Hair gotten much thinner after 4 month on Finasteride (What should I do?)

[kopiko4]

I just went through as massive shed, accompanied with a big libido spike. I think several factors have contributed to an increase in T, especially in the last month. From supplements (protein, ashwaghanda, zinc), increased dose of topical finasteride, and taking up weight lifting. I quit all of those and the my massive shed of the last two weeks literally stopped right after.

Looking at my monthly progress pictures, I see how bad my hair has gotten in terms of thickness. All of my scalp hair has gotten thinner! Had not noticed this before as I was mainly tracking the number of hairs a gained from the minoxidil. But now I see how previously strong hairs have gotten much thinner!

I think, in general, my hair is quite sensitive to androgens. I had T and DHT bloodwork done before starting finasteride about 4 months ago, and both values were in the middle of the normal ranges, maybe slightly below. I'm 24 years old at the moment, started balding at 18/19 looking at old pictures. First time I notied it was at age 20.

I hope to regain the hairs I have lost during this shed and grow my hair thicker again. However, should I still use finasteride for this? Should I microdose? I will definititely continue with minoxidil and dermarolling. Any other things I can add/change to have a most favorable recovery?

Has anyone had a similar experience? Or came across stories of others that did? What did you/they do that improve or stabilize their hair quality?

TLDR: Hair count increased at first from using minoxidil, but overall thickness has definetly declined after starting topical finasteride. Aside from finasteride, various other factors likely to have raised T level in recent months. Overall, I think my hair follicles are quite sensitive to androgens (incl. T). Dropped all factors that could've raised T. Should I stop finasteride or microdose? Will certainly continue minoxidil and dermarolling? Other recommendations?

 

[inmyhead]

Pictures?

 

[kopiko4]

Started finasteride around the time the first picture was made. Around mid January, I noticed a difference in quality of latest growth (dry, brittle and thinner) and also a gradual increase in hairs shedding. You can see the difference in hair quality in the 3rd and 4th picture (before and after haircut). In the last two weeks of February, I had a big shed.

 

[inmyhead]

I'd continue if I were you. I believe the camera angle in first and last pictures is a little bit different.

 

[kopiko4]

I'd continue if I were you. I believe the camera angle in first and last pictures is a little bit different.

Agree, angle, lightning and length are not consistent.

However, I'm certain the quality and thickness has declined rapidly once I added finasteride. Also, previously thick hairs that are now falling out have tapered down quite a bit. And if hair growth is indeed about half an inch per month, then I can certainly see how they have thinned in the period I upped the dose (mid Jan to end Feb). Also the difference between the before and after haircut show how the hair quality decreased...

If I now put my hand on my hair, it feels much weaker tahn ever before. Sure, this is because of the shed in the last two weeks of Feb, but also because of the hair quality that went down. After my haircut, I already felt as if the quality had gone down. But the density had increased compared to november. So didn't worry too much about it and wasn't convinced about the hairs thinning.

 

[kopiko4]

Here's another image. First frame is the day I started treatment, which was only minoxidil. Second frame is 6 days after adding topical finasteride to my regimen. Last frame is how my hair looks now!

Again, I know angle and lightning aren't consistent, but it's the best I have.

 

[trialAcc]

When did you start taking minoxidil? 6 months ago? It's very likely you are going through either a finasteride or min related shed, but probably finasteride seeing as you're in that 3-6 month window that the majority of people who see major sheds get them.

I wouldn't adjust anything, seeing that you're 4 months in. Playing with the dosage just causes changes in your hormones, and you probably want them as stable as possible anyways. If you keep declining as you near 1 year, that's when you should start to look into changing things up or adding. The good news is you seemed to have responded to min in general, so you probably can regain some density with continued use.

Do you have product in your hair in the last picture? I'm seeing lots of white flakes which would probably mean your scalp is overly dry/inflamed.

 

[kopiko4]

When did you start taking minoxidil? 6 months ago? It's very likely you are going through either a finasteride or min related shed, but probably finasteride seeing as you're in that 3-6 month window that the majority of people who see major sheds get them.

I wouldn't adjust anything, seeing that you're 4 months in. Playing with the dosage just causes changes in your hormones, and you probably want them as stable as possible anyways. If you keep declining as you near 1 year, that's when you should start to look into changing things up or adding. The good news is you seemed to have responded to min in general, so you probably can regain some density with continued use.

Do you have product in your hair in the last picture? I'm seeing lots of white flakes which would probably mean your scalp is overly dry/inflamed.

Thanks for your reply.

