Mom of 16 year old son in search of advice...

[Lovinmyson]

Guys...am I doing the right thing?!

I noticed my son's hair has changed over the past year. Recession in his hairline (a bit worse on one side) and his top overall just feels finer and not nearly as think as it once was.

He is not concerned in the slightest bit. A typical 16 year old sophomore who lives for his sport and studying like crazy to get into the school of his choice. Hair loss is the furthest thing from his mind

I, on the other hand, am concerned. Although my husband has a full-head of thick hair with a straight hairline, his father and uncle were almost bald by senior year of high school. My father was pretty much bald by his early 20's...sides were there but only a light amount on top.

I brought him to the derm, and she confirmed the beginning stages of hair loss and recommended he start minoxidil. He has no problem following her advice. I explained my reason, based on our family history, to start treatment early so he preserves what he has until he is mature enough to make his own decision on how he wants to deal with his hair loss.

Question- Dr. wasn't sure if his hairline was simply growing into his "mature" hairline or this is MPB. She didn't see thinning on top, but he just turned 16 and I can definitely see his hair is much finer than a year ago. Do you wish you had started treatment at the early stages like this? He has no problem using the "mousse" so far just one heavy application at night. I was also told to look into the Igrow helmet, but I can't put that on him. He would HATE me!!!

What do you think guys? Minoxidil at 16 to halt and preserve what I can before it's too late and it begins to bother him possibly at 18. Ughhhhh....high schoolers have enough issues. I'm just trying to make things as easy as possible on him so this doesn't become one of them.

Thoughts and opinions are absolutely welcome.

[Lovinmyson]

Sorry for the duplicate post. My first time posting.

[ChemicalBrother]

Hi Mom !

Well, it seems you are the person that is best suited to measure the rate of hairloss since you live with your son and see him on a daily basis (I'm assuming).
If you see clear and fast recession in the temple and frontal areas and diffuse thinning on top you are probably on to something.

Off course, 16 is way too young to even start thinking/talking about Fin , let alone Dut ....
That said: topical minoxidil doesn't really "maintain" hair, except in a very superficial sense. Once you get past the initial surge in hair counts (takes a few weeks), the balding process begins again, at what appears to be about the same rate as before.

(Propecia, on the other hand, _does_ slow down the fundamental balding process.)

So , I'm not really sure what good the Rogaine will do ... but at least you're doing something.
Be sure to keep tabs on side effects tho (I'm not saying he might develop them) , but just keep your eyes open for them.

Fingers crossed that by the time the loss is significant , they have found something to reverse it (he's still young).

[Lovinmyson]

Hi Mom !

Well, it seems you are the person that is best suited to measure the rate of hairloss since you live with your son and see him on a daily basis (I'm assuming).
If you see clear and fast recession in the temple and frontal areas and diffuse thinning on top you are probably on to something.

Off course, 16 is way too young to even start thinking/talking about Fin , let alone Dut ....
That said: topical minoxidil doesn't really "maintain" hair, except in a very superficial sense. Once you get past the initial surge in hair counts (takes a few weeks), the balding process begins again, at what appears to be about the same rate as before.

(Propecia, on the other hand, _does_ slow down the fundamental balding process.)

So , I'm not really sure what good the Rogaine will do ... but at least you're doing something.
Be sure to keep tabs on side effects tho (I'm not saying he might develop them) , but just keep your eyes open for them.

Fingers crossed that by the time the loss is significant , they have found something to reverse it (he's still young).

Thank you for the kind reply.

The side effects on the internet are in complete contrast to the specialist. That's one of the reasons I was so reluctant to start the rogaine. I did my due diligence and got in touch with several "experts" of minoxidil....one was even involved in the trials back in 88. I was rest assured side effects are not the issue and the internet has gone a little over the top. But, of course, there is still concern. Heck, I want my kids eating organic for goodness sakes. Apparently this is quite common in his age group. I didn't realize it began so early. Fingers crossed I can keep things at bay until he reaches adult hood.... Then it's on him! I will have done my job! :-)

[Plan C]

I actually started to use hair loss treatments at 16, namely Regaine. It was my own choice; my parents had no input. Between the age of 16 and 18, my hairline probably improved. By the time I was 20 and my brother 18, my hairline was better than his. At a young age, the hair growing properties of minxodil > the hair losing properties of MPB. In that sense, it will maintain your boy's hair.

