Diffuse Thinning - Started Finasteride Last Week

[Passingthru]

Hey guys. First time posting but have been scoping threads for a couple months. 27 yr old male who started noticing some minor thinning on my crown in December 2016. I’ve always had thinner hair but a lot of it. So much so that I had to have my hair thinned by my hairdresser once a month. I had been styling my hair a certain way without any issues for a many years but began to notice quite a bit more thinning in July of 2017. Made some changes to my diet, began taking vitamins, etc but didn’t take it too seriously.

Come December 2017, I knew it was time to do something more about it after I began to be able to see my scalp through my hairline. I began to research and decided to not begin Finasteride due to the possible side effects. Instead i went with Minoxidil. I only stuck with this a few weeks before the shed caused me to stop. Terrible idea I know. I saw a derm in January who told me to continue to restart using minoxidil and prescribed Ketoconazole 2% along with it.

I lived in some denial about my hair thinning and didn’t begin the regimen until 3/24/18. After reading several forums with experienced individuals like yourselves, I decided it was time to start Finasteride. I was prescribed Proscar which I cut into fours and take 1.25mg daily. I begin taking Finasteride on 4/14/18. After over a week of use, I have not experienced any noticeable sides. I take the pill every night around 10PM. I woke up one night with a slight testicle ache but was really nothing to write home about... I am believing the best that I am a good responder to the Big 3. Don’t have any bald spots but just thin throughout

I’m expecting that the hair I have will remain and thicken up all over. Hoping for some new growth as well. Leaving pics here to document progress. All these pictures were taken after being on Minoxidil for 4 weeks. My hair is noticeably thinner since beginning minoxidil, which I expected temporarily due to the shed.

Will be updating this as I go!

For reference:

First two pics are styled hair
Pic 3 & 4 show diffuse thinning and thinning in crown

Pics 4-8 show temple/hairline

Last pic is when wet with Ketoconazole shampoo

 

[hopeforhappiness]

Upside is that if your face suits it, the slick back look is working pretty well for you. If you can get back to pre shed hair count with some thickening and haltering of further loss you'll be fine. This seems to be a fairly reasonable expectation as well.

 

[Passingthru]

Appreciate the feedback. Glad I didn’t wait any longer to begin Finasteride. I believe it’s going to provide the thickening I’m looking for. Thanks again!

 

[Thinlizzy]

Your hair looks fine. Strong light when wet will always look bad. Similar to my hair though. Chuck a bit of toppik on when you style, use sea salt spray when blow drying and will look perfect

 

[Passingthru]

Thanks for the feedback. At this point, I am still able to style it in the front without there being a visible gap in the hairline/crown. After the minoxidil shed, I’ve been considering some toppik while I let the medication do it’s job. Have read some posts that say that’s a bad idea though. Then again there are a lot of posts saying everything is a bad idea.

Has anyone else had success with Finasteride thickening diffuse thinning?

 

[Georgie]

I often wonder how men can go so long without noticing it hairloss until it gets to the point where it’s see-through is some areas. God the women on the alopecia forums are onto it while they all still have normal hair. Haha. The bonuses of having shorter hair I suppose. I hope your new regimen serves you well.

 

[Mushu]

I often wonder how men can go so long without noticing it hairloss until it gets to the point where it’s see-through is some areas. God the women on the alopecia forums are onto it while they all still have normal hair. Haha. The bonuses of having shorter hair I suppose. I hope your new regimen serves you well.

We men are ignorant on many things. I think we notice it, but don't care enough until it looks kinda bad. I wouldn't of known about eyebrows,etc if it wasn't for girls pointing it out. Girls are just more observant when it comes to beauty. I think now with social media and the focus on looks, guys, and people in general are much more aware now.

 

[Georgie]

We men are ignorant on many things. I think we notice it, but don't care enough until it looks kinda bad. I wouldn't of known about eyebrows,etc if it wasn't for girls pointing it out. Girls are just more observant when it comes to beauty. I think now with social media and the focus on looks, guys, and people in general are much more aware now.

Yeah. I noticed my hair loss 6 months after it started. My hair loss is very aggressive as is the case with diffuse retrograde, but my hair was still thick for ages and ages whilst I was losing hair and I noticed every single change.

 

[Passingthru]

Honestly I’ve always had really long hair so I thought it was a deficiency from bad nutrition while in Africa a few months. But anyways. Have any other gents had success with Finasteride thickening up their hair?