My hair genes are impeccable on the Swedish side of my family.
Unfortunately, I’m only about 1/8 Swedish!
The rest of my lineage is largely British — and the Brits are hit-and-miss when it comes to MPB, much like the Germans, Irish, etc.
Scandinavians too. They certainly don’t all have fantastic, lush, full heads of hair into their 70s like my 3x great and 2x great grandfather did….Very few are that fortunate.
Of course, there are bald eagles on my family tree, just like there are on yours — and that’s why hair loss is so damn unpredictable; there are also beautiful blue jays with thick manes on top (yes, I realize blue jays don’t actually have hair!).
My 3x great grandparents with their first 3 children (I think they had about 7 more!). Lars was my 3x grandfather’s name. Yes, seriously! He was the gravedigger, sexton, whatever you call it. More on that momentarily.
My 2x great grandfather. Age, 30ish? Still probably a NW 1. Never lost any hair after that as far as I can tell. Axel was his name. What a badass name!
Here’s Axel as an older man. Pretty much the same hair, just gray.
And then this is my favorite one. My 3x great grandpa. Look at this thick-ass hair of his. And the mustache. And the weird-looking man-lady in the dress! That’s not politically correct I realize. No idea who he/she is!
Looking back at these photos of my grandfathers, as I did yesterday in my post describing my long-lost bald and bearded, Mormon relatives, leads me to many questions.
For instance, is balding more common today than it was in the 17, 18, or early 19 hundreds?
I doubt it, personally. Could the Western diet be speeding up hair loss, given that obesity is the new normal? Probably not, but I suppose theoretically it’s possible.
Why was my 3x great grandfather blessed with a Norwood 1 for life and absolutely EPIC facial hair?
Because he was a devout Lutheran?
No, it’s all in the genes, my friend.
Why were my Mormon ancestors “cursed” with premature baldness?
Because Mormonism is a batshit crazy religion (no offense)?
No, again, hair loss is all in the genes…
But, now, perhaps you’re wondering…
Is there a link between one’s ability to grow a beard and hair loss?
Experts say no, and I generally agree….
But then, at the same time, I also disagree.
Asian men can’t typically grow beards, and as I pointed out in my Hairline Stalking, Class of ’03 Post, the vast majority of Asian men maintain their Norwood 1 statuses at least into their middle ages. Furthermore, Asian men usually go bald to a lesser degree compared to white men.
Whites can grow amazing beards (though I myself am an exception, for whatever reason). But they have horrible hair loss genes, relatively speaking — and they’re really the only group that goes full George Costanza while still in their 20s or 30s.
Here’s a quick story for you: My dad used to play a lot of pickup basketball when I was a kid and he would drag me along in order to avoid paying for a babysitter. I had a good enough time, so it’s all good. They played shirts vs. skins. When the bald guys would disrobe, I couldn’t help noticing their body hair situations. And as you would expect, all the bald ballplayers were about as hairy as a goddamn gorilla! Coincidence? Perhaps, perhaps not!
But then again, plenty of guys with epic beards maintain lush hair well into their golden years. Paul McCartney is a good example. Has Sir Paul had a hair transplant? I’m not going to say, but even if he did (wink, wink!), it’s likely he was genetically blessed on the follicular front and only had his hypothetical hair transplant due to mild, late-onset MPB.
“When I get older, losing my hair….many years from now.”
I can only hope to share your fortune, Sir Paul!
Many other white guys with fabulous locks also have fabulous beards. I’m rambling now, I just had a glass of red wine!
I’ll leave you with a little excerpt from my 3x Great Grandfather’s eulogy. His name was Lars Carlson and he sounded like a good and magnanimous man. Peace be with you, Sir.
For twenty-six years, since the establishment of the Swedish Lutheran cemetery of this city, Mr. Carlson has acted as sexton of the cemetery, and that cemetery is indeed a tribute to his memory. The common consensus of opinion is that there is no prettier or better kept cemetery in Southern Minnesota.
RIP, grandpa Lars.
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.