Can Male Pattern Baldness Start During Teenage Years?'

Name: Kyle

Question: Hi, I’m a 19 year old male and have noticed probably since I was 16 a gradual receding and thinning in my hair from the corners of my forehead. I still have hair their a bit but its very fine a wont grow past a few cm. In the past 6 months the hair from my forehead to the crown of my head has also stopped growing past a certain length, and there seems to be less hair in the middle of my forehead at the hair line. My hair also seems to be doing the same at the base of my skull at the back and around my temples, with shorter, finer hair. It’s also a little hard to to tell just how bad it is since I have long, curly hair everywhere else. I’ve never heard of baldness starting this young but I don’t know what else it could be. Thanks for your help.

Answer: Hi Kyle, most of the hair loss you describe here is consistent with a diagnosis of male pattern baldness. However, you mention the base of your skull being affected which, assuming you mean around your nape or from your occipital bone - the nubby bit of bone you feel at the base of your skull - down towards the nape, cannot be caused by genetic hair loss as this only affects the follicles along the top of the scalp, from the crown to the hairline.

For those with an inherited disposition, it is technically possible for male pattern baldness to begin any time following puberty so - yes - this can affect teenagers. This is especially likely in cases where there are additional influencing factors which can bring about premature hair loss. There are many factors but common ones include stress, an underlying medical condition (diagnosed or undiagnosed) or adjusting to new medications. It is certainly true that experts believe the increasing pressures of modern life and oxidative stress are causing hairloss to present earlier than usual in young men - and women.

The thinning hair at the base of your skull could indicate the simultaneous presence of two different hair loss conditions. Whilst male pattern baldness is a permanent, progressive concern, the conditions that affect the whole scalp tend to be temporary. These include diffuse thinning, also known as chronic telogen effluvium, which can last a minimum of six months and has a number of triggers, from shock and trauma to the same factors outlined above that can exacerbate or spark genetic hair loss in predisposed individuals.

Both these conditions can be treated and you can find examples for each in our hair growth success stories - simply filter by hair loss condition to search. You can also narrow your selections down by age - we are able to treat hair loss in medically-suitable clients who are 16 years of age or older, and though only a fraction are pictured in our gallery, there are examples of teenagers with hair loss pictured before and after starting their custom treatment programmes.

We recommend having a consultation in order to get a professional diagnosis and so that you can feel fully informed about what's happening, as well as finding out about recommended hair loss treatment solutions available, in order to at least put your mind at rest. You can visit us at one of Belgravia's City of London or Central London hair loss clinics in person, or if you are based elsewhere in the UK or abroad, feel free to complete our Online Consultation form which allows you to upload photos.