My Twin Has Thick Hair, But I’m Starting to See Thinning!

I’m a 51 year old male…. There is no baldness running in my family. My twin brother has a full thick head of hair. About 5 years ago I noticed my hair thinning a bit around my hairline above my forehead. Didn’t really give it much thought. But over the past couple of years I’ve noticed an overall increase thinning of my hair especially around the crown and the hairline. I don’t have any bald spots. Just thinning to where my scalp is more visible now.

I was in a very stressful job when I began noticing my hair loss. Not sure if that had something to do with it. I do use hair products in my hair to keep it looking nice and shiny. Is there a way to tell if it’s just a temporary condition and that my hair will re-grow or something more permanent? Not sure if I should see a dermatologist or a general doctor. Any suggestions?

If you have an identical twin he will also lose hair like you, but if your twin is fraternal then your genetic make up is not the same. Thus, your fraternal twin may not lose hair like you. The great majority of the time men see hair loss is due to genetics, and this is called androgenic alopecia (AA) otherwise known as male pattern baldness (MPB). So while most hair loss for men is genetic, it can skip generations making it impossible to simply look at your father, brother, uncles, grandfather, etc to know if you will be bald.

Hair loss from stress is different than genetic balding and it does not occur in a “pattern”, thus the term male “pattern” balding. I’d suggest your next step is seeing a physician. Either your dermatologist or general physician should be fine.