I've always wondered whether I would advise my son/s on catching MPB early. Prevention is clearly the best way to tackle hair loss, and in that sense your decision to aid your son is definitely the correct one. On the other hand, if he is entirely happy with slowly going bald, then indicating that he should tackle his hair loss could leave him with an unhealthy mindset. Rather than living his life blissfully uninterested in the state of his hairline, he might become completely consumed by a desire to keep his hair. Tackling hair loss is draining on both time and money and maybe your son would be ultimately happier just letting it happen. If he starts using minox now, it's very likely that he'll move onto a more broad regime when he's older, and that's when fighting hair loss can become a real chore.

All in all though, at his age there is no way of telling how he will cope when the balding properly takes hold. It's probably therefore best that he does take precautionary measures at this stage, in case he finds that his hair means more to him as he grows older.

[ChemicalBrother]

good input Plan C

you are absolutely right that fighting hairloss is a time and money consuming "occupation" ... and it progressively gets 'worse' ... cause the hairloss will do exactly that (progressively get worse over time)
I would love to be able to just "let go" ... would save me a lot of worry , money and time.

I mean, have you seen the pictures of the guys dermarolling their scalps into a bloody mess with 2,5mm or currently guys that rub Chlorine Dioxide from China on their scalps ...
I'm obviously not saying that getting your son on Minox will be a stepping stone to hairloss-insanity, but he might just be ok with it ... and I would only applaud him for that.

Would be sad tho , if he would be sad all through his twenties for not taking action early on when the balding started.

That all said ... I usually rarely comment on threads that don't have before/after pics so we can at least see what we're working with , but I'm taking mom's word on the progression here.

[Lovinmyson]

[QUOTE=Plan C;191604]I actually started to use hair loss treatments at 16, namely Regaine. It was my own choice; my parents had no input. Between the age of 16 and 18, my hairline probably improved. By the time I was 20 and my brother 18, my hairline was better than his. At a young age, the hair growing properties of minxodil > the hair losing properties of MPB. In that sense, it will maintain your boy's hair.

I've always wondered whether I would advise my son/s on catching MPB early. Prevention is clearly the best way to tackle hair loss, and in that sense your decision to aid your son is definitely the correct one. On the other hand, if he is entirely happy with slowly going bald, then indicating that he should tackle his hair loss could leave him with an unhealthy mindset. Rather than living his life blissfully uninterested in the state of his hairline, he might become completely consumed by a desire to keep his hair. Tackling hair loss is draining on both time and money and maybe your son would be ultimately happier just letting it happen. If he starts using minox now, it's very likely that he'll move onto a more broad regime when he's older, and that's when fighting hair loss can become a real chore.

All in all though, at his age there is no way of telling how he will cope when the balding properly takes hold. It's probably therefore best that he does take precautionary measures at this stage, in case he finds that his hair means more to him as he grows older.[/

Hi, what a pleasure to hear from you. Your advice and words of wisdom are exactly what I needed to hear. You understand me and my concerns better than I could have put into words. I am VERY concerned about his mindset regarding hair loss. I read the struggles men deal with....heartbreaking. I brought him to Starbucks to casually talk about our "genes", and I told him that I want to be preventative and take action while he still has a full head of hair. Hopefully, keeping the lines of communication open and nonchalant, he will continue to develop a strong sense of self and take whatever, if any, action if things progress. Right now, the only thing on his mind are sports, grades and girls! Just the way it should be for 16. His recession is there but he still has awesome hair.

Question for you. I'm purposely calling it mousse, and I'm applying it quickly and effortlessly after he showers so he sees how easy the routine is. Can you please share the rest of your story? You had minor recession at 16 like my son and halted it with then....??? I can't wait to hear the rest. I think many men are bothered but not obsessed with their hairloss. It is so hard to read these young guys struggling. I get it because, as women, we have are our struggles, and everyone handles life's "imperfections" in different ways.

