Hair Loss Slowing After Age 35

[Rossybop]

Does hair loss slow down after age 35 or thereabouts? I've seen a few things online suggesting that hair loss stabilises around age 30-35.

[Melvin- Admin]

It depends on your level, if you’re a Norwood 6, yes, it slows down because you’ve lost most of your hair by then. But if you’re a Norwood 2, you’ll probably continue to thin many more years.

[Rossybop]

I see. Does it thin at the same rapid pace or does it slow down?

[GoliGoliGoli]

Some people say it slows down as your age but that sounds like wishful thinking. Everyones balding pattern/rate is individual to them. I would not at all anticipate your balding to slow after 35 or any other arbitrary age. 

[BackFromTheBrink]

41 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Some people say it slows down as your age but that sounds like wishful thinking. Everyones balding pattern/rate is individual to them. I would not at all anticipate your balding to slow after 35 or any other arbitrary age. 

Testosterone levels fall as you age, so DHT levels will too. Whether that impacts hair loss will depend on the reduction and individual sensitivity to it. As with medication, a reduction will probably slow for some and stop it for others.

[GoliGoliGoli]

24 minutes ago, BackFromTheBrink said:

Testosterone levels fall as you age, so DHT levels will too. Whether that impacts hair loss will depend on the reduction and individual sensitivity to it. As with medication, a reduction will probably slow for some and stop it for others.

I understand the thinking behind it and I'm still not convinced. Anecdotal evidence shows that many guys lose rapidly well past 35 or any other arbitrary age. People will come up with all sorts of theories for why their hair loss will stabilize. Lots of guys also continue to lose ON finasteride so I don't think some 1% drop in your T levels per year is going to have a big effect on your hair loss. 

The mechanism by which DHT causes hair loss is very poorly understood. The main idea is that by binding to the follicle restricts blood flow/nutrient flow to the follicle. But blood flow gets worse with age regardless, so any supposed benefit you might get from your 1% per year drop in testosterone could easily be counteracted by that. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by GoliGoliGoli

[hairman4321]

I felt like my hair loss was more aggressive in my early 20s thats for sure.

[A_4_Archan]

@Rossybop

Hair loss is described as unpredictable, meaning it doesn't follow a fixed timelne. There is no specific age at which you can be certain that hair loss will cease. Some people may experience it in their 20s, while others may not see significant hair loss until their 50s.

The extent of hair loss is linked to an individual's unique physical condition, genetics, and overall health. Factors such as genetics, hormonal balance, and lifestyle choices all play a role in how and when hair loss occurs.

Each person is genetically predisposed to reach a certain Norwood level, but there's no way to accurately predict this in advance. 

Hair loss is a highly variable and complex experience. It's not just about age; it's about a complex interplay of factors that make it unique for every individual.

Yeh medication can help to a certain level but there are some people who are not a good candidate for that and for all of them there is no option than to lead a healthy lifestyle and wish for the best.

[HappyMan2021]

its completely unpredictable. Also consider that some people respond extremely well to Fin/Dut while it may not be effective for other people. 

So you may have someone who has aggressive hairloss but halts hairloss in their tracks with Fin. And then you might have someone with fairly moderate hairloss who for one reason or another doesnt take Fin or its ineffective - and in the long-run the guy with the aggressive hairloss will have more hair. 

Ultimately i'd say age of hairloss onset and one's NW level are the best non-scientific indicators of what their hairloss will look like in the future. 

A NW5 in their early 20s has a pretty dire prognosis...whereas if someone makes it to age 40 and they are only a NW2, they probably never ever have to worry about being fully bald. 

[TrixGlendevon]

My brother went from close to NW1 to NW2-2.5 in terms of the hairline in his mid 40s. Has hair everywhere else.

[mr_peanutbutter]

i feel like people who seem to drop down many norwoods past 30 still had signs of balding earlier but it wasnt so visible to the human eye

 

a person who has a paul ryan / zayn  malik norwood 0 hairline with 35 wont go bald 99%
 

then a person who already receeded to lets say norwood 2 or norwood 2a with 35 can still become norwood 6 down the line simply bc these people often thin already in the whole norwood 6 pattern at this age but their hairloss is slow and not so easily detectable at 35

 

 

[Rossybop]

Some very interesting perspectives here. Thanks guys.

Personally I have found that I thinned consistently from my late teens to my late 20s, with some fluctuating moments of more aggressive hair loss.

Went on finasteride aged 29 and the hair loss slowed dramatically. Around age 31 the hair loss became more advanced again. A couple of months ago I stopped fin and started dutatsteride instead. Now aged 33 it seems my hair loss has totally stopped.

[Recession1]

4 hours ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

i feel like people who seem to drop down many norwoods past 30 still had signs of balding earlier but it wasnt so visible to the human eye

 

a person who has a paul ryan / zayn  malik norwood 0 hairline with 35 wont go bald 99%
 

then a person who already receeded to lets say norwood 2 or norwood 2a with 35 can still become norwood 6 down the line simply bc these people often thin already in the whole norwood 6 pattern at this age but their hairloss is slow and not so easily detectable at 35

 

 

I agree with this but if you are 35 and are a NW 3 with no miniturization on the rest of the head chances are you aren’t going to become NW 5 or 6. I think if you are destined to become N6 or 5 you would have miniturization by age 30 all over your head. 

[gillenator]

There are lots of men who just start noticing their hair loss in their thirties…everyone is different.

[mr_peanutbutter]

2 hours ago, Recession1 said:

I agree with this but if you are 35 and are a NW 3 with no miniturization on the rest of the head chances are you aren’t going to become NW 5 or 6. I think if you are destined to become N6 or 5 you would have miniturization by age 30 all over your head. 

miniaturization yes but that doesnt get noticable to the human eye until 50% of hairs are miniaturized/gone

 

so under a microscope it would be visible but not necessary noticable to the human eye

[Recession1]

25 minutes ago, gillenator said:

There are lots of men who just start noticing their hair loss in their thirties…everyone is different.

Agreed but the men in their 30s that haven’t shown much hairloss or miniturization aren’t going to go from minor hair loss to NW 6 or 7. Most of those patterns with advanced loss are gone in their 20s

[Recession1]

3 minutes ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

miniaturization yes but that doesnt get noticable to the human eye until 50% of hairs are miniaturized/gone

 

so under a microscope it would be visible but not necessary noticable to the human eye

I agree 

[arthurSam]

I was nw3 at 30 and at 42 and become nw4 at 46 so no hair loss do not decrease at 30

[Savemyhairline]

The more I’ve looked into this the more I’ve come to learn the answer is “no one really knows”. Genetics are very complicated and there is a ton of misinformation everywhere regarding MBP. A common misbelief is it only comes from the mothers side, for example. There are plenty of examples of men who lost a lot of hair at 40-50-60+. There are also examples of men who had high hairlines quite young but they progressed very, very slowly and kept most of their hair until old age (Marlon Brando and Paul Newman come to mind). And we know guys like that wouldn’t have been on medication due to it not being around at the time. Preventive treatment is pretty much necessary in all HT cases unless you want to roll the dice.