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FDA approved for more than 25 years
There are some things you just come to expect as a teenage guy: You’ll get a zit at a bad time, there’ll be some petty school drama, your parents will embarrass you, or you’ll embarrass yourself in front of your crush.
But you may not be prepared to deal with hair loss in your teens. “Why am I balding at 16?” isn’t a question most teens expect to start asking when they get their driver’s license.
Male pattern baldness is most common in men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, affecting up to half of men by age 50. But hair loss can actually start in your teens, whether it’s caused by androgenetic alopecia or something else.
Below, we’ll talk about balding in teenagers and its common causes — and because we’d never leave you hanging, we’ll also dive into the best treatments for how to stop hair loss in teenage guys.
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You may feel like you’re the only one noticing hair loss in your teens or seeing a receding hairline at 18, but teenage hair loss isn’t all that uncommon. Plenty of people Google “balding at 17” and “Why am I losing hair at 14?” hoping to find that they’re not the only ones —and they’re not!
An estimated 16 percent of males aged 15 to 17 have male pattern baldness.
So your friend made a crack about your hair, or you noticed your hairline is receding in that selfie you took. Here are some telltale signs you might have hair loss in your teens:
A change in hairline
Noticeable thinning
Excessive hair loss after showering or brushing/combing your hair
Photographic evidence of less hair over time (thank you, eternal internet)
Hair takes longer than usual to grow
Your barber or hair stylist mentions something
For a deeper dive, read more about the first signs of balding, which apply to men of all ages.
There are several causes of hair loss in men under 25 (including teens). Potential causes of hair loss for the 20-and-under set include:
Male androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness)
Alopecia areata
Telogen effluvium
Certain illnesses and medical conditions
Certain medications
Lifestyle and environmental factors
Genetics
Keep scrolling for details about the potential causes of teen hair loss.
Pediatric or adolescent androgenetic alopecia could cause balding in your teens. This is an underrecognized medical disorder, meaning there isn’t much research.
As noted, androgenetic alopecia is male pattern hair loss. No matter what age it develops, androgenetic alopecia is caused by a hormone known as dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that alters the hair growth cycle.
DHT is cool during puberty — it’s responsible for deepening your voice and growing facial and body hair. But after puberty, the hormone may mess with your hair follicles, causing them to shrink (a process known as miniaturization).
When the follicle diameters are smaller, individual hair strands are smaller, too, so hair looks thinner and patchy and may even fall out.
So, if every man has DHT, why doesn’t every man go bald? Great question. Your genetics determine how your hair follicles respond to DHT. If you’re predisposed to hair loss (thanks, Dad), you may see signs of baldness in your teenage years.
Some men aren’t as sensitive to the effects of DHT and will probably not lose their hair — at least not from androgenetic alopecia.
Another possible reason for hair loss in a teenage male is alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that can cause hair loss.
This condition causes patchy hair loss, often creating a visible bald spot or diffuse thinning all over the head.
Alopecia areata is somewhat common in children and teenagers — most people get it in their teens, 20s or 30s — and might result from a misdirected immune system response to one’s hair.
It’s normal to shed about 50 to 100 hairs daily (but you don’t need to start counting).
When the body sheds significantly more hair every day, it’s considered excessive hair shedding. If you’re noticing excessive hair shedding and have recently had some stress in your life, it could be a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium.
“Telogen” refers to the resting phase of the hair growth cycle, and “effluvium” translates to “flowing out.” So hair that’s at rest begins to “flow out” — which is to say, it sheds everywhere, clings to your shirt, and clogs your drain.
Normal, fleeting stressors — like getting a bad grade on a test or a weird DM — aren’t going to cause your hair to fall out. But stress hair loss is a thing. Excessive hair shedding is common among people who’ve recently experienced:
Weight loss of 20 pounds or more
Childbirth
Illness with a high fever
Surgery
Chronic stress from life circumstances
One of the main differences between telogen effluvium and androgenetic alopecia is that the former is usually reversible with time and stress management.
“You are what you eat” is a bit of a stretch. But what you eat can affect your hair. Specifically, the nutritional quality of your diet can determine the strength of your strands and how much you keep — or lose — each day.
Growing hair is like a workout for your scalp — hair follicle cells are the most rapidly dividing cells in the body, so it takes lots of energy to produce new hair. Your hair mainly consists of a protein known as keratin, so getting enough protein is vital for hair growth.
