By Here’s everything you need to know about how balding at 20 happens, why it happens, and what hair loss treatment can save your hair.
It’s a common misconception that only older men lose their hair, but going bald can occur at any age.
16% of men between 18 and 29 have experienced male hair loss, so balding in your twenties isn’t all that rare.
Women do not have it better, they experience female pattern baldness very early on, too.
However, the effects it has on your prime-time years are devastating. You might lose confidence or have lower self-esteem that stops you from enjoying it fully.
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How can I prevent and treat balding at 20?
Now that you know the various causes of premature balding at 20, here’s what you can do about it.
Seek treatment urgently
As discussed above, early intervention is key to securing the longevity of your hair. The sooner you intervene and seek hair restoration treatment (i.e. hair transplant), the more likely treatment will work, and the higher the chance of effective treatment.
Certain medications might be prescribed mainly finasteride vs minoxidil.
Include hair-growth products in your hair-care regime
Part of slowing and stopping male pattern baldness in your twenties is incorporating high-quality hair regrowth products in your regular hair care routine.
Specially formulated hair growth serum can change the game with professionally curated ingredients that stimulate new hair growth and aid hair loss recovery.
Incorporating conditioner designed to aid recovery of damaged hair strands and shampoo made to strengthen hair is another important addition to your hair care regimen if you want to retain your hair, encourage growth, and encourage strength in every strand.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle
As discussed above, your lifestyle heavily affects your hair health, and staying away from junk foods, cigarettes, alcohol, and other substances will ensure the best chances of retaining your hair.
Hair products and medications are good at preventing and slowing hair loss. Still, a healthy and holistic lifestyle is also key and will enable medicines or treatments to work optimally.
What causes balding at 20?
Make sure that you’re experiencing balding, and not slow hair growth.
Male Pattern Hair Loss
All male pattern hair loss or androgenic alopecia is caused by a hormone called DHT, short for Dihydrotestosterone. DHT forms when testosterone undergoes a conversion process. It causes hormonal hair loss by shrinking the hair follicle and reducing its ability to support hair growth and maintenance until eventually, no follicles can produce or sustain a strand of hair.
All men have DHT in their bodies, but some men are more genetically inclined to lose their hair because of it. That is why some men go bald, and some reach old age with a full head of hair. The same is true for the various ages at which men start to lose their hair. Some men are genetically predisposed to lose their hair at a young age, while others are only affected by DHT later on in life.
A 2011 study found that men with early-onset male pattern hair loss have insulin resistance – another hormonal condition that affects the way your body can break down and use sugar. It is unclear whether insulin resistance causes male pattern baldness and further research is needed to fully understand the connection.
While insulin resistance is largely caused by a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in refined foods, a person’s genetics play a significant role in how easy or how difficult it is for them to develop insulin resistance in the first place.
Autoimmune Alopecia
Alopecia areata is a medical condition of hair loss triggered by an autoimmune response. It can affect both men and women at any age and starts in childhood in about 50% of cases. Alopecia areata is triggered by many things and as you may have guessed, genetics play a heavy role.
Stress
In some cases, however, balding can be an indicator of other things. For example, traumatic events like certain diseases and medical treatments, or the loss of a loved one, can cause temporary hair loss for people of every age.
Ongoing stress from work, finances, or family life can also cause hair loss.
It’s important to know that stress-induced hair loss will always go away, and your hair will regenerate, so if you have been losing hair for longer than a few months, stress is probably not the cause.
Lifestyle
Your lifestyle impacts your health, and the same is true for hair health. Ensuring an active lifestyle and a healthy, nutritious diet is vital for optimal hair retention.
Even if you are genetically predisposed to balding, you should prioritize a healthy way of living. For best results, avoid smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, drug abuse, certain fitness enhancers, and excessive consumption of junk food. Additionally, sleep also plays a factor in hair loss.
Multiple factors can lead to hair loss in your twenties, but a significant portion of balding young men is due to male pattern balding. In short, you have the genetic lottery to thank for balding at 20.
Is it normal to experience balding at 20?
You may think that going bald in your twenties is quite abnormal and strange, but it’s fairly common. It’s a myth that only older men go bald, and many men start losing their hair due to male pattern baldness as young as their teenage years. And, as discussed above, people of all ages can lose their hair as a result of several factors like stress or other conditions like Alopecia Areata.
What are the signs you’re balding at 20?
If you are concerned about losing your hair in your twenties, there are things you can look out for that are early hair loss signs.
Male pattern baldness at every age starts with thinning hair and receding hairline, particularly at the temples. Gradually, these changes form an M-shaped hairline, ultimately leading to permanent hair loss.
As soon as you notice hair thinning at the front of your scalp, you should seek treatment. That is the first and earliest identifier of androgenetic alopecia, and it’s your cue to get help.
If you notice your hair thinning, you must seek treatment as early as possible, as that will give you the best prognosis and it will ensure that treatment will be most effective at preventing further balding.
The sooner you seek out treatment, the more effective the treatment will be, and the better your chances are of slowing or even reversing the hair loss process.
Conclusion
There are many reasons a person in their twenties may start balding, and most of it is down to hereditary hair loss. The good news is, balding at 20 isn’t a death sentence for your scalp, but targeted hair products, medication, and a healthy lifestyle provide a massive window for prevention and recovery.
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