Diffuse, You Lose. My Thoughts On Diffuse Thinning.

[Jeju]

Since I started finasteride one year ago, I've been (naturally) obsessing over pictures of my hair from the past, as far back as 2011 - sure enough I can see early signs of thinning, but didn't have a clue then. I've also started to remember times when I was clearly shedding abnormal amounts of hairs but didn't act on it because my hairline and crown remained the same, and because my hair was so thick there was never any real cosmetic difference even when the shed hairs were slowly attacked by dht and ultimately grew back thinner - not for at least 5 years anyway, but even at that stage I could grow out my hair and would appear to not have male pattern baldness, and of course, out of sight out of mind.
This is why diffuse thinning is so sneaky. You literally wake up one day with a very visible scalp and you say to yourself "how the hell did that happen?" when really, deep down, you've know for the last X amount of years what the hell was happening.
Now let's say you jump on finasteride when you're no longer in denial or you start to see a real cosmetic difference. If you've been thinning for many years, that's a lot of hairs raped by dht, and that means one helluva shed. I've been shedding for 6 months now and it's been HARD.
I remember back in 2013 constantly plucking hairs from my scalp and telling my ex "i'm balding" but because my hair was always long and curly it seemed to stay strong, until about the beginning of 2017 that is. If I had jumped on finasteride back then there would have been less of a shed for sure. However I do understand finasteride isn't an easy decision.

I guess my point is this, we all know our bodies best. If you think you're balding, you probably are. If you want to keep your hair, act immediately.

 

[Pixie]

On the bright side, you diffuse guys get the best shots at recovery.

 

[Red October]

This is why diffuse thinning is so sneaky. You literally wake up one day with a very visible scalp and you say to yourself "how the hell did that happen?" when really, deep down, you've know for the last X amount of years what the hell was happening.

I hear ya. Diffuse is sneaky. I would say my hair-loss wasn't overly noticeable until about 5 years ago. I was losing but it wasn't so bad. Then within a couple of years it progressed quite badly. I was losing a lot at the hairline as well as generally diffusing. Hard to take. When you know you're losing and you say it to friends, they say "no it's fine", or "it's not bad" but you know that it's only going to keep going and get worse. Then when it reaches the stage where it's more noticeable everyone is saying "oh you've lost a lot", "you're losing a bit on top" etc. And you feel a bit cheated because you knew for a long time when they were saying it was fine. Anyway, the best thing is get on treatments and pray that they work.

I've been on finasteride for two and half years with a break of 6 months. I've been on minoxidil properly since April this year. Also, derma-rolling for absorption since the summer but with proper derma-roller since last month. Starting to see progress. I think what's hard is other people's views because you could think you're doing badly and they say it's looking good but you don't know whether to trust them as they don't really understand hair-loss the way we do. Conversely they say you're losing but you may actually be seeing progress but it hasn't come to fruition yet.

 

[Jeju]

Hey @Red October How did the finasteride go when you used it solo? And why did you quit for 6 months?

 

[MKP05]

Do you think there is value in derma rolling for minoxidil absorption or is it only worthwhile if you commit to wounding? I started minoxidil 3 months before I started finasteride but I wish I’d held off because I don’t know if it’s the minoxidil which caused the increased thinning or the finasteride. I’m too far along to stop either but I’m still only applying minoxidil to the hairline. Since my left temple is still far worse than anywhere else I was thinking of adding a derma pen to that area only since I’ve got the most to gain and the least to lose.

 

[Red October]

Hey @Red October How did the finasteride go when you used it solo? And why did you quit for 6 months?

Hi. I didn't see much result from finasteride alone. I used it for two years. I think it just about maintained what I had. I saw my crown in a changing room and was quite thin on top. I felt discouraged and decided it wasn't doing any good. I decided I would try minoxidil instead and see if I got any results. After a few months, I thought I was seeing some progress so I decided to start finasteride again last June or so. I'm starting to see some real progress now on both and with derma-rolling as well, I think things will keep improving. It's slow progress but when my hair is dry it really looks a lot better and thicker. Some people have commented that I have more hair. When damp it's still quite thin though.

