Hello Dr. Rassman,

Just wanted to start out by thanking you for this site. It seems like every time I get concerned about hairs falling out in the shower or sink, I check out your responses. LOL! Anyway, I am a 20 year old male who started taking Propecia 23 days ago (yes, I know, very precise). I noticed that the success rates of the medication are about 80% for preventing further loss and about 60% for actually growing back missing hair. Would these percentages increase for me since I am so young and just recently starting losing hair (1-2 years)? I am just so worried all the time that I might be in that 20% who gets the rotten end of the deal. I don’t want to be that 21 year old with a ring of hair around the sides and back. Just me worrying the weeks before Propecia is supposed to “kick in”…

Thanks!

Without seeing you or at least your photos, it would be impossible to address your concerns. It is true that young men (your age) will more likely get a reversal of some or most of the miniaturization, but that depends upon your balding pattern. You should get your hair mapped and from that, we can make the types of judgments you are asking about. What I can tell you is that in someone of your age, the success rate for reducing the rate of hair loss (or reducing miniaturization) is very high.

I don’t know if your numbers are correct, and though I’m sure I’ve seen actual percentages before, I can’t seem to find them at the moment. Where did your statistics come from? If anyone has a link, I’d love to see it.