If you start losing hair in your 20s, are you guaranteed to be NW6-7?

[AnalogFeel]

Any stories here of guys who were say NW2-3 but also with diffuse thinning and maybe a thinning crown who ended up say a 3-5 pattern long term?

Or are you guaranteed to be a very high norwood in old age

[Curious]

The younger you are when you start losing your hair, the more likely it is you will be high on the Norwood scale as you get older.  I started losing it at 25 and became a NW 6.

[AnalogFeel]

1 hour ago, Curious said:

The younger you are when you start losing your hair, the more likely it is you will be high on the Norwood scale as you get older.  I started losing it at 25 and became a NW 6.

 

were you on finnasteride?

[Curious]

Nope, I’m allergic to it.  Finasteride can make a big difference for you.  In general, if you are losing hair in your 20s, you’re going to be losing it in your 30s, 40s and 50s.

[LonelyGraft]

From what I’ve read, male pattern baldness is progressive, as in once it starts it continues. At that point it’s your genes that dictates how fast or slow you will lose hair. Your genes also dictate your level of hair loss and what Norwood you will stabilize at. I’ve been on hair loss forums for many years and read a few stories where people talk about their relatives that lost hair relatively early and became a Norwood 2 or 3 and kept that for many years.

 

personally, I think the best way to see what your Norwood destiny is would be to take a look at your relatives (father brothers uncles grandfathers etc) and see what kind of patterns there are and which you resemble the most to give you a rough idea of where you’re headed.

 

with that said, treatments can slow/delay and in a lucky population stop progression of hair loss so look into that as well.

[AnalogFeel]

17 minutes ago, jj51702 said:

From what I’ve read, male pattern baldness is progressive, as in once it starts it continues. At that point it’s your genes that dictates how fast or slow you will lose hair. Your genes also dictate your level of hair loss and what Norwood you will stabilize at. I’ve been on hair loss forums for many years and read a few stories where people talk about their relatives that lost hair relatively early and became a Norwood 2 or 3 and kept that for many years.

 

personally, I think the best way to see what your Norwood destiny is would be to take a look at your relatives (father brothers uncles grandfathers etc) and see what kind of patterns there are and which you resemble the most to give you a rough idea of where you’re headed.

 

with that said, treatments can slow/delay and in a lucky population stop progression of hair loss so look into that as well.

 

my problem for me is I dunno whose pattern i have

 

I have a NW5 pattern as I have very high sides and then there's a clear line of separation but nobody in my family is a 5. 

My moms side is all NW1 to 2 and my dads side is all NW6

 

I'm currently a 2 to 3 but I can clearly see the 5 pattern forming as I have diffuse thinning over the scalp after where the sides end

[AnalogFeel]

5 hours ago, Curious said:

Nope, I’m allergic to it.  Finasteride can make a big difference for you.  In general, if you are losing hair in your 20s, you’re going to be losing it in your 30s, 40s and 50s.

yea but does everybody finish at a 6 or a 7 then?

 

or does it sometimes stop at say a 4 or a 5 into old age

[Squidward]

I dont know if it's odd or not, but everyone in my family recedes to a norwood 2/3 very early around the age of 16-18 and we all have kept our remaining hair, my grandfather that passed at 74, and my uncle who just passed at 63 never receded past a 3, but the age where recession happened was extremely early. I dont know if that shed's any light or not, but every male in my family is like that. I can't really speak of my mom's side as there is virtually no recession in my mothers side, but I as well have gotten my fathers side, I was 15/16 and I rapidly receded to a 2/3 and I am 30 now and my hair hasn't changed a bit and if family history is to guage the future, I will not have any serious further recession.

[AnalogFeel]

3 hours ago, Squidward said:

I dont know if it's odd or not, but everyone in my family recedes to a norwood 2/3 very early around the age of 16-18 and we all have kept our remaining hair, my grandfather that passed at 74, and my uncle who just passed at 63 never receded past a 3, but the age where recession happened was extremely early. I dont know if that shed's any light or not, but every male in my family is like that. I can't really speak of my mom's side as there is virtually no recession in my mothers side, but I as well have gotten my fathers side, I was 15/16 and I rapidly receded to a 2/3 and I am 30 now and my hair hasn't changed a bit and if family history is to guage the future, I will not have any serious further recession.

are you a 2 or 3 with good density though?

