We all lose hair every day as a natural part of our hair growth cycle. However, you may start noticing some signs and symptoms of balding at 20, especially if your father or grandfather was bald.
Losing hair can be a stressful experience for youths, as it’s usually associated with older people. Surprisingly, almost 25% of men suffering from baldness begin losing their hair before 21.
If you think your hair is starting to thin at 20, this article is for you. Keep reading to find out more about common balding signs in young men.
Reasons for Thinning Hair at 20s
According to research, over 40% of men suffer from various degrees of hair loss at any point in their lives. Here are seven of the early signs of balding to look out for.
1. Hair Thinning
It’s often hard to notice gradual hair thinning. You can feel your hair isn’t as full and thick as it used to be. It may especially start thinning at the front around the temples and crown area.
Luckily, it’s not an overnight occurrence. So, the sooner you notice it, the easier it is to prevent it from getting worse and eventually result in balding at the age of 20.
It’s also essential to know that hair thinning isn’t the same as hair loss, as you don’t see the actual hairs falling.
It’s just a process of weakened hair follicles that are unable to produce hair as much or as thick as they did before.
You can always seek professional treatment, whether through using topical medicines or considering hair transplant options. It depends on what stage of hair loss you’re at.
2. Slow Hair Growth
Another sign of balding is slow hair growth. Generally, a healthy growth rate depends on the overall status of the follicles.
Your hair not growing as fast as it used to indicates that your hair follicles are shrinking and getting weaker.
The slower your hair grows, the higher the rate of follicle shrinking. Eventually, those weakened hair follicles stop producing hair altogether.
Optimally, hair follicles get their needed nourishment through nutrients, including iron, vitamin B, and zinc.
So, if you notice your hair is growing slowly, your body may need to get more of those elements.
A few dietary tweaks and lifestyle changes can help a lot with that. For example:
- Eating protein-rich foods
- Consuming leafy green vegetables
- Having iron-rich foods
3. Excessive Shedding
Unlike hair thinning, hair shedding is much more noticeable. However, knowing the difference between natural and excessive shedding is important.
Normally, a healthy person sheds 50–100 hair strands per day. So, noticing more fallen strands should be concerning. That’s especially noticeable on the shower drain while washing your hair or on your pillowcase.
In this case, you need to continue monitoring your hair. If the excessive shedding doesn’t stop, you should consult a trichologist.
While you can’t stop hair loss altogether, you may use some preventative treatments to slow the process down.
4. A Receding Hairline
One of the main signs of early balding at 20 is a receding hairline. Most of the time, a thing like that goes unnoticed for a while.
After all, it’s not easy to spot a quarter-of-an-inch increase in your forehead size or slight thinning around your temples.
After a while, your forehead becomes wider with an observable M-shaped pattern on your head. The cause for a receding hairline is almost the same for hair loss, which is the weakening of the
Mostly, it happens for genetic reasons. However, other factors may contribute to hair loss, such as stress levels, lifestyle, and health.
While you can change your inherited genes, you can always work on changing your lifestyle and improving your mental health.
5. Less Hair on the Crown
Having less hair on your crown is the advanced and visible stage of hair thinning. It usually manifests as a wider gap when parting your hair.
You may also notice your hair becoming a bit see-through and not providing full coverage to your scalp the way it did. Even worse, you might start spotting what looks like bald patches.
The thing about bald patches is that the follicles don’t shrink and weaken uniformly. You can have a group of follicles stop producing hair while other nearby ones remain perfectly fine.
If you’re having second guesses about having less hair, comparing old photos with current ones helps a lot.
Just make sure the two photos are taken at a similar angle and in close lighting conditions. This should give you a wider perspective on the changes happening to your hair.
6. Inability to Style Hair Easily
Males who style their hair frequently using gel, cream, and wax are usually the quickest to notice balding signs.
They often feel the increasing challenge to create the same hairstyles they used to do with ease. If you notice your hair doesn’t hold its styled shape anymore, it may be another sign of hair loss.
In general, losing hair means less volume. Similarly, less volume causes your hair to sit differently on your head. For most men who don’t spend time styling their hair, this may seem unbelievable.
Yet, one of the most satisfactory results men report after restoration interventions is the ability to style their hair once again.
7. Sunburns on the Scalp
Although this isn’t one of the most common signs of balding, it does happen. It’s also a sign you can feel rather than see.
When your hair starts thinning, you notice your scalp becoming more vulnerable and susceptible to sunburns.
That’s because thick hair can protect your scalp from UV rays. Even if it doesn’t reach actual sunburns, you feel increasingly uncomfortable standing under the sun.
Key Points:
So here are the key points on signs and symptoms of balding in the 20s:
- Unlike natural hair shedding, hair loss can be a huge cause of concern. Regardless of how young you are, you may start noticing a few signs of balding at 20.
- Things like a receding hairline, hair thinning, and excessive shedding can all act as an alarm to address such an issue.
- If you think you might be going bald, it’s better to consult your physician to explore your preventative treatment options.
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