Teenager hairline

[Meandkids]

Hey guys,

What to do, my 17 year old wants to start taking some type of drug he found online that will stop what he sees as a receding hairline. He is so concerned about it that its a tough subject to discuss as he says its affecting his confidence...

Obviously I think he needs to have the best hair cut that is better for him but having that conversation is tricky as he has the long floppy curly fringe that all of them have... also how much do hairdressers/ barbers know about what fits your face best.. do I pay for him to go somewhere that will help him with this - if so where?
What to do...

If he has male pattern baldness starting and he wants to try to “fight” it then he should be looking at topical minoxidil as a first step.

If that doesn’t work you can take oral minoxidil and there are other medications that can block DHT (that causes male pattern baldness in men) but they come with a risk of sone severe side effects as they can affect testosterone (DHT is made in the body from testosterone). He can access these treatments from a dermatologist specialising in hair loss.

If he wants to avoid prescription medication, then he could try rosemary oil which has had success in some limited trials and there are lots of anecdotal reports of it working.

What he should definitely not be doing is taking some random unapproved drug from a non-doctor off the internet, that could give him a host of negative side effects and probably won’t work.

Be aware that minoxidil is incredibly toxic to cats so if you have cats he should be extremely careful to ensure that they don’t come into contact with it.

Propecia tablets (MERCk SHARP & DOHME) 1mg each day which is FDA approved so there’s no worry about it being a scam.
It was developed as a male prostate treatment but had the positive side effect of stopping baldness!
How do you think so many older celebrities still have a thick head of hair? 😀

Concerned about any side affects that could prevent or impair fertility.. he’s only 17. Also I am unsure how bad it is as he doesn’t show me.. maybe I should get him to GP and see about dermatologist referral..
might just need a really good hairdresser with a lot of experience in this..

Does he actually have a receding hairline? Or is it just an insecurity?
A scalp roller and rosemary oil is a good start if he wants to thicken his hair. It helped me after I lost loads due to a B12 and iron deficiency

He needs to be vv careful about hair loss drugs - see this BBC article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05p1pnvymvo.amp
and from the Economist
https://www.economist.com/1843/2024/04/05/would-you-risk-a-breakdown-to-cure-baldness
(this one is very disturbing - you can copy the link into the wayback machine to bypass the paywall)

I don't think levels of trust in the FDA are high and rightly so.

Is he indeed losing his hair ? If so it's reasonable for him to want to do something about it. Take him to a dermatologist who specializes in this and can prescribe him real trial-tested products, and give him reasonable expectations of the future.

Don't dismiss his insecurities. Tell him you understand and want to support him getting the best available care.