Hair Loss in the Crown — Genetics or Dreadlocks?

Hey, I’m 22 and worried about hair loss. I noticed my hair thinning out in the crown area when I had dreadlocks, which I have since cut off after seeing a dermatologist. I don’t experience a great deal of hair loss, but the crown area has thinned out a bit and is more noticeable in bright lights.

I have purchased minoxodil (which the dermatologist said was optional) but am yet to start using it as I wanted to watch my progress in case if I didn’t actually need it. Advice?

I don’t know anything about your hair loss history, but early crown hair loss is typical of male pattern baldness, which means it may be caused by your genetics. The loss you’re seeing could be unrelated to the dreadlocks. Then again, the dreadlocks wouldn’t be helping the situation, as you’re running the risk of developing traction alopecia.

Minoxidil does work for some in the crown, but I’ve found that Propecia for young men with early loss (particularly in the crown) works even better. Both Propecia and minoxidil are optional (they are for treating a cosmetic issue, not to save your life), but if you want to save your hair, the option you’ll want to try becomes clear. I assume you want to treat your thinning crown, or you wouldn’t have written to the BaldingBlog.

So if your dermatologist saw early crown loss, I’m a little surprised you weren’t prescribed Propecia… though again, I’m not your doctor and don’t know about your hair loss history. Perhaps there’s something else that I’m not aware of at play.