Balding Blog

I was wondering how to actually notice hair loss. When I was 25 I remember visibly seeing hairs in the shower and in my sink. Since then I have slightly receded but that is it. I am now 31 and I notice one or two hairs when I put gel in my hair and a few on the floor in my bathroom. I also notice I can slightly tug a few hairs out every once and a while. It just as easy to pull them from my sideburns as the top of my head. No one on either side (first and second generation) is bald in the back of the head. All related men do have recession and slight thinning (which I think is common). It looks like pattern 2. Is the fact that I notice the hair in my sink, tub and by pulling a sign of hair loss or MPB?
Thank you!!

No, you cannot tell if you have male pattern balding (MPB) by simply pulling on your hair. It is normal to lose 100 hairs a day. You may be able to see MPB pattern under a hair densitometer, which is a special microscope for the hair, by demonstrating miniaturization of hair. To make the actual diagnosis, the patterns of thinning and miniaturization can be mapped out for predictive purposes.

I’m 19 and a late bloomer, if people were to look at me they would probably guess that I’m 16. My hairline has been receding for a year and I’m around a NW1 with the whole front of my hairline now miniaturized. Because I’m probably not done with puberty, is it a terrible idea to go on fin right now? Has anyone else who isn’t fully developed gone on fin and continued to develop? I’m just in a hard place right now because my hairline seems to be deteriorating so rapidly but at the same time I don’t want to stunt my body’s development. Any insight would be appreciated.

I have prescribed finasteride to men as young as 16 and have not seen growth stunted.

How long do I have to wait to see the benefits of dutasteride and finasteride, both taken daily?

Sometimes these medications don’t work. It takes a full year to see benefits. Taking both dutasteride and finasteride just increases your potential side effects. Twice a week dutasteride is fine by itself. Check with your doctor

I have been taking Propecia since my early 20’s and I am now 39. My crown was thinning back in the day and that’s what inspired me to start the drug. My brother is totally bald but my frontal hairline seems to be in near perfect shape all these years later. I am considering stopping taking it because I’m worried about the long term effects and I think as I age my hormones may change and I’ll develop issues from it. In your humble opinion at this point do you believe propecia is keeping my hairline intact? I’ve read that propecia rarely works on hairlines and I’ve heard you say it’s a tug of war between genetics and propecia. I just think I wouldn’t experienced some form of loss by now. The crown is ok but not what it was 6-7 years ago. You thoughts?

Please speak with your doctor for these issues. In general if you stop Propecia you can ‘have catch up hair loss’ where the hairs you kept or regrew over the time you took Propecia, may fall out on stopping the medication. Long term use of Propecia from studies show no adverse effects. There was a study that show high dose (finasteride 5mg) can even lower the risk of prostate cancer and many doctors believe that this benefit extends to the 1mg dose, but this particular point was not studied and is just conjecture.