# Why am I balding at 22? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201 "2003-07-13T18:23:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pythagras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/45deac/32.png) [@Pythagras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pythagras)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/1 "2003-07-13T18:23:03Z")
So yeah, recently others have noticed that I have a minor but noticable baldspot on the spiral of my head (where the hair twirls in all different directions). I’m still young here! Whats the deal! I’m renowned for having a full and thick head of hair and nobody in my family that I know of has lost hair before. I could have inherited from my mother’s side, seeing as most of her relatives are dead, but I recall seeing pictures of my g-dad on that side and he still had a full head of hair. My dad is 54 and has a full head of hair. His dad just recently passed away with a full head of hair and none of my grandmothers are balding. Could this be stress induced? Diet? I am recovering from clinical depression, could that have something to do with it? Will it spread? Should I just throw in the towel and go 100% bald? ---
**Author:** ![BellaVoce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@BellaVoce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellaVoce)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/2 "2003-07-13T19:25:56Z")
The same thing is happening to me, and I’m 19. Started almost two years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/3 "2003-07-13T19:30:33Z")
I’m with Bella…I’m 20, and my hairline started to receed when I was about 17. I haven’t really looked at the “spiral” ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/4 "2003-07-13T20:29:27Z")
Sucks, guys. Happened to me, too. I suggest shaving what remains off when you start looking too goofy. Go for that Michael Jordan bald or, failing that, the Bruce Willis stubble-head. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/5 "2003-07-13T21:47:01Z")
Genes. I think that it’s your mother’s father is the one you get your hair pattern from. maybe yours was wearing a rug in the picture? ---
**Author:** ![YourOldBuddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bc79bd/32.png) [@YourOldBuddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YourOldBuddy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/6 "2003-07-13T22:30:28Z")
Balding is inherited through the mothers gene pool, just means that your 2 much man 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![homercles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed8c4c/32.png) [@homercles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homercles)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/7 "2003-07-13T22:30:32Z")
And here i thought i was doomed with signs of receding in my late 20s (29 actually). I started taking proscar which inhibits production of an enzyme 5-alpha reductase. This enzyme is responsible for converting T (testosterone) to DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Which apparently has been implicated. Not sure of the results yet. Also, did you know that rogain (sp?) is specifically designed for the yarmulke-type balding? ---
**Author:** ![homercles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed8c4c/32.png) [@homercles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homercles)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/8 "2003-07-13T22:35:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by YourOldBuddy \* > \*\*Balding is inherited through the mothers gene pool, just means that your 2 much man 🙂 \*\* Uh, not really. Its more complicated than that. Here’s an example, from one page of a quick google: > [@](#): > > It was once thought that the maternal grandfather was the best predictor of inherited baldness, but that view now appears to be too simple. The genetics of baldness have not been entirely unraveled, but many investigators suspect that it is an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, meaning that it can be passed by either parent and can occur in each generation. [source](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/41/1685_52230.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/9 "2003-07-14T01:07:13Z")
Trust me, guys. I paid close attention the day this was discussed in my human genetics class. All that crap about your mother’s father is just that - crap. The baldness gene is a plain old autosomal trait, but its expression is strongly influenced by testosterone levels. So, in men, baldness is dominant (you only need one copy of the gene), while in women, it’s recessive (they need two copies). And even when women do have two copies of the gene, they typically only get thinning hair, and even that occurs later in life, on average. So if you’re going bald early, take comfort in the fact that it’s an indication that you have lots of testosterone pumping through your veins. