Inherited Father’s Oily Scalp — Will I Also Have His Hair Loss?

Hi Doctor,

Just a quick question. My cousins and I are curious about the likelihood of us inheriting our fathers’ hair. Our curiosity was piqued after we (all three of us) had sebaceous cysts removed from our scalps in the last year. My father and uncle have also had cysts removed from their heads several times over the decades. Despite the presence of all this sebum (I understand an over-production is related to high-levels of DHT), and the not-so-clinical removal scars, the two men have full heads of jet-black hair – not bad for guys in their seventies!

What we’re asking: we’ve obviously inherited the oily scalps. Is there any relationship between this and a resistance to the effects of DHT with regard to hairloss. I’m 26 and have the same hair-colour and widows-peak hairline as my father. My cousins are in their early thirties and similarly show no sign of baldness. Just curious. Thanks.

These are probably related to different genes, but your probability of inheriting it from the male side of the family may be reasonably expected. I don’t know of any way to tell for sure, so you may just have to wait it out.