Should I upgrade to 5% minoxidil? (With pic)

[The-Johnny]

Hi everyone,
Im 28 year old guy that's been using 2% minoxidil for the past 4-5 years. I started when I was 24 because I noticed slightly receding hairline, receding temple area. So I bought 2% minoxidil in order to maintain my hair.
Now, 4-5 years later it's not any better. It's even worse. It has been thinning steadily through the past 4-5 years, but now, it's on a point where I feel I have to do something else. I dont know if I should try 5% minoxidil
because what if 2% minoxidil didn't help/or even increased my hairfall and 5% will make it even worse? Any suggestions?

The pictures are all from yesterday. Dont have pictures focused on my scalp when I started with minoxidil 4-5 years ago.

 

[br1]

I think it's either 5% or finasteride. I would go finasteride. It would fill it nicely in one year. My opinion, you need to make your own.

Good luck.

 

[The-Johnny]

I've read so many bad things about finasteride so I dont know.

Anyone here that got better results by moving to higher percentage of minoxidil?

 

[mr_robot]

Do you have any vellus hairs on your temples or are they slick bald?

 

[Swoop]

Look into finasteride.

Or accept that you will be bald pretty soon. Your coverage on mid and crown is already getting very weak.

 

[The-Johnny]

Do you have any vellus hairs on your temples or are they slick bald?

They are slick bald.

- - - Updated - - -

Look into finasteride.

Or accept that you will be bald pretty soon. Your coverage on mid and crown is already getting very weak.

I bought Saw Palmetto and Pygeum seed capsules. Will try that for 6 month to one year and will see how it goes. If that wont work, I think (dont know yet) that I will try the regular 5% mens minoxidil. I think that I have atleast two more years until I become "visibly" bald because my hair loss is actually slow. I loose aprox. 20 hairs when showering, which is not bad, and about 5 hairs when massaging minoxidil on my scalp. Dont notice any more hairfall during the day. Finasteride is probably a no go for me, too afraid for the risks.

 

[Iopu]

You may as well just go for the 5% minoxidil. It's mild regarding sides (if thats what your worried about). I'd think about adding a topical dht inhibitor too if you dont want to use finasteride.

 

[firstpost]

You need something stronger than minoxidil. If you got cash to burn, id look into seti or cb.

 

[Folliman]

minoxidil 5% will only give you a better offset. You need to get on finasteride or accept balding... or if you have the money do the swiss temples protocol

 

[The-Johnny]

minoxidil 5% will only give you a better offset. You need to get on finasteride or accept balding... or if you have the money do the swiss temples protocol

I don't know man, I've read and heard so many many about the side effects of finasteride (no boner etc) so I have put finasteride as the absolute last resort, even after hair transplant lol.