Experiences Balding After 40 Years Old

[Luzianaman]

Thanks for the Info

48 and crown started about 12 years ago.

Thanks for the info.

I take pics on a regular basis and I keep an eye on it.

I might post some pics here later, but honestly I don't have any hair loss that's noticeable to the naked eye.



So why am I posting here?

I am super, ultra, hyper-paranoid because hair loss is in both sides of my family tree.

All uncles on my mom's side are norwood 3v.

My cousins around my age on my mom's side are norwood three or worse.

My father is norwood three but he's had that same pattern since he was 24 years old and he's 77 now.

I am 40.


And I know that none of this makes it any easier to predict future balding.

Bottom line: I'm pretty sure that only very well- trained physician could tell for sure if I was losing hair.

So there.

[mpb47]

Thanks for the info.

I take pics on a regular basis and I keep an eye on it.

I might post some pics here later, but honestly I don't have any hair loss that's noticeable to the naked eye.



So why am I posting here?

I am super, ultra, hyper-paranoid because hair loss is in both sides of my family tree.

All uncles on my mom's side are norwood 3v.

My cousins around my age on my mom's side are norwood three or worse.

My father is norwood three but he's had that same pattern since he was 24 years old and he's 77 now.

I am 40.


And I know that none of this makes it any easier to predict future balding.

Bottom line: I'm pretty sure that only very well- trained physician could tell for sure if I was losing hair.

So there.

You don't have to justify that here. When first posted my pics years ago several people thought i was crazy and i was not balding. I did get a few that thought it might be starting but it would probably be many years before i needed meds. Only 1 guy told me to start right away as he was once like me and could see it.

As far as predicting your mpb goes:
It can come from both sides of your family and if it does, no way to predict how it will go.

But if you lose hair at the same age and same pattern as another uncle/etc, then that is a general idea how it will go. This was very true for me.

[Luzianaman]

Some Pics I Managed to Put Together

My father is 54 years old and has a thick NW0. You should post clear pictures of the affected area.

I'm 40 years old.

My quality digital cam seems to have kicked the bucket.

These are the best I can do right now.

I went to the first dermatologist I could find who specialized in hair loss.

I wanted to know if I should be on propecia. She said no, use Rogaine three days a week but said it was "really up to me."

I was confused by this because everything I've read indicates that Rogaine is only effective for the top and crown areas (my problem areas are my corner regions which appear to be receded and maybe some very early thinning in the front).

She took a photo of the crown and there was no miniaturization.

All of these photos were taken within days of each other.

Long story shot: from certain angles I appear to be developing "power alleys" but I'm not sure what to do because, near as I can tell, neither fin nor rogaine are effective in those areas- or are they?

This is why I'm confused. If I had a clear case of thinning in the top and/ or crown I feel like I'd have a better idea about what to do.

Right now, just not sure.

My mother has a V-Shaped hairline, and it's a trait in her side of the family tree, which further confuses things, at least for me.

My father developed his norwood three pattern at 24 years old (i've seen pics of him that age) and has pretty much been the same ever since.

My mother's side of the family is more problematic- all of her brothers are norwood 3V. They were already showing the pattern by the time they were my age, I think, and I don't think their balding was the slow or gradual kind.

All of my cousins who developed male pattern baldness (her side) started visibly balding before they were my age, but again, that doesn't really mean I won't develop the same thing at some point.

[drybone]

I dont see where you have Male Pattern Baldness. At age 40 the odds of you going bald are virtually none .

Did the sides recede just recently or have they been that way since your twenties ?

I am almost 47 and my hair looks like yours except the front is much thinner.

[Soxfaninfl]

Geez.

This mantra is repeated incessantly on this forum, esp. from younger people usually 20-25 (ie. - "I want to keep my hair until 30 -- then I don't care if it all falls out and I'm NW7 Homer Simpson slob w/gray horseshoe).

I'm 36 with family and career, and I was f*cking tripping when my top started thinning.

I'm the same as you. I was 36 when my frontal recession started. I'm 37 now and always worried about MPB since my dad a NW7. What people in there 20's don't realized that you can end up divorced and in the dating seen again in your 30's and 40's. I got married when I was 24 and was married for 11 years been separated for 3 three years (divorced for a year and few months). Every guy wants a full head of hair at any age. People just don't get this.

[Luzianaman]

I've Had Receded Corners Forever

I dont see where you have Male Pattern Baldness. At age 40 the odds of you going bald are virtually none .

Did the sides recede just recently or have they been that way since your twenties ?

I am almost 47 and my hair looks like yours except the front is much thinner.

A Friend in high school noticed my receded corners once. "You're going bald on the sides," he said.

When I'd mention it to my mother she said "You just have a V-Shaped hairline, like me."

True enough her hair has a v-shape to it as well, not the usual straight female hair line.

But having so many uncles and cousins who are bald in my family tree, yes, I am paranoid.

They are pretty much all norwood 3v with persistent forelock. In many cases, their forelock remains where it was when they were 12 years old with the crown, corners and sometimes the top balding. One of my cousin has a forelock that is completely intact, but almost everything else is gone.

I would think that frontal recession is the most immediately noticeable. The pattern in my family tree is one that has a way of creeping up on you because very often, the forelock doesn't move at all.

So... a mixture of confusion/ paranoia because I never had a straight hairline to begin with and the balding patterns in my family tree are a bit unusual.

Anyway, I'm just keeping an eye on it for now.

Thanks for responding.