There are also vitamin deficiencies that cause hair loss. Though most people get enough of these nutrients through a balanced diet, you could see hair loss if you’re severely lacking in:
Iron
Ferritin
Niacin
Zinc
Fatty acids
Selenium
Vitamin C
Vitamin B
Vitamin D
Vitamin A
Vitamin E
Folic acid
Amino acids
Biotin
Eating a healthy diet is always a good idea. But before you start chugging milk and eating spinach by the fistful, it’s best to see a healthcare provider. They can do a blood test to help figure out if you have any nutritional deficiencies and make a plan to improve them — you don’t want to swing too far in the other direction and consume too much of a particular vitamin or mineral.
Some medical conditions may cause hair loss. However, in most cases, hair loss can be reversed once the underlying cause is addressed.
Illnesses that cause hair loss include:
Autoimmune disorders like alopecia areata
Thyroid disease (both hypo and hyperthyroidism)
Scalp fungus (like ringworm) or any other fungal infection on the scalp
Skin disorders that cause excessive scratching, like psoriasis of the scalp
Cancer
Diabetes
Hormonal issues can also play a role in hair loss. Then there’s trichotillomania, a mental health disorder characterized by the frequent urge to pull hair from the scalp.
Certain medications can cause hair loss, including:
Anticoagulants to prevent blood clots, like heparin and warfarin
Beta-blockers to lower blood pressure, like propranolol and Tenormin®
Anti-inflammatory drugs, like Anaprox® and Clinoril®
Certain thyroid drugs
Some ulcer drugs, like Pepcid®
If you’re seeing signs of balding at 16 or 17 and recently started a new medication, speak to your healthcare provider about whether increased hair loss is a potential side effect of the drug.
Lifestyle and environmental factors can also contribute to damaged hair and potentially cause hair loss over time. These include:
Drying hair care products (like those containing alcohol or sulfates)
Damage from free radicals, which are compounds that build up in the body and cause oxidative stress. Free radicals are both made in our bodies and come from external sources like certain foods and pollution.
Tight hairstyles like braids or ponytails can cause traction alopecia, a type of hair loss. Basically, anything that pulls your hair into a tight wad and tugs on the strands increases the likelihood of breakage and further loss.
Instead, here are some better choices to show love to your locks and hide thinning without putting extra stress on them:
Side swept: This style evenly distributes hair across the scalp, reducing stress on the hair follicles and helping to prevent thinning.
Spiky: This style creates the illusion of fuller hair by adding volume and texture, which can help mask early signs of hair loss.
Pompadour with a deep fade: The deep fade minimizes the appearance of thinning at the sides, while the pompadour adds volume on top, helping to maintain a fuller look.
The good news is if you’re noticing hair loss in your teens, you’ve caught it early. That means you can take action to hold onto the hair you have, which is much easier than growing back hair you’ve lost. Here’s how to stop hair loss in teenage guys, or at least slow it down.
When you’re experiencing hair loss in your teens, you may be tempted to ask your friends for advice. However, we encourage you to get an expert opinion from a healthcare provider.
It’s tough to treat hair loss without understanding what’s causing it, and a hair loss doctor or a dermatologist will help you identify the specific cause.
A few research-backed hair loss treatments are available to help with hair regrowth.
Finasteride (the generic of Propecia®) is a prescription medication for treating male pattern baldness. It works by inhibiting the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT, which prevents the body from making too much DHT. This stops much of the DHT-related hair follicle damage that causes hair loss.
Finasteride is available as a 1-milligram tablet for hair loss. Research shows it can slow down and stop hair loss caused by male pattern baldness. Some studies have even found that it can stimulate new hair growth in areas of the scalp affected by hair loss.
We offer finasteride online for men aged 18 and older, as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved it for this age group. You can get a prescription following a virtual consultation with a healthcare provider.
Minoxidil (the generic of Rogaine®) is a topical medication for treating hair loss. You apply it directly to areas of your scalp affected by male pattern baldness.
Unlike finasteride, minoxidil doesn’t reduce DHT levels. It increases blood flow to the scalp and stimulates hair follicles to transition to and stay in the anagen (growth) phase of the hair growth cycle. Many studies have shown that minoxidil helps improve hair growth.
