I have been on topical finasteride + minoxidil 5% foam for at least 4 months now

[killme]

applying it twice daily, barely missed a couple applications only. Overall: My hair is still thinning, I see no results. In fact, my hairline is miniaturizing. I saw what I thought was new hairs being born, these vellus type hairs, but im pretty certain now its actually my hairs being miniaturized. I also had scalp itch for a lot of time (before starting treatment) and when I apply the foam I feel relief for a couple hours, then this refreshed feeling goes to hell after a couple hours because the scalp itch/inflamation comes back. Im also on keto 2% shampoo twice a week. Does nothing.

The only good part is I haven't had any sides. Actually I dont know if my forehead skin quality is getting ****tier due the minoxidil or im just being paranoid. I'll start supplementing with collagen just in case. Anyway, im pretty ****ing devastated, I had high hopes with this. I'll continue anyway, got nothing to lose anyway, and at least I can enjoy a couple of hours without the dreaded male pattern baldness itch.

Oral finasteride is out of the question. Suppressing 70% of your DHT is simply stupid as ****, period. I had a lab before I started my treatment, my DHT was well above range (1,45, thats 0,45 above range) and I'll test again soon. Im pretty sure when you use it topically you don't supress 70% of your systemic DHT which is suicidal unless becoming a tranny is in your plans. I just hate this god forsaken illness. Im never going to leave my house again if I end up past NW2.

 

[g.i joey]

You're talking out of your ***. Dht is used to make a male a male. After that it adds little signifance to your life

 

[smyth01]

finasteride wont be out of the question when your hitting NW3.

 

[zzzzz]

you realize enough finasteride goes systemic when applied topically to have the exact same effect orally? So it's not "stupid as ****". Your dht is already fully suppressed as it would be with an oral dose and you don't even know it, which I think is hilarious considering the stuff about trannies etc in your post. Topical finasteride is a hassle to apply when it can just be taken orally

Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2014 Jul 30. [Epub ahead of print]
A novel finasteride 0.25% topical solution for androgenetic alopecia: pharmacokinetics and effects on plasma androgen levels in healthy male volunteers.

Caserini M, Radicioni M, Leuratti C, Annoni O, Palmieri R.
Abstract

Objective: Finasteride, a selective inhibitor of type 2 5-alpha reductase isoenzyme, inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and is indicated in the treatment of male androgenetic alopecia. The study objective was to evaluate a newly developed finasteride 0.25% topical solution in comparison to the marketed finasteride 1 mg tablet, with respect to finasteride pharmacokinetics and suppressive effects on plasma DHT. Methods: 24 healthy men with androgenetic alopecia were randomized in a single center, open-label, parallel-group, exploratory study, and received either multiple scalp applications of the topical solution b.i.d. or oral doses of the reference tablet o.d. for 7 days. Plasma finasteride, testosterone and DHT concentrations were determined. Results: After multiple doses, mean (± SD) finasteride Cmax and AUC00-t corresponded to 0.46 ± 0.28 ng/mL and 6.64 ± 7.50 ng/mL x h for the topical solution and to 6.86 ± 1.78 ng/mL and 57.93 ± 29.38 ng/mL x h for the tablet. Plasma DHT was reduced by ~ 68 - 75% with the topical solution and by ~ 62 - 72% with the tablet. No relevant changes occurred for plasma testosterone with either treatment. No clinically significant adverse events occurred. Conclusions: A strong and similar inhibition of plasma DHT was found after 1 week of treatment with the topical and tablet finasteride ormulations, albeit finasteride plasma exposure was significantly lower with the topical than with the oral product (p < 0.0001).