18 year old son is going bald - is there anything he can do about it?

[SirChenjin]

Have had a sneaking suspicion for a while that his very thick hair is nowhere near as thick as it used to be, but he's come home from university with a haircut that has confirmed my (and his) worst fears - and his hairdresser commented on it.

DH and all of the men on my side are bald, so it was bound to happen - but at 18??? Is there anything he can do about it?

[VulcanWoman]

Would he consider shaving it all off? Do you think it would suit him, no more worries about it then.

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

Honestly? No, nothing. There's plenty of stuff out there that will claim to help, stop, reverse, etc but it's just a waste of money.

[Twowrongsdontmakearight]

Go see your GP. I think there's a prostate treatment (Proscar?) that might help.

[SirChenjin]

No, he's still aiming for the short sides and quiff look, but the quiff is more iffy than quiffy . I don't think the shaved head look would suit him tbh - or even a 1 or a 2. Poor lad

[Believeitornot]

Well if you treat him with pity then he might feel more self conscious?

Leave him to find his way and don't talk about it unless he does

[SirChenjin]

1. I'm not treating him with pity - the poor lad comment was strictly for MN.
   

1. I don't talk about it - he mentioned it because he's upset and because for the first time ever the hairdresser mentioned it.

[Theydontknowweknowtheyknow]

Oh that must be worrying for him. But a lot of women find bald men attractive.

[Theydontknowweknowtheyknow]

Sorry I meant also to say that my XH had the same (20s but still young) and shaved it all off rather than worry about losing the hair he did have.

Honestly he looked great.

[SirChenjin]

I know - and that's what I've been telling him, but he's not interested in hearing it. He's so young, still playing the dating game and not convinced a bald head will be a winner at this stage.

[Bottomchops]

Yes but a shaven head is not a bald head. Think military. It will become normal and his looks will change anyway as he's still so young.

[SirChenjin]

No, I know Bottom - I said a 1 or a 2 in a pp, was that the kind of length you were thinking of?

Had a look at that prostate treatment - looks very interesting. I'll mention it in passing the next time he's speaking about it, it looks like the earlier they start taking it the higher the chance of success (to whatever level that might be)

[LemonShizzleCake]

A word of warning - I once dated a guy in his early 20s who was being treated for receding hairline/male pattern baldness by a Harley Street clinic. As I understand it, most treatments work by suppressing testosterone levels, as it's high testosterone that causes the follicles to shrink and the hair to stop growing. I don't know if this particular guy was on the wrong dosage, but I do know that he was basically impotent Which is not what you'd expect in an otherwise healthy 23 year old! He admitted it hadn't been a problem before he took the tablets, but was too vain to stop taking them...

We split up for different reasons, but I was always a bit that he was more worried about his hairdo than his ability to...ahem...perform. I also later dated a bald guy who was altogether much sexier in his confidence to accept his hair (or lack of it) as it was and just get on with life.

I completely appreciate that maybe you don't want to think about your teenage son's sex life in great detail (!), but if he's looking at treatment then it might be worth quietly suggesting he googles the side effects of suppressing testosterone.

And if all else fails, he can console himself with the thought of all that manly testosterone raging around

[SirChenjin]

Yes, that's what (bald) DH has been telling him!

Good point re the testosterone though. I mentioned in passing to him last night that there are possible treatments if he's bothered, and while he's home for the holidays he could go and see our family GP to discuss what options - if any - there are.

[Bottomchops]

Google lots of shaven heads. He's still young and his face is going to change. Tell him to go for "rugged". Our wispy headed friend has finally shaved his head mid 30s; apparently he's getting so much female attention and thinks he should've done it years ago!