Results of finasteride for the sixth month of use - photos

[Michal96]

Hi all, I am on finasteride for the sixth month now, in addition I use minoxidil 2% twice a week. I'd like to ask for your opinions on whether I've made any progress during this time and what else I could add to my regime to improve the effects as much as possible (if there are any).

The last picture shows the center of my head. In general, I noticed the problem with hair loss only on the top of my head and only there I use minoxidil. In the picture, I have marked where I have gotten worse since taking finasteride and using minoxidil. I would like to ask if this is a progression of hair loss or is it due to shedding that I have experienced and if the hair that has fallen out since treatment will grow back. When I see some people after 6 months of treatment on the forum I am under weight. Unfortunately with me the results are not there yet. Therefore I would like you to write if there is a chance of improvement with the regime I currently have.

What I use and how much:
- 1mg finasteride (Nezyr) daily
- Minoxidil 2% twice a week, sometimes with 3-4 depending on the week. Due to longer hair I don't use it at night because I don't wash my head in the morning.
-Biotin 5mg daily
-Vitamin D 4000 IU daily
-Zinc 27mg daily
-Mollers Omega-3 cod liver oil about every other day

I was also taking selenium but blood tests showed an excess and I stopped.

I had shedding in the first and second month of treatment. I was losing between 100 and 300 hairs a day.
Currently I am losing 30 to 50 hairs a day from washing and combing.

I have no other side effects from the treatment.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Norwoody]

You aren't using minoxidil consistently enough. You can't get away with it twice a week. It probably just caused shedding without giving much regrowth, or it's not enough to combat the progression of androgenic hair loss. In either case I would do it every day at 5%. Also consider Nizoral 2-3 days a week.

 

[Adam124]

I think you’ve had regrowth

 

[hairgone1234]

You need to be on minoxidil ideally one a day.

 

[NickyA]

You seem to have responded well to Finasteride, there is definitely some regrowth at the crown. Shedding is normal at the start, especially if you're shedding weak hairs. I agree with Norwoody, you definitely want to use Minoxidil once a day, and ideally twice a day. And once you start using it, you better stay on it for life, or you could risk going through a big shed and ending up worse than when you started. Stay on finasteride and you should be fine for a while. The vitamin D and Biotin can be helpful but aren't as important as finasteride and minoxidil, dunno about the other supplements. I don't really see any midscalp thinning either, which is great. The crown tends to be the area that best responds to treatments and is the easiest to maintain with a regimen, so if you stay on it you may never have to consider a hair transplant depending on your family's hair loss history and your genetics.

 

[Michal96]

I just can't imagine using minoxidil until I no longer care about my hair, but when I use it at night I have greasy hair, as you can see I have longer hair. When it comes to shedding so initial, maybe it is normal, but I am already on the finasterand for 6 months, and many people wrote that after this time you can notice an improvement, and by helping the top of the head, it is worse in other places, and I can observe it on the basis of other photos where my hair was thick. That's why I'm looking for help

 

[NickyA]

I just can't imagine using minoxidil until I no longer care about my hair, but when I use it at night I have greasy hair, as you can see I have longer hair. When it comes to shedding so initial, maybe it is normal, but I am already on the finasterand for 6 months, and many people wrote that after this time you can notice an improvement, and by helping the top of the head, it is worse in other places, and I can observe it on the basis of other photos where my hair was thick. That's why I'm looking for help

It's your choice on whether to take Minoxidil seriously or not. You can use foam which is reportedly easier to use and more convenient, there's also the liquid composition I use, which is low in PG and rich in alcohol, and dries faster without leaving your hair greasy, since minoxidil foam is hard to find and very expensive in my country. You can read more about it in my thread if you want.

Finasteride isn't expected to give noticeable results till the 9 months to a year mark, unless you're a good responder. And it's mostly a means for preservation, not for regrowth.