Minoxidil is available without a prescription (AKA over-the-counter). We offer minoxidil foam and minoxidil liquid solution online. However, note that the medication is only FDA-approved for those 18 and older, mostly because there hasn’t been research on younger folks.
Indecisive? You don’t have to choose between finasteride and minoxidil. We sell a topical finasteride & minoxidil spray that combines the two ingredients — and it seems to be more effective than using either solo.
A 2019 meta-analysis found that using oral finasteride and topical minoxidil together worked better and was just as safe as using one or the other alone. Plus, it’s a fine mist that dries quickly, so it won’t get in the way of styling your hair.
Hair loss is often a symptom of a health condition rather than a condition itself. Working with a healthcare provider to treat any health conditions that cause hair loss — like the ones mentioned earlier — will generally resolve the problem. In most cases, regrowth is possible, though it may take time.
Feeling down or dealing with chronic stressors can take a toll on your hair health — but losing hair at a young age can also make you feel down and stressed. Not exactly a self-esteem booster.
There are some simple ways to help manage anxiety and depression that don’t involve spending a bunch of money on a meditation retreat or a 20-pack of yoga classes.
Online therapy is a great place to start if you don’t have a ton of time (or reliable transport) and you’re looking for help managing chronic stress. You could also try calming breath techniques, art journaling, or a free yoga or meditation class online.
Getting thicker hair can be as simple as switching up your shower products or popping a gummy (not that kind). Here are a few things you can do to improve your hair care routine.
Take biotin. Biotin could help with hair growth, but supplementing with this B vitamin is most effective for people with a true deficiency, which is rare. Our biotin gummies contain more than just biotin, though — they’re chock-full of folic acid and other nutrients that are good for your hair and general health.
Use volumizing shampoo. Whether you take hair loss medication or not, volumizing shampoo and volumizing conditioner will make your hair look thicker and fuller at the roots. It’s the ultimate fake-it-til-you-make-it solution. Plus, ours smells great.
Try dandruff shampoo. Our dandruff detox shampoo contains a blend of pyrithione zinc 1% and salicylic acid. It can make your hair look flake-free and clean at the root. Plus, a healthy scalp is essential for growing healthy hair.
Consider saw palmetto products. A thickening shampoo with saw palmetto helps if your teenage hair loss results from male androgenetic alopecia. Saw palmetto is a plant extract that works like finasteride, so it can block DHT to some degree. But unlike finasteride, you don’t have to be 18 to use it.
It’s never a good time to experience hair loss, but hair loss in your teens can be especially disorienting. First, if you’ve found yourself asking, “Why am I losing so much hair at 16?” know that you’re not alone.
Plus, plenty of hair products and treatment options can slow hair loss and help you hold on to your hair.
Here’s what to remember:
The earlier you notice you’re losing hair, the sooner you can take action to protect your hair and prevent things from getting worse. And while hair loss in your teens definitely isn’t fun, it also gives you more time to keep the hair you still have.
Hair loss treatments for a balding teenager range from prescriptions like finasteride and minoxidil (for those over 18) to easy lifestyle tweaks to volumizing hair care products.
By doing your research and working with a dermatologist, you’ll find the right medications and hair care products to stop your hair loss and maintain your hair as you enter your 20s, 30s, and beyond.
Not ready (or not old enough) for prescription hair loss treatments? NBD. Learn more about the best haircuts for thinning hair, and check out these tips for covering a bald spot — no comb-overs in sight.
Hims & Hers has strict sourcing guidelines to ensure our content is accurate and current. We rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We strive to use primary sources and refrain from using tertiary references. See a mistake? Let us know at [email protected]!
Dr. Knox Beasley is a board certified dermatologist specializing in hair loss. He completed his undergraduate studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, and subsequently attended medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA.
Dr. Beasley first began doing telemedicine during his dermatology residency in 2013 with the military, helping to diagnose dermatologic conditions in soldiers all over the world.
Dr. Beasley is board certified by the American Board of Dermatology, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Originally from Nashville, TN, Dr. Beasley currently lives in North Carolina and enjoys spending time outdoors (with sunscreen of course) with his wife and two children in his spare time.
Bachelor of Science, Life Sciences. United States Military Academy.
Doctor of Medicine. Tulane University School of Medicine
Dermatology Residency. San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium
Board Certified. American Board of Dermatology
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