Hi all,
I'm 45 years old with androgenic alopecia with severe diffuse hair loss across the top of my head since my early 30s. I've worn wigs for years, but I decided to try treatment to see if I could get my own hair to grow.
About 15 months ago I started using 5% Minoxidil solution twice a day. My hair was super short at the time, but I've been letting it grow out for about 8 months. I had the usual Minoxidil shedding at four months and have had initially really good results. However, at my hairline and at the sides on the front, my scalp is covered in these fine, almost transparent short hairs that are my natural hair colour. They are about 1 - 2 cm long.
I still get a reasonable amount of daily shedding when I apply the Minoxidil or when I shampoo my hair, and much of it seems to be these fine hairs and slightly longer (3 - 6cm) hairs. But the stuff on the front seems to be dormant and just isn't growing any further.
So my question is, are these likely to be vellus hairs and I'm stuck with them, or is it possible they are miniaturized hairs that are just in their dormant state, and one day will shed and grow through as thicker hairs? My heart hopes that it's the latter, but my head is guessing it's probably the former
Has anyone been through this? Would something like finasteride help? I want to give it another year before giving up on it and going for a topper or a hair system, but I'd also like to give it the best possible chance of working.
I'm 45 years old with androgenic alopecia with severe diffuse hair loss across the top of my head since my early 30s. I've worn wigs for years, but I decided to try treatment to see if I could get my own hair to grow.
About 15 months ago I started using 5% Minoxidil solution twice a day. My hair was super short at the time, but I've been letting it grow out for about 8 months. I had the usual Minoxidil shedding at four months and have had initially really good results. However, at my hairline and at the sides on the front, my scalp is covered in these fine, almost transparent short hairs that are my natural hair colour. They are about 1 - 2 cm long.
I still get a reasonable amount of daily shedding when I apply the Minoxidil or when I shampoo my hair, and much of it seems to be these fine hairs and slightly longer (3 - 6cm) hairs. But the stuff on the front seems to be dormant and just isn't growing any further.
So my question is, are these likely to be vellus hairs and I'm stuck with them, or is it possible they are miniaturized hairs that are just in their dormant state, and one day will shed and grow through as thicker hairs? My heart hopes that it's the latter, but my head is guessing it's probably the former
Has anyone been through this? Would something like finasteride help? I want to give it another year before giving up on it and going for a topper or a hair system, but I'd also like to give it the best possible chance of working.