Male hair thinning/loss

[LillyBlossom]

Hi ladies

My husband is trying to hold onto his hair, its starting to thin and his family have a lot of male pattern baldness happening. He's worried he's next!

He rubs black seed oil into it and does inversion a couple of times a week, takes biotin supplements.

He wanted me to ask you ladies if you had any advice or help/ideas for him?

Appreciate any input you can give

[Lucy McLucyFace]

Well I know some types of heart medications make hair grow back a little bit but I don't wish for heart problems on anyone.
Otherwise I don't think there is much one can do to stop it since it's a natural thing to happen to people with high testosterone levels and I wouldn't want to mess with hormones either.

One thing you may consider is hair transplants. They've become more widely available and therefore more accessible and there's a lot of information out there. Some people in my extended family have done it and they are very happy with the results although in the beginning the recovery is quite a piece of work.

If your husband doesn't want to do that sort of change but just wants an appearance of denser hair there is also the possibility of using special types of spray paints to darken the scalp and give the illusion of more hair

[Ylva]

My tip would be to look into his testosterone levels and aim to increase them through appropriate dietary choices and exercises (weight lifting is a good one). As testosterone levels get lower, the body converts it into more DHT which is a more potent version of testosterone. DHT plays a major role in male pattern baldness.

[Lucy McLucyFace]

To correct myself: I wouldn't advice messing with hormones through supplementation unless it's necessary for medical reasons. Exercise and protein as the reply above says is fine obviously :o

[Bellalla]

Propecia works quite well if he wants to consider medication for it.

[EdG]

My advice is not to try to battle one's genetics. That really isn't possible to do.

If your DH feels the need for more hair, he can grow a beard. :)
Ed

[LillyBlossom]

My tip would be to look into his testosterone levels and aim to increase them through appropriate dietary choices and exercises (weight lifting is a good one). As testosterone levels get lower, the body converts it into more DHT which is a more potent version of testosterone. DHT plays a major role in male pattern baldness.

thank you so much, thats really helpful

[LillyBlossom]

My advice is not to try to battle one's genetics. That really isn't possible to do.

If your DH feels the need for more hair, he can grow a beard. :)
Ed


LOL, he did start growing a beard to counteract the hair thinning

[LillyBlossom]

Well I know some types of heart medications make hair grow back a little bit but I don't wish for heart problems on anyone.
Otherwise I don't think there is much one can do to stop it since it's a natural thing to happen to people with high testosterone levels and I wouldn't want to mess with hormones either.

One thing you may consider is hair transplants. They've become more widely available and therefore more accessible and there's a lot of information out there. Some people in my extended family have done it and they are very happy with the results although in the beginning the recovery is quite a piece of work.

If your husband doesn't want to do that sort of change but just wants an appearance of denser hair there is also the possibility of using special types of spray paints to darken the scalp and give the illusion of more hair

yes the medication sounds scary, hes not into that idea so thats a good thing. No harm in checking out transplants, sounds like an annual leave situation

[tuulie]

I'm planning to start a regimen of ketoconazole shampoo, minoxidil and dermarolling on my scalp soon. I can't speak to personal experience because I haven't tried these things yet, but they're all topical treatments with scientifically proven moderate improvement for most people. The side effect for the first two can be scalp irritation, some people also initially shed on minoxidil because it makes hair go into anagen and that can push older hair out.

The reason I'm planning on doing this for myself is that I have some female pattern hair loss that never improved after my postpartum shedding ended.

Edit 1 - here's one study on microneedling/dermaroller in comparison to minoxidil https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746236/

Edit 2 - I found this thread immensely helpful when deciding what I should do with my hair if anything https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=141868

[lapushka]

Can I ask you, has he been to a doctor at all for this, or doesn't he want to go that route?

[cjk]

you said he has hair thinning. You did not say how abrupt that thinking was. Is this something new or has it been gradually thinning for years?

And how advanced is the thinning?

I noticed you didn't say anything about recession. A high hairline. Only thin.

He actually has a number of choices, but most of them can be represented by these three.

First, medical intervention. Someone asked earlier whether he had seen a doctor, that makes sense. Hair loss is not always genetic, as we well know products can cause hair loss, hormonal changes, even nutrition. And treatments like propecia and minoxidil can work, it's on a case-by-case basis. Usually they stop further loss, New growth is less common.

In any case, finding out why it's happening would seem but appropriate first step, don't just assume it's genetic or irreversible.

Second, fighting hair loss. That could be anything from the medications mentioned earlier two hair transplants to a wig dot-dot. There are all sorts of choices.

Third, embracing it. I didn't say giving in, I said embracing it. A lot of things in life or a choice and that's one of them.

I had a shiny bald spot right on top of my head. It was caused by a medication I took after surgery, prednisone. And I mean shiny. Big circular one.

I embraced my bald spot. Got a flat top haircut, the landing strip down the middle aligned perfectly with the bald spot and no one ever knew. When I discontinue using that medication I actually had my hair grow back but it had changed texture and was much less dense so I still have a thin spot.

Other styling options also exist. Variance shorter haircuts, a comb-over, buzz cut, and even completely bald. I don't mean clippershave, I mean get out the razor and go shiny.

It is a look. A very powerful look. And one that has to be worn with confidence. But there are men with full heads of hair who shave because they like the look.

And rightly so. I've done it myself. It's great.

And lastly, I understand that not all hair has to be on top of the head. But it's better to have hair. No those are not contradictory statements. The facial area is defined by the hairline, without any hair at all you don't look right.

Consequently a lot of guys who shave bald have beards. There's a hairline, it's just down below.