I can't wait to hear back from you. We are on the same page. I wonder if you are a dad. You sound mature.

[Plan C]

I'm not a father yet but your words are very kind, thank you.

I'll crack on with my story then. I had another look at your original post and, if your son has inherited similar hair to your husband's father/ uncle or your father, then I think my experiences are very applicable to your situation. My father had lost a significant amount of hair by his early twenties. My mother's father is also bald.

For me, minoxidil was enough to keep my hair in good shape until I was about 19. I noticed that my temples were receding and started to take finasteride.

I also started to use Revita shampoo - this is something that your son could consider using immediately. It's a shampoo with 1% ketoconazole, among other beneficial ingredients. Keto shampoos are considered 1 of the 'big 3' of hair loss treatments (as well as minoxidil and finasteride). The main alternative to Revita is Regenepure, which I found made my hair lifeless but might be different for your son. These shampoos will only make a very slight difference to the overall condition of your son's hair, but they certainly won't do him any harm and if he fancies trying one, why not? The only issue with keto shampoos is that you are required to leave them in your hair for about 5 minutes, so if you're in a rush they're not ideal.

Anyway - my hairline continued to creep back until, aged 20, I decide to switch out finasteride for dutasteride and RU58841. RU is applied directly to the scalp and inhibits DHT locally (whereas finasteride/dutasteride are taken orally and inhibit DHT levels from within). A lot of forum members told me to stick with finasteride for longer, but I was constantly aware of how aggressive my father's hair loss was and didn't feel that finasteride was able to keep it at bay. With this new regime, my hair loss slowed down dramatically. I've been using it for almost a year. It's difficult to say whether the balding has stopped or not; I'm not convinced but only time will tell.

Clearly a number of the males in your family suffer from aggressive hair loss. If your boy has inherited this trait, he's going to need a robust regime when he's older to stop it. His case sounds so similar to mine. I was fortunate enough to start with a thick head of hair and low hairline. I've had a good crack at keeping it this way and have, for the most part, been successful. The fact that I have better hair than my brother, who is 2 years younger than me, says it all.

Ultimately however, I'm not sure aggressive hair loss can be stopped. And as you can see by my regime, it takes a great deal of effort to keep it at bay. After work, I have to shower and use keto shampoo, apply RU, and finally apply minoxidil twice before I sleep. There are so many things I'd rather be doing with my evenings. The only reason I continue to follow this regime is because my happiness is dictated by the way I look and expending time and money to keep my hair is definitely better than the alternative.

It's clearly too soon to say how your son will feel about his hair loss when he's older. He might be very grateful for your input when in later life he is still rocking a decent head of hair. Using minxodil is no big deal and it won't take over his life. At his age, I was only using it once a day and it did the job just fine.

I would recommend you keep the whole hair loss thing very low key though. You don't want to instill an obsession in him with keeping his hair. The use of stronger treatments when he's older, like finasteride, should be entirely down to him. I wouldn't even mention the stuff to him unless he asks. If he doesn't ask, he clearly isn't that bothered. At the end of the day, living life happy with no hair is definitely a better scenario than living life frustrated with some hair. Using a regime like mine is utterly frustrating at times; it drains money very quickly and leaves you with a limited amount of time to do the stuff you actually enjoy. I mean, if I ever fancy going on a spontaneous trip around the world, I'm screwed. I can't take all of my scalp solutions and medications with me. Fighting hair loss is a burden, accepting it is not.

I hope this helps.

[Lovinmyson]

Plan C,

Great info and thank for sharing your story.

I will admit I'm a bit saddened to hear your story. I guess it's just the compassionate side of me.... Plus being the mom of sons.... I'm biased towards boys.

I hear you about keeping things totally on the down low. No one but me would even know what is going on because it is so early. I too am concerned with his "fate" because of the genes on BOTH sides. They aren't just regular MPB.... They are aggressive, full baldness in teens and early 20's.

