Hello, first of thanks for this blog it helps dismiss all the paranoia and rubbish that is usually on the internet concerning hairloss. Im 17 and im worried about hairloss. I don’t know whether I’m a Norwood 2, perhaps a 3 its difficult to tell, but I’m somewhere around there, I’ve read your blog regularly and educated myself on the process of the hairline maturing and how it usually forms a gradual convex recession that is common to see on most fully developed males. My hairline though a Norwood 2 is not convex or gradually receded but more sudden almost exactly like that on the Norwood scale – is it safe to assume that if my hairline is not developing into a convex or gradual shape then what I am experiencing is male pattern baldness at an early age? I’ve never had a straight juvenile hairline like you’ve described, its always receded a little.
One more thing, I’ve read your blogs on getting miniaturization mapping done. Where I live the health care system does not offer such a test. I did however go to my doctor, who, in the final stage of MPB himself, ran his hands through my hair made a few “uhuh” and “yes”, sat back down and said it looks fine to him, and that my hair is the same density all the way round, he always said that I was far too young to be effected by MPB, but then went on to say that he started going bald at 18 only a few months older than I am. He then prescribed me a anti-fungal shampoo “just in cause”. I remember reading somewhere where you said if your doctor reacts like this run for the hills or something like that. Is it possible my doctor did a fair examination or should I seek further consultation?
Thanks
I am going to assume you do not look bald at Norwood 2. You are very worried about some thinning in the front. The doctor you saw is likely a general internist who does not see hair loss patients as his primary practice. And even if that doctor is the most caring and sympathetic doctor in the world, if he does not treat patients with hair loss on a day-to-day basis as his number one priority, they would most likely not pay attention to young men who do not look bald. I do not think it is the doctor’s fault, but it is just the way doctors are trained. You see, hair loss is not considered an illness or a disease. It does not affect your health. So doctors really do not learn about it and its treatment in medical school.
If you want a good examination and evaluation of your hair loss state, you need to find a hair transplant doctor in your area. You can check ISHRS.org for doctors that specialize in this or since you indicated that you’re in the UK, you can see Dr Bessam Farjo in London.
Matt Kelley was 38 when he first noticed a round, hairless spot in his beard. Within six weeks, every inch of his body that once had hair — including his eyebrows, eyelashes, arms and head — was completely bald. 
The density has nothing to do with the harvesting method used, just the number of hairs per square mm that the grafts are placed in. Generally, depending upon hair/skin color and hair texture, the amount of hair needed to look full will reflect somewhere between 25-50% of your original density. One reason follicular unit extraction (FUE) might be best used for smaller cases has more to do with costs involved, since it is the more expensive procedure.
A lock of hair cut from Napoleon Bonaparte’s head after he died has sold for US$13,000 at an auction in New Zealand.
Chemical straightening is not the cause of hair loss in general unless you burned your scalp. Either way, after two years it is hard to correlate if chemical straightening was the cause. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but I really cannot say! It’s also entirely possible that your older brothers got “lucky” and the hair loss gene didn’t get passed to them, as it can skip generations.
Propecia (finasteride 1mg) lasts about one day in your body. The half life (the time it takes for half of the medication to be cleared by your body) of Propecia is about 4 to 6 hours. Some have said there are still traces of Propecia that are left that can linger for about one week in general, thus the side effects should be dissipated by one week timeframe.
If you have the gene for male pattern baldness (MPB), the expression of the gene will dictate when the hair loss starts and which balding pattern that you will evolve into. In most people, the frontal loss starts at the leading edge of the frontal hairline, but a few people will keep their frontal hairline while they lose the hair behind it. When it comes to those with 
There should be no difference. Rogaine was the heavily marketed version but once the drug went generic after the patent expired, Kirkland (Costco’s house label) and other brands were able to come out with the same product under different names. Thus, cheaper pricing.