30 Year old male, dermatologist doesn't think I have male pattern baldness

[Norwoody]

Wow it's surprising how much hair you lost after your 20s. I would have thought you would have been losing more of it sooner than that. I mean, you had chest hair there and everything too. Usually once a man has his body hair and facial hair thicken up, it seems like they won't lose much hair after that point. Guys who haven't "matured" yet and are destined to gain more body hair are usually at risk to lose more hair as they have yet to have more androgen receptors activated. Your case is just bad luck really.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Wow it's surprising how much hair you lost after your 20s. I would have thought you would have been losing more of it sooner than that. I mean, you had chest hair there and everything too. Usually once a man has his body hair and facial hair thicken up, it seems like they won't lose much hair after that point. Guys who haven't "matured" yet and are destined to gain more body hair are usually at risk to lose more hair as they have yet to have more androgen receptors activated. Your case is just bad luck really.

Aren't they all, lol?

 

[Norwoody]

Aren't they all, lol?

Oh yeah. But this is rare from what I have seen. You had hair everywhere. The guys who lose a ton of hair quickly tend to have a full head of hair and barely any body/facial hair before the process begins, then all the sudden it flips.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Oh yeah. But this is rare from what I have seen. You had hair everywhere. The guys who lose a ton of hair quickly tend to have a full head of hair and barely any body/facial hair before the process begins, then all the sudden it flips.

Come to think of it, that pic might have been at 19 since I still had a center part. The chest hair is nasty and I definitely had more than my father and probably a thicker beard too. But it is a good transitional pic to show how hair might transition looks-wise in terms of texture and ability to grow it long. The frizziness in the former cowlick is apparent and I had noticed that it looked much better damp that either wet or dry for a long time because as it dried, it would shrink and curl slightly.

 

[Raccooner]

There is a possibility you might not have male pattern baldness actually. One thing is you've maintained your hairline. You haven't receded in your temples. This might have been what she was thinking. You're balding more like women do in this respect.

 

[Don Flamenco]

You need to be on finasteride to get a transplant.

If you have diffuse thinning then you won't have enough for a transplant and the rest of your statement is hilarious. Any tips guys for someone who won't use reductase inhibitors or minoxidil? Yeaah. Always wear a hat cause you will be completely bald soon. Get out there and get laid. That's what George Costanza counsels newly incipient bald guys to do. Some less proven methods? Are you going to do research or try to save your hair? Because I am more so trying to save my hair but you guys who use RU only and report back are doing everyone a service. It's just that you are likely to go bald while doing it with less proven methods. Even microneedling is useless for hair if you aren't on either finasteride/Duta.

Best,
Janey

Apparently some studies have shown that microneedling on it's own is more effective than just taking minoxidil

 

[Don Flamenco]

There is a possibility you might not have male pattern baldness actually. One thing is you've maintained your hairline. You haven't receded in your temples. This might have been what she was thinking. You're balding more like women do in this respect.

Kinda I have pretty significant crown balding though which I don't believe most women get, and it was the first signs of balding I ever got. Prior to my diffuse thinning or stress

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Apparently some studies have shown that microneedling on it's own is more effective than just taking minoxidil

I do that too. Microneedling is miraculous for many. Once a week like clockwork now for 24 months, I do it. The issue is that if you stop microneedling without having finasteride do maintenance, it all seems to blow away in like 60 days.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

There is a possibility you might not have male pattern baldness actually. One thing is you've maintained your hairline. You haven't receded in your temples. This might have been what she was thinking. You're balding more like women do in this respect.

That's called FPB and it does resemble diffuse thinning but it's caused by androgens and I am willing to bet that androgens are involved in "Telogen Effluvium" in general. Telogen Effluvium diagnoses are virtually always a waste of time. If it were Telogen Effluvium, why is it not all over the scalp and I think I can see some beginning of some deterioration in the temples. I guess you guys jump through the hoops of praying for Telogen Effluvium so you don't have to use medications but if you wait six to 12 to even, yes, 24 months for recovery, it's too late because you have been losing all of the time and who says Telogen Effluvium is recoverable from when accompanied by male pattern baldness?

It's not either or. It's never either or. It's either male pattern baldness alone or it's Telogen Effluvium plus male pattern baldness. Bayesian analysis makes such things crystal clear:

Monty Hall problem - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Roger Maris is the most famous case of purported Telogen Effluvium in history, it being said that his hair came out in clumps as he chased Babe Ruth's record but Roger Maris wore his hair in a crew cut, just as dorky as possible. This baseball card is about the baldest pic of him I can find. He appeared to lack enough hair even for it to come out in clumps in his hands but this has been the one time maybe where it might have only been Telogen Effluvium You Brits will be clueless as to how important the home run record used to be. The pic of him older can only be linked to. You guys can call this the Roger Maris defense if someone says that you are balding instead of Telogen Effluvium-certified, just remind them of Roger Maris. Of course, there are no pictures of Roger balding that I know of. He might have said this in passing and it got picked up by the media but this is the best I've got in terms of a Telogen Effluvium tale with a happy ending:

Maris’ chase was stress test 1961: In pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record, Roger Maris faced hostility from fans and the media, a far cry from the adulation Mark McGwire is getting now.

During the final weeks of the 1961 season, New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris visited a doctor in Baltimore, convinced that he had contracted a serious illness because his hair had begun to fa…

www.baltimoresun.com

Roger Maris speaks to the fans during Old Timers' Day where his...

Roger Maris speaks to the fans during Old Timers' Day where his number is retired and a plaque is dedicated to hang in Monument Park on July 21, 1984 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York. Maris...

www.gettyimages.com