finasteride for very long hair. (~Waist-Length)

[daredevil14]

NW2 here with loss only at the temples + retrograde alopecia (thin sides and nap). I have waist-length curly hair that is naturally thin and appears to be more thin thanks to the stupid retrograde alopecia.

Anyway, this is about finasteride here. I've been taking it for 4 months now (+minoxidil for 3 weeks just applied on the the temples, thin sides and nap). While almost all people here who take finasteride and experience any regrowth/thickening can manage to notice any visual improvement within 6 to 12 months, I wonder if it is the same thing for long hair? I mean, technically, to experience a thickening in my ponytail, it should take 3 to 5 years, right? Especially that my hair is very long now and it needs that period to get to that length again.

How do you guys evaluate this? Am I thinking correctly? Almost everything about long hair seems delayed. (Delayed visual thickening, delayed maintenance time, delayed fallout if finasteride is stopped, etc...)

 

[marcos72]

You should look at hair next to your scalp. Thickening may be visible in hair that you already have, just at the beginning of each hair and new hair will help you cover those areas. Obviously it's going to take a while until you see it on your ponytail.
My dermatologist told me to keep always my hair short, not because results will be visible before but because it will be stronger too. Not too much brushing or combing can help too but I understand if you want to keep it long.

 

[daredevil14]

Thanks Marcos for the reply. Yeah sounds like a good way to assess the results, although my scalp is almost entirely normal (except temples).

As for the ponytail thickening, yeah I guess, gotta wait... As for cutting it, 'd never think about doing so. In fact, if I ever decide to cut it, I don't think that I will ever care about going bald and/or treatment anymore. For me, it's either a head of long hair (I mean really long) or just the average balding guy who doesn't care anymore!

Any long hair people here? (Past shoulder-length)

 

[violetfluff]

Any long hair people here? (Past shoulder-length)

Yup, and the heavy shedding (clogging the shower drain) that started 3-4weeks after starting finasteride was very depressing combined with sleep deprivation (Temp. side effect), 7-8 weeks later I reached the pre-balding shed rate and now feeling much better.
Didn't go with minnox due to not wanting to put **** in my hair, my sister has that for her balding.

 

[daredevil14]

Yup, and the heavy shedding (clogging the shower drain) that started 3-4weeks after starting finasteride was very depressing combined with sleep deprivation (Temp. side effect), 7-8 weeks later I reached the pre-balding shed rate and now feeling much better.
Didn't go with minnox due to not wanting to put **** in my hair, my sister has that for her balding.

You're a guy right? I've been through extreme chronic stress for the past what like 7, 8 years? I think that this has greatly affected my hairloss especially the thinning sides and nap. However, my shedding is extremely normal. I have curly hair, this means that I usually lose hair when wet-combing only. With 1 hair shower per week, I lose between 400 and 700 hair which falls in the normal range. (50 to 100 hair per day)

Starting finasteride has not affected my shedding in general, I hope this isn't a bad sign. As for minoxidil, I am only applying it on a the mostly balding temples so this means that there won't be any shedding since it's almost a bare land (apart from some miniaturized hairs which a few already shed, I hope this is due to finasteride and not minoxidil since they only shed after 2 weeks I started minoxidil while also being for 4 months on finasteride).

As for my thinning sides (retrograde alopecia), I have yet to discover the actual cause behind it, whether it is androgenic or not and whether it will respond to both finasteride and minoxidil or not. Bare temples aren't a big issue but thinning sides and nap are since they make my ponytail thinner...

So on which Norwood level are you now? How did finasteride end up helping you? Assuming that you have started it in more than a year, how did you notice the regrowth, if any? Have it thickened your ponytail or not yet?

 

[violetfluff]

Yeah, I'm a guy, lack of shedding is not a bad sign. I keep trying to theorize why finasteride would cause a shed the first place e.g. hormonal shock causing telogen effluivium or stimulating hair growth an thus premature ejection of telogen hair. Many get good results without shedding so don't worry about that. Odds are 90% of men will see a benefit from it so the odds are in your favour.
I'm NW2 but at age I 38 am now shedding hairs diffusely over a NW6 area whereas my father was a NW3 at age 25 but progressed to an NW6 to the age 50 and some uncles went to an NW6 at <25. Mother's side is unknown as my grandfather was an interloper and died young too via suicide, no pictures.