Hair Loss from Hot Showers?

I am a 22 y/o man, and I started losing my hair when I was 19. When I was 18 I moved from a tropical country to a cold country and I started taking hot showers. I think that could be the biggest problem. I lost about 40% of my hair at the rear top and front, both sides of my head, and whatever hair I have left on those spots is very thin, and I still am losing hair. I have no history of hair loss in my family but my father started losing hair when he was over 40 y/o. Should I visit a doctor to know the reason of my hair loss before I start using any product? I used rogaine for 1 year but I had no change.

I am certain that hot water does not cause hair loss. Many people love hot showers, so if your suspicion were correct, everyone living in the US (or other parts of the world for that matter) that took regular hot showers would be bald or balding. This is simply not true. As a man between the ages of 19-24, advanced hair loss indicates that you probably have strong genetics for balding (assuming there is no medical cause). Propecia and possibly Rogaine may help with your hair loss, but you need a working diagnosis by mapping of your scalp for miniaturization to confirm if it is actually male patterned balding. Based upon your history with 40% or more of the hair lost already, you are on the fast track for becoming a bald man, so I would not delay in seeing a hair doctor and finding a correct path to take.

By looking to find a cause for your hair loss, you are exercising a psychological trick that the mind routinely uses when it does not want to face ‘bad news’. Psychologists call this denial. My own son used denial to justify that he was not losing his hair, under constant pressure from his brothers and sister who recognized his pain. He eventually accepted that Propecia might actually be a good thing to take, accepting that he was the victim of his (my opinion) mother’s genetics. It took him over a year to recognize his Norwood Class 4A thinning pattern. I would see him suffer over his early hair loss, in silence. Now, his hair loss has partly reversed. He does not appear to be balding anymore. A victory over hair loss for my own family, thanks to the proper use of Propecia. Happily every after? Unfortunately, there is no way to tell what the future will hold or how long the medication will last.