Jump to content

what would you do in my situation? genetical destinied to become norwood 6 in my mid 50s...


Recommended Posts

  • Senior Member

im 32 years old now and its safe to say now that i follow the exact balding patern of my maternal grandfather precisely to the year, meaning with 22 (norwood 1) i had the same norwood status as him,  same with 26 (norwood 1) , with 27 (norwood 2)...31...(norwood 2/3)..

 

i can look in an old family album and i can see my future (if i dont start meds/meds dont work) which will look the following:

 

35/36 norwood 3 with beginning crown balding

40 crown balding will expand

45 diffuse thinning all over the norwood 5 area

50 first complete bald spots appear, crown and part of midscalp, norwood 3 hairline somehow intact

55 the balding expands to the back of the head, forming that horseshoe, norwood 6 is reached

 

 

 

so obviously i will start meds now to slow down or maybe even halt the hairloss. however what if the meds arent working or i have to quit them due side effects? could i still get a (or more) hairtransplant "to buy a few more years" or would you advise against such a scenario? i heard especially the crown is a real folicle eater and hence its often not advised to get a hairtransplant there?

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Hard to judge without pictures, suffice to say never go by your family. It can be drastically different for you as an individual. 

  • Like 3


I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice.

Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey

View my thread

Topical dutasteride journey 

Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog.

Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Regular Member

How much good donor hair do you have.   Youll need 6-8k grafts to deal with it.

 

Of course they might find a cure in  20 years, I mean for cancer, the common cold, poverty, war, colonize mars, regenerate limbs.  But a cure for hair loss, fo get about et...  They will of course still be assuring you one is "Just around the bend".  Yeah, right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

If you're NW2/3 @ 32, chances are you are not going to be a NW5/6. Maybe that's the pattern your maternal grandfather had, but NW2/3 at age 32 is probably the most common balding pattern in existence probably. I don't think it means anything to be NW2/3 at 32 other than you're NW2/3 at 32. 

Do you have any crown loss at all?

Anyway, best thing you can do is have a doctor check you out and maybe get on preventative medication. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

Begin Finasteride and try to get up to 1mg everyday eventually as a dosage if your body can tolerate it. Use Nizoral 2% ketoconazole shampoo and Microneedling once a week at 1mm to 1.5mm.

The above will hopefully stave off any hair loss for as long as possible but i would always recommend somebody wait 12 months and see their response by taking monthly progress pictures before going through with any hair transplant. You're 32, which is imo a good age if your hair loss isn't aggressive and seems stable which from what you wrote it generally seems to be. However, medication will help you make sure that stays the case. 

Just one word of warning. SHEDDING! Finasteride etc. will induce a shedding phase of weaker miniaturised hairs which generally should regrow thicker and stronger but this can take multiple hair cycles. A typical hair cycle is 3 months. A full 12 month period means you will have a better gauge because there's approximately 4 of the hair cycles since you started. 

Also, Finasteride keeps working usually in those who see a positive response in the first 12 months for many years more. 10+year studies have shown crown regrowth and thickening of hair keep continuing. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member

first, do try the meds. if you observe side effect, you can stop. i hear that some people got affected, but after 3 months, they aren't anymore, we don't know how your body respond.

if the meds fail or is incompatible with you, i think it's fine for you to think about HT at 30-35, because tbh while you might be balding, it's not really aggressive. even if you do an HT now, you will continue balding, so if the meds don't work i think you can decide to have HT later when your hair has receded abit more. you might look abit balding at NW 2, but it's from NW 3 onward that it very obvious. NW1/2 can be passed off as "mature hairline"

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mr peanut butter,

Family history can be a viable guide in helping you determine possibilities and worst case scenarios however, it is not an exact science and there’s no guarantee that you’re going to follow any particular individual in terms of their hair loss.

One particular myth is that one will follow the same hair loss pattern and degree of balding as their grandfather on the maternal side.  However as I already suggested this is a myth. If that were true, I would’ve never lost any hair because my grandfather on my mother’s side had a full head of hair until he died at 88 years old.  I, on other hand would be a full-blown Norwood 5A to 6 without my hair transplants.

All that to say, it’s probably good to start using hair loss medication such a finasteride and minoxidil if you are losing hair. These treatments will work better if you catch your hair loss early on as it may slow down, stop or even reverse it’s progression.

if you want more specific feedback about your hair loss, pattern, how effective we think the medication might be given what we see, I suggest posting some photos showing multiple angles of your scalp.

all the best in stopping your hair loss,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

  • Like 2

Rahal Hair Transplant Institute - Answers to questions, posts or any comments from this account should not be taken or construed as medical advice.    All comments are the personal opinions of the poster.  

Dr. Rahal is a member of the Coalition of Independent of Hair Restoration Physicians.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
On 5/27/2022 at 11:22 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

Hard to judge without pictures, suffice to say never go by your family. It can be drastically different for you as an individual. 

a picture from me?

