Am I balding or not?

LegacyUser

Sorry, I know this isn't a serious issue and I don't mean to post mickey mouse problems but I can't get this anxiety out of mind. I am 23 and have a good head of hair which is blonde. My dad is bald and I have 2 older brothers who are not bald. We all have different type of hair and mine would actually be the most healthy and fullest out of the 3 of us. I am often told that I take after my mother and look like members of her family while I don't look like my dad. On her side as far as I know, the men have good heads of hair so I always assumed that I might no go bald like my dad.

Anyway I am a very obsessive personality and once I get things in to my head, I find it very hard to not think about them. A few weeks ago I was looking in the bathroom mirror which has a bright light above it and noticed that I could see through my hair a bit. The thing is I have blonde hair and it is always styled spiking up so I am not sure if I am worrying about nothing or if I am showing signs of balding. I look about 18 or 19 and do not have near as much facial hair as my brothers so seeing as they are not going bald, I find it hard to imagine that I am but I don't know how this stuff works. I am not noticing any falling out in the shower or anything but just can't stop looking at that dam bathroom mirror with the light above it. I also don't have a receding hair line and I know this is very common with baldness.

The thing is I need to know if I am showing signs or not because I can't stop obsession about it. For all I know my scalp may have always been visible under light and I just never focused on it or perhaps my hair is just thinning with age. I feel embarrassed asking any family member or friend for advice as I am also sort of fearing that somebody will tell me I am showing signs of balding. Anyone got any advice as to where I can just get an opinion on this?

Thanks

Zaph

To be honest, it's very hard for anyone here to be able to tell if you're balding or not without knowing you and seeing what you were like, say, a year ago, compared to now. It may be that you've always had very fine hair and things haven't changed. Depending on how short my hair is cut, and particularly after a shower you can see my scalp through it because it's so fine. However I'm definitely not balding. You shouldn't feel embarrassed about asking a friend or family member, they're probably the best people to ask because if you are going bald they'll already be aware of it.

Pretty_Pistol

I've been told that balding is more likely if your maternal Grandfather was bald. Not sure how true that is but it actually seems to have worked that way in anyone in my family and people I know. Look up the genetics of balding. If there is a genetics forum on here you could ask them.

cafecolour

There's really only two types of baldness patterns. One is the receding hairline. One starts as a spot at the back of the top of your head (and is often accompanied by a receding hairline). You would not be thinning in a consistent amount all over the top of your head.

If you are really concerned, go see your GP.

LegacyUser

Male pattern baldness is passed on through the maternal genes as far as I understand, so whether or not your dad is bald is irrelevant to you. If all the men on your mothers side of the family have their hair then you should keep yours too.

princess-lala

Male baldness generally goes by your mothers brother and if theres no brother to check it is usually your maternal grandfather.

Ask your family what they think? We honestly cant tell you because we havent seen it now compared to last year.

LegacyUser

Thanks, I realize it is a bit daft posting a question like this when nobody can even see me or knows me. As far as I know my uncles on my mothers side did not go bald. On saying that there is about 6 of them and some have passed on. I don't know many of them as our families live far apart and are not close. Anyway's I have always been told when visiting them that I look the most like my mother and they have always claimed me as one of their own. Lol, I hope to god this means I will escape the baldness! I will ask my mother for her opinion but it is more a question of 'am I likely to go bald in the future' rather than 'am I going bald now?' as I really am not showing any signs yet. If I go and see a GP, would they be able to do sort of a prediction of where my hair is going in the future, or do you just have to wait and let nature takes its course and see what happens?

Thanks

LegacyUser

AmIorNot? wrote: »

If I go and see a GP, would they be able to do sort of a prediction of where my hair is going in the future, or do you just have to wait and let nature takes its course and see what happens?

Thanks

I don't think your gp would be able to tell, not without an extremely expensive and laborious series of tests I'd imagine! and even at the end of that, it mightn't prove anything!
I've four brothers. My father had a full head of hair into his seventies (didn't lose his hair after that by the way!, he's passed away now), and two of my brothers have full heads of hair into their late thirties and forties. The other two brothers have receding hairlines and are in their forties. They take after my maternal grandfather.

The difference between the two sets of brothers is that the brothers who lost most of their hair have very thin hair, and have always had thin hair. While the brothers who still have their hair have very thick hair (and have always had very thick hair). I'd say if your hair is similar in texture to your mothers, you'll be keeping your hair on my man!
Hope this is of some help!

kjl

OK firstly

the whole mothers father thing is just a myth, male pattern baldness can be passed from both sides.

