24 male, hair loss, starting minoxidil

[Treats]

Starting a thread because I need to do something about my balding. I want to have a place here where I'll (hopefully) be able to easily see the progress I'll make.

The quick background: I'm 24 and the thinning seems bad all over. I started noticing the change in my formerly thick hair about a year ago, but all I did was to start taking Biotin and using Nizoral shampoo a couple times a week. My father is completely bald so this issue didn't exactly take me by surprise. One of my two uncles is about a 4 on the Norwood scale. My surviving grandfather isn't bald, and the other uncle doesn't seem to have any problems. That's it for male relatives, but as I wrote I kind of expected this.

I finally started Minoxidil 5% foam this weekend. I've started using it all over my scalp and I'll continue to, unless someone thinks that's a bad idea. I'll see my doctor soon about a finasteride prescription. Any advice or feedback you guys have would be appreciated too.

 

[TD500]

Your on the right track. Just be sure to get a finasteride script as its the most important of the big 3.

Just some advice you can take it or leave, but liquid minoxidil is cheaper and easier to apply if you have longer hair such as yours.

 

[Raz]

You're doing the right thing. Your hair is still good, even if a bit diffuse thinned. minoxidil was a good idea until you get your hands on a DHT-inhibitor (finasteride/dutasteride), but you'ven't been balding for a long time yet, so you could potentially get some of that back (and stop further balding) with a DHT-inhibitor alone. Not saying being on both minoxidil+finasteride is a bad idea, it's the better combo.

Either way, the diffusing seems kind of aggressive coupled with your family history, so being on the big three is probably the best idea. Try to get a prescription for generic finasteride to cut down the costs, for the exact same effect. Brand Propecia would cost me like 1300$ a year, whereas my finasteride is costing me around 30$ a year right now. (35$ish for 400 days' worth of finasteride at 1.25mg a day!)

 

[Treats]

Quick update. It's been just more than a month of the minoxidil. The shedding has definitely accelerated and I think it shows in these pictures. But I know a month isn't enough time for the stuff to start working, so I'm not worried, as bad as it may look.

I also saw my doctor and got started on 1mg finasteride about a week ago. Hopefully it doesn't get too much worse than these pics, but from what I've read it tends to get a little worse before it gets better. A couple wet and one dry.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

You should have started Finasteride first, see how well your hair maintained after a few months, and then got on Minoxidil if there was any potential for regrowth. All what you can do currently at this point is to stay on Finasteride and Minoxidil, and recover from your shedding, that is if you respond well to both treatments.

You seem to have caught your hair loss early, so you should make a great recovery. I hope all goes well.