Refresh me on how baldness works.

September 7, 2010 9:16 PM

How about that "if your mom's brother is bald, you're screwed" thing? Any truth?

My mom's brother is bald, and seeing as my hairline seems to be receding -- somewhat, at least -- I'm starting to get awfully anxious. I'll be 26 next month, and pretty much the only thing I'm holding out hope for is that my three cousins on my mom's side -- three older guys in their 20s and 30s -- share the same uncle with me and are not bald. That and the fact that I've heard it said that some degree of recession is normal in most men.

And in response to the inevitable "it's not baldness it's being insecure about baldness that makes you unattractive": I get that, really. It's just that the last time I shaved my head I was six years old, and for good reason. I have a huge head and huge ears. These things don't lend themselves to baldness, I don't think. Plus, I like my hair. Searching for this stuff online is proving exceptionally difficult; all I'm coming up with is obnoxious Yahoo answers answers. Please, hive mind bald guys and geneticists, help a brother out.

And finally, just to give you an idea of the severity of my anxiety of this thing -- last year, I was dimly aware that my hairline was receding, but never really stopped to think about it. Ever since my now ex-girlfriend made a comment about how it had "gotten a little thinner" in the three years we were together, and a friend of mine who's definitely balding rejoiced the one time he saw me with my hair sort of gelled/combed to the side ("You're going bald like me!"), I've been worrying about every single day.

posted by earlofrochester to Health & Fitness (32 answers total)

Response by poster: EDIT: I meant to ask explicitly, because of the aforementioned cousins: if your mom's brother is bald does it mean you will be too, 100% of the time? Or just sometimes?
posted by earlofrochester at 9:17 PM on September 7, 2010

Are you doing Menoxidil? It really works well.
posted by k8t at 9:28 PM on September 7, 2010

Any truth?

Anecdotally, no.
And as for hair patterns in general running in that specific genetic pathway: my uncle is a perfectly normal-haired human being and I'm pretty sure my brother is half bear.

Judging by the numerous bald/balding people I know, you should cut your hair short now, while you still have lots of hair and can find a shape that suits you. A great-looking cut like this is a way to accept your hair-fate with grace and style.
posted by phunniemee at 9:29 PM on September 7, 2010

I've never heard it as "if your mom's brother is bald"; I've heard it as if your mom's dad was bald, you might be too. Both, I think, are just myths. Anecdotally, my maternal grandfather had a full head of hair, as does my mother's brother; my paternal grandfather didn't, and neither does my dad -- my brother (mid-20s) has a receding hairline. There's certainly some kind of genetic thing going on, but I don't think it hinges solely on your uncle.
posted by pised at 9:30 PM on September 7, 2010

I heard the opposite. That it skips a generation on the mother's side.

So by that theory... if your mom's brother is bald... you should be safe.

And if we're going by that:

My mother's father has loads of hair.
My two uncles... basically bald.
My one male cousin on that side must be receding because he just hit 27 and he's given in and shaved it.
I have two brothers... albeit 19 and 21 mind you... one has a full, lovely head of thick hair with no signs of it going away evereverever. The 21 year old is starting to look like Woody Allen. By the time he's 30 my guess is he'll be as bald as he's gonna get.

So I'm a believer - but in my hearing of it. Not yours.
posted by mittenbex at 9:31 PM on September 7, 2010

Response by poster: You know, I've been thinking about that, and I think I sort of achieved something like that with my last haircut this summer -- when I got it cut the shortest it's been in a while -- but I don't think it's at the point where people can tell yet; my girlfriend made that comment when I pulled my hair all the back and asked her. Plus, my forehead is huuuuuge; would a cut like that really work for me? I doubt it somehow. But I take your point. I don't want to hide this, much as I'm dreading it.

k8t-- I havent tried any medications yet, I'm kind of afraid to. Might start soon though. I'm going to ask a doctor about it at my next appointment.
posted by earlofrochester at 9:33 PM on September 7, 2010

IIRC, HOW you go bald is determined by your mother's side, but not neccesasily IF you will go bald.
posted by KingEdRa at 9:36 PM on September 7, 2010

You don't need to talk to your doctor. You can get Minoxodil at Costco or CVS. The sooner you start, the better.
posted by k8t at 9:36 PM on September 7, 2010

The most recent review of male pattern baldness says this:

MPB is now recognised as a genetically multifactorial trait, with a complex underlying genetic architecture [22] and [23]. Interestingly, many such multifactorial human diseases and traits are usually hallmarked by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental risk factors. By comparison, twin studies of MPB have demonstrated that risk of developing MPB is determined almost exclusively by genetic predisposition [24].

