How does baldness get passed down

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Sign Me Up. Print This Page Click to Print. Free Healthbeat Signup Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox! Sign Up. Close Thanks for visiting. Understanding hereditary balding is complex. Most people believe that they can blame their baldness gene on their mothers. Men can often expect to see MPB begin occurring as an m-shaped receding hairline. Usually starting around the age of 20 to 30, it will appear first at the front of the scalp. For women, it is more common to experience hair loss after menopause.

The balding pattern for women is commonly referred to as the Ludwig pattern, a gradual hairline recession along the part of your hair. Male pattern baldness is polygenic — involving one or more genes. They may even have very different effects on siblings in the same family. For example, if your twin brother has hair loss, this does not necessarily mean that you will experience hair loss as well. Male pattern baldness usually begins at the hairline, causing hair loss on the forehead and at the temples first.

It can occur as early as the late teens and early 20s, and usually works backward from the temples to eventually cause partial or total baldness on the top and sides of the scalp.