Did minoxidil Kill My Hairline? Maintained Hair On finasteride, Added Min And My Hair Has Never Been Worse.

[thornhill59]

Hi all. I realised I was slowly losing my hair early last year and decided to do something about it. I started Finasteride in April of last year and my hair was maintained, if not improved til the end of 2016. I visited my derm in December and he agreed that my hair looked great and recommended I start minoxidil to get even better results, so I started it the next day. I applied it primarily to the centre and left of my hairline which was a tad thinner than the right. Initially my hair shed and I thought that was a good sign of future regrowth. However I have failed to recover from this initial shed and now my hairline is pretty bad. The only place my hair loss has worsened is where I apply minoxidil. Looking for some advice. Could I be allergic? Is this just a prolonged shed? No idea what to do so any help is much appreciated. Photos below.

These two are from January, about 1 month into minoxidil. The area in question had just started to shed.

February-shedding area gets larger.

Mid March-pretty bad now but I was happy as I heard sheds were signs of good to come.

Mid April-generally pretty thin now. Still had faith growth was coming.

Today-the area where I apply minoxidil remains much much thinner than baseline. This photo is actually quite flattering as the whole front and left section is now quite wispy and the hair grows out differently, thin with little kinks. The rest of my hair grows thick and dead straight.

 

[thornhill59]

Sorry about the different image sizes guys, didn't realise when I was formatting. Pretty lost as to how to proceed.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Unfortunately, in rare cases some do get worse with minoxidil. It's possible it placed your hair into a chronic telogen effluvium( big shed) and it will recover after about 6 months. But if you have been on it for over 6 months and it got worse, I don't know if its worth continuing. Just to let you know I have been on and off minoxidil for at least 10 times( reasons were either I thought it was getting worse or bad facial skin/bloating sides). I have been off it now for a good few months and I don't notice anything worse. My scalp is definitely not as red too.

 

[thornhill59]

Unfortunately, in rare cases some do get worse with minoxidil. It's possible it placed your hair into a chronic telogen effluvium( big shed) and it will recover after about 6 months. But if you have been on it for over 6 months and it got worse, I don't know if its worth continuing. Just to let you know I have been on and off minoxidil for at least 10 times( reasons were either I thought it was getting worse or bad facial skin/bloating sides). I have been off it now for a good few months and I don't notice anything worse. My scalp is definitely not as red too.

That seems to make sense. If I stopped minoxidil could I return to baseline or is the damage done? Any idea if an allergy would make me respond like this? Genuinely only got worse where I apply minoxidil. Think I might go back to my derm and see what he thinks.

 

[DoctorHouse]

That seems to make sense. If I stopped minoxidil could I return to baseline or is the damage done? Any idea if an allergy would make me respond like this? Genuinely only got worse where I apply minoxidil. Think I might go back to my derm and see what he thinks.

If you had an allergy, you would experience alot of itching and dandruff. I have read some posts on different forums where some people see improvement when they stop minoxidil but some get even worse with a big shed. Hard to say what will happen if you stop until you do.

 

[Crystalclear12]

I would stop the min. That seems like more than your average shed...

 

[thornhill59]

I would stop the min. That seems like more than your average shed...

Yeah its pretty soul destroying tbh. Only in the area I apply min. Gone from pretty much full thickness to incredibly thin. I think ill book in with my derm and ask what he thinks is going on.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Wow! this is exactly what is happening to me! Tomorrow, i'll hit month 7 on fina and minoxidil and it got so freaking worse! I stopped applying it to my mid scalp back in July and it hasn't got visibly worse, on the other hand the areas I still apply it have. Also, my derm told me 3 days ago I have seb. dermatitis (which i never had before) and gave me 2 shampoos to treat it.

I don't know if I should treat the dermatitis and still apply minoxidil in hopes that once I get rid of it I will regrow some hair and minoxidil can do it's job properly; or if I just quit minoxidil because I'm certain it caused the dermatitis in the first place

 

[thornhill59]

Wow! this is exactly what is happening to me! Tomorrow, i'll hit month 7 on fina and minoxidil and it got so freaking worse! I stopped applying it to my mid scalp back in July and it hasn't got visibly worse, on the other hand the areas I still apply it have. Also, my derm told me 3 days ago I have seb. dermatitis (which i never had before) and gave me 2 shampoos to treat it.

