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

[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.

[Lovinmyson]

And after reading your post again, I do see what you mean about guys with NW2 clearly receding at 17 and guys in denial about it. You're right...I won't post on here. I want you to know that it is early and slight. But clearly there is the start of something. Otherwise I wouldn't be posting and derm wouldn't say start minox.

[Plan C]

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!

If theres receding at his temples and there is a history of males in your family going bald, it's extremely likely that he's got MPB, rather than his hairline maturing. Taking precautionary measures is absolutely the right thing to do. I really wouldn't worry yourself about the action you're taking.

[Plan C]

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.

I might be interpreting this wrong, but are you suggesting that she looks into getting her son finasteride now? That would be utterly irresponsible. There is no excuse for using finasteride before the age of 18. You should stick to minox + a keto shampoo. I only started fin at 19 because I had reached 6ft 2 and had very little development left.

MPB can't be only be so aggressive at such a young age. I outlined on a previous post that fin, dut and RU could be considered when the lad's fully grown, but suggesting these treatments to him before he is a) done developing and b) convinced he even wants to tackle his hair loss is ridiculous.

[Illusion]

I might be interpreting this wrong, but are you suggesting that she looks into getting her son finasteride now? That would be utterly irresponsible. There is no excuse for using finasteride before the age of 18. You should stick to minox + a keto shampoo. I only started fin at 19 because I had reached 6ft 2 and had very little development left.

MPB can't be only be so aggressive at such a young age. I outlined on a previous post that fin, dut and RU could be considered when the lad's fully grown, but suggesting these treatments to him before he is a) done developing and b) convinced he even wants to tackle his hair loss is ridiculous.

Yeah my post is a bit messy and long, so it all becomes a bit vague.

I'm advising that if he, in the end, does decide to really start doing something against MPB, he doesn't really have any other choice than fin (yeah he can try ru but I dont see an experiment treatment working for him if he's not willing to start with fin).

Regarding the bold, you made a typo so I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say but I guess it was "MPB can't be so aggressive at such a young age". If this is what you tried saying, then let me give you a hint: it can be. It's not likely though, but most people that start to bald at a young age with a not so great looking family history don't bald slowly and gradually. 1 -1,5 year of not treating your baldness can make a huge difference in your battle.

For some reason your post surprises me a bit. Just skimmed through your thread and you seem like you're on a pretty heavy regime, implying that hair loss is a very big deal to you. Then why shouldn't a 16 year-old start with fin if he's really unhappy with his hair loss? Again, my opinion about her son starting with fin would only be of use if he's really unhappy with his hair loss, which doesn't seem to be the case. But if you look at my case: I'm really unhappy with hair loss. I started fin a very short time after I turned 17. You think this is wrong of me? Should I just have stuck with that weak-ass combination of minox-keto? I know that it's not advisable (if at all) for your body to take fin at such a young age, but we simply don't have other options (well, dut/ru/other topical AA's/etc but if you are against fin at that age then you're against those treatments as well I assume).

[burtandernie]

Right now you either take propecia or dutasteride or you just learn to accept it maybe the hair transplant thing later on. I can sum all the options in that one short sentence that is the state of hair loss at the moment.