 

[Jeju]

Maintaining for two years sounds good, no? I know exactly what you mean, I saw the top of my head in a changing room at the weekend and I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but luckily we're not under that bright lighting all day - changing room are the worst! I wonder if our hair looked that sh*t 5 years ago in a changing room but we didn't notice it or care because thinning wasn't a concern then?
Regardless, I'm glad you're having success with the three now. I personally don't want to use minoxidil on my head, but I know it's powerful stuff. I used it on my thin and patchy beard(can't believe I have a sh*t beard and thinning hair lol) and the stuff double my thickness and filled in gaps in 2.5 months. However I stopped because I was travelling. It all fell out.
Derma rolling is something I will include. I've read only good things.

 

[Red October]

Maintaining for two years sounds good, no? I know exactly what you mean, I saw the top of my head in a changing room at the weekend and I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but luckily we're not under that bright lighting all day - changing room are the worst! I wonder if our hair looked that sh*t 5 years ago in a changing room but we didn't notice it or care because thinning wasn't a concern then?
Regardless, I'm glad you're having success with the three now. I personally don't want to use minoxidil on my head, but I know it's powerful stuff. I used it on my thin and patchy beard(can't believe I have a sh*t beard and thinning hair lol) and the stuff double my thickness and filled in gaps in 2.5 months. However I stopped because I was travelling. It all fell out.
Derma rolling is something I will include. I've read only good things.

Yeah, I suppose maintaining is ok. I really needed more density though and I had never considered using minoxidil. I thought the hassle was too much. When you start seeing results though it changes everything. As per a lot of threads on here, the derma-rolling and minoxidil seems to be the ticket for growth and thickening. Then the finasteride works to keep DHT at bay.

 

[CrownBalding]

Yeah, I suppose maintaining is ok. I really needed more density though and I had never considered using minoxidil. I thought the hassle was too much. When you start seeing results though it changes everything. As per a lot of threads on here, the derma-rolling and minoxidil seems to be the ticket for growth and thickening. Then the finasteride works to keep DHT at bay.

Any pics? Before and after? I’m thinking about starting minoxidil because after 6 months of finasteride I’m still losing a lot. I would’ve been happy with maintaining but now I hate my hair situation

 

[MKP05]

I just ordered the derminator. Site says it could take up to 3 months to receive it in the US which is a bummer. I can now clearly see the top of my head even with dry longer hair which hasn’t been cut for 4 weeks. I absolutely know for sure I’m losing ground daily since you couldn’t see my scalp with dry hair the last time I got it cut and was shorter. Due to get it cut again and I’m now dreading how much will be showing. It might also be time to add minoxidil beyond the hairline...something I’d been holding off doing for the last 6 months (as there was no need 6 months ago).

 

[Red October]

Any pics? Before and after? I’m thinking about starting minoxidil because after 6 months of finasteride I’m still losing a lot. I would’ve been happy with maintaining but now I hate my hair situation

I can't remember all your situation but from my experience using the two together seem to be working. I'll post some in the new year. As I say when dry my hair is looking much better and I can see progress. Still plenty of room to improve though.

 

[Oscar66]

On the bright side, you diffuse guys get the best shots at recovery.

Ed Zachary...

 

[manda]

Hey guys,

I just saw this thread and it's like the perfect description of my hair loss story as well. Here's my story:

When I was 19 I had so fuckin thick hairs that every barber asked me whether he should make it a bit less thick. That sh*t on my head was so thick that I actually got bullied in school at the age of 17 because of that haha. I was like the next f*****g Benicio del Toro...