I don't know if I should treat the dermatitis and still apply minoxidil in hopes that once I get rid of it I will regrow some hair and minoxidil can do it's job properly; or if I just quit minoxidil because I'm certain it caused the dermatitis in the first place

Can't talk to the dermatitis mate, I get it myself and have found keto to be pretty effective. Does your new minoxidil hair curl?

 

[thornhill59]

If you had an allergy, you would experience alot of itching and dandruff. I have read some posts on different forums where some people see improvement when they stop minoxidil but some get even worse with a big shed. Hard to say what will happen if you stop until you do.

Just wondering if on other forums you'd heard or seen formerly straight hair curling or frizzing as a result of minoxidil? All my other hair is dead straight but the minoxidil regrowth kinda frizzes out such that I can't style it in the slightest and have to keep it short. They look like terminal hairs, they just grow entirely different to my regular hair.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Just wondering if on other forums you'd heard or seen formerly straight hair curling or frizzing as a result of minoxidil? All my other hair is dead straight but the minoxidil regrowth kinda frizzes out such that I can't style it in the slightest and have to keep it short. They look like terminal hairs, they just grow entirely different to my regular hair.

Well, my hair was always kind of wavy but yes I can see a difference between the hair growing where I've been applying minoxidil these past 7 months and where I didn't. It's also drier!
But I'm whiling to pay that price if the shedding stops and grows back to baseline...

 

[Perah]

any update?

 

[Perah]

please bro, give us update

 

[BaldingGuy]

I don't know what happened with the OP's hair but mine is going through hell

 

[Perah]

did you stop minoxidil or you just kept going? Still shedding like hell?

 

[Perah]

They also they that when you stop you go through the mother of all shed. It's been 7 months for me, hair is so so much worse, but i m afraid that if i stop, it s gonna be even worse cause of dependance to the product or shockloss.

 

[BaldingGuy]

Well, I did regrow vellus hairs in the temple area that have been bald since i was 22 or so (I'm 26) so I guess i did respond to some degree but that hair isn't cosmetically relevant. I also got a severe dermatitis (since May), so that may also have contributed for the lack of results. Or maybe not.
To treat the dermatitis I rotated 3 medicated shampoos and applied minoxidil only once a day for a month and then went 5 days without applying. The dermatitis seems a lot better now (at least to my naked eye) so I'm applying twice a day again. Been shedding even more hair than before for about 2 weeks and my hair is getting thinner by the week.. Oh and my itch is worse, it's crazy!
I will give it 3 more months dermatitis free (also completing the 12 months) to see what happens but I'm not optimistic.. And will post pic of before and after just because I don't see anybody doing it when it's visible worse.

So to resume:
- Yes, shedding like HELL
- Yes, my hair loss accelerated because of finasteride+minoxidil
- Yes, the dermatitis was caused by minoxidil
- The itch never stopped (although it got better some months).

 

[BaldingGuy]

Perah if you don't have any scalp problems like itch, dermatitis, psoriasis, burning or hurting sensations and/or are on fina i would suggest to stay on it for some more months because since fina can take 12 months to show results there is still time.
If you are just on minoxidil i would start planning for alternative options and drop it..
I think these kind of treatments can trigger Telogen Effluvium and Telogen Effluvium is the worst enemy of guys with active male pattern baldness! I regret the day i started my treatment.. But you live and learn. I know i'm preparing and planing alternative treatments right now.

 

[Perah]

BaldingGuy, thanks for you answer.
To give you a brief summary of my situation:
- on minoxidil Foam for 7 months, started around may-june. Results: disaster, i've lost like 50 percent of hair density ONLY where i apply minoxidil. I thought it was the shedding, but i'm starting to have strong doubts.
- on Fina for 3 months, maybe it introduce a second shed, don't really, i'm not blaming the fina for my situation, i think minoxidil is the culprit. I've read a lot of stuff on forums, adverses reactions to minoxidil seems rare, not sure... Thats why i wanted updates from thornhill or anybody that decided to stop minoxidil after this king of failure...

No itching, dermatis, redness or anything : just my hairline that went on prolonged holidays.

I thought telogen effluvium affects the whole sclap, maybe im wrong.

I'm wondering if i should quit (taper off) minoxidil and if i can hope to the my hairline and front to come back, or if i should just ride it out for a year as every seems to advice.

I hope fina is gonna do its wonders...

 

[Perah]

@DoctorHouse Could use your expert opinion too.
If minoxidil induce telogen effluvium, should i stop or keep going with minoxidil foam?