Thinning Hair – How Long Until I Go Bald? Normal Hair Loss & Thinning Explained

The back of a middle-aged American man's head, showing typical male pattern baldness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thinning Hair

Normal Hair Loss VS Male or Female Pattern Balding

Most thinning is normal, your hair falls out every day. The vast majority of hair loss is due to genetics. Hair follicles grow for a period before entering a resting phase, followed by another growth phase. These cycles are responsible for each hair on your head to thin over time. Hair growth cycles or growth phases are typically between 2-6 years and are followed by a resting phase which lasts for about 3 months. Following the resting phase a new hair growth cycle will start for each hair that has been resting. With each cycle the hair will grow back thinner, weaker and with a bit less color until the hair follicle becomes invisible. Obviously only a certain amount of hairs enter the resting phase at a certain time otherwise we all would go bald for about 3 months every 2-6 years. It is absolutely normal to lose between 50-150 hairs per day due to normal hair shedding. The thinning is determined by how strong those hairs grow back.

Pattern Hair Loss – Androgenetic alopecia is the scientific name for genetic hair loss or “Thinning” in both men and women. Pattern hair loss in men is referred to as male pattern baldness (MPB). This type of hair loss is responsible for 95% of all thinning hair loss. The other 5% of hair loss is caused by disease, infection, drug interactions and trauma.

Although pattern hair loss occurs in certain predictable phases, it is relentlessly progressive. The younger in life thinning hair loss begins the more extreme the hair loss pattern will become and there is a higher chance of going bald as a person ages. So a teenager who notices hair loss at 18 or 19 years of age will lose more hair over the next 10 years than someone who is 40 and notices their hair loss at the same time.

You should keep in mind that not all of the hair that you see falling out is permanent hair loss and many of those hairs will actually grow back once the follicle’s resting phase is complete. Thinning hair or pattern baldness does not occur immediately, the follicle that has fallen out will grow back for several more cycles. The difference between going bald and normal hair loss is that when you’re going bald the hair will grow back thinner and weaker with every cycle until its last cycle where it just does not grow back at all. Hair loss medication can work for hair that is thin and almost “dead” but will be ineffective at regrowing a follicle who’s root is permanently lost.

How long it takes to go bald once your hair starts shedding is predictable to a degree, but thin or thinning hair can be slowed down and even reversed if treated early enough. The negative side of losing hair at a younger age is that it will take less time to go bald due to the amount of hair you will lose per year because of the quicker rate as compared to thinning when you are older. On a positive note, younger people with mild to moderate hair loss have a better chance at stopping the balding process than someone older with more advanced thinning.
See Hair Loss and DHT for more information
Also Men see Male Pattern Baldness Women See Hair Loss Woman
Thinning Hair Wiki

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Last updated by Joseph Karamikian (Dr.) at October 13, 2012.