Balding Blog

Is it possible to START prematurely balding at the age of say, 17,18,19,20 or below the age of 25/30 if there is no family history of STARTING balding below the age of 35? Also, does hairline maturing occur at a similar time frame as predecessors or does it have it’s own time frame?

Genetic male pattern balding may start with puberty. You may be well on the way to being bald in your teenage years or in your 20s or 30s. Anything is possible. In general most significant genetic hair loss occurs in your 20s and 30s and usually the balding process slows down past 35.

You don’t have to have a “family history” because it does not completely follow a direct and predictable inheritance pattern.

I have a question regarding to human hair whorl, if we talk about the hair loss on the top for men, does it normally begin to thin from the whorl area? Cheers

Genetic hair loss in men have a certain “pattern” as described by Dr. Norwood. That is why it is often called Male “Pattern” Balding. For those patterns that start on the top crown area, it starts around the whorl, but I do not think you can say it starts exactly at the whorl as it often appears as general thinning of the entire area around and including the whorl. It certainly looks like it may start at the whorl because that is where the hair changes direction and looses its ability to overlap hair on hair, so it looks the thinnest and it is a focal point that draws the eye to the center of the whorl (even for non-balding men).

Anyone ever notice the balding spots are hot to the touch? Way more so then other parts of the head?

The scalp receives, second to the brain, the highest blood flow of any organ in the body. If you are recently balding and the skin of the scalp has not become atrophic, then this area may feel hotter than other parts of your scalp. Usually, if complete balding in an area occur, the skin become atrophic and cooler to the touch.

I’m 26 years-old, 27 in October. Until around the end of last year, my hair loss hadn’t been very bad at all and was progressing much slower than the other men in my family. I was about a 3A/3V until I started noticing a bald patch appear on my crown about 4 months ago. Since then, the area around the patch has gotten noticeably thinner, and the front part of my hairline has also started to thin out. I started taking Minoxodil about a week ago as well as a few biotin tabs every day, and the shedding hasn’t been so bad. What is my future going to be like?

At 26, the advancement of your balding pattern is a bad omen for future balding. You should see a doctor experienced in this field. The drug Finasteride can slow, stop and sometimes reverse the balding but rarely will Minoxidil do this. The only real solution is hair transplant surgery so you might start, at the least, familiarizing yourself with this process. Look at this post to see results on patients who took Finasteride.

23M and am pretty happy with my hair right now and am currently on min(2x a day)+dut(3x week) and fin(4x week). But based on my family history it looks like I have a similar pattern as my pap and will be nw7 by 50/60 and probably an nw4 by 30-40. While I would be completely devastated and depressed to lose my hair right now i know baldness is my inevitable fate and I want to try and gradually shift how much importance I place on my hair. Right now I constantly obsess over it and am frequently checking this subreddit to an almost unhealthy extent. It is understandable to care a lot more right now in my early 20s, but what are some steps that you guys have taken to come to peace and acceptance with hairloss? I will continue to treat it but I want to stop being so damn obsessed with it

Ask your Dad at what age he started balding. Most Class 7 pattern men start in their early 20s so maybe you will not follow his pattern. Age related onset is also inherited but I have seen this happen when it would be inconsistent with inherited timing: See here: https://baldingblog.com/need-master-plan-think-hair-transplants-photos/

This sounds like a maturing hairline. While it is maturing, it is not unusual for one side to move up slightly ahead of the other side. It could also be an early recession, but at this stage, I would not worry about it. Just keep an eye on it. If you are really worried, see a doctor with a HAIRCHECK instrument to find out if there is any balding that you can’t visually see. (See here: https://baldingblog.com/value-haircheck-bulk-measurements-two-patients-seen-today/)

Hi,

I just wanted to share with you our latest infographic: Bald Power

Feel free to give me a shout if you need an alternative sized version for you blog. Hope you like it!

Feedback appreciated.

I meant to post this a little while ago, but it slipped through the cracks. The graphic is quite large, so click the image at right to see the full size.

I haven’t looked at photos of Congress members for myself, but does your graphic account for thinning hair or strictly those that are bald? The infographic is nice if your numbers are right, but you spelled “United” wrong twice.

The presence of balding in the 5-8% range amongst members of the legislators (more men than women) is much less than the general population. In men, the balding rate (some degree of hair loss) is about 50% in men over 45, the age of most of our legislators. Except for Eisenhower, there has not been a bald president since before World War II.

I have written before that men with hair on the head have a better chance at getting elected than balding men. There is considerable prejudice against balding men in the population, and I’ve written about that here and here.