# Is male pattern baldness inherited? Who’s to blame? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 9, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247 "2018-01-09T16:41:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/1 "2018-01-09T16:41:55Z")
Can’t find an earlier thread about this Cecil column: [Is male pattern baldness inherited? Who’s to blame? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2610/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-whos-to-blame/) Any good research since 2005 about MPB and genetics? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/2 "2018-01-09T21:52:26Z")
A lot of hairdressers take it as fact that you get your hair from the opposite sex parent. But in fact, it seems pretty random, what children get from each parent. What I found interesting in the column was that castrated males don’t go bald, putting the blame on sex hormones. As the daughter and niece of two bald women I found that interesting. Note: they weren’t completely bald, but they were very, very thin on top, and wore wigs. These two bald women had other siblings, male and female, who had plenty of hair even into old age. So whatever was in their chromosomes, it didn’t get passed down evenly. And whatever it was seems to have missed all my cousins entirely not that they weren’t nervous. (I wasn’t worried because I am adopted.) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/3 "2018-01-10T00:21:27Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > male-pattern-baldness Worried you’ll inherit Elendil’s hair? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/4 "2018-01-10T00:25:43Z")
From Hair to Heir, perhaps? Racken bracken… ```auto Is there another kind of male baldness? "Non-pattern," perhaps? Always wondered this, otherwise if there is just one kind, adding said adjective seems a bit redundant. ``` ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2018, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/5 "2018-01-17T15:37:09Z")
There are many types of hair loss. The American Hair Loss Institute has a description of them [here](http://www.americanhairloss.org/types_of_hair_loss/introduction.asp). Pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia) causes hair loss on the top and front of the head but rarely on the sides or back, and is the most common type. There is also telogen effluvium which causes a diffuse thinning of the hair over the whole head, anagen effluvium which has similar symptoms but with faster onset (often caused by toxins like cancer chemotherapy), alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes circular patches of baldness, scarring alopecia of which there are many forms, and congenital hyptrichosis of which there are again several forms, all of which affect the patient from birth. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/6 "2018-01-17T15:55:20Z")
Male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness also tend to express differently from each other - male pattern sweeps back from the front, and tends to go full-on deforestation, whereas female pattern baldness will usually just thin out the hair, and spread from the part. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/7 "2018-01-17T21:47:37Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > There are many types of hair loss. The American Hair Loss Institute has a description of them [here](http://www.americanhairloss.org/types_of_hair_loss/introduction.asp). Pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia) causes hair loss on the top and front of the head but rarely on the sides or back, and is the most common type. There is also telogen effluvium which causes a diffuse thinning of the hair over the whole head, anagen effluvium which has similar symptoms but with faster onset (often caused by toxins like cancer chemotherapy), alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes circular patches of baldness, scarring alopecia of which there are many forms, and congenital hyptrichosis of which there are again several forms, all of which affect the patient from birth. Further in the American Hair Loss Institute web pages is the [Norwood Scale](http://www.americanhairloss.org/men_hair_loss/the_norwood_scale.asp), for a more graphical reference. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/8 "2018-02-06T19:54:43Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > A lot of hairdressers take it as fact that you get your hair from the opposite sex parent. But in fact, it seems pretty random, what children get from each parent. my maternal grandfather and uncle were both balding. My dad is balding but neither his father nor his surviving brothers are. I’m not either (though I think it’s receded a tiny bit,) on the other hand like my mother I don’t have a lick of graying yet. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/9 "2018-02-06T20:02:30Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > my maternal grandfather and uncle were both balding. My dad is balding but neither his father nor his surviving brothers are. I’m not either (though I think it’s receded a tiny bit,) on the other hand like my mother\*\* I don’t have a lick of graying yet.\*\* You know what going to happen now, right? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/10 "2018-02-06T20:26:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Can’t find an earlier thread about this Cecil column: [Is male pattern baldness inherited? Who’s to blame? - The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2610/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-whos-to-blame/) > > Any good research since 2005 about MPB and genetics? Seems like a thing 23andme should be interested in tackling … And yes, they have: > **[The role of genetics in male-pattern baldness](https://blog.23andme.com/articles/the-role-of-genetics-in-male-pattern-baldness)** > > In the largest genetic study of male patterned baldness to date, scientists at the University of Bonn working in collaboration with 23andMe and other institutions, have found more than 60 genetic variants associated with balding. The findings offer... > [@](#): > > For this paper, the team of researchers lead by Stefanie Heilmann-Heimbach of the University of Bonn, looked at data from more than 22,000 people, including about 17,000 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. The remainder of the data used for this study came from several smaller cohorts in Europe and Australia. Using these data for their large-scale meta-analysis, the researchers found 63 genetic variants associated with male pattern baldness, 22 of which are novel. > > The variants were found in or near genes that play a role in hormonal status, melatonin signaling, fat cell differentiation, and the growth phases of hair. Six of the genetic variants identified are on the X-chromosome and may account for some of the resemblance of hair loss between men and their grandfathers on their maternal side, according to the researchers. The remaining variants found in this study are on the autosomes, the non-sex chromosomes. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/11 "2018-02-06T23:54:49Z")
