To all you Norwood 6s (and anyone else!)

[jjones2908]

Hello all,


I was hoping to get some input, especially those that have hit 6 on the Norwood scale. I am currently 32 and have experienced some frontal and crown thinning over the last 18 months or so (although I have been receding since my early to mid 20s). I would put myself at around a Norwood 3V at the moment, but I'm guessing my hair loss is going to progress. It's annoying because when I'm looking around at other guys when I'm out and about, I swear I only ever see men of 50 and over with my amount of hair loss and I presume they are individuals that have probably experienced very slow balding over their lifetimes.

I think my photos probably show that I have experienced enough hair loss progression for this not to be one of those posts where a clearly non balding person is asking whether they're balding; I have what I think are legitimate concerns (and equally, curiosity) about any potential moderate to severe hair loss in the future.

My question is this: from looking at my photos (currently buzzed down to a 3), does it look like my hair loss (or thinning area) is showing early signs of developing into a typical Norwood 6 pattern? Are there hallmarks or tell-tale signs that others that developed into that pattern would now know to look out for? Or perhaps it's just completely impossible to know without getting checked by a doctor for miniaturisation?

I've attached photos of the sides, front, back and top, as well as my nape (a week old grade 3). I've also got a photo showing my hair grown out and of my dad at age 30.

As ever, thanks.

[JoeTillman]

I can't say I see a NW6 in your future but I do think you'll eventually hit a NW5. This is based on the photo below. There is a clear demarcation between the hair of your typical donor zone and the lower region of your crown. The density drops by a considerable percentage. The top photo also shows potential for a narrow strip of loss down the middle but the parietal hump look solid. If you are open to considering medications, make your move soon as it could mean the difference between looking like your dad in the future or continuing to look like your father's son

[Artista]

Joe Tillman just gave you GOOD advice JJones2908

JJones' do NOT ALLOW yourself to become worried and stressed-out over your hair possibilities!
If you allow yourself to be stressed/worried about that or anything else in your life, your hair WILL become worse off!
Your health would be damaged too.
Be accepting of all things in your life!
When you do that, your health would be so much better and so would your hair overall.

Again, Joe Tillman gave you a good response. Consider that and also what I told you too.

[shawtydancer]

N5 imo

[shawtydancer]

nw5*

[HTsoon]

What does your dad look like now? is he norwood 7? he was already basically a norwood 6 by age 30, general consensus is that someone so young with such an aggressive hair loss pattern is destined for norwood 7. Did his hair loss get worse or stay the same?

[jjones2908]

Thank you all for taking time to reply. I'm the kind of person that is massively reassured by a bit of knowledge as it allows me to prepare for the future. Buzzing my hair down has really given me a much better idea of what's going on on my scalp; as a couple of you have said, it now looks as though I'll be hitting Norwood 5 territory eventually. Family planning related stuff puts me off medication in the short term, but perhaps I'll give it a go at some point. I have a fairly solid jaw line though so I'm not complete averse to shaving it down very short and dealing with it that way.

HTsoon - thanks for your question. It turns out that my dad's hair loss had pretty much stabilised by the age of 30 when that photo was taken. In the 30 years since then, he's just lost the fine hairs on top and is now a Norwood 6. I'm not entirely sure whether I'm following my dad's or maternal uncle's hair loss pattern more closely, but my hair loss is certainly a lot slower than my dad's was (I had thought I was safe until recently!).

For reference, I attach below a side profile photo of my maternal uncle, who I'd probably put at a NW3.5A at the age of 54. His Dad died with a solid NW3.

Cheers,
Jeremy

[HTsoon]

I doubt you'll progress to your dads level of hair loss maybe norwood 5A at worst but who knows I guess anything could happen, I imagine you'll end up like James Spader

James at 32 you can see how thin the front really is but when it was dry and long you couldn't tell similar to your own hair


I'm also 31 and basically a norwood 6, with my hair grown out my hair loss prior to surgery was similar to your dads, it's funny if your dad were that level today at that age he'd be told he was destined for norwood 7 baldness. I guess it just goes to show you never really know you could get worse or you could stay the same. I notice now that I rarely even shed hairs when I shower maybe 2 or 3 hairs, compared to 100's when I was in my early 20's but could be the hair loss prevention regimen im on as well.

I'm starting to think that hair loss and the age in which you begin to notice the hair loss have a connection as to when you will stabilize or when your hair loss slows down. A guy like your dad probably began losing hair in is late teens, probably most aggressively in his mid 20's and by early 30's it was pretty much gone. You on the other hand have just begun noticing in your 30's, if you don't treat your hair loss i'd imagine you'd get bad by your 40's possibly 50's but still not as bad as your dad.

[jjones2908]

HTsoon - thanks again for taking the time to reply and yes, an interesting observation about James Spader. And I find that a bit of hair in certain places can really conceal a true Norwood pattern.

Yes, you're right, that's very likely what he'd be told! Growing up, I just thought of him as a very bald guy (and that you couldn't get much balder) and I also know that it hit him very hard as it started very young, as you correctly presumed. Now that I've actually assessed him against the Norwood scale, though, I've realised that he is in fact clearly a NW6 rather than a 7; he still has high sides and the donour area looks to be pretty good to my eye. Balding is such a touchy subject with my Dad that I don't feel I could ever really ask him how it progressed. Having said that, I'm not sure how much it would tell me as I feel I am experiencing a different type of progression to his.

Anyway, I hope it serves as some kind of reassurance to you or any anyone else balding into the NW6 pattern - there is no guarantee that you'll ever hit a NW7. I think that's significant and I would disagree with people that say that it doesn't make a difference whether you're a 6 or 7 because I think there is quite a bit of difference.

I think that if I do hit NW5 (and stop there), I will have to shave my hair down short, which I'm guessing will just look like a NW6 anyway! Having said that, one guy that I feel carries his NW5 quite well (or maybe it's somewhere between a NW4 and 5), without shaving it down to absolutely nothing is James Murray from Impractical Jokers. I think that what helps is that he still has quite a defined forelock, which I think is one of the key things in male pattern baldness. I've noticed that in more recent pictures he's started to get a narrow strip down the middle of his hair. Is this signalling likely progression to a NW6?





Cheers