I'm so devastated for my son

[Hicks]

Have you thought about PRP? During my ground stomping to find a surgeon, Doctors or their office promoted PRP. If you got the coin I would at least try this and document the process over the years. They never promoted it as a regrowth but more as maintenance. You might not think something is working till you stop. Then it's game over. Best of luck.

[baldozer]

Dont be devastated for him, just be supportive. If he see's its upsetting you it could make him feel bad. It's not flawed genetics, its just genetics and its normal. there is no cure for male pattern baldness, it doesn't exist. You can delay or slow down the loss with the following treatments, minoxidil which you apply topically twice a day, finasteride which you take one tablet a day, and nizoral which is a shampoo that you use about twice a week. These are treatments, not cures, they are more about retaining what you have. The finasteride can have side effects in some guys such as low libido, erectile dysfunction, anxiety, depression, affected memory etc, these affect a small percentage of men but it does happen and there are forums where people still suffer the sides after they cease taking the pill. Your dermatologist or doctor will re affirm what I've just said.
The hair transplant route is very very pricey road to go down running into tens of thousands of dollars. Its not a case of one transplant and everything is fixed, its a case of multiple surgerys over time because more hair will fall out in the future and more transplanted hair will be needed to take its place, it also leaves scarring in the donor area from where the hair was taken depending on the method used. So if in the future your son decides he wants to buzz his hair off he will have scars to show for the transplants.
How does your son feel about it? Because it seems a little like you are more upset than he is, is it something that really bothers him? Or is he the kind of guy who's happy enough to buzz his hair short and get on with life?

I started losing my hair when I was 20. I went through the treatments of minoxidil, propecia, looked into surgery etc but in my experience all it really did was inhibit me from accepting myself for who I was and moving on, for a decade I was just constantly worried about my hair and taking propecia and minoxidil and checking to see how much hair I had lost and checking the meds were still working and it just made me insecure. Instead of "bald" jokes you just get "balding" jokes instead. I dropped the treatments because after a while they lose effectiveness and looking back I wish I had just accepted it from the start like I do now.
I've said it before, its much less stressful and so much better to be a bald man in control than an insecure man trying to fight against his genetics. In the long run your son will just need to accept it so he will need to cross that bridge sooner or later. There is no reason he cant by happy even with hair loss. A lot of people who cant let it go think its the end of the world and they make themselves miserable as a result when all they need to do is accept who they are and move on.
Im not saying it wont be tough for him, but what I am saying is, at the end of the day when he accepts who he is, he's going to be just fine. Its better to be the bald guy who's smiling instead of the insecure guy who's looking at his shoes.

I totally agree with you. A man trying to cover up his baldness is just pretending to be someone which he is not. Baldness is nothing to be ashamed of. You are what you are.

[burtandernie]

Well I would just argue none of the existing treatments work that well period. You can try 40 different things or propecia but the fact is even with those over the years your probably still going to slowly keep balding.
Just need better treatments. CB 03 01 might make MPB history in a few years if it can stop MPB and a powerful enough AA certainly can. Its just a waiting game because some years from now MPB will be much less a problem then it is now

[Thinning@30]

The reality is that there is very little that can be done for hair loss in this day and age. Your son can try finasteride and minoxidil, but they are stop loss measures at best. They lose effectiveness over time, they don't work for everyone, and for some people, they can have terrible side effects.

If your son is destined to go bald, I think one of the key things you can do for him is to examine your own reactions to baldness. You want to build his confidence not destroy his self esteem. Do you ridicule men with hair loss? If so, stop. If you discuss hair loss at all, be careful not to make it sound like it is a terrible thing. Talk about it like it's no big deal and just something that happens to most men as they get older. If there are bald celebrities you find attractive, such as Patrick Stewart or Jason Statham, figure out ways to casually mention this in conversations in front of your son. Better yet, do this with any bald men you know personally that you find attractive. I think it will do your son a lot of good if the women in his life reinforce the message that "bald is beautiful," and not something to be ashamed of or something that will render him "damaged goods" in the eyes of women. If he needs to lose weight or dress better, don't tell him this directly, but praise him when he does go to the gym or dresses well or does other things to improve his appearance. For bald men, I think confidence is key. You want to do whatever you can to build it up.