Today I'm 26 years old. I first noticed my hairloss in March 2018 when I cut my long hairs off. However, when I go through old pics I can slight diffuse thinning since I turned 21. Diffuse thinning is so sad and funny at the same time. The day before I noticed it, I felt like a hair god and the next day I was thinking I'll be bald within the next 6 months. My hair is still okay and nobody noticed my hairloss so far. There are still people telling me that I have great hair but I'm loosing ground. Slowly but I'm loosing unfortunately. I had acne since I was 18 and I decided to take 10mg/day Isotretinoin for 1 year at the age of 25. It made my skin clean but I think it had a bad impact on my hair afterwards. I never noticed hairloss during this treatment because my hair looked really good when I was taking Iso. It makes not only your skin dry but also your hair. So I had really dry hair for a year whick makes it look thicker. On top of that I let my hair grow for a year which made it impossible for me to spot hairloss during this time. After my Iso therapy my skin remained clean but it became oily again. My hair as well. After cutting my hair short, I finally had this one moment everyone of us have. You see the f*****g scalp and you freak out. Since then I'm dealing every day with this sh*t and it doesn't leave me alone. I was on a study abroad when I noticed it, so I couldn't start with treatments immediately. Once back home I made my research and found this forum which was very helpful. I learnt how I can fight hairloss. I read a lot of articles and research papers and I came up with the conclusion that you need to block DHT if you want to fight hair loss in the long run. The last 2 months I was telling myself maybe I dont have male pattern baldness and I'm just freaking out too much. I made appointments at dermatologist and they told me that I might have hairloss but it's very early stage and if I really want to do sth about it I should just use Regaine. That was pretty bullshit to me because I already made up my mind that I need to jump on finasteride if I decide to take actions against it. I started to see futher signs of hairloss I never paid attention to like scalp stitches, oily hair, slight change of hair colour and I was able to pull out easily hairs. Finally I decided to jump on finasteride a week ago and will first assess its impact after 3-6 months. I'm also washing my hair with nizoral 2x/week. Then I'll decide to add Minoxidil if necessary.

Hair loss sucks so much and is influencing you a lot once you noticed it. Especially when you're in your 20s. Once noticed in March 2018, I immediately felt like 5 years older and since then also started to act a bit "older" to be honest. However, I thought a lot about hair loss and my way of dealing with it so far. I can say that it's affecting my psychology not that much anymore. If I go bald, then it is like that and I can't change it. That's life. I'm working out 5x/week for the last 6 years and built up a great body. I finished university with a really good degree and got a well paid job. If I loose my hair, I still have my body and my mind to be proud of. There was a time, where I was thinking hairs are everything and loosing them means you loose everything you have. But that's not true. There are so many other things a man can have to impress himself or girls. There are so many guys out there with a full head of hair but would never geat good looking gitls. On the other side, there are a lot of guys with significant hair loss and have reall good looking girls. Yes, hair loss is tragic but it shouldn't dominate your life. I still can say that I had a full head of hair during university time which will be without any doubt the best part of my life. There are so many other poor guys out there, who have to deal with aggressive hair loss in their early 20s. I'm really sorry for these guys since I'm dealing myself with that sh*t. So yes, I will fight it but I won't make it to a big part of my daily life. Fighting hair loss also means to fight its impact on your psychology. I would say this is even more important than actually saving your hair.

So that was pretty long but it was nice to write it down. Best of luck boys!

 

[I could hair less]

On the bright side, you diffuse guys get the best shots at recovery.

how so??

 

[Oscar66]

Since I started finasteride one year ago, I've been (naturally) obsessing over pictures of my hair from the past, as far back as 2011 - sure enough I can see early signs of thinning, but didn't have a clue then. I've also started to remember times when I was clearly shedding abnormal amounts of hairs but didn't act on it because my hairline and crown remained the same, and because my hair was so thick there was never any real cosmetic difference even when the shed hairs were slowly attacked by dht and ultimately grew back thinner - not for at least 5 years anyway, but even at that stage I could grow out my hair and would appear to not have male pattern baldness, and of course, out of sight out of mind.
This is why diffuse thinning is so sneaky. You literally wake up one day with a very visible scalp and you say to yourself "how the hell did that happen?" when really, deep down, you've know for the last X amount of years what the hell was happening.
Now let's say you jump on finasteride when you're no longer in denial or you start to see a real cosmetic difference. If you've been thinning for many years, that's a lot of hairs raped by dht, and that means one helluva shed. I've been shedding for 6 months now and it's been HARD.
I remember back in 2013 constantly plucking hairs from my scalp and telling my ex "i'm balding" but because my hair was always long and curly it seemed to stay strong, until about the beginning of 2017 that is. If I had jumped on finasteride back then there would have been less of a shed for sure. However I do understand finasteride isn't an easy decision.