22. W. Kuster and R. Happle, The inheritance of common baldness: two B or not two B?, J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 11 (1984), pp. 921–926.

23. J.A. Ellis et al., Genetic analysis of male pattern baldness and the 5alpha-reductase genes, J. Invest. Dermatol. 110 (1998), pp. 849–853.

24. G. Severi et al., Androgenetic alopecia in men aged 40-69 years: prevalence and risk factors, Br. J. Dermatol. 149 (2003), pp. 1207–1213.

Strangely, the last cited article doesn't mention a twin study anywhere.

Anyway, what this tells you is that we do not fully understand the causes of MPB or its genetic basis. I find it nearly impossible to believe that a maternal uncle's MPB necessarily dooms the nephew to MPB. While there is a potential mechanism for such an inheritance pattern, its existence would be so remarkable as to have been easily noticed long ago by the researchers who have looked at thousands of MPB subjects in the hopes of understanding its genetic basis.

However, the review notes that the androgen receptor gene on the X chromosome "may confer up to 40% of total genetic risk for MPB." This means that, after your mother, and your own siblings, your mother's siblings having MPB is the greatest risk factor for MPB. But not 100 percent. (I say siblings rather than brothers because rarely women can develop MPB, and this might be due to having two copies of the AR allele that confers MPB risk. Therefore the most severe risk factor of all is probably having a mother with MPB.)

The generation skipping hypothesis doesn't make much sense, genetically.
posted by grouse at 9:50 PM on September 7, 2010 [7 favorites]

I heard or read somewhere that it's a combination of both sides of your family, which makes sense to me from a genetics perspective. That's about the extent of my scientific knowledge on the topic.

Getting into personal experience, I started losing my hair very early, which from what I gather is obviously uncommon but does happen to a proportion of us men. I am a month away from 22 and have been losing my hair for a few years now. I've probably lost more than half of it and very noticeably balding now. My maternal uncle lost a lot of his hair but half a decade later than me. Both of my grandparents had full heads of hair for much of their lives. No paternal uncles.

I've been using Rogaine for probably two years now, and while I will never really know how much it works, I can say that I've staved off a bald spot for a very long time (the area that Rogaine is supposed to be effective on). It is only now forming. All of the other treatments had warnings and side effects that I didn't feel like dealing with.

Aside from that, I don't really worry about it much anymore. I cut it very short and imagine I'll try doing the full shave at some point (probably soon). I went through a month phase where I was very depressed and anxious about it but that passed and I only occasionally think about my dome these days. Simply put, it is pretty much out of your control, so do your best to let it go. Live your life and when you get worried about it, look around at all the bald/balding dudes who live normal lives, date desirable women, and don't look exceptionally unusual. Going bald isn't great, but it certainly isn't the end of the world.
posted by Defenestrator at 9:55 PM on September 7, 2010

I am bald. My (only) brother is bald. My father was bald.

I am watching my sons closely ...

Medication? I say go with the flow, but ymmv ...
posted by GeeEmm at 10:11 PM on September 7, 2010

My mom has two brothers, both in their 50s. One has a ridiculous amount of hair, and the other one's hair is thinning in the standard male-pattern way, and pretty sparse on the top, although not "bald". Anyway one is definitely "balding" and one is "sonic the hedgehog". Which brother would you choose for your metric? It's pretty subjective, right? (Also, FWIW, I'm pretty sure both brothers and my mom are from the same set of bio-parents, given how much they all look alike).
posted by pseudostrabismus at 10:26 PM on September 7, 2010

Just a note: I have a large head and ears that stick out, and when I finally shaved my head, people loved it. When I try to grow hair back, I get complaints.

