Receding hair line

[fortyninethousand322]

So, for a few years now (3 or so) I have noticed that my hair line has been receding and my hair getting thinner. At first I thought it wasn't that noticeable, but now I think it's somewhat obvious.

 

The weird thing though is that out of both sides of the family only my father and my brother have male pattern baldness. Everyone else still had/has their hair even into their old age. Until I was 17 I had ungodly thick hair that no one ever thought would thin out.

 

So I guess I have two questions: 1) What should I do about this? 2) Is this indeed an instance of genetically inherited male pattern baldness or some other medical condition?

[Rinnix]

My boyfriend has a receding hairline, it's not drastic. I have no problems with his hair or how he looks. He can shave his head bald and Id still find him appealing.

 

Your genes play a very important part in your hair growth. You can inherit your hair loss from either side of your family. It's a common gentic issue for males.

 

Embrace how you look - don't worry about it. It's likely that your more critical of your own looks. If you really don't like it's appearance you can shave your head so it's less noticible. Many people won't see it as a problem otherwise.

[Feelin Frisky]

Answer: #2.

 

This sounds like classic pattern baldness. It's tough to know what to do because there's no telling where the receding will stop. I had the massive hair as a teen also. When I hit 31 I started noticing a lot of hair in the drain and on the soap bar. Briefly I wondered who it was that left all of this hair around before I had that stark moment of realization that my hair was jumping ship on me. It's been a long time since then and my hair has thinned out but thankfully I don't have the receding hair-line. I have a patch in the back but can't see that in a mirror so I don't have to face it.

 

Hang in there. Maybe you'll just have a period of hair loss and some stabilization afterward (or a bounce back). I've never gotten the hair of my youth back but whatever shortfalls I have, I have had bounce backs where things filled back in. Good luck.

[Good Arms]

My hair started receding and thinning throughout my 20s. It was only when I reached my 30s that I started really shaving it as short as possible. I wish I'd started shaving it earlier to be honest, because it made me extremely self conscious and frankly contributed to depression. I used to hate sitting with my back to people because I imagined their eyes all staring at my bald patch!

 

Now I keep it shaved twice a week and it's nice not having to worry about it. It's probably the best option, as it does make it far less noticeable, if you really care what others think.

 

I was kind of relieved that seeing a relative I'd not seen for years, she commented on my shaved head and assumed I was doing it for 'fashion' reasons... so she can't have noticed that if I didn't shave it, I'd have a stonking great bald patch standing out.

[PegNosePete]

I know from experience that you cannot prevent it, you just have to embrace it. Get a number 1 or 2 cut.

[Andy_K]

There are plenty of medications shown to slow or stop hair loss in a majority (>50%) of patients. Some even claim regrowth for some fraction of users. You can try rogaine, finasteride, etc.

[fortyninethousand322]

Answer: #2.

 

This sounds like classic pattern baldness. It's tough to know what to do because there's no telling where the receding will stop. I had the massive hair as a teen also. When I hit 31 I started noticing a lot of hair in the drain and on the soap bar. Briefly I wondered who it was that left all of this hair around before I had that stark moment of realization that my hair was jumping ship on me. It's been a long time since then and my hair has thinned out but thankfully I don't have the receding hair-line. I have a patch in the back but can't see that in a mirror so I don't have to face it.

 

Hang in there. Maybe you'll just have a period of hair loss and some stabilization afterward (or a bounce back). I've never gotten the hair of my youth back but whatever shortfalls I have, I have had bounce backs where things filled back in. Good luck.

 

I figured it was male pattern baldness. But isn't supposed to be genetic? My father has it, but his brother (my uncle) has a full head of hair, same with both grandfathers, and great grandfathers and even great great grandfathers. I guess it's just a recessive gene that I've had the misfortune of inheriting.