Hair Recovery As A Trans Woman Before/after Hormones (i Also Have Some Questions About Recent Loss).

[Shae]

TL;DR: Below is progress I have made with pics. I listed my regimen. I want to switch some of my routine up and have some questions for veterans afterwards.


Hey Y'all. Never posted here before Here's a little bit about me, and then I have some questions.

• I am a 32 year old MTF trans woman
• Been on hormone replacement therapy since 8-15-18 (spironolactone + estradiol injections + progesterone)
• been battling intense hairloss and have been on Finasteride since I was 17. Its genetic problems mostly.
• i've had 2000 grafts transplanted to my temples only (feminization effort).

Progress I've Made:

HERE I AM TODAY (3/15/19)

1. Here I am at my worst. I was only on 1mg of daily Finasteride at that time (all the dates on Instagram are accurate.
2. Here's the progress I made with just over the counter efforts over a few months. Rogaine, finasteride, laser helmet and supplements (See next section). I was able to style my hair again, albeit hiding the thin bits with creativity.
3. This is what I was left with! Maintaining what was left. When its buzzed like this (getting ready for hair transplant) you can see everything I had been hiding.
4. Here is a shot of the hair transplant. most of the hairs went to my temples, but we put a little on top to move my hairline a bit forward (I dont think it is dense enough but we will see)
5. Here's the progress hormone therapy made (you can see the front where my hairs were transplanted have not really come in yet, this is all HRT).
6. Here's a little more HRT progress and my temples are starting to show the transplant hairs.
7. Here is the transplant totally rounding out what HRT isn't. BTW it cost 8k USD for 2000 hairs.
   
8. This was me a few weeks ago, bed-head.

My Initial Over-the-Counter Regimen:

• Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc supplement, daily (my seizure medication makes me deficient)
• Fish Oil 300mg Omega 3, daily
• Vitamin D3 and E, daily
• Rogaine Foam, 2x daily (most important I have found)
• MSM 1000mg, 4x daily (super important, hair grows very fast, helped my back)
• "Hairfluence" Supplement (Biotin + a whole bunch of other good stuff in one daily dose. this helped a lot)
• "Propidren" natural DHT blocker, daily
• iRestore Laser Helmet, 20 mins every other day.

My Initial Rx Regimen:

• Finasteride 1mg morning / 1mg evening

My Current Rx Regimen:

• Dutasteride 0.5mg mornings (new 4/3/19)
• Finasteride 1mg evenings
• ** Oral Minoxidil (Loniten) 2.5mg daily (I quit topical minoxidil; Rogaine)

My Hormone Regimen as a Transgender MTF:

• Spironolactone, 50mg daily (down from 100mg; Estrogen is suppressing testosterone on its own now)
• DEPO-Estradiol injections bi-weekly
• Progesterone 100mg nightly (this gave my hair superpowers)

Essentially, my hormone levels are that of a cis-woman post-ovulation* (*due to the progesterone). I have less than 3 pg/dL of testosterone in my body, and high levels of estrogens throughout the week. Since adding progesterone (2 weeks now), my existing hair is growing fuller, softer, quicker.


** A note: I had to quit using Rogaine because my hair got too long and dense to apply it. You can't have women's hairstyles because its like someone dumped a bucket of hairspray on your head. Then trying to brush your hair just rips it out more. Ironic, because 2 weeks after stopping, of course I got massive and terrifying shedding. I begged my dermatologist to let me try Loniten, and explained that I am on Spironiolactone anyway. All my doctors know, and my blood pressure is fine. Obviously I do not mind boobs and that's the point.


UPDATES:

(4/3/19) Questions answered. Stopping Propidren supplement. Adding in dutasteride, so the new combo will be finasteride 1mg / dutasteride 0.5mg daily

 

[crikey1980]

Excellent progress,what treatment apart from the transplant do you think helped the most ?

 

[Shae]

Excellent progress,what treatment apart from the transplant do you think helped the most ?

Honestly the transplant just feminized things. The best things for me are Minoxidil and the Hairfluence supplement i linked.

 

[michel sapin]

did you get gyno while you were only on finasteride? Finasteride only didn't maitain your hair?
what is your current oestrogen level (pg/ml)?
DO you think duta cause gyno quite often?
No hypertrichosis or dark circle with loniten?
thanks

 

[Shae]

did you get gyno while you were only on finasteride? Finasteride only didn't maitain your hair?
what is your current oestrogen level (pg/ml)?
DO you think duta cause gyno quite often?
No hypertrichosis or dark circle with loniten?
thanks

finasteride did not give me any negative side effects. no, my hair kept thinning over the years. the only thing that helped it before hormone therapy were the over the counter supplements i mentioned.

i get DEPO-estradiol injections, so my levels are spiked and drop over 2 weeks. My midline levels (1 week in) are 160 pg/mL. At the trough its about 60. The first two days I am like a pregnant woman in regards to estrogen levels.

i literally just took my first dose of dutasteride so I cant comment on gyno. HRT does that for me so I wouldnt know even if it did.

no bad S/e with Loniten, no. I had blood pressure measured today; normal.



*** I also started PRP today