I first noticed something was up with my hair during the summer, noticing a lack of density in my hair after I picked it out with an afro pick and detangling comb. (I'm African American.) Before this point, I had kept my hair in cornrows regularly for over five years, and whenever I had them taken out, my hair would poof out into a large, thick afro type style. An afro is actually a somewhat specific hairstyle that is a lot neater and rounded out than my hair was in it's natural, combed out state. But the "wildness" of it was part of my aesthetic during my 20's.
At first, me and my siblings figured it was traction alopecia, so I stopped getting my hair cornrowed for several months and used Jamaican Black Castor Oil to repair any damage, as well as daily moisturizing and weekly deep conditioning. These methods are used by Black people to heal traction alopecia and they are very effective at that.
But from September to January, I noticed significant thinning in my crown, as well as the top front portion of my head behind my hairline. Strangely enough, my hairline doesn't appear to have receded yet, at least not in a cosmetically significant way. I'm not sure how the thinning was able to progress to such a degree without me or my siblings noticing, since they helped me take care of my hair and braided it into a less tension causing style. I think it may have been concealed by my hair's long length until it became bad enough to be noticeable. And my father told me that his hair began thinning when he was about my age (32), before going bald. So, perhaps the lack of density I noticed last summer was my hair just starting to noticeably miniaturize.
My hair loss has been particularly distressing since I am non-binary/androgynous, one of the main reasons why I grew my hair out was as a way to affirm my identity in a way that would not raise questions. So, the possibility of losing my hair is causing a great deal of dysphoria, especially just when I was at a point where I felt I could start to fully embrace my identity.
I started taking Finasteride in late January as a way to, hopefully, preserve as many follicles as I can while I figure out what to do, long term. I am considering HRT not just as a means of keeping my hair and bringing back density, as well as fostering growth, but I am also considering HRT as a possible way to affirm my identity. Right now, I am simply in the plotting stage, and likely won't see a doctor about HRT until the Fall. Reading through the thread, I don't see many downsides to the hormonal route other than the possibility that it may not work for me. I have yet to see another person of African descent try the HRT route, or even consider it. So, I have no idea how afro textured hair would respond to it.