I guess my point is this, we all know our bodies best. If you think you're balding, you probably are. If you want to keep your hair, act immediately.

Yes. 100% "If you think you are balding, you probably are."
Countless times we see guys asking "Am I balding? Maybe its this? Maybe its that? Really? You think I'm balding? But but but..."

 

[Pixie]

Yes. 100% "If you think you are balding, you probably are."
Countless times we see guys asking "Am I balding? Maybe its this? Maybe its that? Really? You think I'm balding? But but but..."

"It's j-just a mature hairline, I swear!"

 

[I could hair less]

Since I started finasteride one year ago, I've been (naturally) obsessing over pictures of my hair from the past, as far back as 2011 - sure enough I can see early signs of thinning, but didn't have a clue then. I've also started to remember times when I was clearly shedding abnormal amounts of hairs but didn't act on it because my hairline and crown remained the same, and because my hair was so thick there was never any real cosmetic difference even when the shed hairs were slowly attacked by dht and ultimately grew back thinner - not for at least 5 years anyway, but even at that stage I could grow out my hair and would appear to not have male pattern baldness, and of course, out of sight out of mind.
This is why diffuse thinning is so sneaky. You literally wake up one day with a very visible scalp and you say to yourself "how the hell did that happen?" when really, deep down, you've know for the last X amount of years what the hell was happening.
Now let's say you jump on finasteride when you're no longer in denial or you start to see a real cosmetic difference. If you've been thinning for many years, that's a lot of hairs raped by dht, and that means one helluva shed. I've been shedding for 6 months now and it's been HARD.
I remember back in 2013 constantly plucking hairs from my scalp and telling my ex "i'm balding" but because my hair was always long and curly it seemed to stay strong, until about the beginning of 2017 that is. If I had jumped on finasteride back then there would have been less of a shed for sure. However I do understand finasteride isn't an easy decision.

I guess my point is this, we all know our bodies best. If you think you're balding, you probably are. If you want to keep your hair, act immediately.

did you see improvement from Finasteride

 

[Jeju]

@manda good luck bro!

@I could hair less No, and I’ve decided to quit once and for all. Sorry guys, I wish you lots of success with your treatments, but I need to follow my gut - one year on finasteride now and my hair is much worse.
When my shed first hit my libido went through the roof and my skin was oily. Bad news for me. I hoped this was just a shed but I’m sure it’s not. I’m continuously shedding terminal hairs now. No thin ones left lol
There’s seems to be a lot of users who experience accelerated hair loss, so @MKP05 losing ground daily doesn’t sound good mate. How long have you been shedding?

@manda your attitude about hitting the gym and being proud of your body is really the mind set to go with here. I honestly think Finasteride is terrible for our bodies, and long term will be disastrous.
I’m desperate like all you guys. I could try upping the dose of finasteride or trying dutasteride, but after thinning while taking a drug for hairloss, when shedding isn’t even listed as a side affect, makes me wonder what else Merik aren’t telling us.

I’m hate to sound like a Debby downer, and the truth is, if I knew this drug would thicken my hair, back to even the way it was when I started the drug, I would risk all future sides, because I am the same as every other guy on finasteride. But risking sides taking a drug that’s accelerating my hair loss - well that’s just mental lol

I’ve read posts from guys claiming there “shed” grew back after dropping finasteride but I’ve also read ones where guys had no regrowth and continued shedding.
I will post updates on here.

I bought some supplements called ‘regrow’ by vistra, when I was in Bangkok last week. Apparently it’s a great hair sup. That plus my new derma roller....

Fingers crossed.

Good luck everyone