30M. Am I balding or just a mature hairline? (on finasteride + min)

[Zreeper]

I've been on finasteride since April 2023.

Started topical minoxidil once daily in November 2024 and increased to twice daily on May 25, 2026.

My main concern is temple recession. My crown seems fine and overall density still looks pretty good to me, but I'm having a hard time judging objectively.

I've included photos from 2023 as well as current photos.

A few questions:

• What Norwood would you put me at?
• Does this look stable since 2023?
• Do you see actual thinning or mostly temple recession?
• Does it look like finasteride has maintained things reasonably well?
• Anyone have experience getting temple improvement from long-term minoxidil?

Be honest. I'd rather hear the truth than get reassurance.

Photos attached.

 

[Elithair]

Honest read, since you asked for it.

This is androgenetic rather than just a mature hairline. The recession at your temples follows the pattern, so I would call it early male pattern loss, not simple maturation. That is not bad news, because it is mild and you are clearly on top of it.

On the Norwood, I would put you around a 2, maybe edging into 3 at the temples. Your central hairline and the area behind it are intact, and the crown looks well preserved.

Comparing 2023 to now, it looks reasonably stable. Those 2023 shots are basically your starting point on finasteride, so looking about the same three years later means it has held the line, which is a good maintenance result. The temples look similar, perhaps very slightly deeper, and that is the zone I would keep watching.

What you are seeing is mostly temple recession, not diffuse thinning. The density across the top is holding, which fits with finasteride doing its job. Finasteride protects and thickens the crown and mid scalp far more than the temples, so your only real concern being the temples is often what well controlled loss on finasteride looks like.

On minoxidil and temples, I will be straight with you. The temples are the least responsive area to minoxidil for most people, and it does its best work further back on the crown and mid scalp. Some men get a little temple improvement over a long run, but meaningful temple regrowth is uncommon, so keep your expectations modest there and treat the twice daily routine as maintenance for the areas already responding.

None of this replaces an in person look under magnification, which is the only way to measure miniaturization properly. But from the photos, you are doing the right things, and they seem to be working.

 

[Zreeper]

Honest read, since you asked for it.

This is androgenetic rather than just a mature hairline. The recession at your temples follows the pattern, so I would call it early male pattern loss, not simple maturation. That is not bad news, because it is mild and you are clearly on top of it.

On the Norwood, I would put you around a 2, maybe edging into 3 at the temples. Your central hairline and the area behind it are intact, and the crown looks well preserved.

Comparing 2023 to now, it looks reasonably stable. Those 2023 shots are basically your starting point on finasteride, so looking about the same three years later means it has held the line, which is a good maintenance result. The temples look similar, perhaps very slightly deeper, and that is the zone I would keep watching.

What you are seeing is mostly temple recession, not diffuse thinning. The density across the top is holding, which fits with finasteride doing its job. Finasteride protects and thickens the crown and mid scalp far more than the temples, so your only real concern being the temples is often what well controlled loss on finasteride looks like.

On minoxidil and temples, I will be straight with you. The temples are the least responsive area to minoxidil for most people, and it does its best work further back on the crown and mid scalp. Some men get a little temple improvement over a long run, but meaningful temple regrowth is uncommon, so keep your expectations modest there and treat the twice daily routine as maintenance for the areas already responding.

None of this replaces an in person look under magnification, which is the only way to measure miniaturization properly. But from the photos, you are doing the right things, and they seem to be working.

 

[Zreeper]

What about those photos look also at thoose from 2021 and 2020?

 

[bsmith]

@Zreeper,

As a person suffering from androgen alopecia myself, it pains me to say this, but you are balding.

The good news is if you use a combination of Finasteride and Minoxidil you will have your hair your entire adult life.

i only have a little bit of a recession, but I am in my mid fifties. It was worse in my twenties, because I couldn't afford
good treatments back then. Also Finasteride just came out and I wasn't sure it was safe.

Right now I'm between a Norwood three/two (hairline). At one point in my thirties I was bald on both my crown and I had
more recession.

Just so you know, Finasteride WILL improve your hairline and your crown.

But if you wait too long, it might not.

 

[Zreeper]

@Zreeper,

As a person suffering from androgen alopecia myself, it pains me to say this, but you are balding.

The good news is if you use a combination of Finasteride and Minoxidil you will have your hair your entire adult life.

i only have a little bit of a recession, but I am in my mid fifties. It was worse in my twenties, because I couldn't afford
good treatments back then. Also Finasteride just came out and I wasn't sure it was safe.

