Teenage hair loss

[Worried mum]

Hi,

I am a very worried mum of a 16 year old boy. He started losing his hair about 6 months ago. It is the thinnest on the front middle section of his scalp. I took him to my G.P who sent him for blood test's to check for thyroid or anaemia but these came back normal. The only irregularity was that he has a slightly low white blood cell count of 3.7. He has got to be retested in 2 weeks. Could this affect his hair loss? I have been told by the doctor that I can't give him any vitamin supplements at present as this can affect his blood test, so the only treatment we are using is thickening shampoo's, but these do not seem to be helping. Can a 16 year old boy start male pattern hair loss at such a young age? Or if not what else could be causing it? Any advice would be greatly accepted as I am trying to not let my son see, but I am going out of my mind with worry, and it is also really affecting him

 

[Sebastien]

Is the pattern obviously Male Pattern Baldness? Is there a history of other men losing their hair at a young age? It might help to post some pictures. (Because, "it is the thinnest on the front middle section of his scalp" doesn't sound like classic male pattern baldness with receding temples).

Unfortunately, IF this is the case, yes it can be Male Patern Baldness. Although it is very rare it does happen. I started losing my hair at 19 and I can only begin to imagine what it must be like at 16.

Regarding to treatments, there is finasteride which blocks antiandrogens that convert testosterone into dehydrotestosterone (cause of male pattern baldness) but since his body is still developing he MUST NOT use this (he can start this at 19+). This is a serious medicine though with serious side effects, so consult a docter if he ever decides to take it. There is also minoxidil (better known as Rogaine) which is a growth stimulant, you can check that out. And also nizoral shampoo which removes some DHT from the scalp and makes for a healthy scalp overall. (a complete list is given here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=63313)

I don't mean to be harsh but (if its male pattern baldness) his hairloss is very agressive in nature and treatments might only work a little. These days they make really good, natural looking wigs, and it might be worth to take a look at this option. It gave me peace of mind about my own hairloss. That is ofcourse, if the blood tests don't give an answer.

Emotional wise, its really good that you worry about this as a mother. I know mine helped me through my first months (it was kind of a mourning process about my hair to be honest). But in the end, its just hair, and even though it might feel like the end of the world for him. It really isn't.

 

[cuebald]

good advice in the post above

what are the family genetics like? Husband bald? Fathers bald?
It is very very rare but not unheard of for someone to lose at 16. Nobody in my school was anything worse than a NW2 at age 18 (the scale goes upto NW7) but I have seen images of people at 16 who are NW5 or NW6.

Does he have signs of higher than normal androgen levels such as lots of body hair etc?
If yes, and if the family genetics has male pattern baldness, then chances are he has male pattern baldness.
male pattern baldness will always develop according to the Norwood Scale:

but it is possible to have male pattern baldness in the "diffuse" pattern, where all of the hair on the top/vertex of the scalp falls out but the hairline remains intact. You can have almost a perfect NW1 hairline but hair so thin on top as to be practically bald, which is within what male pattern baldness does (this is referred to as a diffuse NW1).

If his hair is thinning differently to this, maybe he has some other form of hair loss such as Telogen Effluvium (where lots the hairs enter the end stage of growth and fall out together). This could be caused by a number of things, but, thankfully is fully reversible, whereas we all know male pattern baldness is not.

Thin on top, thick on sides = chances are it's male pattern baldness.

When I lost mine I just wanted my mother to stay away, the last thing I wanted was for her to fuss over it, but every lad is different.