19 and somewhat worried

[Somewhatworried]

Okay so, I am almost 19 and a half, and recently I've been quite worried about me losing my hair early. Mostly because my dad who is now late 50s and completely bald has told me he started to lose his hair when he was 20.

 

-My grandfather on my dads side is in his early 80s and is also completely bald, I'm not too sure when he started to lose it, I think it was a fair bit later than my dad.

 

-My dads brother is 60 and has a full head of hair, and his hairline looks roughly like mine, similar color too, but quite different pattern.

 

-My half-brother (from my dads side) who is 34 has a full head of hair, with a hairline that looks roughly like mine, but very different color and pattern.

 

-On my Mums side, she has no brothers but, my grandfather is in his 80's and has a good amount of hair (thinning alot but its there). And i've looked through some family photos and no males on my mums side lose their hair young, and most keep some hair into their old age.

 

Now as for me, my hair has the color of my fathers (though hard to tell), but it looks like it follows the general pattern of my mothers, considering where it parts and the protruding temple areas etc. I look like my father in most respects but with features of my mother (skin and hair placement over the body).

The reason I'm worrying now is that when i run my hands through the top of my hair (testing as it were) I find sometimes more hair comes out than should, sometimes nothing in my hands, but sometimes 1, sometimes 2, sometimes 4. It freaks me out when I gently pull at my hair sometimes and i have like 3 hairs between my fingers usually from the front. Second of all there's no way to know for sure, but the front of my hairline looks thinner than usual.

 

All in all i'm not sure, I would like some peace of mind one way or the other. Advise me.

[Blake Bloxham]

Somewhat,

 

Unfortunately, androgenic alopecia (male pattern hair loss) is a classified as a "poly genetic" condition with "variable penetrance." In simpler terms, this means two things: first, if anyone in your immediate family (including grandparents) suffers from any degree of hair loss, you may experience patterned thinning as well; second, if present, your hair loss can manifest in any pattern on the Norwood scale and will not necessarily match the level of recession seen in your other family members.

 

While your hairline currently appears unaffected, it is difficult to tell, based on these images alone, if you are experiencing androgenic alopecia. What makes the assessment even more difficult is the fact that 95% of men undergo a natural hairline "maturation" (roughly) around your age. If you are indeed suffering from androgenic alopecia - and not just a maturing hairline - the good news is that you caught it early, and will likely be able to significantly control the condition with preventive treatments (i.e. minoxidil (Rogaine) and finasteride (Propecia)). In order to determine whether or not you are experiencing hair loss, I suggest scheduling an appointment with one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. During this consultation, the doctor can assess your scalp and determine which treatment - if any - is appropriate.

 

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any additional questions. Good luck.

[Somewhatworried]

I'm quite thankful that you took the time to read and properly reply, helpfully aswell!

I do have questions and concerns as a matter of fact-

 

At the very front of my hairline, where the widows peak is, you can see that some of the hairs at the very front are more spaced out, these hairs are actually fraying sort of, as in they curl and spiral, where my hairs everywhere else lay flat with the others. Its only maybe 5-10 hairs that are doing this, and only right at the front. This maybe sprung up in the past say 3 months (give or take) Does this give any indication of whether or not its a MH or MPB?

 

Secondly I am an Australian resident and young. I'm not sure where I would start looking for a hair physician, Would more pictures help you diagnose this? Because i'm quite glad to email you how ever many is needed, if it got me closer to an answer

[Blake Bloxham]

Somewhat,

 

Again, it would be difficult to tell. The maturation process can mimic androgenic alopecia, and you couldn't be certain without analyzing the miniaturization level in other areas of the scalp. More pictures may be helpful, but nothing would be definite without an in-person evaluation (in my opinion). Are you able to see any physician that deals with hair loss? Possibly a trusted dermatologist or endocrinologist who deals primarily with this issue?

[Somewhatworried]

I would have to do my research but i'll try find something.

 

Much thanks

[Transhair]

Assuming you had a completely perfect and normal hairline as a kid and early puberty, I'd guess your hairline was originally around the line I drew. Thought I don't know if you have a natural widow's peak or other hairline abnormalities, so I can't be sure.

Either way, it doesn't look beyond of what an adult hairline is, so I'd just get it checked at a dermatologist or something and make a decision to go onto the medication if you want to

 

Also, it's normal for hairs to come out when you run your fingers through your hair, sometimes they had already fallen out and just stuck to your head.

If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend/friend that you're overly touchy with, run your hand through their hair and you'd likely find a few caught on your fingers

[Somewhatworried]

So I went to a dermatologist today. She was ice-cold, no sense of humour, no empathy. She like took some pictures and said I should follow their program and use Minox and Fin. All very cold and calculated. I asked about the Fin side effects, and she told me the stats and brushed the comment off. I also asked about the hair miniaturization and she barely checked when she was taking photos of my hair and said the its fairly visible with the naked eye.

 

Now I don't know if its just being hopeful, but I don't trust her one bit, it seemed like she was just trying to get me on Procepia and get me the f**k out of her office.

 

Is it possible that my hairline is just maturing and the b***h is just dismissive, I found a photo from when I was about 10 and i've always had the widows peak and general shape of harline, it was never where those lines are, in your post transhair. (photos attatched)

 

I also found this picture from about a year and a half ago, and my hair looks pretty much exactly the same. What do you guys think is there still hope for me, or was this shady lady right?

[Somewhatworried]

This is going to extreme measures for an online diagnosis now but can you blame a guy for loving his mane, I was told you could pluck hairs out of your head and look at the miniaturization level that way, so sure enough.

 

-the two on the right are from the side of my head, the ones that will supposedly never fall out.

These ones are probably the thinnest

 

-the next one left is from the very top of my head, where norwood 5s still have hair, this one is definitely the thickest

 

-left again, is from about an inch from my widows peak, right down the middle. This one is the second thickest, though definitely not as thick as the one to its right.

 

-The curly one is from the left hand side of my head about an inch from the recession line (where my hair would receed to, and where i do not want it to receed) Its curly becuase I plucked it weird. This ones probably the third thickest by a very small margin.

 

-The one to the very left is from where i'm receding, This is one is probably about as thin as the ones on the side, though visibly and significantly less thick than the thickest.

 

My care for the issue is reflected to the sheer amount of effort im putting into this.

Sorry if it seems over zealous

[Blake Bloxham]

Somewhat,

 

The difference between normal terminal hair and miniaturized hair can be as small as 3 microns or 0.0001 centimeters. Unfortunately, this means the difference is very difficult to appreciate with the naked eye. If you repeated this test under a microscope, it may have some validity. However, I don't know if it will tell us too much here. What's more, remember that it is perfectly naturally to observe roughly 10% of scalp hair in the telogen (likely miniaturized) phase at any given point in time. This means that some of the hairs you pulled may be miniaturized, but this doesn't necessarily indicate androgenic alopecia.

 

Having said that, I'm sorry the appointment with the dermatologist did not go as planned. It sounds like you did everything right and didn't obtain the desired outcome. Have you considered meeting with one of our recommended physicians? These doctors specialize exclusively in hair loss, and it may provide a more definitive answer.