Let me make a clear overview of my regimen:
1 Sept - now: Ketoconazol shampoo (2 times a week)
25 Sept - now: Minoxidil 5% (1 or 2 times a day) (Alternating between lotion and foam to keep dandruff in check)
10 Oct - now: Dermarolling (once a week)
31 Oct - now: Topical Finasteride (Essengen-F) 1mg-2mg (once daily)

So yes, I started minoxidil almost six months ago. Indeed, the 5% liquid with PPG causes my scalp to flake, so that's why I try to alternate with Kirkland foam every now and then. No other product used in last pic. I think that part of my shed was caused by the minoxidil liquid and scalp flaking. I think that the minoxidil liquid has partly contributed to my recent shed/loss of density. But what worries me the most is that my hair thickness and quality has taken such a beating ever since starting and incautiously upping the topical finasteride. Hair is much thinner and dull-looking and it really seems to correlate with my finasteride usage. This, in combination with other RH/hormonal Telogen Effluvium symptoms.

I did a fair amount of reading before starting finasteride was aware of the adverse side effects (sexual and psychological), but not of the fact that finasteride can apparently make your hair worse in terms of thickness. What I found was something like a 86% success rate, with about two thirds of users witnessing improvements and one third stabilizing. None of it mentioned accellerated male pattern baldness, so I assumed that the other 14% simply did not respond and that male pattern baldness took its normal course.

Taking care of my scalp now and the flaking is reducing. Not sure if I can afford to keep declining at this rate and wait for the one-year mark. Planning to graduate in a few months and might need to look a bit presentable when applying for a job. Also, beard hasn't fully developed yet, so I can't compensate with that.. Will definitely continue with minoxidil for both scalp and facial hair.

 

[trialAcc]

Thanks for your reply.

Let me make a clear overview of my regimen:
1 Sept - now: Ketoconazol shampoo (2 times a week)
25 Sept - now: Minoxidil 5% (1 or 2 times a day) (Alternating between lotion and foam to keep dandruff in check)
10 Oct - now: Dermarolling (once a week)
31 Oct - now: Topical Finasteride (Essengen-F) 1mg-2mg (once daily)

So yes, I started minoxidil almost six months ago. Indeed, the 5% liquid with PPG causes my scalp to flake, so that's why I try to alternate with Kirkland foam every now and then. No other product used in last pic. I think that part of my shed was caused by the minoxidil liquid and scalp flaking. I think that the minoxidil liquid has partly contributed to my recent shed/loss of density. But what worries me the most is that my hair thickness and quality has taken such a beating ever since starting and incautiously upping the topical finasteride. Hair is much thinner and dull-looking and it really seems to correlate with my finasteride usage. This, in combination with other RH/hormonal Telogen Effluvium symptoms.

I did a fair amount of reading before starting finasteride was aware of the adverse side effects (sexual and psychological), but not of the fact that finasteride can apparently make your hair worse in terms of thickness. What I found was something like a 86% success rate, with about two thirds of users witnessing improvements and one third stabilizing. None of it mentioned accellerated male pattern baldness, so I assumed that the other 14% simply did not respond and that male pattern baldness took its normal course.

Taking care of my scalp now and the flaking is reducing. Not sure if I can afford to keep declining at this rate and wait for the one-year mark. Planning to graduate in a few months and might need to look a bit presentable when applying for a job. Also, beard hasn't fully developed yet, so I can't compensate with that.. Will definitely continue with minoxidil for both scalp and facial hair.

Dude I see you posting everywhere that your hair got thinner after starting topical finasteride, yet you're under 6 months into your entire regimen. You're shedding could be 100% attributable to the minoxidil, the rolling (yes rolling creates sheds too), the finasteride, or a combination of all 3. You need to be patient and wait it out, and don't start changing things around as you freak out over the shedding because that will only make things worse.

I had doom sheds when I started finasteride by itself, nevermind minoxidil which pretty much wrecks peoples heads. Stop making up stuff and freaking yourself out about RHA/Telogen Effluvium when you are just going through the normal course of treatment. Keep your entire regimen consistent for 1 year and then judge results. Only make changes if you're actually getting scalp irritation from the min or rolling, then definitely switch brands/methods.

 

[kopiko4]

Dude I see you posting everywhere that your hair got thinner after starting topical finasteride, yet you're under 6 months into your entire regimen. You're shedding could be 100% attributable to the minoxidil, the rolling (yes rolling creates sheds too), the finasteride, or a combination of all 3. You need to be patient and wait it out, and don't start changing things around as you freak out over the shedding because that will only make things worse.

