hey.
look, dont worry too much, just look for some good advice and stick with it. heres what i think...
i know youve heard it time and time again, but its too early on your regimen to tell how its going to go. wait, hear me out...you may say your hair has been getting progressively worse and not gone through sheds etc. having been visiting this site for 10 or 11 months, i can tell you that quite a lot of people see something like this happening. i remember quite a number of people said their hair went to sh*t and then bounced up towards the end of the year treatment. look at diddy's my story section. look at the post i made in the general section, **EXPERIENCED finasteride USERS PLZ**, which i posted because i needed a gentle reminder of this fact.
also, youre on 2 treatments - finasteride and minoxidil. so, sheds and regrowth caused by either could interfere with each other, you probably wont have a very accurate picture of what treatment is doing what. of course youre going to feel frustrated that if looks like your hair is just going and going but hold on, your early on in treatments ESPECIALLY on the minoxidil. and minoxidil works for so many people. ive seen so many people post here saying minoxidil works like a gem for them, and grows tonnes of hair. at least, most people see some regrowth on minoxidil. but most see sheds, or constant loss before. hold tight, and be safe in the knowledge that youre on the best safe regimen for hairloss, that will most likely produce some positive results.
and you say finasteride doesnt work for 17% of people. well, i question that. of course, its still blocking dht, it doesnt just have zero effect on some people. some people will just probably be balding so quickly, or more likely, their hairloss can be attributed to other things that cause male pattern baldness. remember, male pattern baldness is still not fully understood, and there are other factors than dht that contribute to it. but finasteride works for everyone in the sense that it blocks some dht. and dont forget youre on minoxidil too, the chances of you seeing nothing are so slim.
you say your diffusing is beginning to be apparent in plain light. well, youre lucky in the sense that for a lot of us this has been the case for ages. but im not complaining too much - why? because im hoping my hair will maintain like this for long enough for it not to matter. finasteride/dutasteride may buy 5 years or more, maybe 10, who knows, and with minoxidil too its a whole different ball game. in 15 years who knows what other treatments will be out there? ps: are you sure you want to start on 15% minoxidil? maybe 5% is a better idea, i think some people even claim this works bettern for them as a starting point, and youll have 15% to move up to later, giving you an even longer period of hair hair hair. ask someone else about this though, im not the best source of knowledge on the finer details of minoxidil because im not on it.
get highlights on the tips of your hair if need be, it wont affect your scalp, get it done pro, and itll be good. you should be able to maintain for a long time to come. stick with it, big 3 all the way, dont worry and have faith.