I have fantastic density on sides, which are very high but I have a badly diffused crown and moderately diffused front and middle

seems like 2 or 3s with good density are much safer long term 

[Squidward]

Yeah I have good density, thick curly hair

[AnalogFeel]

7 hours ago, Squidward said:

Yeah I have good density, thick curly hair

 

so you're not balding, you just have mature hairline

 

im losing in crown so I'm not mature hairline anymore 

[Squidward]

Yeah that I'm not sure about, nobody in either side of my family has experienced crown loss, just a very early in life receding hairline that stops at a point, for me I've had the same hair since about 18 years old, my dad said his was the same way, and I can see both of my uncles were the same way, as well as my pap, who had more similar hair characteristics to mine being thick and curly

[AnalogFeel]

1 hour ago, Squidward said:

Yeah that I'm not sure about, nobody in either side of my family has experienced crown loss, just a very early in life receding hairline that stops at a point, for me I've had the same hair since about 18 years old, my dad said his was the same way, and I can see both of my uncles were the same way, as well as my pap, who had more similar hair characteristics to mine being thick and curly

yea you're not balding then man

 

mature hairline with no diffuse loss or crown loss is not balding 

[Squidward]

Im not continuing to bald no, but I have already balded, it was just very early in life, 14 years ago, I would still call it a receded hairline, not a mature hairline, but to each his own, i prefer the sound of mature hairline lol, but the recession is further back than what I prefer to have, I have pictures on here if you care to take a look, but nonetheless, it is what it is, good luck!

[Al - Moderator]

I'm currently a 2 to 3 but I can clearly see the 5 pattern forming as I have diffuse thinning over the scalp after where the sides end

That doesn't mean you will stop at NW5. The sides and back can drop lower as time goes by even if you see a definite line now between the thick hair and thinning hair. I had a diffuse pattern with very high sides and no loss in the lower back area, but once the thinning area was gone the size of the area kept increasing to a NW7 and it's still creeping further down the sides and back. 

 

[AnalogFeel]

34 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

 

 

That doesn't mean you will stop at NW5. The sides and back can drop lower as time goes by even if you see a definite line now between the thick hair and thinning hair. I had a diffuse pattern with very high sides and no loss in the lower back area, but once the thinning area was gone the size of the area kept increasing to a NW7 and it's still creeping further down the sides and back. 

 

 

are you a norwood 7 now? 

 

was your sides and crown very healthy thick earlier in your days? did you use finnasteride, rogaine, nizoral? what was your pattern at 30?

Edited November 12, 2018 by AnalogFeel

[gillenator]

What is the most advanced Norwood class in your family history?

[AnalogFeel]

2 hours ago, gillenator said:

What is the most advanced Norwood class in your family history?

my dad's side is all 6

 

my mom's side is all 1-2

[gillenator]

Are some of the men who are all class 6s completely slick bald on top?

[AnalogFeel]

2 hours ago, gillenator said:

Are some of the men who are all class 6s completely slick bald on top?

 

all of them are

[Wicky]

To add,

 

Im 22 close to a 5A, but my temples have never gone back from what I can see, ive had the same mature hairline since I was 13,  What does this mean? i have no clue. 

 

The point is everyone is 100% different from everyone. Hair loss is alot of "I think..." .  the only thing we really have to go off long term is genetics

[gillenator]

It sounds like you have a diffused thinning pattern?

Family history (genetics) is usually a good indicator especially of there is no hair loss medications involved.

Most guys have a hair loss pattern and progression that will fit into one or more of the Norwood classes.

[BaldReaper]

On 11/10/2018 at 4:55 PM, Curious said:

The younger you are when you start losing your hair, the more likely it is you will be high on the Norwood scale as you get older.  I started losing it at 25 and became a NW 6.

when did you become NW6?

[Mike10]

On 11/10/2018 at 9:25 PM, LonelyGraft said:

From what I’ve read, male pattern baldness is progressive, as in once it starts it continues. At that point it’s your genes that dictates how fast or slow you will lose hair. Your genes also dictate your level of hair loss and what Norwood you will stabilize at. I’ve been on hair loss forums for many years and read a few stories where people talk about their relatives that lost hair relatively early and became a Norwood 2 or 3 and kept that for many years.

 

personally, I think the best way to see what your Norwood destiny is would be to take a look at your relatives (father brothers uncles grandfathers etc) and see what kind of patterns there are and which you resemble the most to give you a rough idea of where you’re headed.

 

with that said, treatments can slow/delay and in a lucky population stop progression of hair loss so look into that as well.

It is the same for me. I did start to experience hair line recession very early at age 23. Now at age 40 I am a NW2-NW2,5 with good density. I never took Finansteride or Minoxidil. Most of my relatives ended up a NW3 at least until the higher age (end of 60s). 

There are no hard rules. I guess there is a difference if you experience thinning in the middle or vertex already in your 20s, your progress is likely to be more aggressive. 

[Z--]

OP -- my father's side has great hair (some diffuse, but not bald anywhere), but my mother's side were all NW6+ slick bald on top. 

I started losing hair at 22. As I'm nearly hitting 30, I've diffused to the point where my crown is just about gone, but the front is strong. I fully expect to lose it too. Point is if you have one side of the family at NW6, and if you are diffuse thinning (esp. in your crown) in your 20s, there's a fairly high probability that you are heading to where they are. I feel like folks with just frontal recession have less bad luck as that doesn't seem as aggressive. 

If you can tolerate meds, I'd consider looking into them before you have further loss -- the sooner the better. But if you can't tolerate it, the good news is that there are plenty of doctors who can manage donors well enough. Good luck.