is there hope in restoring these weak brittle hairs on finasteride?

[g.i joey]

2nd UPDATEthere is) is there hope in restoring these weak brittle hairs on finasteride?

is finasteride even worth my time at this point(been on .25 for a month, now alternating .25/eod and .5/eod.. could i make a comeback and thicken those weak whispy hairs in front?
also, what norwood do you guys think i am at at this point, i personally think nw2.5/3 but id love to hear any suggestions on either question, THANKS!

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heres a pic of my hair down, just to give an idea of what it looks like, it doesnt look to bad imo just those weak *** hairs in front really get to me.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

I'd be super happy if I can have the hair you have g.i joey.

Yes, the weak brittle hairs should recover if you stay on Finasteride. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. Click here if you're curious to find out how well being on a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor can work when given the time, that is if the medication works well for the individual. It's nickypoos' success story on taking Avodart every other day, he was starting to diffuse and recede badly, and then his hair made a complete recovery.

 

[g.i joey]

thanks man, i enjoy reading your posts you seem like a knowledgeable person. wow, i just checked out nickypoo's story and he had an amazing recovery. Honestly, i know finasteride wont bring back original density or fill in my temples at all, but at the least what i would want is for that thinning to be gone, id be completely satisfied if that were my recovery. what really bothers me is that ive slowly but surely lost some ground on .25/day, the only time i truly see a cessation of hairloss is when i take .5/day but i cant take it for more than 1 and a half months until i cant deal with the sides. (not sexual, more psychological) but with this dosing im at now i am able to deal with them enough to continue on with my social life as if nothing changed.

i hope you are having great success on your regimen, and would be excited to see some of your before and after pictures if you've reached a point of notable difference. thanks man!

 

[TD500]

I thought you were lowering doses because finasteride was giving you gyno / making your nipples sensative?

Hopefully it haults/regrows, either way your hairdown still passable as non balding imo.

 

[g.i joey]

finasteride gave me gyno my first ever time when I took full dose for 2 months. I ran a course of letrozole and got rid of all lumps/tissue. Although when I take lower doses my nipples still tend to store more fat in that area but gives me more of a bulky look than pointy nipple look, but I could deal with that I have yet to feel itchy/tender nipples ever since lowering my dose and my course of letro. I don't ever plan to take letro again cause I saw a huge loss of hair while on it.

I hope I could get minor regrowth too man nothing too farfetched but I'm worried my hairloss is too aggressive to be using anything less than 1mg/finasteride. But anyways I will stay optimistic because it would be dumb for me to take 1mg. I don't see finasteride as a long term treatment but if it could get me through 2 or 3 years till we apparently will have more viable options I'd be happy. If none of these options come to fruition and actually work I will stop taking finasteride by 2019.

BTW what Norwood do you guys say I am? Thanks alot again!

 

[Agustin Araujo]

BTW what Norwood do you guys say I am? Thanks alot again!

I conclude that you have a high Norwood 2 hairline. You're not in the Norwood 3 category, and your hair looks nice and full. It doesn't even look like you're severely balding, so again, I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. Just make sure your hair loss doesn't keep getting worse, that's all what can be done for now.

 

[Derpicus]

I'd say a Norwood 2.5 I think you could make a comeback on those thin whispy hairs. Not sure about your age but younger people tend to have better luck. But you won't notice any good results till generally around 1 year. You'll experience sheds that make it look worse and if I'm right I believe you got Gyno that's why you're taking such a low dose. So just gonna say at your dose your taking you may not experience the norm. I take 2.5mg of Finasteride EOD and .5 MG of Duta EOD and I've experienced a massive amount of growth/satisfaction.

 

[TD500]

Why 2.5mg, isnt anything beyond 1mg essentially the same?

 

[g.i joey]

I heard of people doubling their dosage and being able to maintain after 1mg didn't. I'm 22 years old, my hairloss doesn't look that bad from that angle but I have a high forehead, I could live with that. i just really dont wanna hit nw3.5 so my main concern is my dose efficiency.

 

[Wolf Pack]

You have a very similar hairline to me as you have noted yourself previously. With styling, it's barely noticeable. finasteride has helped a bit but not amazingly in terms of regrowth. Mind you still relatively early days and no Minoxidil. There are stories of temple recoveries but they tend to be the very lucky ones.

You won't know until you try finasteride properly but I would say Minoxidil is most likely to grow hair in that area which you're already on.