Happily the same hormones that encourage heavy beard growth are the ones that are involved in hair loss. which means that God knew what he was doing, as the hair goes away from the top it appears down the bottom.

In other words, other than intervening medically it comes down to styling choices. And they are choices.

Sometimes a new style can be a good thing!

Just make certain that he's not viewing it as giving in, losing a battle, or something like that. He's choosing to go bald, he's not losing out to hair loss.

Framing makes a huge difference, especially when you're talking about the male ego.

[LillyBlossom]

I'm planning to start a regimen of ketoconazole shampoo, minoxidil and dermarolling on my scalp soon. I can't speak to personal experience because I haven't tried these things yet, but they're all topical treatments with scientifically proven moderate improvement for most people. The side effect for the first two can be scalp irritation, some people also initially shed on minoxidil because it makes hair go into anagen and that can push older hair out.

The reason I'm planning on doing this for myself is that I have some female pattern hair loss that never improved after my postpartum shedding ended.

Edit 1 - here's one study on microneedling/dermaroller in comparison to minoxidil https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3746236/

Edit 2 - I found this thread immensely helpful when deciding what I should do with my hair if anything https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=141868

thank you so much, this is great

[LillyBlossom]

Can I ask you, has he been to a doctor at all for this, or doesn't he want to go that route?

Thanks Lapushka, of course you can. He did see one doc about it, offered him medication but hubby's not too keen on the side effects list, other than pills the doc wasn't too helpful, told him to take biotin.

[LillyBlossom]

you said he has hair thinning. You did not say how abrupt that thinking was. Is this something new or has it been gradually thinning for years?

And how advanced is the thinning?

I noticed you didn't say anything about recession. A high hairline. Only thin.

He actually has a number of choices, but most of them can be represented by these three.

First, medical intervention. Someone asked earlier whether he had seen a doctor, that makes sense. Hair loss is not always genetic, as we well know products can cause hair loss, hormonal changes, even nutrition. And treatments like propecia and minoxidil can work, it's on a case-by-case basis. Usually they stop further loss, New growth is less common.

In any case, finding out why it's happening would seem but appropriate first step, don't just assume it's genetic or irreversible.

Second, fighting hair loss. That could be anything from the medications mentioned earlier two hair transplants to a wig dot-dot. There are all sorts of choices.

Third, embracing it. I didn't say giving in, I said embracing it. A lot of things in life or a choice and that's one of them.

I had a shiny bald spot right on top of my head. It was caused by a medication I took after surgery, prednisone. And I mean shiny. Big circular one.

I embraced my bald spot. Got a flat top haircut, the landing strip down the middle aligned perfectly with the bald spot and no one ever knew. When I discontinue using that medication I actually had my hair grow back but it had changed texture and was much less dense so I still have a thin spot.

Other styling options also exist. Variance shorter haircuts, a comb-over, buzz cut, and even completely bald. I don't mean clippershave, I mean get out the razor and go shiny.

It is a look. A very powerful look. And one that has to be worn with confidence. But there are men with full heads of hair who shave because they like the look.

And rightly so. I've done it myself. It's great.

And lastly, I understand that not all hair has to be on top of the head. But it's better to have hair. No those are not contradictory statements. The facial area is defined by the hairline, without any hair at all you don't look right.

Consequently a lot of guys who shave bald have beards. There's a hairline, it's just down below.

Happily the same hormones that encourage heavy beard growth are the ones that are involved in hair loss. which means that God knew what he was doing, as the hair goes away from the top it appears down the bottom.

In other words, other than intervening medically it comes down to styling choices. And they are choices.

Sometimes a new style can be a good thing!

Just make certain that he's not viewing it as giving in, losing a battle, or something like that. He's choosing to go bald, he's not losing out to hair loss.

Framing makes a huge difference, especially when you're talking about the male ego.

thank you, thats really good advice, he has a high hairline naturally, its just starting to thin in the last year. Honestly its not that bad but he's really worried about it because his brothers are going bald

[lapushka]

he did see a doc, they offered him medication but hubby's not too keen on the side effects list, other than pills the doc wasn't too helpful, told him to take biotin.

I see. :) Was it a dermatologist? If not, perhaps that specialty can be more helpful for him.

I would get a second opinion if you can, before he loses more hair. If things like this happen the quicker you act, the better.

I lost chunks of hair when I first went through puberty (3 bald spots). It was determined to be hormonal, and an imbalance that had to even itself out on its own. After a year it got better and was actually totally gone.

I do second hormone-testing. And that 2nd opinion is priceless!

[LillyBlossom]

I see. :) Was it a dermatologist? If not, perhaps that specialty can be more helpful for him.

I would get a second opinion if you can, before he loses more hair. If things like this happen the quicker you act, the better.

I lost chunks of hair when I first went through puberty (3 bald spots). It was determined to be hormonal, and an imbalance that had to even itself out on its own. After a year it got better and was actually totally gone.

I do second hormone-testing. And that 2nd opinion is priceless!

No it was just a family local doctor. Dermatologist is a great idea, thanks

[lapushka]

No it was just a family local doctor. Dermatologist is a great idea, thanks

You are welcome; things like this aren't easy, I know! :flower:

[erebus]

I just wanted to second the dermatologist suggestion. There are some prescription meds (like finasteride) that by all accounts are very effective at reducing thinning, and to some extent promoting regrowth. They are prescription meds though and can have side effects. Less invasive meds like minoxidil seem to work for some people, but in a more hit or miss fashion.

There are some striking examples of people who've reversed their hair loss though, probably through a combination of medication and hair transplants. For example, Elon Musk:
https://i.imgur.com/81Mej8Q.jpg?1