On T-induced hair loss

[Adio]

I knew this was a possibility before starting T but went for it anyway, it's something I need. I recently buzzed my hair to a 2 and take pride in my masculine hairline even if it's somewhat further back. In the event I lose my hair, so what, lol? I'm a bald dude, there's tons out there. Many of my role models in my community are bald, balding, thinning out, etc but they're confident, successful men nonetheless.

That's a great attitude to have, Cal.

[dalebert]

Based on the science of what is happening, trans men should go bald in the same proportions as cis men. I can't think of any reason why it would be different.

Most men have a masculine hairline which might be just a tiny bit of balding that makes a more squared hairline instead of a rounded one. Most guys don't even notice it, it's so common. It can actually be more attractive to people who are attracted to men.

[Dominick_81]

So, a lot of research and stuff has led me to a decision-I'm probably going to be non-T. I'll write more about this on a later date (more likely on FTM Livejournal than here, though), but in the meantime, I need to know some of your experiences with T and hair loss.

One of the major influences in my decision is that in my observations, it seems that the majority of transguys go bald on T, usually somewhere around the 2-4 year mark, but sometimes earlier (I read about one guy who started having pretty extensive loss at a month). And it seems transguys go bald younger than cisguys-I know that quite a few cisguys start balding around their late teens or early twenties, but that seems to be pretty rare, while I've heard of heaps of transguys who that happens to, whether they have the genetics for it or not. While it's certainly not a 100% thing, it seems that more transguys go bald, and at younger ages.


I'm guessing that this is because of the different ways that T would affect a CAFAB person's body to that of a CAMAB person.

What're your personal experiences with T and hair loss?

This is something I worry about on T a lot.  I'm loosing hair in the middle of my head and it bother's me a lot.  My hair has thinned out a lot on T. But When it gets to the point where I can't stand it, I'll be getting a wig.

[Stealthy]

@Marion: I gotta say, I find it funny in a weird way how when considering T but not liking most of the effects I'm told not to take T if I can't deal with most of the common effects, but when deciding to be non-T because I can't deal with those effects I'm told to take a low dose/stop early...Catch-22?

@Andy: *shakes head* I'm not mixing up general hairline M-shaping with baldness. Pretty much all guys have an M-hairline, I know that, but it seems that for transguys who take T, they go bald more often than the general population.

@dalebert: Yeah, I'm honestly not sure why either, but it seems more transguys go bald than cisguys. If I had to guess why, I'd say it's because of CAFAB bodies being used to lower amounts of T than CAMAB bodies, which makes stuff like that happen more when T's taken.

@Dominick: Well, so long as you can find a GOOD wig 

[Raneth]

Hi,



The rates for baldness in ftm's compared to cismen is about the same and is obviously dependent on length of time on T.  There are a whole bunch of studies done male pattern baldness in both cismen and ftm's.

If you're interested in reading more here are two journal articles that give statistics:
http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/content/180/1/107.short
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9865198

If you want to read more than the abstract PM me and I'll grab a copy of the full text.

[wheat thins are delicious]

@Andy: *shakes head* I'm not mixing up general hairline M-shaping with baldness. Pretty much all guys have an M-hairline, I know that, but it seems that for transguys who take T, they go bald more often than the general population.

You say things like "through my observations" and "it seems that..."  not "here is a link to the research that has been done on trans men vs cis men and balding." 

Hi,

Sorry to intrude on the ftm boards but I thought this was something I could shed some light on (I've got a degree in molecular genetics).

The rates for baldness in ftm's compared to cismen is about the same and is obviously dependent on length of time on T.  There are a whole bunch of studies done male pattern baldness in both cismen and ftm's.

If you're interested in reading more here are two journal articles that give statistics:
http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/content/180/1/107.short
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9865198

If you want to read more than the abstract PM me and I'll grab a copy of the full text.

Thanks for this.  Probably dependent on their genetics too I'd think.  Haven't read the articles yet.

[Adio]

Very cool, Raneth.  Thanks for sharing!  For those wanting a quick comparison:

Study with 81 trans men age 21-61 found "that 31 of 81 (38.3%) F-->M transsexuals had MPB [Male Pattern Baldness] type II-V [some loss to total loss]. Thinning of hair was related to the duration of androgen administration and present in about 50% of F-->M transsexuals after 13 years." 

The study of cis men (not sure how many) ages 18-49 found that "the proportion of men with moderate to extensive hair loss (type III or greater) was 42%. The proportion of men with moderate to extensive hair loss increased with increasing age, ranging from 16% for men 18-29 years of age to 53% of men 40-49. Twelve percent of the men were classified as having predominantly frontal baldness (type A variants)."

So basically, based on these two studies (which isn't a ton, but still some actual research), the risk of MPB might be the same or lower for trans guys on T.

[insideontheoutside]

Call me vain, but I like my hair and it's staying where it is

[geek]

Call me vain, but I like my hair and it's staying where it is

I've got a jar of super glue ready to roll when i go bald

[Arch]

A few things. Sometimes I will echo what someone else has said.

First, everyone has his own reasons for going on T or not going on T. If hair loss is the main reason someone doesn't want to go on T, then that's his reason. It's not our place to judge.

Second, as someone else pointed out, you can take T for six or eight months, get the vocal changes, and then stop. Some guys do this. My therapist counseled a guy who did this and is apparently very happy that way.

Third, as a few people have pointed out, just about every trans man will get changes to head hair and will have a male hairline after a while. This is not the same as hair loss or balding. I don't think I know a single trans guy IRL that this hasn't happened to.

(Oh, stop with the numbers.) I know a BUNCH of trans guys IRL, and a few have experienced true hair loss and look fine--they're just regular guys. Only one guy has really lost a huge amount of hair. So saying that most trans guys go bald seems like a gross overgeneralization based on what I've seen in person and heard on Susan's. Unless you want to jump forward in time and predict that when we're seventy, we'll all have thinning or nonexistent head hair. I have no opinion on that because I don't know any seventy-year-old trans men.

I wasn't sure whether my own hair changes were hairline shifts alone or incipient balding, so I started taking Finasteride. I stopped about five weeks ago, and I can definitely say that it was helping to at least slow down the loss. I could go back on it, but I'm more worried about my hematocrit at the moment. We'll see.

I started T at 46, I'm 49 now, and my hair still looks great. I did look in the mirror yesterday and think, "You know what? If I lose it, I lose it. I'm not going to stop T. And, you know, I look pretty damn good with this hairline." I like my current hairline, and so far my marginal hair loss seems to be mostly all over--no bald patches and no obvious thinning that I or anyone else has noticed. The only real difference is in the hairline. In fact, I have my father's hairline, my brother's hairline. I actually like that. I'm also getting used to the idea of losing my hair, period, because, for me, T is necessary--and because I look like my male relatives. (Plus, my therapist has commented that my hairline looks really good, and he just corroborates what I think myself.)

Thus endeth my peroration on my personal observations and experiences with T and hair loss.

If T isn't for you, even for a short period of time, then more power to you. It's always there if you change your mind.

[Father Way]

First, everyone has his own reasons for going on T or not going on T. If hair loss is the main reason someone doesn't want to go on T, then that's his reason. It's not our place to judge.

This.
I think bit of hair lose happens when we get on T as a part of the process just like other body changes. As far as I know females tend to have more hair on the head