Finer Hairs at Hairline

Hello Dr.Rassman,
I am a 29yr old caucasian male who has over the last few years been dealing with questions of hairloss. Thus far there is nothing dramatic to speak of – no noticably thinning or balding areas. There is however one thing that has led to a good deal of concern – it can best be described as light or whispy hair around the frontal hairline (from temple to temple). My hair has always been quite fine in nature and until a few years ago a light brown color rather than the dark brown it has become. In recent years I have grown my hair out quite long – opting for the ‘rocker’ look as friends call it. If I pull my hair back I dont notice any loss at all – it looks like a regular hairline – but the hairs that make up the first cm (rough estimate) are lighter in pigment and fine in composition compared with hairs deeper in the scalp. Aside from the minor difficulties this phenomenon creates when attempting to style my hair I’ve been wondering if this is an example of the ‘miniaturization’ process that you have described. I have no signs anywhere else of this phenomenon – just the fringe of the frontal hairline. No crown thinning, no overall diffuse thinning, no temple thinning – and that is what is driving me crazy! If it were more extreme I would be prone to take some action be it drugs, topicals or other treatments. With this said however the lack of action kills me just as much because I wonder if I’m not acting when I should be – nipping my possible hairloss in the bud so to speak. Please let me know if you feel this is an example of ‘miniaturization’ or not and any course of action I should consider taking. Thank-you.

To really answer your question directly, you should be examined and have your scalp mapping of your hair for miniaturization, which is best done under magnification with a visualizing high power microscopic tool, like our densitometer. Fine hairs often exist in the very front of the hairline, but in regards to what you refer to, I am not sure if you mean the mature hairline that has probably evolved from your child hairline (age 10 or so), which is often lower and thicker. I would want to see pictures and possibly meet with you in person to make such assessments. If you’d like to send photos, you can email them to the address on the Contact page.