Mistaking a Large Hair Whorl with Crown Hair Loss

I want to express my appreciation for a good website to Drs. Rassman, Pak, Gazoni, and Zeballos. As a daily reader on this site, I see that Drs. Pak, Gazoni, and Zeballos never get any notice though they are contributing editors.

I have two questions:

The first being that does balding on the crown always start in the center or can it start on the right or left sides and progress to the other side? It seems (what I see everyday) that crown balding starts in the dead center of the crown.

Secondly, is it common for most men to mistake the beginnings of balding on the crown as the result of having a large “hair-swirl” which can give the appearance of miniaturization? I notice some men have large “hair-swirls” and some have small or even hardly detectable “hair-swirls.”

Even if you cannot answer these questions due to the many you receive, thank you for providing this informative website! If you do answer these questions, thank you in advance!

A good analysis for miniaturization with microscopic examination will show what is balding and what is not. Generally, crown balding does not start in the center of the crown, but just in front of the swirl (or whorl, as it is also known). The actual swirl and the hair behind it may vary with different degrees of miniaturization. It is not unusual for the hair behind the swirl to be stronger and less miniaturized than the hair immediately in front of the swirl, and this distinction may point to the final pattern of hair loss in a particular patient.