My sons hair is very similar to Prince Williams hair pre hairl loss. He is another that his MPB was aggressive....I wander if that progression could have been slowed by Propecia. I think what worries me the most is the aggressive nature of the genes, not the process itself. Sounds like you understand that it's not the slow, gradual recession that is so bothersome, but the quick loss that seems to be the most bothersome in young men.

I swear I'm friggin worrying for my own child and he is not even there yet. I hope you find happiness whichever way things go. You are doing everything you can, and hopefully that can bring you some peace at the end of the day.

Why did you stop Propecia? I've never heard of Dut or RU from Dr's I spoke with.

Thank you for paying it forward to this worried mommy. Everyone handles things differently, I will and am doing a EXACTLY what you said, he is living blissfully without a concern in the world. Praying his attitude stays this way either way.

XO!

[Plan C]

Plan C,

Great info and thank for sharing your story.

I will admit I'm a bit saddened to hear your story. I guess it's just the compassionate side of me.... Plus being the mom of sons.... I'm biased towards boys.

I hear you about keeping things totally on the down low. No one but me would even know what is going on because it is so early. I too am concerned with his "fate" because of the genes on BOTH sides. They aren't just regular MPB.... They are aggressive, full baldness in teens and early 20's.

My sons hair is very similar to Prince Williams hair pre hairl loss. He is another that his MPB was aggressive....I wander if that progression could have been slowed by Propecia. I think what worries me the most is the aggressive nature of the genes, not the process itself. Sounds like you understand that it's not the slow, gradual recession that is so bothersome, but the quick loss that seems to be the most bothersome in young men.

I swear I'm friggin worrying for my own child and he is not even there yet. I hope you find happiness whichever way things go. You are doing everything you can, and hopefully that can bring you some peace at the end of the day.

Why did you stop Propecia? I've never heard of Dut or RU from Dr's I spoke with.

Thank you for paying it forward to this worried mommy. Everyone handles things differently, I will and am doing a EXACTLY what you said, he is living blissfully without a concern in the world. Praying his attitude stays this way either way.

XO!

As I said, your son's MPB sounds extremely similar to mine, with it starting age 16 and getting aggressive in the late teens/ early twenties. He will probably therefore need a similar regime to mine one day, which should manage to reduce it to a very slow, gradual recession, perhaps even stopping it.

I stopped using finasteride because it didn't seem to make any difference to my hair. I think with aggressive MPB, only dutasteride can offer decent results. Dut is essentially a stronger version of finasteride. It hasn't been FDA approved and the long-term effects of using it are unknown. Like dut, RU reduces DHT levels, which are responsible for hair loss. However, RU is usually dissolved in an ethanol-based solution and applied directly to the scalp. Using RU and dut simultaneously offers the most robust defence against MPB.

That's not to say that finasteride won't work in your son's case. I started using it at 19, when I perhaps could have started at 18. This was largely because nobody advised me on my hair and I basically tackled it as it happened. If he were to start at 18, he'd have more time to see if the drug works. I could only afford to give it a year because, by 20, my MPB was getting increasingly aggressive and I couldn't wait any longer to take action. My inclination would be that fin won't be potent enough to save your boy's hair, but who knows.

Your son is really lucky to have someone looking out for him in the way you are, because the state of his hair could be mean a great deal more to him in a few years' time. Again, my experiences are probably directly applicable to him and I hope that they are of use to you. Having this sort of information in advance is invaluable - it allows you to catch MPB as early as possible and saves you from the stress of researching into loads of ineffective treatments. If I'd had known as much about hair loss as I do now at the age of 16, I could have probably stopped it outright.

[Lovinmyson]

good input Plan C

you are absolutely right that fighting hairloss is a time and money consuming "occupation" ... and it progressively gets 'worse' ... cause the hairloss will do exactly that (progressively get worse over time)
I would love to be able to just "let go" ... would save me a lot of worry , money and time.

I mean, have you seen the pictures of the guys dermarolling their scalps into a bloody mess with 2,5mm or currently guys that rub Chlorine Dioxide from China on their scalps ...
I'm obviously not saying that getting your son on Minox will be a stepping stone to hairloss-insanity, but he might just be ok with it ... and I would only applaud him for that.

Would be sad tho , if he would be sad all through his twenties for not taking action early on when the balding started.

