I Had My Scalp Mapped for Miniaturization

Hey Doc, I have visited your site quite a bit over the last year reading various posts on MPB. I am a 21 year old male who has been noticing a receding hair line over the last year. I have been to many hair experts and one actual doctor regarding this issue. My doctor who I saw in December told me it was too early to tell if my hair was balding or just a maturing hairline. He told me to start using rogaine as a first step. However, I recently visited a Hair Club for Men just to see what they had to say about my situation. They mapped out my head for miniturization and it was very clear and apparent that my hair in the frontal area was miniturizing, aorund the temples and such. Moving backwards there was very little signs of miniturization on the top and none towards the back. They wanted me to start their extreme hair therapy which costs close to $2000 for six months. I obviously do not want to go that route and am very curious as to how you feel about my situation. My grandfather is bald and I have uncles who are bald and a 28 year old cousin who has already had hair transplants. How do you think my situation looks right now and what would you suggest as a plan. Thanks so much.

I could have helped you more if I knew precisely what Extreme Hair Therapy is. Just from looking at the Hair Club website, it appears to be some shampoo, conditioner, herbal pills, and topical minoxidil. Assuming that you have a high degree of miniaturization in the frontal area, the best treatment is finasteride 1mg daily which should slow down, halt, or possibly reverse hair loss. This is not “extreme therapy” and I charge $85 for an office visit and to write a prescription for the drug (if I find that you have genetic hair loss). The consultation is free, though. Miniaturization mapping at my office is also free. Anything else would not be good medical care in a 21 year old with miniaturization. Some of the essentials for establishing a long term plan that your doctor should comment include:

• Family history of baldness
• Miniaturization mapping
• Pattern of baldness
• Characters of hair
• Donor hair quality
• Other medical conditions

This does not cost $2,000.