I Think I’m In the Early Stages of a Norwood 6

Dr. Rassman –

On March 13, you wrote:

“Men in the process of losing their hair in a Norwood class 6 pattern may not be thinning uniformly. They may be losing more of the frontal hair faster, yet have the overall pattern of a class 6 that may or may not become complete. Some men who take finasteride will arrest much of the class 6 pattern thinning, especially in the top and crown of the head, but their frontal balding could actually be advanced.”

Could you explain this in more detail? Are you suggesting that finasteride might accelerate frontal balding, beyond what would have occurred without medication? Or are you just saying that finasteride might have relatively minor efficacy in the front?

I’m a 26-year-old caucasian male, and most male relatives on my mom’s side have Norwood 6 or 7 patterns. Like the guy who wrote on March 13, I appear to be in the early stages of thinning towards a Norwood 6 pattern. My own loss is heaviest in in the vertex, with some loss also in the middle and front (although I have a strong forelock). About three months ago, I started taking 1.25mg of finasteride daily. At my checkup a week ago, my dermatologist noted new growth in the vertex (hooray!) and agreed that my corners were a little worse.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts on how finasteride might impact my ultimate balding pattern, both in the front and back. And I’m interested in a clarification and elaboration of those comments from March 13! Thanks for all your work. Your blog is a great read.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear in my prior post.

A simple way to think about this is that Propecia does not stop hair loss completely, and it works best at the top / crown area. So if you are balding in a Norwood 6 or 7 pattern, Propecia will slow down the hair loss on the top / crown area while the front area will have faster hair loss than the top / crown.

Eventually, you may reach the Norwood 6 or 7 pattern, but if Propecia thwarts the hair loss process, you may be able to delay this for 10+ years if the drug works that way for you.