Is your dad's hair loss a close indication of what you'll look like?

[leftygolfer71]

So my dad is in his 70's and probably a Norwood 6 and as I CLOSELY consider my HT with Dr Rahal, I'm struggling with the scar and having to take Fin so I want to see what other's think of of question??

 

Thoughts??

[mahhong]

Unfortunately it's impossible to say. They used to say you had to look at your mother's father to see what hair you'd end up with, but that's not entirely true either. The genes for balding can come from any side of the family and would also appear to be able to skip generations.

 

I'm no scientist, but I think the general consensus is nobody really knows exactly what's on the cards. All you can do is look at all the males in your family history and get a general sense - if everybody was a Norwood 1 or 2, there'd be a fair (but not definite chance) you'd be similar, if everybody was a Norwood 6 or 7, there'd be a fair (but not definite chance) you'd end up somewhere in that area too.

 

My mother's father was a very advanced NW6 by the end of his life (virtually a 7, but I don't think he'd be officially classified as one). My father is a strange one - sort of a NW6 but with quite high sides, extensive crown loss but still a relatively intact forelock. His father would probably still count as a NW4 - he has a NW5 pattern but still has a fair amount of diffused hair atop his head.

 

As for me, I'm certainly going to be a NW5 but, at 32 years of age, that could go further or could stabilise. I may keep some of the diffused hair on top like my father's father did, but ultimately who knows!

 

Although none of these things guarantee in the slightest you can work out your hairloss pattern, here are some of my own anecdotal observations:

 

I could be completely wrong, but I would say if you follow the genetic pattern of one side of the family more than the other, that might be a fair indicator of where your hairloss comes from. I am more like my father's side (broad, put on weight easy etc.) and I would tentatively conclude my hairloss is a bit like theirs too.

 

If you have any old photos of your dad, grandfather, great grandfathers etc. have a look. For example my mother's father (the NW6/7) looked to have significant temple erosion by his mid-twenties, and quite extensive loss by his late twenties/early thirties. By contrast my father started to lose his hair more gradually around 25-26 (similar to me). His father looked to have a fairly good head of hair throughout his 30s and 40s, though was always slowly receding and getting a balding crown.

 

It's frustrating, but the truth is nobody can tell you for certainty where you will end up, not even a professional unfortunately. A professional can maybe examine your hair and family history closer and give you some indication of what might happen based on where they see the hair thinning under a microscope etc. but even then they won't stand by their words too strongly. Hairloss is unpredictable and sometimes it can slow down, speed up, stabilise or seemingly restart after being stable.

 

The best anybody can give you is an approximation. The more advanced balding in your family, broadly speaking the higher chance you will go the same. If it's a mixed bag of advanced balding and no/minimal balding, it becomes harder to say - your age, current level of balding and other factors may give a few clues but that's about it.

[voxman]

I'm not sure about your original question, but I do know that how your girlfriend's mother looks is a pretty good indicator of how she will turn out...

Edited August 25, 2015 by voxman

[leftygolfer71]

I'm not sure about your original question, but I do know that your how girlfriend's mother looks is a pretty good indicator of how she will turn out...

 

HAHA...thanks!

[Melvin- Admin]

The balding gene comes from the mothers side is a MYTH, my uncles, great uncles, and grandpa have absolutely zero balding, but on my dads side my grandpa was a Norwood 4 when he died at 77. My dads a Norwood 2 at 58, I'm a Norwood 6 at 30, my great uncle on my dads side died Norwood 6. Hairloss can skip generations. I got screwed I have no living relatives that are bald:( oh well thank god for hair transplants.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Lefty,

 

The genetics of androgenic alopecia (male pattern hair loss) are much more complicated than the old wive's tales would have you believe. First, there are a number of genes that play roles in the development of androgenic alopecia (AGA). Second, inheriting any combination of these genes means you could develop patterned hair loss. Third, AGA has "variable penetrance" meaning that just because one member of your family expresses the genes a certain way does not mean you will do the same. For example, you and your father both probably have some similar combination of the AGA genes. But his body may express it in one pattern, and your's an entirely different one. This means you guys could both have a series of AGA genes, both express the genes, but he could be a NW VI and you could only end up a NW II -- or vice versa, any varied combination of the above, et cetera.

[pkipling]

As everyone's already mentioned, the best you and a surgeon can do is make an educated guess. Unfortunately, there's no crystal ball that we can look into that will tell us definitively how much our hair loss will progress.

 

Genetics does play a role, but it's not certain. Diagnostic tests to determine the miniaturization levels of your existing hairs are a pretty good indicator of your rate of hair loss, though once again, there's no way to know 100% for sure. Put the pieces of the puzzle together with a qualified surgeon (family history, current hair loss pattern, miniaturization, response to medication, etc.) and come up with a plan that will work for you.

 

And yes, Voxman is correct.... Any girl you date will undoubtedly turn into her mother. This is a scientific fact. :cool:

[SamHT1970]

I always wonder about this!

 

good to know -sam

[Paulygon]

I heard on Bald Truth that it can come from either side. It's like 50/50 shot that you would get it from your mother's side vs. your dad's side (who knows for sure tho.)

 

In my family, I got the hair loss gene (the men on my mom's side are all bald) whereas my brother has an awesome head of hair (he got the good hair genes from my dad's side). Funny thing is, I'm definitely the more vein one out of the two of us...