new thread
I have a question for all of the "old farts" as many of them like to call themselves. =)
First off, let me just say that MPB is not an uncommon thing in my family with the men. My dad(in his late 40's) has a rather noticeable bald spot at the top/back of his head, but surprisingly he is not thinning at the front hairline/temples. My maternal grandfather is pretty much bald now, although he didn't really start losing hair until his 40's. The strange thing with that is that my maternal grandfather has two brothers. One of them is as bald as Mr. Clean (slick as a whistle), and he does not shave his head. The other brother has a thick, curly head of hair that is more full than a lot of young guys, and he is in his 60's. So basically, I guess I could go either way with the MPB. I might end up bald as can be, or I might have a thick head of hair till the day I die. If I went bald, I wouldn't mope about it. Many men go bald as they get older, so I wouldn't be a freak or anything. Although I would love to still have a thick head of hair as an "old fart" one day, if i go bald then that's just how it is.
Finally, here are the questions to the older guys who still have thick heads of hair.
1)Is/was your father bald?
2)Is/was your maternal grandfather or any of his siblings bald?
My dad was bald by his early 30's and my maternal grandather died at 76 with a full head of hair.
I'm 51 and have a bald spot at the crown, but it doesn't seem to be progressing.
My Father was not bald or even losing his hair when he passed away at 61. (His brother was balding when he passed away in his 70's.)
My grandfather had a full head of hair through to his 90's.
I have 4 older brothers ... of the 3 surviving, none are losing their hair.
I hope I inherited the smae genes.
Karsten
Neither my father nor my maternal grandfather were bald. So I guess I fit the stereotype, since at 48, my hair doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast either.
(I'm one of those hateful people who's actually shaved my head on four different occasions, but that's another board.) :)
no.
Not a one.
To honor your question literally, my father died when I was two but his two siblings retained most of their hair until they were as old as I am: 72.
My maternal grandfather was bald with a nice fringe when I was 10.
But it is not that simple. Even though every child of a couple have the potential for the same genetic makeup, there is in reality a roll of the dice. No two children come out exactly the same unless they are fraternal twins, that is one ovum and immediate cell division into to identical zygotes. Even then, there is going to be differentiation as the fraternal twins develope.
We are all carrying more genetic poential than can be realized, and the conditions which result in gene expression are the consequence of known events from the first cell division to signing up for medicare.
There is no way we can predict the genetic outcome for ourselves with complete accuracy. What we can do is avail ourselves of the emerging technology. Minoxidil I cannot use, for it makes my scalp itch and actualy causes tissue damage for me. I envy those who can use it. Finasteride, propecia, convince your MD to Rx the 5 MG tab, and break it into 1/4 parts, there is no reason for it to be completely equal, so you are taking 1.0 to 1.25 MG a day. I think this helps me, but there is no way to prove it unless I stop taking it and I am not about to take that risk.
Then there is always the possibility of hair transplants. They are getting cheaper, and better, but no reason to go this route unless hair is very important to you and you have alredy reached a stage which makes it clear that you have MPB. And then still no reason if you want to be a long hiar, but just do not have full hair on top or in the crown.
It'sall an individual matter of what is important to you, and as far as significant others are concerned, it has been my experience that their response to me is not based on my hair but on the quality of the friendship and concern I offer them. I would be suspect of anyone who though they loved me only because I had long, short, or indifferent hair. Mostly it is a matter of how we view ourselves.
Caledonian
He was not.
No they were not.
No. He died at the age of 77 with full hair.
Yes, he was totally bald by the time he was 30.
I am 52 and showing no signs of baldness. My brother, 7 years my junior, is well along the road to being completely bald.
Yes, mostly bald by time he was 45
He had a full head of white hair when he died at 99 (I hope I take after him in more than the hair :) )
I am not too worried at this point, yeah!
I am only a few weeks away from my 47th birthday.
My father is not bald, but my hair, color, texture, etc has never looked like my father's. In fact, none of the three of us (brothers) have hair that looks like our father's. Color and texture on all three of us look more like our mother's.
When my maternal grandfather died in his late 80's, he was not bald, but had receding hairlines. He had been ailinng for a couple of years, and I suspect that took its toll on the thickness of his hair. It occurred to me the other day that my earlies memories of him wold have made him about my age now. Back then, he had thick hair, though with some receding on the sides. We used to comb his hair while he slept in the recliner.
Robert
My father did not have MPB, but the men on my mother's side did. I have two brothers, and of the three of us, only my younger brother inherited my father's hair. My older brother is becoming a "chrome dome", and I have some baldness. But on the other hand, both of my brothers are completely gray, and I have most of my original color:
I'm still in denial about being an "old fart". In my mind, I'm still 23... I just look like hell when I look in the mirror, that's all. So, how DARE you stop-payment on my "reality check"!
No; but he did have a receding hairline, --- similar to how an owl looks (which is how i look now... (ahemmmm!!)
No, he had a full head of hair right up until he died, somewhere into his 80s...
- Ken
...that I've read in reliable sources that usually, any hair a man is going to lose is gone by the time he's thirty. After that, what you have is pretty much what you'll retain for the rest of your life. So if you're over thirty, I wouldn't worry too much about losing anything you haven't already lost. :)
I'd say that what you've read is wrong, cause my father was 30 when I was born, and his hair has receded more and he's gotten a bald spot at the crown now that wasn't there when I was a kid.
The way it works is that if your hair is noticeably receding i.e. you have a high forehead and thin on top) by 30 it will get a lot worse later (i.e you'll be left with just hair at the back and sides), but if it isn't like that by then it won't happen atall.
...although all of us get a mild version of MPB, so you can't expect your hairline to be the same at 40 as at 20, but no-one else will notice.
He has had a bald spot at the back of his head since he was quite a young man, but I don't necessarily think it is MPB. It responded to treatment, many years before minoxidil existed, and then we moved house when I was 8 and his new doctor wouldn't treat it, so it got slightly worse. I think it may have just been fungal alopaecia originally. I later had bald patches in my beard that responded to anti-fungal cream that I got from a doctor.
. He will be 79 next month, and his hair has started to thin evenly all over since he turned 70, but again, that is an age related pattern, not MPB. It turned white at the same time.
My paternal grandfather, who I'm afraid died in his early 70s, i.e. younger than my dad is now, had a full head of _black_ hair when he died.
BTW, you seem to assume that our fathers are dead? Or are you just looking for the very elderly to reply? I am 48, FWIW. My hair is a little thin at the back and the hairline is somewhat higher than when I was younger, but this has not changed in the last 15 years.
OTOH, I am greying very slowly, starting in my 20s, but will probably never have white hair as it is an infinitely slow process with me. I use a henna mix on my hair as I don't like having this much grey, and more importantly my wife hates it!
My maternal grandfather had a very full head of wavy white hair when he died in his 70s. I don't think his brother lived to old age.
I don't have male pattern baldness as such anywhere in the family AFAIK.