So why not bite the bullet now, shave your head, see what you get before you start balding (if you do) -- and if it's bad, you can start thinking mitigation strategies now.

But ultimately, yeah, it's the insecurity about balding that's the problem. There are lots of confident, attractive guys with no hair on top whose heads aren't shaved and who do just fine.
posted by davejay at 10:26 PM on September 7, 2010

grouse's answer is more technical than what I was going to say, but we agree!

MPB has a component that is sex linked and comes from your mother (the X chromosome). My aunt, who taught college genetics for a couple decades, has always said it's your maternal grandfather who counts. But I don't see why you couldn't look at your maternal uncles either.

But it's only one component in the complex genetics that makes up MPB. Having a bald maternal grandfather means you're at more risk of MPB than if you didn't. But it doesn't mean you're guaranteed to go bald.

Still, I think the evidence here is stacked against you. You have both some evidence on your maternal side, plus a receding hairline/thinning hair. Sorry, but time to face the music.

Wikipedia says that 1 in 4 men start balding in their 20's. You're hardly alone here.
posted by sbutler at 11:19 PM on September 7, 2010

Men in my mother's family tend to live long lives with full heads of hair. Men in my family? We all bald in the same way, front to back, lying to ourselves that we just have a big forehead, damnit, until our forehead reaches past our ears.

So, yeah, anecdatally, no, it's not all about the mom's siblings/father.

Unasked for advice filter: if it happens, accept it. The medication my cousin used worked, sort of, as long as he kept it up. The second he stopped, the hairs left. Bald isn't that bad. The haircuts are a lot cheaper, and you aren't that guy trying to hide the fact that he's bald.
posted by Ghidorah at 11:20 PM on September 7, 2010

Just be aware that Rogaine etc is not recommended for use on receding hair line areas, just bald spots. I would be very hesitant about using it near the forehead area.

Also, you know, everybody's hairline recedes somewhat as they get older. You may not be going bald, just receding a little.
posted by smoke at 11:47 PM on September 7, 2010

I don't know if my Grandma had a brother but she had 2 sons. My uncle has been bald for as long as I can remember (and only recently gave up on the comb-over!). My father, who will be 60 this year, has a full head of hair.
posted by missmagenta at 1:12 AM on September 8, 2010

I was talking with my mom about this very thing the other day - she thinks it's an old wives' tale. Her brother has a full head of hair at 60. My brothers started balding in their teens. My maternal grandfather was not bald, but my dad was.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:13 AM on September 8, 2010

If the baldness gene is passed on maternally, it cannot be predicted through the males in your family, except for maternal uncles.

And that doesn't even work. My maternal uncle has a mane, just like all the males in that family. My father and paternal uncles (and all the males going up that line) all have/had the same, balding, hair. Maybe there is a genetic switch that gets flipped through the maternal line, but there is *something* coming down the paternal line that affects baldness.

And it doesn't matter where it comes from- once you are conceived, the genetics puzzle is finished.
posted by gjc at 4:24 AM on September 8, 2010

I can only speak for my family, but my mother's father was bald as a cue ball in his mid 20's and her two brothers were bald on top by their early 30's. I have hair that even my barber says is so thick. I am in my later 40's.

Even if it is true, what are you going to do about it? Whatever that is, do it now anyway. I think going bald slowly makes the transition easier, but that is from the point of view of the observer, not the guy going bald.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 5:40 AM on September 8, 2010

Isn't there only a 50% chance that you share the same X chromosome as your maternal grandfather anyway (assuming you are a male)? Grandma is X₀X₁, Grandpa is X₂Y₀, Mom is X₀X₂ or X₁X₂, so I am either X₀Y₁ (25%), X₁Y₁ (25%) or X₂Y₁ (50%).

Or is my high-school level understanding of this now outdated?