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I'd say a Norwood 2.5 I think you could make a comeback on those thin whispy hairs. Not sure about your age but younger people tend to have better luck. But you won't notice any good results till generally around 1 year. You'll experience sheds that make it look worse and if I'm right I believe you got Gyno that's why you're taking such a low dose. So just gonna say at your dose your taking you may not experience the norm. I take 2.5mg of Finasteride EOD and .5 MG of Duta EOD and I've experienced a massive amount of growth/satisfaction.

If you don't mind me asking, did this growth come after you added Dutasteride or did you start both the same time? I have been thinking of adding dutasteride, then coming off it and stay on finasteride (my experiment lol).

Also are you on Rogaine?

 

[Derpicus]

It's hard to say if Dutasteride did cause the extra regrowth studies do show it is better then finasteride. I was at around 7 months before I added dutasteride to the regime, as I discussed with my doctor I wanted to ensure good results and he went through the effort of researching dutasteride and looking into studies before he felt comfortable prescribing it to me. But I was already starting to see some favorable results on finasteride. I don't take Rogaine or Minoxidil I did for around 2-3 months but I discontinued the use as I was getting some laser skin surgery to correct dark eye circles I had from visible blood vessels and minoxidil acted asvasodilator. I started minoxidil December 17th and discontinued early March I believe.

As for the person in regards to the 2.5mg dose I just went with what the doctor recommended in regards to the dose. He simply said 2.5 mg was easy to ensure a more consistent dose as you only have to cut the pill in half and since I wasn't getting and side effects the only one I received was hives and they only last for 2-3 weeks and come every 3-4 weeks (Sounds strange I know) I didn't know much about hairloss and I trusted my doctor. Even though people say all you need to take is 1.25 Mg generally and its as effective I see no reason to lower my dose when I experience no side effects.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Thanks for that. Did you get/need hairline growth? I am also not convinced about Minoxidil and skin sides.

Anyway, you're right, it could be the finasteride kicking in much later or the dutasteride you added.

I am 9 months on finasteride and still improving at the hairline. May wait it out before I think of dutasteride.

 

[Derpicus]

I did get a fair amount of hair regrowth the hair I used to have the U pattern starting to form as my temple hair was gone and it was starting to go above from there but it has filled in nicely its not the same density as my other hair but its more then I started with. I think I responded fairly well and was apart of the minority that experiences regrowth. I think the Dutasteride makes the finasteride not even matter I can't find the source but I recall reading it was pointless to be on both, and I think I recall my doctor saying the same thing. But can't be 100% about that I mainly just take both for ease of mind.

I also don't think Minoxidil causes skin side effects other then I noticed some fine hairs on my forehead while using it near the three month mark. But my dermatologist and doctor both said that it opened/widened the blood vessels and that was counter productive to the Intense Pulse Laser treatment I was getting done as the laser was essentially killing blood vessels in the area that were causing the blueish/purpleish tint near my eyes due to naturally thin skin from genetics. I'm told I can go back on it now that I've waited the 5-6 weeks since my last treatment was done but that's a life time commitment to keep applying it and I think I can wait a bit longer before doing that as I'm only 23.

I'll probably be taking photos again in a month or so once I get a hair cut so that its similar to the length of my other photos. I do have older ones that kinda show the progression but their old. I used to take photos weekly but I figured once every 2-3 months seems more productive and leads to less stress so I don't obsess over it. But anyways take care and good luck and hope everything works out for you.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Oh, thanks for that reply. Missed it earlier. Yes, I think I did a typo- I do believe Minoxidil causes skin sides. I wrote it didn't!

I'll keep a look out for your photos, great and congratulations

 

[DoctorHouse]

finasteride gave me gyno my first ever time when I took full dose for 2 months. I ran a course of letrozole and got rid of all lumps/tissue. Although when I take lower doses my nipples still tend to store more fat in that area but gives me more of a bulky look than pointy nipple look, but I could deal with that I have yet to feel itchy/tender nipples ever since lowering my dose and my course of letro. I don't ever plan to take letro again cause I saw a huge loss of hair while on it.

I hope I could get minor regrowth too man nothing too farfetched but I'm worried my hairloss is too aggressive to be using anything less than 1mg/finasteride. But anyways I will stay optimistic because it would be dumb for me to take 1mg. I don't see finasteride as a long term treatment but if it could get me through 2 or 3 years till we apparently will have more viable options I'd be happy. If none of these options come to fruition and actually work I will stop taking finasteride by 2019.

BTW what Norwood do you guys say I am? Thanks alot again!