[drybone]

I'm the same as you. I was 36 when my frontal recession started. I'm 37 now and always worried about MPB since my dad a NW7. What people in there 20's don't realized that you can end up divorced and in the dating seen again in your 30's and 40's. I got married when I was 24 and was married for 11 years been separated for 3 three years (divorced for a year and few months). Every guy wants a full head of hair at any age. People just don't get this.

I am with you 100% bud. Us older guys have lives too.

I am still married but I know my wife would love my full head of hair back and have me feeling great again. No matter what age we are , if hair loss bothers us, we need to look into possible treatments.

Good luck with your dating. There are a lot of fine looking women in their thirties. I think older women are often more attractive as they are more confident.

[Luzianaman]

I'm Sure It's Hard at Any Age

I am with you 100% bud. Us older guys have lives too.

I am still married but I know my wife would love my full head of hair back and have me feeling great again. No matter what age we are , if hair loss bothers us, we need to look into possible treatments.

Good luck with your dating. There are a lot of fine looking women in their thirties. I think older women are often more attractive as they are more confident.

For a guy in his 20's experiencing hair loss, I'm sure it's devastating because he's surrounded by peers who have full heads of hair.

Still, losing hair does not mean losing the energy and vitality of your youth. You can hit the gym and it's much easier to make gains in your 20s than it is later in life. And when I was younger I was much more adept at adapting to change.

On the flip side, a guy in his late 30s losing his hair is hard for different reasons. Guys who lost their hair at a young age have probably gotten used to it at this point. The guys who start losing it in their 30s are married and have kids usually have often settled into stable lives and don't have to worry as much about impressing girls.

However, everyone around him is used to seeing him with a full head of hair and they have been for many years. Your hair is much more part of who you are at this stage of your life.

[BigThinker]

Your hair looks pretty damn good to me. That's not to say you aren't balding to some degree. It's just really hard to see it in those pics.

[mpb47]

I dont see where you have Male Pattern Baldness. At age 40 the odds of you going bald are virtually none .

Did the sides recede just recently or have they been that way since your twenties ?

I am almost 47 and my hair looks like yours except the front is much thinner.

I agree but I would add that it is smart to keep an eye on things. It most certainly can start in your late 30's, 40, etc.

[baldozer]

Tell me, who was the last bald president that we had?

Eisenhower.

During his tenure as president, Televisions became more and more common in American households.

There has not been one bald-headed president elected since.

All presidents since then have been over 40 years old.

You think hair loss doesn't matter after age 40?

Wasn't Gerald Ford quite bald too?

[Luzianaman]

Last ELECTED President

Wasn't Gerald Ford quite bald too?

And by "Bald" I mean advanced cases of balding (above Norwood 3).

Gerald Ford was appointed as vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned.

Then, after Nixon reigned, Ford became president.

He ran for re-election, and lost to Jimmy Carter (who had a full head of hair).

Bottom line: Ford was NEVER voted into office by the people.

Nixon was a Norwood Three.

Lyndon Johnson was a norwood three, but was not elected when he first became president (he took the job after JFK was killed).

He did win his first re-election bid, was eligible for re-election, and did not run again.

George H.W. Bush was about a Norwood three, but was a one-term president who lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton, who had the hairline of a twelve-year-old boy.

George Bush was maybe a Norwood 2 and Barack Obama has zero hair loss.

Read this if you people don't believe me.

When Eisenhower was elected, about half of Americans had a TV set. Look at hair loss among presidents before Eisenhower- and then look at it after.

You can deny it all you want but there's a clear pattern here and it speaks volumes about how the public perceives baldness, whether you want to admit it or not.

[baldozer]

And by "Bald" I mean advanced cases of balding (above Norwood 3).

Gerald Ford was appointed as vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned.

Then, after Nixon reigned, Ford became president.

He ran for re-election, and lost to Jimmy Carter (who had a full head of hair).

Bottom line: Ford was NEVER voted into office by the people.

Nixon was a Norwood Three.

Lyndon Johnson was a norwood three, but was not elected when he first became president (he took the job after JFK was killed).

He did win his first re-election bid, was eligible for re-election, and did not run again.

George H.W. Bush was about a Norwood three, but was a one-term president who lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton, who had the hairline of a twelve-year-old boy.

George Bush was maybe a Norwood 2 and Barack Obama has zero hair loss.

Read this if you people don't believe me.

When Eisenhower was elected, about half of Americans had a TV set. Look at hair loss among presidents before Eisenhower- and then look at it after.

You can deny it all you want but there's a clear pattern here and it speaks volumes about how the public perceives baldness, whether you want to admit it or not.

Only American public. I see plenty of bald presidents in other countries.

[Soxfaninfl]

I am with you 100% bud. Us older guys have lives too.

I am still married but I know my wife would love my full head of hair back and have me feeling great again. No matter what age we are , if hair loss bothers us, we need to look into possible treatments.

Good luck with your dating. There are a lot of fine looking women in their thirties. I think older women are often more attractive as they are more confident.

Thanks Drybone! I didn't want my divorce, but I still ended up divorced and single in my mid 30's. It sucks to be out there again dating, but at least I have a full head of hair and can feel confident about that.

[Luzianaman]

Well, I Live in the U.S.

Only American public. I see plenty of bald presidents in other countries.

And those of us living in the U.S. can't escape the cultural attitudes that exist as long as we choose to remain here.

If you live in a nation where balding is accepted/ embraced, I offer my sincere congratulations and hope that one day the United States evolves to match your country's mindset.

But as I write this, that is not how things are.

If balding is considered sexy in Italy, that's wonderful for Italians

It's not helpful to those who live in countries where it's considered not sexy.