 

yes, right. i just found it suspicious that i follow the same pattern so far in the exact time frame.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
On 5/28/2022 at 11:54 AM, deeznuts said:

If you're NW2/3 @ 32, chances are you are not going to be a NW5/6. Maybe that's the pattern your maternal grandfather had, but NW2/3 at age 32 is probably the most common balding pattern in existence probably. I don't think it means anything to be NW2/3 at 32 other than you're NW2/3 at 32. 

Do you have any crown loss at all?

Anyway, best thing you can do is have a doctor check you out and maybe get on preventative medication. 

this was his situation with 35

 

Uidsjx6.jpg

 

 

20 years later…

 

wKYJyzk.jpg

 

 

 

 

by today standards - is that something where you can still do something? hairtransplant wise?

 

 

Edited by mr_peanutbutter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
On 5/28/2022 at 12:52 PM, mafpe said:

first, do try the meds. if you observe side effect, you can stop. i hear that some people got affected, but after 3 months, they aren't anymore, we don't know how your body respond.

if the meds fail or is incompatible with you, i think it's fine for you to think about HT at 30-35, because tbh while you might be balding, it's not really aggressive. even if you do an HT now, you will continue balding, so if the meds don't work i think you can decide to have HT later when your hair has receded abit more. you might look abit balding at NW 2, but it's from NW 3 onward that it very obvious. NW1/2 can be passed off as "mature hairline"

honestly, norwood 3 would be fine to me in the future…(even though: if for some reason there is a break through in haircloning technology id consider getting my 10 year old boyish hairline back ;) )

 

expect however that i will develop crown loss too and this is something id like to avoid

 

will definitely try the meds first, but if the meds fail: could i try to close that bald patch or isnt it really recommended?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
On 5/28/2022 at 12:00 PM, NARMAK said:

Begin Finasteride and try to get up to 1mg everyday eventually as a dosage if your body can tolerate it. Use Nizoral 2% ketoconazole shampoo and Microneedling once a week at 1mm to 1.5mm.

The above will hopefully stave off any hair loss for as long as possible but i would always recommend somebody wait 12 months and see their response by taking monthly progress pictures before going through with any hair transplant. You're 32, which is imo a good age if your hair loss isn't aggressive and seems stable which from what you wrote it generally seems to be. However, medication will help you make sure that stays the case. 

Just one word of warning. SHEDDING! Finasteride etc. will induce a shedding phase of weaker miniaturised hairs which generally should regrow thicker and stronger but this can take multiple hair cycles. A typical hair cycle is 3 months. A full 12 month period means you will have a better gauge because there's approximately 4 of the hair cycles since you started. 

Also, Finasteride keeps working usually in those who see a positive response in the first 12 months for many years more. 10+year studies have shown crown regrowth and thickening of hair keep continuing. 

yes i noticed i have quite a few miniturisated hairs in my frontal hairline who are shorter and stick out when i pull my hairline back..i so maybe those will go? okay, i will see what happens. without meds they would go anyways

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
On 5/28/2022 at 6:05 PM, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

Mr peanut butter,

Family history can be a viable guide in helping you determine possibilities and worst case scenarios however, it is not an exact science and there’s no guarantee that you’re going to follow any particular individual in terms of their hair loss.

One particular myth is that one will follow the same hair loss pattern and degree of balding as their grandfather on the maternal side.  However as I already suggested this is a myth. If that were true, I would’ve never lost any hair because my grandfather on my mother’s side had a full head of hair until he died at 88 years old.  I, on other hand would be a full-blown Norwood 5A to 6 without my hair transplants.

All that to say, it’s probably good to start using hair loss medication such a finasteride and minoxidil if you are losing hair. These treatments will work better if you catch your hair loss early on as it may slow down, stop or even reverse it’s progression.

if you want more specific feedback about your hair loss, pattern, how effective we think the medication might be given what we see, I suggest posting some photos showing multiple angles of your scalp.

all the best in stopping your hair loss,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

ok i will try to make a few good shots in the next week. its probably a smart idea to document the state of my hair before meds anyways to controll if it works or not.

 

thanks everyone for the nice replies.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
39 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

this was his situation with 35

 

Uidsjx6.jpg

 

 

20 years later…

 

wKYJyzk.jpg

 

 

 

 

by today standards - is that something where you can still do something? hairtransplant wise?

 

 

Yeah I'm not doubting that your grandfather had hair loss down the line. I'm saying that it's no guarantee that you're following down his foot steps. There's a billion guys who have a NW2/NW3 at age 32. And I mean that literally (as in there probably is a billion guys with that level of balding at that age).

You can't really prove that you have the same hair loss as your grandfather as opposed to maybe any number of family members who also have had a NW2-3.

Also, mother's father is kind of a myth in that it's not the only (or major) indicator that you will be bald. Baldness comes from both sides of the family. Even accounting for genetics, gene expression isn't guaranteed to be the same. You could have lived a very stressful life (or the opposite) and greatly accelerated your loss. 

