Balding Blog

Hi, My son, who is 23, has very thin hair on top of his head and a high forehead. He tried avacore and it’s hard to say if it helped or not. He has very thick hair on the sides-we are prone to high foreheads in our family but the thin hair on top of his head is distressing him (which I’m sure doesn’t help). Is there someone he can see to access his problem-we live in New Jersey and are a train ride from Manhattan. Thanks so much for your help.

Is your son balding now? I would guess from what you are describing is most probably genetic hair loss. Avacor is overpriced and has minoxidil as its active component; I would have been surprised if it would have worked. The marketers of Avacor do a hell of a job promoting the ‘benefits’ of their product and as a result, they have one of the most popular sales efforts ever and it appears to be priced over 10 times that of minoxidil. Propecia, which is made by Merck (pharmaceutical company), is under FDA and FCC regulation so Merck can not promote claims that are ill defined or vague. In a 23 year old male, genetic hair loss comes from the ‘workings’ of DHT on the growth center of the hair follicle. Propecia is the only substance that has been clearly documented to block the effects of DHT on the hair follicle. It has documented benefits on retarding, stopping or reversing hair loss. A competent doctor would make the diagnosis and appropriately manage the problem for you. To answer your request for a doctor on the east coast, I would recommend Dr. Robert Bernstein at 201-585-1115, who has offices in Fort Lee NJ and Manhattan NY. He is as good as they come and I would not hesitate to have my son treated by him.

I’ve just recently discovered your website but have found it very informative. I am 23 and have a family history, on both my mother and father’s side, of male pattern hairloss. I too have been suffering, and in the last three months my hair loss has accelerated to such a degree that the hair on the front and top of my head is becoming increasingly thin, and my hair line is dramatically rising. I have recently started using Kirkland minoxidil (having used Rogaine whilst at university but then stopping as I couldn’t afford it) but not only is my scalp flaking a lot, but I am also losing a lot of hair on a daily basis. As I’ve only used it for under a month, do you think I should persist with the treatment as I have a years supply?

I have also recently bought dutasteride on the internet, having used propecia for 3 months but with no affect, only spots on my forehead. I realise that it takes longer than three months for the tablets to work but do you think I should see if the Dutasteride works as I am awaiting a two month supply in the post, or go back to propecia? Ultimately my hair loss is getting me down a great deal and being that I am so young and as this treatment is quite expensive, would it be better to save up for a hair transplant, and if so do you have any contacts in the UK that are not only reliable but might also be able to give me some impartial and helpful advise. Thank you so much in advance for your response as you can see my hairloss has left me really sad and I would really appreciate any advise you can give me. Many thanks again

There are many, many young men in a situation similar to yours. I can’t say for sure what you should or should not do, as you are not my patient — but my general advice would be to give the Propecia more than 3 months (8 months is my minimum trial period) to see any benefits. Especially at your age with early hair loss, Propecia tends to work better than minoxidil. I do not recommend dutasteride, not only because it stays in your system far longer than Propecia, but also because there have not been enough studies (to my satisfaction) that show any long-term effects the drug may have in a younger person, such as yourself. To find a doctor in the UK, I’d suggest looking at the ISHRS site’s physician search. Good luck.