Right now I'm between a Norwood three/two (hairline). At one point in my thirties I was bald on both my crown and I had
more recession.

Just so you know, Finasteride WILL improve your hairline and your crown.

But if you wait too long, it might not.

Hi im already on finasterde, did u see my new pictures?

 

[bsmith]

Your hair does look good.

The Finasteride is definitely working. It took over thirteen years for my hairline to grow back, and that's because I started
too late in life.

I didn't treat it with Finasteride until 2013.

Eventually your hairline will completely grow back in.

In my own opinion, I think you should use Minoxidil as well, if it's not too expensive.

In the United States you don't need a prescription, and it's very cheap because many companies sell it.

Put the topical Minoxidil on your hairline, it should grow back as quickly as it receded.

 

[Elithair]

What about those photos look also at thoose from 2021 and 2020?

Had a look at the 2020 and 2021 ones too, and they line up with what I said.

Your temples were already receding a little back in 2020, before you started finasteride. So, this is a slow, longstanding pattern, not something that took off recently. Across all of them the change is the temples gradually creeping back, and even that has been slow. The density and crown held the whole way through.

That slow pace is the reassuring bit. Aggressive loss thins all over and moves fast. Yours has stayed at the temples over years and looks held since the finasteride. Photos across years are rough to compare, so treat it as an eyeball read, not a measurement. But they confirm the picture more than change it.

 

[Zreeper]

Had a look at the 2020 and 2021 ones too, and they line up with what I said.

Your temples were already receding a little back in 2020, before you started finasteride. So, this is a slow, longstanding pattern, not something that took off recently. Across all of them the change is the temples gradually creeping back, and even that has been slow. The density and crown held the whole way through.

That slow pace is the reassuring bit. Aggressive loss thins all over and moves fast. Yours has stayed at the temples over years and looks held since the finasteride. Photos across years are rough to compare, so treat it as an eyeball read, not a measurement. But they confirm the picture more than change it.

Im so anxious, u think my hair looks bad for my age? or is this something normal peeople even wouldnt think off?

 

[Zreeper]

Is it still considererd mild and still looking good?

 

[bsmith]

Is it still considererd mild and still looking good

It's not noticeable at all.

It will probably grow back in time.

If you didn't post the picture of where your forehead hairline was showing, nobody on this site would even know.

It's only on your temples, I don't think it's your entire hairline that has recession.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Zreeper]

It's not noticeable at all.

It will probably grow back in time.

If you didn't post the picture of where your forehead hairline was showing, nobody on this site would even know.

It's only on your temples, I don't think it's your entire hairline that has recession.

Best of luck to you.

but im using minoxidl since 1,5 years and also finasteride 3 years and not much regrowth yet?

 

[bsmith]

but im using minoxidl since 1,5 years and also finasteride 3 years and not much regrowth yet?

Some people produce more DHT than others.

When I was in my twenties, Minoxidil temporarily regrew all of my hair, and I lost it in a few years. I went back to
a Norwood three.

It's hard for me to compare myself with others because since I am old, my body is not as good at making androgens.

Also, I have no medical background, so I am unqualified to answer some of these questions. This is just my best guess.

I'm can only share my experience, and what grew back my own hair. I still have a Norwood three hairline, but at one time I had
a Norwood five hairline, and I had baldness on my crown. This was in my early forties.

 

[Arminus]

I've been on finasteride since April 2023.

Started topical minoxidil once daily in November 2024 and increased to twice daily on May 25, 2026.

My main concern is temple recession. My crown seems fine and overall density still looks pretty good to me, but I'm having a hard time judging objectively.

I've included photos from 2023 as well as current photos.

A few questions:

• What Norwood would you put me at?
• Does this look stable since 2023?
• Do you see actual thinning or mostly temple recession?
• Does it look like finasteride has maintained things reasonably well?
• Anyone have experience getting temple improvement from long-term minoxidil?

Be honest. I'd rather hear the truth than get reassurance.

Photos attached.




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Unfortunately it’s Androgenetic Alopecia however there’s Treatment Finasteride and Minoxidil, however do not fall for minoxidil only propaganda because without a 5AR inhibitor you continue losing hair

 

[bsmith]

@Zreeper,

You have enough density that it's really not noticeable at all.

Nobody is going to see the top of your head in real life, except your significant other.

Even if they do, just use your tongue.

That's what I used to do before my wife had menopause and lost interest in sex.