losing thinner hairs

[returnoftheshedi]

i started minoxidil in march and since that time i have seen a huge increase in the amount of thin hairs that i lose (compared with strong hairs). for the first 2-3 months that i was on it, my hair was starting to look like sh*t so i buzzed it. its possible that in the last 2 months it has improved, however, since i buzzed it i can't tell.

while i seem to be losing less hairs as of late, a larger percentage are of the thin type. is this good or bad?

 

[Sir_LagaLot]

tell me about it!..i just started finasteride a month ago ..and everytime i pull on the 'back' of my head...the so called SAFE zone..i keep ending up with vellus hair?!?..which i've never lost in 4 years of shedding!..somethings seriously wrong with me..

i dont think minoxidil makes your hair thinner...probably your hair going through its cycles and growing out thinner and thinner due to male pattern baldness...*shrugs

 

[returnoftheshedi]

yes, i have noticed the same type of hairs from the "safe" zone as well. however, i only started pulling those hairs after i saw how many thin hairs i was shedding to begin with.

anyone else know if this is a good or bad sign? or can someone comment who has been on minoxidil for a while and experienced similar symptoms during treatment.

 

[returnoftheshedi]

bump

 

[Barry_Blue]

Since I've started finasteride I've noticed I lose a lot of shorter & thinner hairs in the sink after washing, compared to previously when it was just longer healthy ones.

Is this a form of shed, like the old crappy hairs being pushed out early?

 

[Dice_Has_Hair]

Relax........It's probably nothing more than hair cycling in and out and the shedding. Keep it up. If your hair improves with every shed and cycle then you are on the road to progress.

 

[Dinzy]

I have started to notice more crappy hairs than good ones too. Im 7/8 weeks on finasteride/min. Now it is possible that these hairs are falling out more than others because they have shortened growth cycles due to male pattern baldness. However it is possible that they are reacting to the finasteride/min and that the follicles are preparing to grow a better shaft the next growth cycle.

As far as small hairs form the safe zone, I too have seen some in pulls, not many, but some. They are probably a small ammount that grow there as the hair blends into neck hair.

returnoftheshedi, if I were you I would keep it buzzed while its still warm out and then grow it out. My hair too las started to look worse since starting treatments and I think that is totally normal. In your case you are 4-5 months in so when you let it grow out @ month 7 or 8 you will have 2 inch hair by month 10-11 which is a good time to evaluate progress.

 

[returnoftheshedi]

i just re-read the sticky post on shedding and it talks about how the hairs that are effected by male pattern baldness grow in a shorter cycle then other hairs. if that is the case, and assuming min has the effect of stimulating the growth of those damaged hairs, its possible that i am seeing the male pattern baldness effected hairs more frequently because min is doing its job.

the test is whether or not these hairs will grow back thicker or thinner...in some cases, the hairs are so thin that i can barely see them. troubling.

i'm still not sure about the thin hairs that shed from the sides of my head. any explanation?

my roommate has thicker hair then bill clinton, but when i check out his sink i see some thin hairs too. hopefully those arent just the hairs that i have shed from creeping over his sink. haha. pathetic.

 

[TheBaldingMenace]

You know what, I'm of the opinion and experience that the smaller, thinner hairs are the ones on their way out. I've been treating my hairloss now for a while and I've also noticed the same thing :wink:

 

[arjun17]

There is some natural variation in hair diameter

In non-male pattern baldness people, there is a 20-25% variation in diameter of the hairs in any given area. That is, all the hairs are not equally thick. In the human body, nothing is 100% perfect, symmetrical, or consistent, and hair is no exception. If you look closely at a non-male pattern baldness person's hair (try to look at some of the hairs which are standing up above the rest), you will see that not all the hairs are exactly the same diameter. Approximately 18 out of 20 will be the "average" hairs, there will be one "thicker than average" hair and one "thinner than average" hair. Although I have fine hair, a few of my (thickest) hairs would be equal to the "average" hairs of a person with very thick hair. So a few random slightly thinner hairs does not necessarily mean anything. If in general, you shed normal thick hairs of a decent length and one or two slightly thinner but just as long hairs, its NORMAL. What you should worry about is when many of the hairs are thinner i.e. a significant reduction in the average diameter. They (the thinner hairs) will also be shorter and have tapered ends (indicating shorter anagen cycles) And remember, since the thinner hairs affected by DHT also have longer telogen phases, they are more likely to be shed. But don't worry.... finasteride or minoxidil will be able to thicken up the hairs for most people.
And remember, the nape of the neck always has some vellus hair at its lowest portion. Its a "transition" zone, so to speak. Even the frontal edge of the temples (NOT the hairline above the temples, but the actual temples) has some finer, vellus-like hair.
Cheers,
Arjun

 

[Goingat20]

This happened to me in the first few month on minoxidil, everytime i apllied the minoxidil i would rub it in with my fingers and all these little withered hairs would come out... I see them as a good sign, as the thicker hairs are pushing them out 8)