causes. What is the age of you and your friend, do you share the same living space (apartment or house), how long have the patches been there? Are they progressive (getting larger) or are they stable and getting better? Are the patches punch like with sharp edges or irregular patches along their rim? Is there any hair inside the patches? I would like to see some photos of these patches. I might be able to give a better indication after seeing the photos, but it might be easier and better to see a good dermatologist in your area and get to the root of the problem. As you can see from my questions, making a diagnosis over the internet can be a problem and a visit ‘one on one’, with a good doctor is the best way to go.