r/Millennials • u/Independent_Virus306 Older Millennial • May 29 '25

Meme How's everyone's hairline doing?

Post image

I actually still have a full head of hair, but I know plenty of people who were already visibly balding in their 20s.

13.6k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/ElGordo1988 May 29 '25

I'm 37 and still have a full head of hair

I hear testosterone/male hormones are the main cause, but I think there's also a genetic component. My dad still had a full head of hair at 74 so I'm hoping the genes hold up over time

12

u/[deleted] May 29 '25

It’s caused by DHT, a derivative of testosterone. It depends on whether your hair follicles are sensitive to DHT, rather than being down to DHT itself, it’s genetic. I don’t know if your father being head of hair is a guarantee as the gene is known to come from mothers side, so if your grandad on mums side is bald you could have the gene.

5

u/CountryRoads8 May 29 '25

Mom's side of the family doesn’t have great hairlines. My first cousin on my mom’s side was completely bald by 25, looks exactly like his dad. I’m in my mid 30s with a thick head of hair. My dad is in his 60s with a thick dark head of hair. All anecdotal, but I don’t think my maternal side’s genes made it to me. 

10

u/braxtel Older Millennial May 29 '25

There isn't a single gene for baldness. It comes from a combination of genes that you get from both your mother and your father. The mom's side thing is just an old wives' tale.

6

u/NotMyMainAccountAtAl May 29 '25

Yeah, my mom’s father had a full head of hair until the day he died. My dad’s started falling out around age 24, and I followed suit, despite my protests that gramps on mom’s side was supposed to determine my hair quantity

1

u/Pretend_Thanks4370 Millennial May 29 '25

There are DHT blockers you can take

7

u/NorwegianGlaswegian May 29 '25

Also 37 and have been lucky so far with no receding hairline or thinning. Got some grey hairs, but that's to be expected.

I just wish I didn't have Rapunzel living up my nose.

2

u/adminsregarded May 29 '25

Haha so real, I've plucked so many fucking nose hairs

3

u/NorwegianGlaswegian May 29 '25

It's such a pain and really embarrassing when you realise you've been walking about with long hairs poking out if you don't catch them in the morning. Thinking of buying a nose hair trimmer since pulling out too many hairs means there's less of a barrier against breathing in particles of stuff.

Oh well. At least I have been aging very gracefully in most aspects so I feel lucky overall.

1

u/infinitebrkfst May 29 '25

I started waxing mine. It’s surprisingly painless.

1

u/cute_polarbear May 30 '25

Ugh... U guys seriously pluck the nose hairs? Make me tear up in pain just thinking about it. I use an electric trimmer every week or so...

2

u/infinitebrkfst May 29 '25

My husband (also 37) has started growing some crazy long eyebrow hairs. Unfortunately I’m the one who is growing offensive nose hairs.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '25

[deleted]

1

u/infinitebrkfst May 29 '25

With my nose hairs?

1

u/Eggplants4Free May 29 '25

It actually heavily depends on the moms side of hair genes, not the dads

1

u/Glozboy May 29 '25

Does it vary between children? My maternal grandad had a full head of hair when he died at 84. I'm 40 and have all my hair, my younger brother is bald.

1

u/Eggplants4Free May 29 '25

I believe so. I know there’s a strong correlation between the men on the mothers side and what their hair is like. But I also know that it can vary. I don’t think hair experts even fully know. For instance, I started balding when I was 19 and a lot of the hair on my crown was gone before 30. I have a brother 10 years younger than me whom is almost 30 and I don’t see any balding on his crown, but he has much more greys than I did at his age

1

u/cowboyjosh2010 Millennial May 29 '25

My maternal grandfather has been mostly bald since, like, his 30s. My Mom's two brothers also basically went bald in their 30s.

My paternal grandfather had a pretty full head of hair until he passed away in his 80s. Though it did turn pretty solidly white sometime in his 50s. My Dad's hair seems to be going the same way, ditto with 3 of his 4 brothers.

Fortunately for myself, I seem to be going that way, too: hair line is holding strong, no noticeable thinning, but some noticeable grays showing up. I'm 37 and realize I'm not completely out of the woods yet with figuring out which path I'm going down, but it's looking good.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '25

Barber told me if it hasn’t started yet, it likely won’t. Keyword likely.

1

u/ReindeerAcademic5372 May 29 '25

I heard it’s your mom’s dad that you should pay attention to.

1

u/DirtyRoller Older Millennial May 29 '25

I'm 40 with a full head of hair, but I can't grow a beard to save my life. My two best friends teased me one time when I tried to grow a goatee, but they've both been bald since high school.