You are heading to a Full Norwood Class 7 pattern of balding and, therefore, must plan accordingly because you, I am sure, are expecting to live a long time and will always want to look normal and hairy. I have transplanted many men like you, but first, I want to determine your donor supply and your donor mass. These two critical measures will tell me if you have enough hair to cover the eventual pattern and, most importantly, what you can expect realistically.
You can see in these two photos that this man’s right side has already undergone changes in maturation, while his left side (see arrow) shows the left side thinning, matching the other side once these miniaturized hairs have fallen out. These hairs may respond to finasteride in men under 25, less likely as the age increases in the frontal corners. The asymmetry is not unusual in my experience as sometimes one side recedes faster than the other side. Note that the hairs on his left side that are miniaturizing and falling out (arrow) hugging the highest crease of his furrowed brow. That is how I know this is a transition for a mature hairline; however, to be sure, I would want to look at the hairs 2-3 inches behind this leading edge to see if the hairs are miniaturizing. If they are not, then this could be a maturing hairline in a person with a strong, low central forelock. This is important to know because if this man assumes it is a balding process and starts on drugs like finasteride, he may be committing a lifetime of treatment unnecessarily. As a hair restoration specialist, my job is to make a proper diagnosis and help not only the balding men, but the men who think they are balding and are not. The value I bring is to differentiate between the two.
Dr. Rassman, is it possible for telogen effluvium shedding to stop, but to have hair not grow back? Or not as dense? Is it possible for the hairs to stay dormant? My shedding stopped a long time ago (years), but hair has yet to return. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you and sorry to bother you with this.
By definition, telogen effluvium is a temporary process. When it occurs in men, one must think of genetic hair loss as the cause of shedding. That means you must look into how you manage your hair loss from a therapeutic point of view. You can reach out to me at Williamrassman33@gmail.com, send photos, especially a frontal view with your eyebrows lifted high and your hair pulled back so I can see the frontal hairline. Give me your phone number, and I will call you.