19 yr old son losing hair.... help

[Whenisitlunchtime]

My 19 yr old DS been losing his hair for about a year, off to uni next month. Receding hairline and thinning, making him sad and worried. Background - DF thin hair but from mid thirties, not 18. All Grandparents both sides lots of hair! DS went to GP told no help available so we paid for him to see a consultant. Consultant has prescribed Finasteride and Minoxidil, first to stop hair loss, second to help it grow back.
But she warned 2/3 months of hair falling out -which can be as bad as loss 'in clumps' before it grows back. DS doesn't know what to do - I have said ( unhelpfully perhaps) if he is anxious - to wait and that all drugs have SXF etc he and needs to weigh it up - but any other Mumsnetters have any advice or experience? We'd be grateful.

Bloody hell they look amazing. I’d go with those if I was a bald bloke but I reckon it only works if you’re out and proud and embrace the hairpiece. Women have all sorts done to their hair including extensions, weaves and braids. Trying to pretend you weren’t bald underneath would be horrible and I don’t see why men should have to put up and shut up while we women can falsify at our leisure!

Also I’d reassure him that plenty of people find buzz cuts very attractive. Two of my significant partners have been bald and were from a young age, but neither ever had any problem attracting partners. Both had women falling all over them. I have gay male friends also who actively prefer shaved heads.

one of my DBs started losing their hair around the same age as your DS. He fought against it with hair systems, wigs (regain etc wasn’t around at the time ). He used to put so much time ,money and energy into fighting it, until he got to about 24 and was just weary of it all and shaved it off. He found it really liberating and that was in the day when it wasn’t cool to rock the shaved look . It was for skinheads or thugs.

A few of my friends sons went straight for the shaved head look as soon as they started losing hair (also around your DSs age). We were saying how good it is that it’s now a ‘look’ that is accepted. They are married with kids of their own and never had any problems with baldness putting potential partners off. I can’t remember them with hair now . It must be tough to accept at a young age and isn’t something that gets talked about or much understanding. It should do though I think because it’s can be so distressing .

The issue with medication is that it only works as long as it’s used. Would definitely get bloods done to check ferritin, B 12 etc just in case it’s not caused by a deficiency

I also think there's a huge difference in perception over young and old men losing hair. A shaved head definitely looks more youthful than pretence and with a young man it looks like a style choice, not a lack of something or " the horror" of ageing .

Bit like women dying their hair grey in the 20's as a trend. It's perceived differently to bing grey in middle age.

This probably isn't the answer but I'd recommend a hair transplant. My good friend got one a year ago (he's 50) and it looks soooo good and natural. I think it cost £2.5k but we're in Scotland so will be cheaper.

I have just joined, mainly for this reason - to discuss the hair loss topic. I am a man who started losing my hair at 17 (though I didn't know what it was at the time..just that something looked off. I had a normal late teens and twenties, with the usual normal stuff - girlfriends, holidays, football - but my gradual hair loss did bother me all the time. At 29 I bit the bullet with a grade 2 cut which was very liberating and after that I wasn't bothered any more. Not long after, I shaved my head and that has been the way for 30 years. I don't believe it has ever impacted me. However, now I notice my own lovely son, who is about to turn 18 is receding at the temples. Like me, he knows something is going on, but doesn't equate it with baldness! But I know where this is going...and it really bothers and saddens me that he will have to go through it young like me! I would like to delay it until his late twenties if possible, so he can deal with it as a man, not a boy. There are options now that weren't there when I was young. I took him to see a trichologist who, recommended a combination of topical finasteride and monoxidil. I have done a lot of research, and it does seem that there is a great chance to stop or severely slow hair loss with finasteride. Minoxidil is a bit of a booster but it doesn't attack the core hormonal issue. Apparently topical finasteride has a much lower incidence of side effects than the pill form. But, I don't know what to do! He has a big mop of hair and he loves it, so it pains me to think of it slowly falling out, so I feel i should do something - and it is true in the case of hair loss - prevention or at least severely slowing down is better than cure (because there is no growing it back). but equally, I don't want to push him into a medication that might harm, even if only a small chance. Whenisitlunchtime, did your son ever take anything, and how did it go?

My son started losing his hair around the same age as yours. He’s now late 20s. His father had v early hair loss so it was something I was expecting although hoping he wouldn’t inherit. I felt devastated for him when I started to notice it but hid that from him and just tried to support any solutions he wanted to try. He looked at SMP and meds. However he decided against both and 2 years ago went for the shave. He now seems really happy and content with a great job, girlfriend etc. Before he was always fiddling with his hair, using hair fibres or wearing a hat. I think look at all the options available to him. Personally I love the shaved look but appreciate it must be hard so hard for men - especially young ones.

Shave it off but start growing some facial hair first.

@Whenisitlunchtime

And reassure your son that at least half and probably more of his friends will end up balding too, only later in life. He just has a head start (no pun intended), but a good many of them will eventually catch up.

My son is still a long way from the buzzcut and headshave, but it will come! I like to think, having gone through it myself, I can support him along the way, but it surprises me how 'devastated' I am that he has to go through it. I didn't think I would feel like that! I would like to hear from anyone who has taken topical finasteride though. It does seem like a reasonable option - very good chance of success if taken consistently and very low chance of side effects. I think I would have tried it if it was there when I was young. It doesn't have to be lifelong, just to get through youth and then stop and let nature take its course.

Also to add, my boy is generally considered to be a very handsome lad, and he has a good growth of beard, so I suspect he will 'rock' the shaven head and trimmed beard look a lot better than me! But still, that looks more appropriate on a man in his late twenties or thirties than a kid, so delaying the necessity to do if possible is worth investigating. Hard to get real world evidence though.