Hi Dr. Rassman and Staff, thank you for your wonderful site. I am 19 years old and I went to get my scalp mapped out this past summer and the hair specialist told me I am a norwood 3 and probably going to end up a norwood 5. The question I have is, if i am already going bald at 19 how will I not become a norwood 7 and stay at a norwood 5? Could I possibly not become much balder for a while? Thanks

We inherit the pattern that we will evolve into. If your inherited pattern will max out at a Norwood Class 3, then even if you get older, there will be no advancement to a more advanced pattern. The problem is how to guess. At 19 years old, the degree of miniaturization you see is early and it may appear in other parts of the scalp. Possibly by the time you are 25, you might see a miniaturization pattern reflective of your final balding pattern. The reality is that there is no way to be sure, so if you are balding, Propecia (finasteride) is your only way of managing the progression of it.

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