# I just noticed a bald spot on my 18yo son. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350 "2016-08-19T22:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/1 "2016-08-19T22:04:23Z")
I was walking behind my son who was sitting in a chair when I noticed he had a bald spot the size of a silver dollar pancake on the top of his head. 18 is awful young to have a bald spot. Is this something his doctor needs to look at? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/2 "2016-08-19T22:14:59Z")
Prince William’s hairline started thinning by 18. Harry has a big bald spot now. It’s heredity. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/3 "2016-08-19T22:22:23Z")
Rogaine is worth trying. It works for some men. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/4 "2016-08-19T22:22:28Z")
Alopecia maybe. When I was in the Army I developed a bald spot on the top of my head. I got depressed because I was going bald. But, I had the doc check and the first diagnosis was a fungal infection. Nope! It was alopecia areata. I can be treated with a cortisone injection. The hair eventually grows back in white, then gradually returns to its normal color. Worth checking out. It’s not uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waltzes_with_Cacti)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/5 "2016-08-19T22:35:03Z")
My husband started going bald in his twenties and was a billiard ball at 30. I am perfectly happy with this. First, baldness is caused by an excess of testosterone which benefits me, his bedmate; and, second, a bald man looks like a six-foot-tall phallus and I find that very attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/6 "2016-08-19T22:42:55Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I was walking behind my son who was sitting in a chair when I noticed he had a bald spot the size of a silver dollar pancake on the top of his head. > 18 is awful young to have a bald spot. Is this something his doctor needs to look at? I have no advice but I feel the need to point out that I love that the bald spot is not the size of a silver dollar, but the size of a silver dollar _pancake_. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/7 "2016-08-21T14:30:54Z")
> [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](#): > > My husband started going bald in his twenties and was a billiard ball at 30. I am perfectly happy with this. First, baldness is caused by an excess of testosterone which benefits me, his bedmate; and, second, a bald man looks like a six-foot-tall phallus and I find that very attractive. [Sorry,](http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121210-are-bald-men-more-virile) while it doesn’t affect your attraction to him, the testosterone thing is wishful thinking! ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/8 "2016-08-21T15:36:27Z")
There is a hair care product which the following says causes bald spots. Has he used any hair care products, hair coloring, etc.? > **[Their Hair Fell Out. Should the F.D.A. Have the Power to Act? (Published 2016)](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/us/politics/cosmetics-industry-congress-regulation-wen.html?_r=0)** > > Giants of the industry are facing off against smaller players over a proposal to give the F.D.A. more authority to ensure the safety of beauty products. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/9 "2016-08-21T17:27:50Z")
Is he tall? Does his head rub against the roof of his car? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/10 "2016-08-21T19:12:39Z")
A college friend of mine was already starting to bald (that bald spot on the top / back of his head) when we were at that same age (18-19). Unusual, but not extraordinary or necessarily a sign of a disorder, just early. By the time he was 22 or 23 – the last time I saw him – he was clearly losing his hair, but, again, just male pattern baldness, nothing more worrisome than that. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/11 "2016-08-21T22:03:31Z")
It may be somewhat odd, but it by no means is unheard of. I went to high school with a boy who had lost so much hair by the time he was 18, his parents bought him a toupee. On the bright side, he was never asked for ID. You can take your son to a dermatologist, or even follow up with an endocrinologist if it will make you feel better. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/12 "2016-08-22T01:07:20Z")
RU58841. It seems to really work when applied early enough in the process. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/13 "2016-08-22T01:15:16Z")
I would consider mentioning it to a doctor (it _can be_ a symptom) but I’ve known a couple young men to be seriously balding by that age and graduated with one who had a wig under his cap at the ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/14 "2016-08-22T07:23:44Z")
There was a kid in my school who was going bald at 15. Last time I saw him he was 19 and it was all gone from his crown, and he looked just like his Dad. I started losing my hair at 30. I guess that’s not all that unusual, but it still seems too young to me. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/15 "2016-08-22T11:33:42Z")
I knew a guy for over five years, seeing him on average once a week. He _always_ wore a ball cap. The first time I saw him take his hat off freaked me out. Under the hat he had zero hair. With the hat in place you’d never guess. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/16 "2016-08-22T17:37:41Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I knew a guy for over five years, seeing him on average once a week. He _always_ wore a ball cap. The first time I saw him take his hat off freaked me out. Under the hat he had zero hair. With the hat in place you’d never guess. My question always is, did he always wear the cap because of the baldness or did the baldness happen because he always wore the cap? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-noticed-a-bald-spot-on-my-18yo-son/763350/17 "2016-08-22T21:23:09Z")
You make it sound like it’s a _bad_ thing.