Can MPB genes "mix" or is it just one way or the other?

[NorwoodPoo]

I'm 19.
Dad started balding around 18, and by the time he was 21 his hairline looked like a horseshoe with a brown toothbrush on top.

Meanwhile, his dad didn't bald until his 50s. My dad inherited his balding from his maternal uncle. My dad and paternal grandfather started balding at the same timeframe, and they had the exact same pattern. (My dad's uncle had a different pattern)

My maternal grandfather is 64 years old and still kicking with a Norwood 3. Most pictures of him at 18 don't show any recession, but he started undergoing deep recession in his 20's and never fully went bald.

Now I'm 19, had a lot of recession at 18, (NW 1.5) but as far as I can tell my hairline hasn't budged since maybe last April. Am I completely screwed, or has there ever been any observable "mixing" of MPB variables in someone's genes?

[mattj]

Mixing of genes is the norm for MPB. It's rare to exactly follow one member of your family. You'll find that if you speak to other guys who are losing hair, they may sometimes be able to point to a relative whose hairloss appears very similar, bit even then it isn't usually exactly the same. It probably didn't begin at exactly the same age, their hair probably isn't falling at exactly the same rate and they probably won't end up with exactly the same pattern.

Basically, the more MPB you can observe within your relatives, the stronger the MPB gene is influencing your family and therefore you.

The bottom line is, nobody can give you a clear map of how your hairloss will progress - it is just not that predictable. You just have to observe it over time and of course the treatments can help slow things down. You certainly shouldn't consider yourself screwed, though. Early loss doesn't necessarily mean extensive loss. It doesn't sound like you're following your dad's pattern.

[Jackito]

Mixing of genes is the norm for MPB. It's rare to exactly follow one member of your family. You'll find that if you speak to other guys who are losing hair, they may sometimes be able to point to a relative whose hairloss appears very similar, bit even then it isn't usually exactly the same. It probably didn't begin at exactly the same age, their hair probably isn't falling at exactly the same rate and they probably won't end up with exactly the same pattern.

Basically, the more MPB you can observe within your relatives, the stronger the MPB gene is influencing your family and therefore you.

The bottom line is, nobody can give you a clear map of how your hairloss will progress - it is just not that predictable. You just have to observe it over time and of course the treatments can help slow things down. You certainly shouldn't consider yourself screwed, though. Early loss doesn't necessarily mean extensive loss. It doesn't sound like you're following your dad's pattern.

What if you only have one MPB gene present within the family that is Norwood 6/7? Does that ultimately mean I can only follow one path or does the fact I have other relatives with solid hairlines mean Im less likely to go fully bald? I'm really confused at this prcoess

[Louish]

Why don't you people read about the subject yourself instead of asking other clueless people on the internet? None of this is predictable as mattj pointed out. Multiple genes are involved in MPB, you don't know which ones you've got or not and on top of that you don't know how said genes are going to be "expressed". The same gene can code for many different proteins giving several different phenotypes. Bottom line you can't even fully predict your phenotype even if you know you genotype. A good exemple is how most monozygotic twins don't look exactly the same even though their genotype is exactly the same.

[Simar]

Can you please show us some pictures of your hairs??????????

[mattj]

Definitely listen to what Louish said. He put it into more scientific terms and that's the reality of the situation.

[NorwoodPoo]

I'm sorry you're right, the thread premise was stupid. I was only asking in the event that anyone had anecdotal experience at most because I tried to research the topic and found nothing. (There's a surprising lack of/contradictory information on the Internet about MPB)

Simar requested a picture of my hairline so I'll deliver here.

I tried to get an aerial shot, but the peak of my hairline is so low that I literally can't pull my hair back there without completely concealing it. So what happens is you'll see a picture where my temples are brushed back but my peak is brushed forward, making it look slightly misleading. Hopefully 3/4 side shots will be enough for you, if not let me know and I'll post an aerial shot.

[mattj]

The thread premise wasn't stupid at all. This is a confusing subject with, as you say, lots of conflicting info out there and a definite lack of any solid info. That's because the genetics of male pattern balding are so unpredictable and some people try and make sense of it with their own pet theories which aren't necessarily founded in scientific fact.

It does look like you're experiencing the early stages of MPB with some slight recession. It's happening early but that doesn't mean that you'll follow your dad's pattern. In fact I would say that it's more likely that you won't.

So basically, I only have more uncertainty to offer you, but with the positive message that it isn't necessarily all doom and gloom as far as your future hairloss goes.

[Louish]

Your question is legit, it's just that asking people about science stuff on the internet is risky, the information you find is contradictory because the internet is full of that and MBP is not all that well understood. Like pretty much everything else actually, you would be amazed at how medicine is more crapshoot than you would imagine.