That all said ... I usually rarely comment on threads that don't have before/after pics so we can at least see what we're working with , but I'm taking mom's word on the progression here.

I have pictures because I did a consult with an expert via Skype without my son involved. I'd be happy to share I would prefer to do it privately though. Like I said, it's EARLY. At 15, his hairline was straight across, this year it is now a N2?! Did I get that right. Specialist could not confirm nor could the derm that this is going to progress into anything further, BUT based on his genetics, they both agreed MINOX 5% would be fine for now and do a wait and see. They said the earlier the better. If the genes weren't so strong, I would not have gone this route. If you would like to see the pics, I'd be happy to text them to you.

I'm following Plan C's advice on keeping things as LOW-KEYED as possible. I explained very nonchalantly "our" family genes and said let him know that the "mousse" will give him time to decide what he'll want to do *if anything*. He said, "Fine, no problem." I'm leaving it at just once a day bc the recession is just so mild and he really does have awesome hair. The pictures I have aren't even of his hair I just blew them up without him knowing. I'm not tracking him with photos. I do not want to make an issue out of this unless he comes to me after 18 when he'll have the oral option, BUT I'm stepping ahead of myself bc of his sport.... Height is crucial... I think even if he pushes for a pill at 18 I need to be convinced he's fully grown. Ughhhhhhh....I swear I'm worrying as much as you guys! Lmk if you want pics! :-)

[Lovinmyson]

As I said, your son's MPB sounds extremely similar to mine, with it starting age 16 and getting aggressive in the late teens/ early twenties. He will probably therefore need a similar regime to mine one day, which should manage to reduce it to a very slow, gradual recession, perhaps even stopping it.

I stopped using finasteride because it didn't seem to make any difference to my hair. I think with aggressive MPB, only dutasteride can offer decent results. Dut is essentially a stronger version of finasteride. It hasn't been FDA approved and the long-term effects of using it are unknown. Like dut, RU reduces DHT levels, which are responsible for hair loss. However, RU is usually dissolved in an ethanol-based solution and applied directly to the scalp. Using RU and dut simultaneously offers the most robust defence against MPB.

That's not to say that finasteride won't work in your son's case. I started using it at 19, when I perhaps could have started at 18. This was largely because nobody advised me on my hair and I basically tackled it as it happened. If he were to start at 18, he'd have more time to see if the drug works. I could only afford to give it a year because, by 20, my MPB was getting increasingly aggressive and I couldn't wait any longer to take action. My inclination would be that fin won't be potent enough to save your boy's hair, but who knows.

Your son is really lucky to have someone looking out for him in the way you are, because the state of his hair could be mean a great deal more to him in a few years' time. Again, my experiences are probably directly applicable to him and I hope that they are of use to you. Having this sort of information in advance is invaluable - it allows you to catch MPB as early as possible and saves you from the stress of researching into loads of ineffective treatments. If I'd had known as much about hair loss as I do now at the age of 16, I could have probably stopped it outright.

Awwwwww.... You are so sweet! If I can help you in any way, I will. Just ask! Even if you need a girls perspective....you've given me great advice. I'm happy to return the favor!

[Illusion]

I'll chime in as well. I found out that I was balding when I was 16 and my reaction was the complete opposite of the reaction of your son: I completely freaked out. My family history is not a very fortunate one considering hair loss, so I knew I needed to act quickly.

And there is the problem. Very young hair loss sufferers can't really act quickly as most of the products available on the market right now aren't recommended/prescribed for/to men under 18 and even when you're 18, it's better to wait a few years more as you're not always done developping when you're 18. Basically the only thing would be minoxidil, but minoxidil is relatively ineffective and if your sons hair loss is aggressive (and that seems to be the case when you describe the hair loss "history" of your family) then using minox as a stand-alone treatment is by far not enough to do something against his hair loss.

I turned 17 not too long ago and went to a hair clinic, where they prescribed me finasteride (propecia). This in itself is pretty rare I believe, as most dermatologists aren't prescribing finasteride to men under 18, for obvious reasons. You're probably going to have a hard time to get finasteride prescribed to your son by a dermatologists before he turns 18 and by then, probably quite a lot of damage has probably been done already. More than any, I usually feel that hair loss starting in your teens is an unfair battle against time. I think you're getting my point...