You should monitor your hair loss, anything above 150 hairs a day is symptomatic of hair loss.

As for you situation, its probably the fact that you have light hair and the new light that made you see your scalp. Stop worrying until you you start finding more hair in the shower.

And yes you can go to you GP and have your scalp mapped, no lab tests needed, just a simple calliper tool.

Also, they have basically fixed it now with the ability to clone hair follicles, so 5-10 years you will have a full head of hair again.

LegacyUser

The amount of false info in this thread is worrying. OP, ignore all this mother, father, grandfather crap. The gene can come from either side and whoever said you dont thin all over the top of your head dosnt know what they are talking about, it is a form of pattern baldness. As mentioned, go to a dermatologist or gp and get your head mapped for miniturisation. Good luck.

LegacyUser

Does one of these miniaturization tests tell if you are going bald in the future or is it just to test the present condition of your hair? Like even if my hair is thick now, will a doctor be able to determine the faith of my hair by one of these examinations? Also, are these tests undertaken by the curiosity of the patients about whether they are losing their hair, or are they so done so that certain treatments can be taken at early stages before excessive hair loss?
Thanks

Victor

At about age twenty, men's hairline does rise- its part of the difference between a boy's face and a man's face. Wet hair clumps together and makes the scalp more visible - this is most obvious with dark hair where the scalp would normally be invisible.

I suspect you are seeing things that you haven't noticed before, as opposed to you suddenly becoming bald.

AmIorNot? wrote: »

Does one of these miniaturization tests tell if you are going bald in the future or is it just to test the present condition of your hair?

What are these?

princess-lala

If your really worried go and see a trichologist - these are hair doctors. Not every GP will have any insight into baldness.

LegacyUser

As far as I know getting mapped for miniturization will only show the current state of your hair. There is no way to know if you will begin balding in the future or not. There is more than enough accurate info here www.hairlosstalk.com. Good luck

LegacyUser

Victor wrote: »

At about age twenty, men's hairline does rise- its part of the difference between a boy's face and a man's face. Wet hair clumps together and makes the scalp more visible - this is most obvious with dark hair where the scalp would normally be invisible.

I suspect you are seeing things that you haven't noticed before, as opposed to you suddenly becoming bald.

Yeah I hope this the case. When I woke up this morning I checked my pillow for hairs that might have come off last nite and I could not find any. I am assuming if I was actually balding that there would be hairs showing up everywhere. On saying that my hairline does seem to have risen a small bit over the last year but perhaps this is normal. I don't have that traditional mens hairline with the sort of V shape and it is still pretty even all around my forehead. As well as that I am pretty young looking for my age and have by no means developed very manly features yet.

I do have friends who have long hair cuts and I remember them talking to each other about how they missed how thick it used to be when they were 18 rather than it is now at 24. They are both not balding or anything but their hair had thinned over the years and would not be as big and full as it used to be. Anyway this is just maturity I guess in their cases.

I think I will get my scalp mapped as recommended. Does anyone happen to know how much that would roughly be ti see a hair specialist, and I assume it is not covered on the medical card right?

Thanks

Shelga

Get your hair mapped? :rolleyes: How about getting a sense of perspective. I understand you are worried about going bald but if you spend too much time, money and energy on this it will just make you even more obsessive. Even now you're coming across as vain and a bit image-obsessed.

Sorry to be harsh but as others have said, there's no way of knowing if you're going to go bald in the future, so just try not to think about it. I think it would be total waste of money to see a trichologist/doctor about it.

You were correct in your first post when you said you realised this is a bit of a silly problem compared to others.

LegacyUser

Shelga wrote: »

Get your hair mapped? :rolleyes: How about getting a sense of perspective. I understand you are worried about going bald but if you spend too much time, money and energy on this it will just make you even more obsessive. Even now you're coming across as vain and a bit image-obsessed.

Yes I am vain and image-obsessed. What is your point?

LegacyUser

amIorNot? wrote: »

A few weeks ago I was looking in the bathroom mirror which has a bright light above it and noticed that I could see through my hair a bit.

There's your answer. Any bright light shone from above will make it look like you're going bald and that you could even count the numbers of hair left. Light in my downstairs loo does the same to me. And has done for past 10 years. I still have my hair though.

Relax.