Baldness genes are carried on the X chromosome, but should more accurately be called baldness susceptibility genes. They require testosterone to fully express. Therefore, you get them from your mother, but there’s more to it. A woman with one copy does not have enough testosterone to go bald, as well as having a good copy in some cells. (Cells deactivate one X - long explanation involving calico cats) Her hair may be thin but not badly. A woman with two copies will express the gene enough to be noticeable, to a degree modulated by her testosterone level A man only gets one X and usually has enough testosterone to let the gene express fully; he goes bald. ☹ ---
**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:** [February 7, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/12 "2018-02-07T00:10:38Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > A man only gets one X and usually has enough testosterone to let the gene express fully; he goes bald. ☹ You make that sound like a BAD thing. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/13 "2018-02-07T00:14:46Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > Baldness genes are carried on the X chromosome, but should more accurately be called baldness susceptibility genes. They require testosterone to fully express. > > Therefore, you get them from your mother, but there’s more to it. > > A woman with one copy does not have enough testosterone to go bald, as well as having a good copy in some cells. (Cells deactivate one X - long explanation involving calico cats) Her hair may be thin but not badly. > A woman with two copies will express the gene enough to be noticeable, to a degree modulated by her testosterone level > A man only gets one X and usually has enough testosterone to let the gene express fully; he goes bald. ☹ Do you have a cite for this? As you see in my post above at least 63 genes correlated with baldness have been identified, only a few of them on the x-chromosome. That doesn’t say anything about how strongly each of them are correlated of course, but a lot of “knowledge” about inheritance is decades old hypotheses based on limited empirical evidence, so I’m curious about the strength of the science backing your assertion. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/14 "2018-02-07T15:33:17Z")
> [@MacLir](#): > > Baldness genes are carried on the X chromosome, but should more accurately be called baldness susceptibility genes. They require testosterone to fully express. > > Therefore, you get them from your mother, but there’s more to it. > > A woman with one copy does not have enough testosterone to go bald, as well as having a good copy in some cells. (Cells deactivate one X - long explanation involving calico cats) Her hair may be thin but not badly. > A woman with two copies will express the gene enough to be noticeable, to a degree modulated by her testosterone level > A man only gets one X and usually has enough testosterone to let the gene express fully; he goes bald. ☹ My father and his eldest brother looked very much alike, including baldness which was much more pronounced in Dad (already with a heavy widow’s peak in his mid-teens) than in uncle JM. Their two brothers never went bald; neither did their parents (Grandma’s hair was just amazing, I was and am officially envious of that mane). Princes William and Harry ought’a have the same X chromosome unless something really strange happened. Completely different hair. Different color, texture - and Harry could make Will a loan. Rarely does something depend on a single gene, but even when it does, expression can be completely different due to environmental factors. Not everybody who’s got the baldness gene goes bald, same as not everybody who’s got a given cancer-related gene develops that cancer. It’s a probabilities game. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/15 "2018-02-07T20:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Most of what Little Ed turned up on an initial reconnaissance of the Internet was expressed in terms so brisk and confident you knew these guys had no idea This is the kind of thinking that keeps me coming back to the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/16 "2018-02-07T21:25:25Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Princes William and Harry ought’a have the same X chromosome unless something really strange happened. Completely different hair. Sometimes when hair keeps growing you just have to hew it. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/17 "2018-02-07T21:45:28Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Princes William and Harry ought’a have the same X chromosome unless something really strange happened. Completely different hair. Different color, texture - and Harry could make Will a loan. Something really strange like their mother having two different X-chromosomes and Harry getting the one from grandma while William got the one from William? 😉 Not that I’m saying genetics isn’t complicated, but here you appear to argue for that by simplifying beyond what’s real. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/18 "2018-02-09T09:38:12Z")
True, I’d go get coffee but by now it wouldn’t have an effect. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-male-pattern-baldness-inherited-who-s-to-blame/806247/19 "2018-02-09T14:15:55Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Something really strange like their mother having two different X-chromosomes and Harry getting the one from grandma while William got the one from William? 😉 Not that I’m saying genetics isn’t complicated, but here you appear to argue for that by simplifying beyond what’s real. “William got the one from grandpa”! Dangnabbit!