thin hair

I'm a 26 year old African American hair with a noticeable patch
of thin hair at the back of my head and a less noticeable area
near the front of my head. It's really noticeable since I wear my hair close-cropped. This condition isn't recent - I remember my barber telling me when I was 13 that I had a "bald
spot". My Dad is in his 50s and seems to have the same condition
(a thin area running from front to back of head, but not shiny
bald). We also both have dandruff (I get flakes around my nose and in my eyebrows, as well as my scalp). Could my condition have
anything to do with dandruff and my constant scratching and picking at my scalp, or do you think it may be purely genetic?
Anything I can do?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Thin:

Genetics wouldn't cause hair loss at age 13.  Dandruff, despite its reputation, never causes baldness.

Do you pick and scratch at the hairless area?  If you do, have you always?  That would indeed explain the problem.

I suggest you show your scalp to a dermatologist, who should be able to sort out the various possibilities, contributory or otherwise, and quite possibly might be able to recommend treatment.

meanwhile if you can suppress the picking by noticing and making yourself stop, do it.  But that may not be easy.

Best.

Dr. R