I had doom sheds when I started finasteride by itself, nevermind minoxidil which pretty much wrecks peoples heads. Stop making up stuff and freaking yourself out about RHA/Telogen Effluvium when you are just going through the normal course of treatment. Keep your entire regimen consistent for 1 year and then judge results. Only make changes if you're actually getting scalp irritation from the min or rolling, then definitely switch brands/methods.

No spamming intended. Posting simply because I'd prefer to make the right decision at this stage. Agreed, no one can predict, but I hope to base my decision on other users their experiences and their potential updates. I'm simply trying to benefit from and contribute to information exchange, which I assume is the aim of a forum, right? Hope you can understand.

Again, it's not neccessarily only the shedding that I fear so much. It is more the rapid thinning that I've experienced ever since the 4 months that I've been on finasteride. Never had that before, was only a NW3 receder with perhaps the slightest of vertex thinning starting to show. Combined with the shedding and other 'sides' I experienced recently, I'm simply afraid it will grow back much thinner.

 

[trialAcc]

No spamming intended. Posting simply because I'd prefer to make the right decision at this stage. Agreed, no one can predict, but I hope to base my decision on other users their experiences and their potential updates. I'm simply trying to benefit from and contribute to information exchange, which I assume is the aim of a forum, right? Hope you can understand.

Again, it's not neccessarily only the shedding that I fear so much. It is more the rapid thinning that I've experienced ever since the 4 months that I've been on finasteride. Never had that before, was only a NW3 receder with perhaps the slightest of vertex thinning starting to show. Combined with the shedding and other 'sides' I experienced recently, I'm simply afraid it will grow back much thinner.

I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but you need to realize this isn't an unbiased place to gather user experiences on. 99% of people who have positive experiences and recover from sheds move on from these forums. What's left are the outliers who have had problems or are looking for new treatment options like hair transplants or research chemicals. If you spend too long on this forum, you're suddenly left thinking that finasteride/min are side effect ridden and ineffective drugs that do more damage then good, when the opposite is the actual reality. Like you said 80%+ success rate at the 2-5 year mark for finasteride alone.

You posted your pictures from Nov 1st. You've got clear thinning from the mid-scalp/crown area, far beyond "slightly thinning". To me you're slightly behind where you were there for sure, but again, you're in the period where most people find themselves under baseline. If your hair is so sensitive that T is going to wipe it out, then the only treatments that will help you are topical AAs, none of which are overly easy to source and all come with their fair share of risks. Not many people who aren't doing things like hormone protocols for body building are so sensitive to androgens that even T will wipe their hair out. If that were the case then the DHT alone would vaporize your hair.

 

[Zwillard90]

View attachment 159269
Here's another image. First frame is the day I started treatment, which was only minoxidil. Second frame is 6 days after adding topical finasteride to my regimen. Last frame is how my hair looks now!

Again, I know angle and lightning aren't consistent, but it's the best I have.

this looks promising if you ask me. The 3rd photo appears to have some growth IMO. I would stay on course

 

[kopiko4]

I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but you need to realize this isn't an unbiased place to gather user experiences on. 99% of people who have positive experiences and recover from sheds move on from these forums. What's left are the outliers who have had problems or are looking for new treatment options like hair transplants or research chemicals. If you spend too long on this forum, you're suddenly left thinking that finasteride/min are side effect ridden and ineffective drugs that do more damage then good, when the opposite is the actual reality. Like you said 80%+ success rate at the 2-5 year mark for finasteride alone.

You posted your pictures from Nov 1st. You've got clear thinning from the mid-scalp/crown area, far beyond "slightly thinning". To me you're slightly behind where you were there for sure, but again, you're in the period where most people find themselves under baseline. If your hair is so sensitive that T is going to wipe it out, then the only treatments that will help you are topical AAs, none of which are overly easy to source and all come with their fair share of risks. Not many people who aren't doing things like hormone protocols for body building are so sensitive to androgens that even T will wipe their hair out. If that were the case then the DHT alone would vaporize your hair.

Fair enough. I see your point that this is not an unbiased place. I only ended up here after looking for 'symptoms' I experienced when I suddenly realized my hair getting worse.

Perhaps you are somewhat right about seeing some thinning in the picture from early November. I'd like to mention that it seems worse because that was the area (together with the temples) where I was selectively applying minoxidil. In those areas, my scalp had become visible form the minoxidil shed, especially with a relatively short haircut.

Good to know that topical AA's might help me later on. And I guess your point about body builders is reassuring to me. Still, it remains unexplained how every new centimeter of growth is thinner than before. Been balding (receding) since 18. Now age 24, so I'm afraid my case is classified as relatively agressive balding.