And that's not accounting for the fact that probably millions of guys follow that same trajectory being that NW2/NW3 are probably the most common hair loss patterns in the world and the fact that most men start noticing their hair loss in their late 20's/early 30's. Sure, your grandfather was a NW2 at whatever age, but there are hundreds of millions of guys who are also a NW2 in the age range of 25-35. It really doesn't mean that much imo

So what I'm saying more or less is that you have an incredibly common pattern and you can't really draw any further conclusions from it other than you're a NW2/NW3 at 32. Anything beyond that (i.e. your grandfather) is just speculation. The only way to put that speculation to rest is to have a doctor examine you for miniaturization and that would be a much better indicator of where you're heading than looking at your mom's dad. Alternatively, you could try it yourself - I've heard you can buy a microscope off Amazon and check for miniaturization that way...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/28/2022 at 1:52 AM, mr_peanutbutter said:

im 32 years old now and its safe to say now that i follow the exact balding patern of my maternal grandfather precisely to the year, meaning with 22 (norwood 1) i had the same norwood status as him,  same with 26 (norwood 1) , with 27 (norwood 2)...31...(norwood 2/3)..

 

i can look in an old family album and i can see my future (if i dont start meds/meds dont work) which will look the following:

 

35/36 norwood 3 with beginning crown balding

40 crown balding will expand

45 diffuse thinning all over the norwood 5 area

50 first complete bald spots appear, crown and part of midscalp, norwood 3 hairline somehow intact

55 the balding expands to the back of the head, forming that horseshoe, norwood 6 is reached

 

 

 

so obviously i will start meds now to slow down or maybe even halt the hairloss. however what if the meds arent working or i have to quit them due side effects? could i still get a (or more) hairtransplant "to buy a few more years" or would you advise against such a scenario? i heard especially the crown is a real folicle eater and hence its often not advised to get a hairtransplant there?

 

 

 

You should see a dermatologist near you asap. Then according to the evaluation done, you can go for medications and/or transplantation.

It is a high probability that you might bald like your maternal grandfather but the predictions could be wrong and you might not bald so much as well.

It is better to see a dermatologist in person as baldness is unpredictable.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
12 hours ago, deeznuts said:

Yeah I'm not doubting that your grandfather had hair loss down the line. I'm saying that it's no guarantee that you're following down his foot steps. There's a billion guys who have a NW2/NW3 at age 32. And I mean that literally (as in there probably is a billion guys with that level of balding at that age).

You can't really prove that you have the same hair loss as your grandfather as opposed to maybe any number of family members who also have had a NW2-3.

Also, mother's father is kind of a myth in that it's not the only (or major) indicator that you will be bald. Baldness comes from both sides of the family. Even accounting for genetics, gene expression isn't guaranteed to be the same. You could have lived a very stressful life (or the opposite) and greatly accelerated your loss. 

And that's not accounting for the fact that probably millions of guys follow that same trajectory being that NW2/NW3 are probably the most common hair loss patterns in the world and the fact that most men start noticing their hair loss in their late 20's/early 30's. Sure, your grandfather was a NW2 at whatever age, but there are hundreds of millions of guys who are also a NW2 in the age range of 25-35. It really doesn't mean that much imo

So what I'm saying more or less is that you have an incredibly common pattern and you can't really draw any further conclusions from it other than you're a NW2/NW3 at 32. Anything beyond that (i.e. your grandfather) is just speculation. The only way to put that speculation to rest is to have a doctor examine you for miniaturization and that would be a much better indicator of where you're heading than looking at your mom's dad. Alternatively, you could try it yourself - I've heard you can buy a microscope off Amazon and check for miniaturization that way...

true, however my father was already norwoood 5 at 24 (so im not following his path) so im not sure if its really just a coincidence

since my frontal hairline is receeding i think there is no need for examination? i will just hop on finasteride and hope for the best

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Senior Member
1 hour ago, Eugenix Hair Sciences said:

You should see a dermatologist near you asap. Then according to the evaluation done, you can go for medications and/or transplantation.

It is a high probability that you might bald like your maternal grandfather but the predictions could be wrong and you might not bald so much as well.

It is better to see a dermatologist in person as baldness is unpredictable.

 

 out of interest:

 

1.could a dermatologist  spot first signs of balding 10 years before the area becomes noticeable bald?

 

2. could my grandad go for an ht with the hairstatus you see on the pic? the resolution is probably not high enough to give a proper answer right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

 out of interest:

 

1.could a dermatologist  spot first signs of balding 10 years before the area becomes noticeable bald?

 

2. could my grandad go for an ht with the hairstatus you see on the pic? the resolution is probably not high enough to give a proper answer right?

1. A dermatologist can help predict the extent of the progression of baldness. However, the dermatologist cannot cannot spot signs of balding in a certain area 10 years prior to its balding. The dermatologist can provide medications to prevent any further hair loss.

2. Yes he can go for a hair transplant. His donor seems to be good according to the picture. You can share more of his scalp pictures for a full evaluation.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...