Given Up With Minoxidil, But Still Using Finasteride

[Balding Boulder]

Since May 2016, I have been taking 1mg of finasteride every day. Up until March 2021, I was also applying minoxidil.

My hair hasn’t really changed in that time. I was 26 then and I’m 32 now, and what you see in the recent photo is also how my hair looked when I started the regimen.

I am aware that finasteride and minoxidil work independently. I’ve also read on many places across the internet that giving up minoxidil is risky because you will lose the minoxidil-dependent hairs over time.

The thing is, given my hair has barely changed, I know that minoxidil hasn’t regrown anything noticeable, so I’m sceptical about how beneficial it was in the first place. I came to the conclusion that finasteride was all I needed.

I plan on getting a hair transplant by age 35. The best I can hope for in the meantime is my hair loss doesn’t get worse. Certainly, I have already demonstrated stabilisation, which is a positive thing.

However, six months have gone by since I gave up minoxidil. Given my circumstances, how risky is it?

 

[BurningCoals]

I pretty much stopped minoxidil in late 2020, and then in early 2021 and went through a huge shed, like I could touch my head and hairs would come out, however they were mainly short miniaturized hairs, and I wouldn't really say my hair was cosmetically any different afterwards (although that's a bit hard to tell since my hair can look passable in one moment and like sh*t in another).

I used the drug for a bit over a year pretty consistently and it helped to maintain for that time (I was balding crazy fast before that) but it didn't give any noticable regrowth. To me it would make sense that if you weren't a great responder to the drug dropping won't cause that much damage, however if you were it will. I wouldn't really think there's gonna be too much damage to your hair especially since it's already been 6 months since you've dropped it, but maybe just monitor the situation just in case.

 

[Balding Boulder]

I've read a lot about how minoxidil and finasteride are independent of each other, but I'm still confused. Surely any hair grown back because of minoxidil is still susceptible to the effects of DHT? Why should minoxidil be needed once the hair has grown back when it's DHT that does the damage?

I'm never quite sure what to believe. Of course, companies are going to tell us we need to keep using their products otherwise X will happen. But I'm interested in the reality of the situation.

 

[BurningCoals]

I've read a lot about how minoxidil and finasteride are independent of each other, but I'm still confused. Surely any hair grown back because of minoxidil is still susceptible to the effects of DHT? Why should minoxidil be needed once the hair has grown back when it's DHT that does the damage?

I'm never quite sure what to believe. Of course, companies are going to tell us we need to keep using their products otherwise X will happen. But I'm interested in the reality of the situation.

Yeah that's kinda confusing. People who have used minoxidil to grow facial hair reports that it stays (at least when it has become thick, terminal hair) after quitting minoxidil, so it's kinda weird that the same wouldn't apply for head hair and that that hair can't be preserved with finasteride. We don't know much about the mechanism of minoxidil afaik so who knows really.

 

[justinbieberscombover]

I pretty much stopped minoxidil in late 2020, and then in early 2021 and went through a huge shed, like I could touch my head and hairs would come out, however they were mainly short miniaturized hairs, and I wouldn't really say my hair was cosmetically any different afterwards (although that's a bit hard to tell since my hair can look passable in one moment and like sh*t in another).

I used the drug for a bit over a year pretty consistently and it helped to maintain for that time (I was balding crazy fast before that) but it didn't give any noticable regrowth. To me it would make sense that if you weren't a great responder to the drug dropping won't cause that much damage, however if you were it will. I wouldn't really think there's gonna be too much damage to your hair especially since it's already been 6 months since you've dropped it, but maybe just monitor the situation just in case.

I'm thinking about dropping minoxidil after 2 months

I think my hair behind the transplant looks a little bit better

But I hate applying it before I go to sleep and how it feels on the scalp

I think it gives me headaches and sh*t sometimes too and I'm scared of skin aging

 

[BurningCoals]

I'm thinking about dropping minoxidil after 2 months

I think my hair behind the transplant looks a little bit better

But I hate applying it before I go to sleep and how it feels on the scalp

I think it gives me headaches and sh*t sometimes too and I'm scared of skin aging

Yeah, minoxidil is pretty inconvenient, tbh it is better to avoid having to use it to begin with. When I used it for my scalp if I used it in high amounts I'd get headaches as well, and in the beginning this itchy feeling, however when I applied it to my face in large amounts I'd get rapid heart beat, shortness of breath, headaches, all that stuff, so I have to limit the amount of minoxidil to use for facial hair.

For my hair I'm planning to use finasteride only for 1-2 years just to see what it can do, and after that I'm maybe considering trying minoxidil again with dermarolling for my hairline. I have this annoying, gross-looking row of miniaturized hair in the NW1-2 area that only grow for a cm or less, I'm curious if minoxidil + rolling can convert them to longer terminal hairs (Ill see what finasteride can do first, but I doubt it'll convert them).

In the end it is really up to the person to decide whether it is worth it. You have a good hairline and while idk how much thinning you have behind it, it doesn't sound that bad, as long as you don't have Friar Tuck hair it isn't the end of the world I feel, though it is definitely better to have thick hair all over. But again you have weigh the pros and cons.

 

[justinbieberscombover]

Yeah, minoxidil is pretty inconvenient, tbh it is better to avoid having to use it to begin with. When I used it for my scalp if I used it in high amounts I'd get headaches as well, and in the beginning this itchy feeling, however when I applied it to my face in large amounts I'd get rapid heart beat, shortness of breath, headaches, all that stuff, so I have to limit the amount of minoxidil to use for facial hair.

For my hair I'm planning to use finasteride only for 1-2 years just to see what it can do, and after that I'm maybe considering trying minoxidil again with dermarolling for my hairline. I have this annoying, gross-looking row of miniaturized hair in the NW1-2 area that only grow for a cm or less, I'm curious if minoxidil + rolling can convert them to longer terminal hairs (Ill see what finasteride can do first, but I doubt it'll convert them).

In the end it is really up to the person to decide whether it is worth it. You have a good hairline and while idk how much thinning you have behind it, it doesn't sound that bad, as long as you don't have Friar Tuck hair it isn't the end of the world I feel, though it is definitely better to have thick hair all over. But again you have weigh the pros and cons.

It's not that bad, my crown is the worst area but even then it has some thin coverage which is a lot better than a completely bald spot

 

[BurningCoals]

It's not that bad, my crown is the worst area but even then it has some thin coverage which is a lot better than a completely bald spot

Well that’s good. I heard you had more grafts left available, do you plan on getting another transplant?

 

[justinbieberscombover]

Well that’s good. I heard you had more grafts left available, do you plan on getting another transplant?

Still thinking about it, it depends on how many grafts I have left.. since I'm not on finasteride ideally I want to wait a few more years to see if my hair situation changes. In this case it'd be smart to preserve these grafts for the future.

 

[BurningCoals]

Still thinking about it, it depends on how many grafts I have left.. since I'm not on finasteride ideally I want to wait a few more years to see if my hair situation changes. In this case it'd be smart to preserve these grafts for the future.

Yeah I agree it's better to wait a bit. Also it may be worth considering planning for the long future, since donor thinning can happen in your 50s and 60s and when you've used well over 7000 grafts it can possibly look more unnatural when there is thinning on top of that ( I'm not completely sure if it will, but it would make sense to me). Although you might not care as much about hair then and have resorted to the just shave it route, but it's worth considering imo.