 

[trialAcc]

Fair enough. I see your point that this is not an unbiased place. I only ended up here after looking for 'symptoms' I experienced when I suddenly realized my hair getting worse.

Perhaps you are somewhat right about seeing some thinning in the picture from early November. I'd like to mention that it seems worse because that was the area (together with the temples) where I was selectively applying minoxidil. In those areas, my scalp had become visible form the minoxidil shed, especially with a relatively short haircut.

Good to know that topical AA's might help me later on. And I guess your point about body builders is reassuring to me. Still, it remains unexplained how every new centimeter of growth is thinner than before. Been balding (receding) since 18. Now age 24, so I'm afraid my case is classified as relatively agressive balding.

It's definitely aggressive, most hairloss before 30 is. I just think that no real benefit can come from reading these threads as someone in your position. You took the steps to start treatment, so I'd suggest just sticking to the routine and not looking through threads of people who had problems until you actually know that you have a problem. 3 months from now you could be above baseline, or the same, or worse, but sweating it out here won't change that.

Maybe go to success stories or something, but in here you're not going to get answers from people who were successful, basically only the opposite.

 

[kopiko4]

To be honest, I think I do have a problem, seeing and feeling how my hair quality had dropped since the finasteride. Anyways, I have an appointment with my derm coming up this week. Only thing is he doesn't know I started finasteride on my own..

 

[trialAcc]

To be honest, I think I do have a problem, seeing and feeling how my hair quality had dropped since the finasteride. Anyways, I have an appointment with my derm coming up this week. Only thing is he doesn't know I started finasteride on my own..

I already said this, but my hair quality dropped significantly when I started finasteride. I shed for 9+ months, improved slightly, then maintained for 6~ years. Only reason I'm here today is because I had to stop finasteride for 3-4 months and now I have a real problem because I can't stop the shedding after starting again. This is why I can't stress enough, do not stop unless you plan to quit. If you're shedding, ride it out.

Same goes for min. Doom shed 3-4 months.

 

[kopiko4]

Visit to my derm was pointless. Wasn't aware of the existence of topical finasteride, nor of the adverse workings of finasteride in general. Young dude, perhaps a few years older than me, had just graduated.. Told me to continue with minoxidil.

To be honest, I'm at rock bottom at this stage. I can say for sure that upregulation does exist and that finasteride has decimated my hair in just a few months. It has become so thin and lifeless, nothing like how male pattern baldness would naturally progress in my family. Had a massive breakdown this morning and don't see how I'm ever going to finish my degree this summer and build a carreer, social life, or a love relationship. This is pushing me over the edge... I've literally spend my whole youth investing into a future by working various jobs and studying my *** off and was finally hoping to start seeing it pay off a bit and ease into a more balanced and happier social life. Based on my experiences last summer, I fear going bald at 24 is gonna rob me of the rest of my youth and further hold off my life.. Sorry for the rant.

I really don't know how I should approach my regimen at this stage.

 

[trialAcc]

Visit to my derm was pointless. Wasn't aware of the existence of topical finasteride, nor of the adverse workings of finasteride in general. Young dude, perhaps a few years older than me, had just graduated.. Told me to continue with minoxidil.

To be honest, I'm at rock bottom at this stage. I can say for sure that upregulation does exist and that finasteride has decimated my hair in just a few months. It has become so thin and lifeless, nothing like how male pattern baldness would naturally progress in my family. Had a massive breakdown this morning and don't see how I'm ever going to finish my degree this summer and build a carreer, social life, or a love relationship. This is pushing me over the edge... I've literally spend my whole youth investing into a future by working various jobs and studying my *** off and was finally hoping to start seeing it pay off a bit and ease into a more balanced and happier social life. Based on my experiences last summer, I fear going bald at 24 is gonna rob me of the rest of my youth and further hold off my life.. Sorry for the rant.

I really don't know how I should approach my regimen at this stage.

Two things;

1. As I said, you cannot say in the slightest that 3-6 months into any treatment has "upregulated" and ruined your hair. You're in the shedding phase man, continue the meds or accept that you're going to be bald. I know its tough to see that when it's happening but these meds are a long term game, and many people are well below baseline at the exact time you are. It's really that simple.

2. As for career/life, a hair forum might not find the same drum of support, BUT as much as it sucks and is psychologically damaging, going bald really isn't the end of the world. It's certainly not the end to any career or dating life unless you allow it to be.

 

[nimdok]

Any update, man?

 

[chromic88]

you should check out this guy, he had the same issues when he was lifting and taking supplements. He has heaps of information on his YT