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/10 "2003-07-14T02:37:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*I suggest shaving what remains off when you start looking too goofy. Go for that Michael Jordan bald or, failing that, the Bruce Willis stubble-head. \*\* Sure, if you’re a muscular black guy, you look great. But, I’m sorry, white guys (of any physique) with shaved heads look like dorks. Like their neck is blowing a bubble; like a big thumb is sticking out of their collar. Don’t do it guys; we’re all laughing at you behind your backs. Just get a nice hair cut with what you have left (no comb-overs!) and let that dome shine with pride! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/11 "2003-07-14T02:42:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*Sure, if you’re a muscular black guy, you look great. But, I’m sorry, white guys (of any physique) with shaved heads look like dorks. Like their neck is blowing a bubble; like a big thumb is sticking out of their collar. Don’t do it guys; we’re all laughing at you behind your backs. Just get a nice hair cut with what you have left (no comb-overs!) and let that dome shine with pride! \*\* I dunno about that. I know plenty of women who swoon over Patrick Stewart. An _no one_ ever laughed at Telly Savalas (you remember Kojak?) ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/12 "2003-07-14T03:39:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > Sure, if you’re a muscular black guy, you look great. But, I’m sorry, white guys (of any physique) with shaved heads look like dorks. Like their neck is blowing a bubble; like a big thumb is sticking out of their collar. Don’t do it guys; we’re all laughing at you behind your backs. Try not to speak for all of us sweetheart. :rolleyes: I like bald men (married one, lustful thoughts about many)…but you have to have a good head and ears that don’t stick out. I don’t like the wholly shaved thing though, keep it really tight and it’ll feel like suede. Yum! Anyway, back to topic: Propecia appears to be something that can help you but beware. From [here:](http://www.propecia.com/propecia/cns/home.html): > [@](#): > > Clinical tests showed PROPECIA was very well tolerated. Only a very small number of men had sexual side effects, with each occurring in less than 2% of men. They included less desire for sex, difficulty in achieving an erection, and a decrease in the amount of semen. When the men who had these side effects stopped taking PROPECIA, the side effects went away. It’s also a teratogen so keep it away from any girls you date, just in case. Back when I used to be a pharmacy tech, the rest of the crew wouldn’t even let me _count_ teratogens, as I was the only female of child-bearing age there. Nasty stuff. IMHO, get over it…women like to rub bald heads. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/13 "2003-07-14T04:24:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*Sure, if you’re a muscular black guy, you look great. But, I’m sorry, white guys (of any physique) with shaved heads look like dorks. Like their neck is blowing a bubble; like a big thumb is sticking out of their collar. Don’t do it guys; we’re all laughing at you behind your backs. Just get a nice hair cut with what you have left (no comb-overs!) and let that dome shine with pride! \*\* Sure, you might be. But us bald dudes are laughing all the way to the Nookie Bank. There’s nothing like a couple days stubble to get girls saying “Oooh, can I rub your head?” Chicks did the stubble, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/14 "2003-07-14T15:08:29Z")
Yeah, as long as your head isn’t shaped like a squeezed mellon… ---
**Author:** ![homercles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed8c4c/32.png) [@homercles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homercles)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/15 "2003-07-14T15:42:40Z")
Something i noticed at the gym locker room is that there seems to be a very strong **negative** correlation between the amount of hair on a man’s head and the amount of hair on his back! Maybe this is why most women dont find bald men attractive because they know what theyre in store for when the shirt comes off! Ewww! ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/16 "2003-07-14T15:48:19Z")
Stress induced baldness is all over, whereas male pattern inherited baldness affects the crown and front hairline. Avacor, a leader (!) in the battle against DHT is facing a class action lawsuit for it’s misleading claims about restoring hair and stopping hairloss. Used early, Rogaine can help prevent loss, but recding hairlines are toughest to stop (more success on the crown). Propecia: ditto, but side effects may be a low sex drive. ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-balding-at-22/188201/17 "2003-07-14T22:33:06Z")
I notice that you say you are recovering from depression. I have heard that antidepressant drugs can cause hair loss as a side effect. If you’re taking meds for the depression, you might ask your doctor if this is a possible cause. I am convinced that the Paxil I was taking for depression caused a great deal of my body hair to fall out. (No, not the hair on my head… sorry TMI):eek: