My brother (in the photo) is 21 years old and we think his hair is starting to thin. There’s no visible recession of his hairline but our whole family seems to have noticed the thinning, which is only at the front of his head and not on the crown. At 18 years old (and male), I’m now starting to worry about my own hair in the future.

In terms of family history, my paternal grandfather never had any hair loss up until his death at 57, while my father (who is now 60) has had some slight thinning on his crown and at the hairline, but still has a very decent head of hair – I think it started to thin around his 40s or 50s. My maternal grandfather only started losing his hair in his late 30s/early 40s, while my mum’s brother started losing it in his mid to late 30s.

I’m prepared for the reality that I’m probably going to lose mine at some point given my family history, but is it likely that Ill lose it as early as my brother – at only 21?! Nobody in my family has ever lost hair that early – could it be that he is just very unlucky? And how common is hair loss amongst siblings? For example, I have 2nd cousins, two brothers, one of whom is totally bald at 36 and the other has a full head of hair at 33.

Please let me know what you think about the whole sibling situation thing in general, and in my case, and what the best course of action is for me!

thank you so much for any advice.

Click the photo to enlarge:

There is no way you can predict with 100% accuracy what will happen to you in the future. I don’t know enough about your brother’s history to know if his hair loss is due to genetics, disease, stress, allergy, etc. Siblings don’t necessarily always follow the same hair loss path, so I wouldn’t get too concerned just yet.

The best approach for you would be to see a good doctor and have your hair bulk analysis done every year, which will show the appearance of hair loss and indicate if you should start treating it. This test is the best way to diagnose hair loss and it will pick up the hair loss even before you can see it. It is also a good way to follow the effectiveness of Propecia, if your doctor prescribes this medication to you to treat any early hair loss that may come about.

Dear doctor.

if the average persons hair grows about half an inch to an inch (depending on hair color) a month, how much growth would a person with “faster” hair growth be growing a month?

I sleep in a very hot/humid climate because I constantly turn the heater on in my room, and I find that my hair grows really fast. Would the heat or climate that I sleep in have any effect on the growth of my hair or am i just a person whose hair grows fast?

Are there any tests or anything that can be done to determine how fast a persons hair will grow?

I don’t know the answer to your question. I am sure that the rate of hair growth varies with the individual, their age, their state of health, and the climate. In individuals with miniaturization due to genetic balding, the hair growth slows and may stop growing altogether prior to it falling out.

Hi, i’m 31 and have been suffering with mpb since I was 20. I have a small bald patch at back, receding hairline towards back of head. I started propecia in July last year and almost straight away noticed bigger bald patch behind hairline and thinning at sides. Is this caused by propecia? I have been under stress due to marriage break up so could it be that? thanks

Stress can induce hair loss with a variety of conditions such as genetic hair loss, alopecia areata (in those people with the genes for this disease), and even telogen effluvium from unexplained conditions.

Male pattern baldness (MPB) doesn’t include thinning at the sides of the head, so that is unusual. If you’ve seen MPB since you were 20 years old, the stress associated from a divorce could contribute to advancing that pattern sooner than it otherwise would’ve, and possibly even the hair loss you’re seeing at the sides. Stress management may be key to the problem for those with stress-induced hair loss, but there’s no way for me to know for sure if that is what you’re seeing.

Some people report initial shedding after starting Propecia, but this isn’t entirely common and I wouldn’t expect it to last a year (probably more like 3 months). See your doctor about managing your stress and certainly go back to your prescribing doctor if you’re looking for more info about your medication usage.