Does male pattern baldness invariably involve increased shedding?

[jambri]

I am wondering if with male pattern baldness increased shedding should be apparent. I ask because I notice thinning on one temple, but I have definitely not noticed any increased shedding of hair. Since I started counting lost hairs, I can count maybe 10 a day at most. I suppose I lose about 2 or 3 hairs when washing my hair.

 

[Dinzy]

Well yes it does involve shedding. Now whether or not there is excessive shedding depends on the person. Some may shed normally and have hairs slowly thin each time they grow back and others may shed like crazy and have hairs thin quickly. Others are somewhere in between

 

[jambri]

makes me think I do not have male pattern baldness. Weird.

 

[dead]

You are losing hair at the rate you always have been, but the hairs growing in to replace them are becomeing shorter, thinner and less pigmented.

This is male pattern baldness.

I also rarely see a lost hair.

 

[Shinyscalp23]

weird the first time i went on minoxidil i never noticed a shed-EVER-my results were avg, smaller balding spot, mainly maintenance after 8 months of minoxidil 5%...this time 7 months later of minoxidil 5%/retin-a 2x day---started the treatment while experiencing a massive shed, then the shed got worse, later on shed slowed down--but it seems like i havent stopped shedding tho i mean if i wanted to i bet i could find at least 20 stray hairs from my head if i really went at it and played with my hair(ofcourse my hair could just be very brittle from bleaching it too much altho i bleached my hair even more frequently during the first treatment)-still my temples are filling in (which never happened the first time i was on minoxidil) and when i say filling in im not talking about anything miraculous--just some hairs growing there(u can actually see them from like a 3 foot distance when u look in the mirror--theyre darkening) and my thinning area looks thicker-im not crazy--everybodys told me my hair looks better including people at work so i dont necessarily think shedding should be soemthign to base progress on... even tho my loss at the onset was MUCH worse this time before beginning treatment than it was the first time i started minoxidil, the results im seeing now are MUCH better than they were after tthat first time...DESPITE the shedding...as long as you see the treatments working at some point its nothing to worry about...and even more strange--i find tha im losing hair in the norwood 6 and 7 area now...which still isnt noticeable on me at all unless my hair in that area is buzzed to a one....while the top and crown appear to be thicker...keep in mind im only using minoxidil/retin-a(which means continuous itching and irritation lately which i know isnt good for hair loss) and nizoral 1% 3X a week)..im wondering if what i perceive as a shed is just a result of irritation from the treatments and really just superficial as opposed to real "loss" or shedding or mainly from the norwood 6 areas where im not applying minoxidil...whatever the case is its quite strange..it seems like the moderate shedding indicates nothing in terms of progress or could it be that the hair the minoxidil is growing is merely excedding the hair loss ( in those areas im using it on)?

 

[The Gardener]

Jambri, shedding is more a function of the speed of your personal hair cycling speed that it is a function of male pattern baldness. It is different with everyone.