[Notcoolanymore]

Just make it a habit of going out with your son and whenever you see a bald guy, tell your son how hot you think that bald guy is.

Joking, but on a serious note, the treatments we have today are not the best. But they are something and for some they can work wonders. Your son is going bald and I guarantee if you know it, he does, and by some of his comments that you have said he has made about it, he cares. Make him a dermatologist appt. and let him discuss treatment options with a professional. Your comment about the doctor that mentioned fin causes cancer, I am sure there are many more that would say that guy if full of it. Take him to see a Dr. and let him make his own decision on whether he wants to treat his hair loss. Being kind and acting like life will be ok might end up hurting him in the long run.

[greatjob!]

Just make it a habit of going out with your son and whenever you see a bald guy, tell your son how hot you think that bald guy is.

LOL, yeah the last thing I want to hear is my mom telling me how hot guys are

[Vox]

Flawed genetics? I'd have to disagree, it's society's perception that makes people fear going bald, the general consensus that balding is a negative thing in terms of looks, but biologically it isn't a threat to your health or life

Although your point about society's perception is right, it is old news that MPB is associated with increased risk for heart disease and prostate cancer. Whatever the link is between the two, MBP and heart/prostate disease, eliminating this plague at the genetic level (and not just restoring hair) should be set as one of the next goals in medicine.

I cannot forget the poster that I saw many years ago in the consultation room of a cardiologist: it was about risk factors for heart disease and, among other things, it had the image of a miserable BALD (NW6+) middle aged man looking like 60+, tired and sad. I was in shock. The message of the poster was that if you go bald at younger age, you better start monitoring earlier the health of your heart.

[Vox]

Perhaps you don't like baldness, but many women do.

To say that *some* women do, I can understand. But many? This comes from nowhere. There is nothing to like about baldness aesthetics wise, although there are definitely some practical advantages in everyday life.

[Vox]

Any suggestions or words of wisdom??

You must already know that there is presently no cure, except the well-known bandage-like solutions discussed earlier. They may help; but then, they may not.

However, talking about his psychological well-being, the best you can do is to encourage him to invest in a stable and long term relationship with a girl. The best time to do it is just around the end of his university studies. If he is involved in such a deeply gratifying relationship with the perspective of creating a family, he (and consequently you) will quickly forget anything about hair loss.

[baldozer]

The reality is that there is very little that can be done for hair loss in this day and age. Your son can try finasteride and minoxidil, but they are stop loss measures at best. They lose effectiveness over time, they don't work for everyone, and for some people, they can have terrible side effects.

If your son is destined to go bald, I think one of the key things you can do for him is to examine your own reactions to baldness. You want to build his confidence not destroy his self esteem. Do you ridicule men with hair loss? If so, stop. If you discuss hair loss at all, be careful not to make it sound like it is a terrible thing. Talk about it like it's no big deal and just something that happens to most men as they get older. If there are bald celebrities you find attractive, such as Patrick Stewart or Jason Statham, figure out ways to casually mention this in conversations in front of your son. Better yet, do this with any bald men you know personally that you find attractive. I think it will do your son a lot of good if the women in his life reinforce the message that "bald is beautiful," and not something to be ashamed of or something that will render him "damaged goods" in the eyes of women. If he needs to lose weight or dress better, don't tell him this directly, but praise him when he does go to the gym or dresses well or does other things to improve his appearance. For bald men, I think confidence is key. You want to do whatever you can to build it up.

From what she has posted, she does think of baldness as something terrible and consider bald men as inferior. Nothing surprising here, as most women nowadays are fixated with looks and outer appearance. They spend all their lives trying to appear sexy.