In my family, my maternal grandfather was bald, one maternal uncle was bald before he hit 25, the other still has (most) of his hair now that he's in his 50s. My hairline receded a little senior year of high-school, but has remained pretty constant in the 15+ years since then.
posted by Jugwine at 5:45 AM on September 8, 2010

Just to elaborate on grouse's answer and give you an idea of how basic Mendelian inheritance works, let's assume the main genetic component is the androgen receptor gene on the X chromosome. If your uncle has MPB, his single X chromosome likely carries the MPB allele of the androgen receptor. This tells you that at least one of the two X chromosomes of your mother also carries the MBP allele. You randomly received one of your mother's X chromosomes so you likely have a 50% chance of carrying the same X as your uncle, and therefore being more inclined to get MPB. Also see sex-linked recessive inheritance. But like grouse says, this is oversimplifying things. I just wanted to clarify where people get the old wives' tales of skipping generations and uncles and brothers and stuff.
posted by Durin's Bane at 5:58 AM on September 8, 2010

Just to add a comforting anecdote, my mom's dad and brother were both early balders and I always assumed that was my future. I'm 36 now and still totally ulotrichous.
posted by ulotrichous at 6:21 AM on September 8, 2010

I'll ask my geneticist father next time I see him (it's usually a multi-loci, multi-mutation answer, though), but his hairline looks exactly like his own father's did. Receding.
posted by Pax at 6:23 AM on September 8, 2010

My mom's father and brother are bald, but I am not bald, nor will ever be.
posted by eas98 at 6:42 AM on September 8, 2010

In my family at least, my maternal grandfather seems to be to blame for the baldness of all of his grandsons; pretty much everyone else in my family, as far back as I can tell, has plenty of hair (including my dad, who still has all of his hair at 75, whereas I was noticably bald at 30).

Anecdotal, but it's always led me to suspect that there was an X-chromosome thing going on somewhere. I suppose I'll see what happens when my two sons are older; my guess is that, because nobody on Mrs Morte's side is bald, they stand a good chance of retaining their hair.

Not that it bothers me beyond a vague interest in inheritance; baldness has a lot of advantages, and is one of those things that men tend to see as a negative, while women I've known either don't care about it or even quite like it.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 6:58 AM on September 8, 2010

sbutler has the best answer here. It's not an 'old wives tale' or a myth, but it is more complicated than "If x then y".

It's a sex-linked trait that's carried by the mother. That's why it's said to 'skip a generation', because the mother who's carrying the gene isn't going to exhibit the trait. But you have a chance of inheriting the trait from her.
posted by statolith at 7:50 AM on September 8, 2010

My mother's brother is bald. My brother is bald. My father is bald. I have a full head of hair. I am 34 years old.
posted by idiomatika at 8:12 AM on September 8, 2010

My mother's brothers all have or had full heads of hair. So did her father. I started losing my hair in my 20s and now that I'm in my 50s you might consider me bald (as there's nothing left on top).
posted by Rash at 8:47 AM on September 8, 2010

Mother's father and both brothers: bald. I've never seen a hair of mine left in the shower or bath, and still have little tufts of "baby hair" at my temples.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:11 AM on September 8, 2010

One of my grandfathers (mother's) was bald, the other had thin hair. My father has thin hair. My brother is pretty bald. I'm on the thin side but no one calls me bald, though I have a downright vampiric widow's peak. Baldness is genetic but I don't think any of the myths are absolutely true.

I'm ok if I do go bald. Frankly, hair is a pain in the ass.
posted by chairface at 10:17 AM on September 8, 2010

[I]t's your maternal grandfather who counts. But I don't see why you couldn't look at your maternal uncles either.

You can't necessarily look to either as the answer.

If we are assuming this trait is X-linked (which grouse showed is only a contributing risk, not 100%), let's talk about X chromosomes. Your mom has got an X from her dad and an X from her mom. (Because women are XX.) You, her son, got one of those Xs, but you don't know which one, grandma's or grandpa's. (Let's not worry about recombination right now.) You got a Y from your dad.

Your mom's brother got his X from his mom, absolutely not from his dad. From his dad, he got a Y.

So grandpa could be bald, but it could be grandma's X that you have, and your chances for baldness would be unrelated to grandpa's.

Your mom's brother could be bald, and he has his mom's X of course, but you could have maternal grandpa's X, and your chances for baldness would be unrelated to your uncle's.
posted by Knowyournuts at 10:42 AM on September 8, 2010