hairline recession - (what does it all mean?)

[dazedandconfused]

hello,

i'm 21 years old and in the last few months, i started to become conscious of what i believe is hairline recession. it is hard for me to tell because of always had an awkward hairline that goes back slightly behind my temples. nonetheless, i feel that it has progressed (or regressed?) more in the last year. on the top of my head and around my vertex, it doesn't seem that i've experienced any kind of hairloss. my father and his brothers have been bald since a young age - my grandfather on his side had a full head of hair until much later. everyone on my mother's side has a full head of hair.

my first question is, does a receding hairline inevitably lead to baldness? i ask because i don't want to consider any kind of treatment until i am sure that i need it.

second, can anyone explain to me what they know or a source where i can learn about different patterns of balding and what is known of the genetics behind it?

i can't figure out how to post images...

thanks!

 

[bubka]

there is a natural maturation of the hairline, so yes, you could lose some and stop, but look around, that is the rarity

you should notice losing hair all over the top of the head if you have male pattern baldness, in the shower, pillow, towel drying etc... over 100 hair a day loss is male pattern baldness genrally

 

[Guest]

there is a natural maturation of the hairline, so yes, you could lose some and stop, but look around, that is the rarity

for male pattern baldness people it is, but plenty of people just go to NW2 sometime between ages 17-29 and in some cases it's simply a mature hairline, and it will stay that way till they're 50+.

 

[bubka]

see, i would say thought that anything past a specific point is male pattern baldness... even if you don't lose the crown until 50+ as you stated

its really a tough thing to define, however, even a maturing hairline can be male pattern baldness in my opinion

 

[Guest]

see, i would say thought that anything past a specific point is male pattern baldness... even if you don't lose the crown until 50+ as you stated

its really a tough thing to define, however, even a maturing hairline can be male pattern baldness in my opinion

i don't think so, because 96% of people are on the Norwood scale when they die. Rassman has a good article on juvenile vs mature hairlines. My grandpa had a mature hairline in his twenties and it stayed that way till his 70s. He's about an NW2.5 now at 82.

how many 35 year olds do you see with juvenile hairlines? not many Caucasians, that's for sure. . a little recession is normal and not necessarily male pattern baldness.

 

[bubka]

but i am getting at, the process in which the hairline recedes is the same as in all male pattern baldness

just a difference in terminology

like yeah, you can have some male pattern baldness and not be / going bald... but still its male pattern baldness

 

[Guest]

but i am getting at, the process in which the hairline recedes is the same as in all male pattern baldness

just a difference in terminology

like yeah, you can have some male pattern baldness and not be / going bald... but still its male pattern baldness

i see what you're saying, but what i'm getting at is that it's not even considerd by most hair transplant docs to be male pattern baldness until you've reached the NW3 stage. NW2 is still considered a mature hairline and if all you have is an NW2 hairline with no crown thinning then no one can tell you are balding.

 

[bubka]

oh i know what you are saying... it's just people lose hair with male pattern baldness is so many different ways, like we have talked about times before... you could just lose some hairline, just lose some crown, or some crazy in between or something totally different... you know :freaked:

 

[dazedandconfused]

hello, thanks for the replies from both of you. so right now, i am definitely at least in a hair line maturation phase (and good point, i haven't seen many caucasians at all with juvenile hairlines at 35). it doesn't seem the hair on top of my head has started thinning, and i've checked out my vertex, and nothing seems to be lost yet. but what kinds of signs should i look for that hint towards more advanced male pattern baldness?

also, i apologize, but i am new to a lot of this terminology. but can someone explain the Norwood scale for me?

 

[LookingGood!]

the norwood scale has alot of flaws.

It is just a generaliztion. Many hair transplant docs do not like it at all. There are a few classifications of a Norwood 2.
Armani has his own scale for instance.

I wouldnt put a whole lot of stock into each Norwood classification b/c every individual is so unique.