Am I a non-responder or a slow-responder?

Norwood Scale-breaker · Jul 17, 2003

I've been on Propecia for 1 year and 5 days now and am a Norwood 2. When I started on Propecia, I had receded at the temples with some diffuse thinning there. Today my hairline remains the same; however, for the past two months I've been experiencing some bad frontal diffuse thinning above the hairline, with the scalp visible. I'm not balding or thinning at the vertex. I don't believe I've ever really "shed" upon starting on Propecia, a phase that many posters here speak of. I also experience no side effects. I added 2% Nizoral 4 months ago and am not on anything else.

I'm unsure if I am simply going through a shedding phase or actually losing more hair. Should I wait a few more months before deciding to step up on my regime or get started on minoxidil on the hairline immediately?

Thanks for your advices.

Grantspots · Jul 17, 2003

If the scalp is visible, I would consider Minoxidil right away. One way to look at your situation would be to ask yourself what condition your hair might be in now if you hadn't been on finasteride for a year? Is it possible you could be far worse off than you'd expect and that the finasteride did it's job in slowing that process? Add the Min as it will help with the density and regrowth.

jerry grant

bombscience · Jul 17, 2003

From all the reading I've done it seems like the hairline is the hardest to maintain. If you want you wage a full out war on it, I would try minoxidil + folligen or sprio. Both spironolactone and Folligen come in a creme that is specifically intended for hairline usage.

Norwood Scale-breaker · Jul 17, 2003

One way to look at your situation would be to ask yourself what condition your hair might be in now if you hadn't been on finasteride for a year? Is it possible you could be far worse off than you'd expect and that the finasteride did it's job in slowing that process?

Excellent question, but it's nearly impossible to answer as I don't have a twin brother who could serve as a control. When I started on Propecia, I was only thinning at the temples. Propecia may have slowed the process of thinning at the temples, as it's not any worse than a year ago but I don't know this for sure. Now I'm experiencing diffuse thinning above my entire forehead and I can see the individual hairs at the hairline, unlike a year ago. I was just wondering if I was finally going through a shedding phase since it never happened to me before. I read that some people take longer than a year to see results from finasteride alone. Nevertheless, I see no reason to get off finasteride as it's causing me no side effects.

I have some questions about minoxidil. My local Costco carries 5% Rogaine, 2% Rogaine for Women, and Costco-brand 5% minoxidil. How is 2% Rogaine for Women different from 2% Rogaine for Men, if there's such a product? Is the Costco-brand 5% minoxidil any good?

When I was treated for acne years ago, my dermatologist put me on 5% benzoyl peroxide for a few hours a day, increasing the application time to build tolerance to the medication (up to 10% overnight--benzoyl peroxide causes redness and dries out the skin). Should I take this approach in applying minoxidil, starting with 2% to build tolerance to it and reduce the severity of shedding, or just go straight to 5%?