Diagnosing a “maturing” hairline can be a challenge, even for experienced doctors.
Why?
Because a maturing hairline can resemble male pattern baldness, AKA adrogenic alopecia, to both the untrained and trained eye. The hairline maturation process often involves miniaturization (though in many cases, the hair just sort of falls out without miniaturizing, from what I’ve gathered). Male pattern baldness also involves miniaturization.
It the last 10 months since I started this hair loss blog, I’ve already received many hairline-evaluation requests. And, for the most part, the young men who email me appear to have maturing hairlines, not male pattern baldness. I usually tell them something like this:
It looks to me like you’re probably maturing, not actually beginning the balding process. Some of the pictures look better than others. But 16 is a bit on the early end to develop a mature hairline, so if you’re concerned, or if you have any close relatives who went bald young, I’d suggest seeing a specialist. There are also some signs of slight erosion along the corners but this could be part of the maturation process…Keep in mind I’m no doctor. Best wishes.
That was an actual response I sent to a 16 year old recently.
If you’re concerned, or if you have any close relatives who experienced early-onset hair loss, it would probably be worth it to have your hair examined by a professional. Other signs that your “maturing” hairline may be the first step on a journey to baldness include:
- A change in your hair texture or quality. Maybe it just seems a tad thinner than it used to, or maybe you’re seeing many little (miniaturized) hairs when you style your hair.
- Difficulty styling your hair. Granted, the hairline “maturation” process can be a bit awkward and lead to styling issues as well, but male pattern baldness will almost certainly force you to “adapt” your style over time. Maybe the styles you rocked in the past aren’t looking so hot anymore. That could definitely be a sign you’re going bald and not simply maturing.
So yeah, that about covers it. Hair loss is genetic. And if early-onset male pattern baldness runs in your family, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll just make a quick pit stop at Norwood 2, before moving onto balder places. If you’re concerned, I’d definitely recommend seeing a doctor, either a dermatologist or a hair restoration surgeon.
Robert Price is a writer, consumer advocate, and hair loss researcher with thousands of hours of experience in the field. His goal is to keep you out of the hair loss rabbit hole, underworld, or whatever you want to call it. He founded Hair Loss Daily, the unbiased hair loss blog, in 2016. You can learn more about Robert in the my story section of this website.
Yes, MPB is genetic, but based on the number of bald headed men in my family, I had only a 50% chance of going bald, a coin toss. My hairline made an almost 30 year pit stop at Norwood 2-3 and I was deeply disappointed with the delay. For three decades I waited impatiently for acts Norwood 4, 5 and 6. Then it happened, in less than two years. Now I am patiently waiting for Norwood 7. No hurry though, as Norwood 6 has been wonderful the last twenty years.
What’s with all this paranoid fear of MPB? Cancer and cardiac disease are infinitely worse, they can kill. Blindness is even worse, it leaves you helpless and groping around in the dark. I can name an endless list of fates far worse than MPB. MPB doesn’t hurt one bit. I’m very happy it finally happened to me. It looks great on me and it feels wonderful. I love it. The guys who go bald aggressively in their 20s and early 30s are the real lucky ones. I wish that had happened to me. My advice to young guys going bald is to relax and just let it happen and enjoy experience. And pray that it happens fast.