Under 25 and losing your hair?

When you're young, hair and hairloss is very critical; for your self-esteem and for your social life. We know perfectly well that hair says so much about a person like are they healthy, outgoing or shy, or maybe an aggressive person, or maybe accessible and easygoing, etc.

So I get it, it's easy to obsess about your hairloss; however, I´m going to try to get you to stop doing that with a quick guide about what to do when you start losing your hair.  How to approach this problem, make logical decisions and avoid common mistakes.

First some basic facts, losing 50 to 150 hairs per day may be nothing to worry about.  This is because you may be recuperating this amount on a daily basis and not even know it.  It's a normal part of the hair cycle, where some hairs grow constantly while others slowly fade into a resting phase but then awaken as the others fade into rest and so on.

The onset of hairloss however is usually noticed when there is an increase in this natural shedding.   It may be sudden or it may be gradual, there isn't a general rule and as a matter of fact some patients won't notice it until they have a “see-thru” effect in their hair or when they see some random picture taken of them from behind which reveals a thinned-out crown or whorl area.

Another basic fact, hair Loss is inherited from mom and dad.   They may or may not be bald themselves but looking at your family pictures you will definitely detect others such as grandpa or grandma who had little hair themselves. Now it doesn´t mean that you´ll be as bald as him or her or them, only that you're susceptible the hairloss. 

It also means that hair dryers and swimming pools and wearing hats aren't the cause of hairloss as it's NEVER been proven that external factors like heat or cold or oxygen in the environment play a role in this.  Science has proved that it's your genetics and the fact that you went through puberty and now produce more testosterone. Actually patients commonly believe that they have high-levels of Testosterone and even consider cutting down on the exercise and protein, etc.  However, this isn´t the case, Male Pattern baldness is a result of the combination of both factors and probably stress but we´ll talk about that in another post or video.  That said don´t quit your sports or weight training since that has nothing to do with your hairloss.

Okay, so where do you start?

Step 1.  See an expert. Reading about hair treatments on the internet is one thing, talking to someone who works in the field is another.  If you like to do your own research, always remember that sometimes studies on medical treatments can be biased, flawed or too short-term to offer a clear perspective.  Doctors are the best at interpreting them since they can contrast what they read with real life experience.  The doctor should examine your scalp with some kind of loupe or microscope and allow you to see for yourself what is happening on the surface of your scalp.  Has the hair thinned? In what areas?  Is your scalp irritated?  Where are you on the hairloss scale?

Although he or she may not be an expert, it's ok to start with your GP but  If you want a second opinion visit a dermatologist, and finally a hair surgeon. The latter can have multiple backgrounds, most were bald at one point so they´ve probably taken this journey themselves.

This first visit to a doctor should at the very least discard any other serious causes. 

Step 2.  Use medication if necessary. I am all for a healthy lifestyle; less wine, more vegetables and less pills.   However, in some cases extreme hairloss can have important consequences on people's lives so medical treatment should not be disregarded, Especially since, there are medications that have proven effects on hair loss such as Minoxidil, Finasteride and Dutasteride.  These medications can slow hairloss down or even bring it to a halt.  They don't work on every patient and they may produce unwanted effects in a very small minority of patients but the adverse effects reversible when they are suspended. 

Step 3.  Get good pictures. Before any type of treatment you need to register your situation.   Ideally someone else should get the shots, remember that selfie pics are distorted or stretched out.  Also, you should use either natural light but not direct sunlight since it can cause reflections and shadows reducing the amount of detail.  Try a room at home that is naturally flushed in light.  It's also okay to use studio lights but consider the evolution or “after” pics need to be taken in similar conditions every 6 to 12 months.

Unfortunately most patients have no record of where they started before medicating.  This makes it hard for them to notice any gains that are gradual or any improvement in areas like the crown which are usually not viewed in the morning mirror. 

Step 4.  Stay away from surgery at least until your 30 or unless you really need it.  Most patients can hold off hair implantation until then; however, there are some patterns of hair loss that can really alter your facial proportion.  I'm talking about that natural balance between your face, ears and head. In these cases, hair implantation is an option, but their hairloss should be stable, preferably on medication and conscious of another important fact;  Donor hair is a finite or limited resource.

No one can donate hair to you and it cannot be purchased anywhere. This leads to a common pitfall which is using hair implantation to reconstruct an adolescent type of forehead which we know requires lots and lots of grafts.  Any donor hair used for this purpose could be sorely missed in the future if you lose hair on the top of your scalp.

Any patient below 30 considering hair implantation should consider that hair surgeons need to be very conservative in the number of grafts they extract, they should be proficient in both donor extraction techniques (FUE and FUT) since one offers greater yield whereas the other offers better donor scarring.  We will definitely talk about this in another post or video. 

Step 5.  Finally, stay away from wanting to be absolutely perfect, like a photoshopped image.  Your attractiveness is not limited to a Brad Pitt fight club physique, to perfectly white teeth, or laser sharp eyebrows, you do need fresh breath, funny, clean, on-time, interested and not only interesting, etc. etc. Hair is only one part of a person's likeability score.  There are even times when a little bit of hair loss is not so bad, such as cases where a receded hairline can actually look cool.  Remember that the small forehead teenager look isn't always the best. 

And that's it, don´t be careless or sloppy, be informed, of course don't believe one source but learn to contrast opinions.  There are times when these types of challenges help you grow as a person.  Many patients will learn to navigate in a sea of information, learn to tell the difference between the salesmen, the beginner´s and the pro´s and to identify those who actually care about you.