On to the whole mindset thing (which was your original reason to post I believe). I wish I had the courage and the self confidence to accept that I'm going bald and to just let it go, but I don't. I salute other teenagers who do have this courage and self confidence, although I sometimes doubt if they really don't care going bald or if they just don't know it or are denying it. Since you went to a dermatologist who confirmed that he had beginning hair loss, there's not really any point in denying it (or maybe he's holding on to the fact that it 'might' be a maturing hair line - hint: it most likely isn't). However, like another poster has already pointed out in this thread: he might not care at this moment, while his hair still looks good. But how is he going to feel about it if he doesn't undergo treatment and his hair line and hair density will look completely messed up in a couple of years?

I think this is a very difficult situation. You obviously don't want to 'destroy' his happy-go-lucky attitude by convincing him that baldness is something terrible and that he needs to do something against him, which will consume time, money and, the worst of all, a lot of mental energy. On the other hand, you also don't want him to regret not doing anything against it when his hair is starting to look bad... At first thought, your son would benefit from a clear conversation about what's lying ahead of him to see if he really doesn't care (pics help a ton to get your point through in this case). However, you could also achieve the effect I talked about: you scaring him into starting to care about hair loss even though he genuinely didn't in the first place.

If your son starts to care, get on finasteride ASAP (1mg a day or 1,25mg a day to begin with). Don't count on any dermatologist to prescribe it to him, they're probably all going to say that he's too young. You'll have to get it off-label. Like Plan C said, I'm not entirely sure whether finasteride only will be enough to save your sons hair. Not everybody reacts as well to finasteride in terms of effectiveness, so maybe he has to go a step further (which would mean he needs to take dutasteride, commonly refered to as "DUT"). We can't say too much about how well it will work for him... Time will tell. If you indeed decide to go a step further with 'fighting' against hair loss, I'd say that your son needs to go on ifn first for a year to see if it's effective or not. Because if finasteride does prove to be effective and sufficient, then dutasteride would be overkill in my opinion

There is a surgical treatment available if you really want to do a lot against it without using heavy meds. I'm not talking about a hair transplantation, I'm talking about Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP). You can look it up on this forum. Go to: Men's Hair Loss --> Hair Loss Treatments --> Cutting Edge/Future Treatments --> Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy. There ar emore cons than pros to this treatment though: it's really expensive (don't know about exact prices but probably $800/treatment and you're likely to going to need multiple treatments), it's efficiacy has yet to be proven (on top of that I've read mixed opinions on it) and not a lot of doctors do it. Even between the doctors that offer PRP, there's a difference in how well it will work I believe. If you decide to go through with this treatment, you MUST make a thread in the PRP subforum and ask around for the best hair specialist to go to for PRP. That way you (and your money) will be in good hands at the very least. Now that I think of it, I'm not sure if they offer this treatment to men under 18 but who knows...

This post is pretty long and messy but I hope that it's useful to you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Plan C]

He's an NW2 already? If I've read that wrong forgive me, but he would have to have massively aggressive MPB to go from a straight hair line to a NW2 in a year, especially at such a young age.

I wouldn't bother posting pictures. A lot of people on this forum refuse to believe you're suffering from MPB until you're in the latter stages of it. You'll probably just get unnecessary grief.

[Lovinmyson]

Oh please forgive my naivety. He is NOT an NW2. A 1 most likely maybe 1.5 at the most. Not Anything like I've seen on here but it's just starting. Could just be his mature hairline too. I wander if I should just leave alone until another 6 months. Can minox 1x a day do any harm? Was told can't hurt only help. I'm so confused!

He's an NW2 already? If I've read that wrong forgive me, but he would have to have massively aggressive MPB to go from a straight hair line to a NW2 in a year, especially at such a young age.

I wouldn't bother posting pictures. A lot of people on this forum refuse to believe you're suffering from MPB until you're in the latter stages of it. You'll probably just get unnecessary grief.