 

[Michal96]

Everyone I write differently and I met with answers that after 6 months I should see an improvement, so now I panic. I know that finasteride is not a hair growth booster, but there are a lot of people on Reddit who only got messed with finasteride, unfortunately I'm probably not that lucky.

 

[Michal96]

I would like to advise you on how you have experience with this. I would like to know how hair grows after shedding. I have been on finasterist for 6 months, had the first 2 months shedding of 100 to 300 hairs a day. Currently, between 20 and 50 hairs are lost each day. The problem with hair loss is on the top of my head, but it has worsened practically all over my head where my scalp is starting to show. The hair that fell out was thick yet not miniaturized, why after this time I'm not at least at the point from which I started?

 

[Jacoby77]

Everyone I write differently and I met with answers that after 6 months I should see an improvement, so now I panic. I know that finasteride is not a hair growth booster, but there are a lot of people on Reddit who only got messed with finasteride, unfortunately I'm probably not that lucky.

Got messed with finasteride? Maybe you having a normal shed.

 

[Michal96]

A shed can last 6 months? So when can I expect any improvement? I cannot distinguish whether the disease is progressing or whether it is just shedding

 

[Jacoby77]

A shed can last 6 months? So when can I expect any improvement? I cannot distinguish whether the disease is progressing or whether it is just shedding

I'm not sure. Any improvement at all?

 

[Michal96]

Nie jestem pewny. Jakakolwiek poprawa?

I placed the photos above

 

[NickyA]

A shed can last 6 months? So when can I expect any improvement? I cannot distinguish whether the disease is progressing or whether it is just shedding

A shed is normal and a sign the medication is working. How long it can last depends on your body, really. You can decide whether to ride it out and hope for regrowth eventually or reduce your dosage. There is also the possibility of reflex hyperandrogenicity but it isn't officially documented and if it exists, it's probably very rare.

Finasteride and Minoxidil for me practically stopped all hair loss after the third or fourth month mark (I would shower and only lose one or two hairs maybe) and the shed started at the fourth or fifth month mark. I cannot say for sure whether it was a Finasteride or a Minoxidil shed though. Didn't notice much of a change visually in my hair but I was losing twice the amount of hair while showering, shampooing or combing my hair than before taking it. And it has only started to stabilize now I think, after 8 months of finasteride usage and 9 or 10 of minoxidil usage. I'm only losing like half the amount of hair while showering and combing my hair than before starting my regimen, regrew my temples back to the way they looked two years ago and my hair quality has improved slightly. Think most of the regrowth and improvement was due to Minoxidil though, because Finasteride mostly gives results to people after 9 months to a year or 16 months, and is mostly for predervation and not regrowth.

 

[NickyA]

Everyone I write differently and I met with answers that after 6 months I should see an improvement, so now I panic. I know that finasteride is not a hair growth booster, but there are a lot of people on Reddit who only got messed with finasteride, unfortunately I'm probably not that lucky.

Reddit is literally designed to be an echo chamber, posts that are liked by many people get upvoted and end up being viewed by many users and you get a positive feedback loop. The guys you see getting a ton of regrowth from finasteride only after a few months are exceptions to the norm, most guys get average results and their posts don't get as many upvotes, thus fewer people see their posts.

 

[Here For the Lulz]

Your hair is super damaged and your scalp is straight up nightmare fuel. It shouldn’t look like frizzed out straw from a barn in a field of sebhorreic dermatitis and dandruff. Are you washing it with battery acid or something?

Im not sure why you think your hair is long as I have longer hair than that on my nutsack and it’s nowhere near long enough to justify not washing it.

If you want to improve your hair, you have got to start by providing a place healthy enough to support it. Regrowing on that canvas is like trying to grow a garden in a dry lake bed.

 

[Michal96]

That's right, the hair looks like hay. I don't know why because they are only like that at the top. I wash my hair with a moisturizing shampoo, I also use a conditioner but it does not improve. I rinse with cold water and use Nizoral shampoo once a week. Maybe you have any tips on how to care for them?