Does finasteride work for temporal/frontal area?

[dehoha]

I am a 25 year old man, diagnosed with male pattern baldness. My hair was fine until last year, but due to surgery this year, it started fall out a lot.
I have been on finasteride for about 2 weeks now... And I notice my hair thinned/fell out incredibly in 2 weeks.
I realize that this could be due to the infamous shedding, but I am very skeptical of how all these hairs will eventually grow back.
I have a very oily and sensitive scalp. In fact, my entire body is like that.
Would that be a reason why I am experiencing a lot of shedding?
Also, I have tried nizoral, which caused heck a lot of hair loss... at least twice maybe three times as much as the usual.
I tried finasteride to get my temporal and frontal hair back, but at the rate shedding is going, I will have to deal with depression before hair grows back.
Does anybody have a suggestion? Is this normal? I heard some people's shed never came back, which is one thing I am most scared of.
If anybody has a word of advice, please share... Thank you.

 

[rerun]

I think I have/had a similar situation, mainly being that I was already shedding (telogen effluvium) prior to starting Finasteride and it continued after I began Finasteride.

Was your scalp always sensitive? If not, this sensitivity may be a sign that you are going to continue shedding. That's how I can sense a shed that's about to begin. Once it ends or lessens, my scalp no longer feels as sensitive or painful because the loosely attached hairs have been shed/removed.

I've been on it for 2.5 years. Recovery has been slow and questionable (mainly from the sheds, which I loathe). I still have shed periods. The new regrowth has taken a while to cycle to thicker hairs, but it seems to be heading in that direction. If only I could stop the sheds, I feel like I could return to a decent hairstyle/look, because new hairs definitely are coming in.

 

[dehoha]

I think your case is very similar to me rerun. I believe my scalp was always sensitive. It goes same for all areas of my skin. For instance, I have supposedly "thick facial skin," but I am very sensitive to facial products/treatments such as chemical peels, CO2 lasers, harsh acne products, etc.

My shedding severely worsened after I had a knee surgery in June, maybe because I was recovering from the surgery. It has been 4 months since the surgery took place, and my knee is almost recovered, but not fully just yet. It will take at least two more months for the knee to repair fully.

In my honest opinion, surgery was the blame for this massive shedding, but it makes no sense that my body still responds to it after 4 months... So I sought dermatologist and got a finasteride prescription, which I started last week. Ever since, then I see my temporal and frontal area become more empty everyday.

I felt tingling in my scalp after the surgery and it has been going on for 4 months already. I am tired of fighting it back and see no positive result.

I have also used Nizoral recently just once, and could not believe how massive shedding it caused. My hair fell out at least three times as much in just one shower. I realize that Nizoral needs to be used continuously, but for a guy like me with sensitive skin and excess sebum, I do not think it works as well.

I do feel the tingling sensation on and off throughout the day. I plan to visit dermatologist again this coming week to see if finasteride is actually doing harm to me. I really see no point in taking finasteride if I will shed a ton for 2-3 months, then regrow them afterward (or maybe regrowth won't even happen).

Do you have any particular regimen to lessen the shedding or sensitive feeling you were referring to? This is very frustrating and even depressing... I would sincerely appreciate your answer.

 

[rerun]

Look into telogen effluvium (hair shedding). It can be caused by poor dieting (i.e. rapid weight loss), psychological trauma/shock, and surgery. It sounds like you had it from surgery. Supposedly it should resolve itself in time, but I think that since you started Finasteride (which is known to cause sheds), it's possible that you are experiencing two types of sheds at once, which really sucks.

I have been actually thinking about getting on Nizoral, since it's supposed to help with inflammation of the scalp (your scalp may feel sensitive because it's inflamed). When your scalp is inflamed, that can also cause hairs to shed.

It's possible that Nizoral didn't cause the excessive shedding that one time that you used it. Perhaps it just simply sped up the process of dislodging the hairs that were loosely attached and were days away from naturally shedding through agitation.

Sorry for the lack of tips. I'm only on Finasteride right now. Is your scalp producing more sebum than usual, almost like a layer of wax?

 

[dehoha]

I think the dermatologist used the same exact term when I went for a visit. You sure know your terminology! Props for you

No, I do not see a layer of wax yet, but I noticed some flaking is occurring here and there, which started recently. Also, I notice split ends in my hair, more than usual plus some white stuff. I cannot tell what the white stuff is. It is not dandruff because some of these are actually part of the hair. I do not know if anybody experienced a similar white stuff in their hair. And yes, I do notice some dandruff as well, which I did not have for a long time.

Also, when I go to a hair shop, the stylist takes a look at my scalp with a special microscopic camera. I usually go see him every two weeks or so, and every time I visit, my scalp is covered with excess oil.

Do you think finasteride has helped you in the long run? As of now, finasteride doesn't seem to be working at all (I know it's too early to tell, but I am very suspicious of massive shedding) and if only thing it does is shed then regrow, I do not want to spend time/money/effort on this. I am desperate, but trying to find a logical solution. Your answer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rerun]

I think the dermatologist used the same exact term when I went for a visit. You sure know your terminology! Props for you

No, I do not see a layer of wax yet, but I noticed some flaking is occurring here and there, which started recently. Also, I notice split ends in my hair, more than usual plus some white stuff. I cannot tell what the white stuff is. It is not dandruff because some of these are actually part of the hair. I do not know if anybody experienced a similar white stuff in their hair. And yes, I do notice some dandruff as well, which I did not have for a long time.

Also, when I go to a hair shop, the stylist takes a look at my scalp with a special microscopic camera. I usually go see him every two weeks or so, and every time I visit, my scalp is covered with excess oil.

Do you think finasteride has helped you in the long run? As of now, finasteride doesn't seem to be working at all (I know it's too early to tell, but I am very suspicious of massive shedding) and if only thing it does is shed then regrow, I do not want to spend time/money/effort on this. I am desperate, but trying to find a logical solution. Your answer would be greatly appreciated.

I think something like Neutrogena T-Gel can help fight the excess oil and flakiness in your scalp. I used a variation of this and another prescribed shampoo when the shedding first started and my scalp was super oily (weird time because the scalp was oily but the hair was dry and brittle).

The sheds have not helped me in the long run (I guess now they're Finasteride sheds). They're the sole reason I sometimes get a bit emotionally out of it, because I fear that I will one day shed more than I regrow and hair loss will become very obvious to everyone. But I'm predisposed to hereditary hair loss, so I don't know what else I could have done. This is the only reasonable alternative, so I'm just hoping it pays off.

I know I could add Minoxidil, but knowing my habits, I don't think I could follow through on the application for the rest of my life. lol