You are a NW2A diffusely thinning into a NW3A. Minoxidil with Finasteride is more likely to help thicken up the area. If you look at most success stories they all have one thing in common. Minoxidil is also involved with finasteride. I think the fact that minoxidil synchronizes the hair growth cycles is why it helps thicken up hairs and gives the cosmetic look of thicker and more hair. And finasteride helps by making those same hairs less vulnerable to DHT. However, regrowth at the hairline is the most difficult and that is why we have hair transplant doctors for that. However, these treatments should help with your crown area. In my opinion, the foam is the easiest to deal with. And using it once per day is more effective than not using it at all. So if you get any sides, then once per day is fine. However, twice per day might give slightly better results but I have seen cases with once per day doing just as good. Once per day is the same as using 2.5 percent twice per day. After a few years, you might notice its peak effectiveness subsides but it never stops working just like finasteride. Your hair may continue to recede regardless but these meds are still working. The time it takes to recede is going to be offset later so it might buy you more time until we get better treatments or until you are at the age where a hair transplant would be more appropriate.

 

[Wolf Pack]

Hi DH. Do you think I have the A pattern too? I feel I do. I have my pictures up if you see threads started by me but I am not entirely sure if I have this pattern. I was hoping with your experience you may be able to help, plus you have a similar pattern from what you once said iirc. Good advice too on Minoxidil being needed. It's just with the hairline my thinking is why bother with it when you will need a transplant anyway to get it back most likely.

 

[DoctorHouse]

Wolf see your story. I posted your answer there.

 

[g.i joey]

You are a NW2A diffusely thinning into a NW3A. Minoxidil with Finasteride is more likely to help thicken up the area. If you look at most success stories they all have one thing in common. Minoxidil is also involved with finasteride. I think the fact that minoxidil synchronizes the hair growth cycles is why it helps thicken up hairs and gives the cosmetic look of thicker and more hair. And finasteride helps by making those same hairs less vulnerable to DHT. However, regrowth at the hairline is the most difficult and that is why we have hair transplant doctors for that. However, these treatments should help with your crown area. In my opinion, the foam is the easiest to deal with. And using it once per day is more effective than not using it at all. So if you get any sides, then once per day is fine. However, twice per day might give slightly better results but I have seen cases with once per day doing just as good. Once per day is the same as using 2.5 percent twice per day. After a few years, you might notice its peak effectiveness subsides but it never stops working just like finasteride. Your hair may continue to recede regardless but these meds are still working. The time it takes to recede is going to be offset later so it might buy you more time until we get better treatments or until you are at the age where a hair transplant would be more appropriate.

hey man, ya i agree i am definately at 2A, no doubt about it, i realized u guys dont actually see how much forehead is exposed when i took that top view pic, i have quite the forehead (or fivehead in my case) due to my recession, i dont mind the recession tbh, at all. What really bothers me is the diffuse that came along with the deeper recession. I've been on .25mg for over a month now + i am 2 weeks into alternating .25mg and .5mg ED. I feel like this dosage is the most efficient for me, i suffer no side effects at all, in comparison to .5/day. I dont notice any new regrowth which is normal at this point although i do feel my hair is alot easier to style this past week, i also notice alot less hairfall now that im on this .5mg/EOD and .25mg/EOD. I started minoxidil last october and yes i agree 2x a day seemed to be sprouting some tiny new hairs at the temple point, but they never evolved into anything other than some extra stubble. I decided to use 1x a day foam and i havent noticed a change in hair density. I dont think i would ever consider a hair transplant just due to the fact that i dont want to be on finasteride for more than 5 years ultimately. My goal is to get through my 20's with hair, that is all, believe me id love to have hair through my 30's and 40's but unless we get a new viable option i wont wanna inhibit DHT long term like that.

i know i have had many twisted verdicts on finasteride but i truly believe each person should find a middle ground where they notice improvement and where they dont have to suffer sides. Sexual sides were never a problem for me, it was more of the lethargy and feeling "out of it" that came with taking finasteride. But now that i feel so great while on it, this may have just been an adjusting period. Anyways i appreciate the advice man!

 

[CliffLee]

GI, thanks for sharing.

You will likely find that when you reach your thirties, you will still want to keep your hair, probably as much as you do now in your twenties. It's easy to think that when you're older you won't care, but that's rarely the case.

 

[g.i joey]

I know that's rarely the case and I know it will suck but I just want to live my 20's with hair how it's supposed to be. I understand that one day I'll have to let go of it and I may not be prepared in my 30s but at least I'll be able to look back and remember thay I was blessed to get another 5-8 years with hair. I know it'll be just as depressing as now but I also think that by that time alot more people in my social surroundings will be more accustomed to bald heads. I don't think anyone is ready at any age but 22 just doesn't feel right.