Successful regrowth with hormone replacement therapy

[Fuchsilein]

I think I dare raise E2 to 6 mg. My estradiol at 4mg was 80.5 pg / ml which is probably not enough for good hair growth.

I started out on 6mg, you don't have to worry. It's a pretty much standard dosage, recommended at a bodyweight of around 70kg (~150lb).

 

[Fuchsilein]

Into a female, chemically, to be more precise. "Being a girl" comes more so from inside. I think that some of us who are more androgynous in looks might not associate HRT with becoming a "female" in terms of though process but then again, any differences between the sexes are very subtle in terms of how I think and process. Sexually, I am far less compulsive which is a feature not a bug. I am not really trying to disagree--you are a girl--but there are a lot of guys would use HRT for their hair except for the "subversive" element to it.

No disagreement. It just can't be stressed enough that you will develop gender dysphoria when you're a cis male on estrogen.

 

[Fuchsilein]

Erm... gender dysphoria is the stressful experience of your body not matching up with your identity. This has nothing to do with sexual orientation. Your sexuality could also change drastically when transitioning. Cis men should only follow this protocol if they have accepted these consequences. And I have to tell you that dysphoria might be a lot worse than just hair loss. At some point people around you will also recognize that you are transitioning and you will get called out for that.

Do you really think so or is that an hoary myth? There does seem to be limited data to indicate that MtF's tend to prefer males more so under HRT than they do otherwise and there is a huge differentiation between older MtF's, who often remain strictly chickly and younger MtF's who are more perhaps psychologically female from birth and who prefer men. I often get the feeling that most MtF's over 40 are gynephilic and I certainly am. I was more interested in males before HRT and that interest quickly dissipated under HRT although regardless, I would always prefer females who like XY's who are "bottoms".

I honestly think that as a non-binary MtF, I could be either gender and be happy if androgynous and with hair.

I think it would be fair to include pictures demonstrating the inevitable changes you will be facing aside from possiblity of hair growth. Here you have a before & after picture (time stamps slightly off but you get the pont). If you can put up with that, then go for it, but you have a difficult path ahead.

 

[Gergely]

@Fuchsilein Have you considerd taking B12 since CPA is known to cause deficiency

 

[Fuchsilein]

@Fuchsilein Have you considerd taking B12 since CPA is known to cause deficiency

I am taking loads of vitamin supplements including high amounts of B12. Good point though, worth mentioning.

 

[Get my hair back]

Fuchsilein - is that you in the picture?​

 

[Fuchsilein]

Fuchsilein - is that you in the picture?​

Yes.

 

[Get my hair back]

I am taking loads of vitamin supplements including high amounts of B12. Good point though, worth mentioning.

I know a person with anemia on the background of poor absorption of B12, taking a tablet form of vitamin does not increase its level. Long-term intake of CPA can also cause anemia, gradually reducing the absorption of B12 through the stomach. In this regard, it is more effective to give injections. By the way, I see metformin in your protocol, it also reduces the absorption of vitamin B12 and folic acid.

 

[Fuchsilein]

I know a person with anemia on the background of poor absorption of B12, taking a tablet form of vitamin does not increase its level. Long-term intake of CPA can also cause anemia, gradually reducing the absorption of B12 through the stomach. In this regard, it is more effective to give injections. By the way, I see metformin in your protocol, it also reduces the absorption of vitamin B12 and folic acid.

It depends a lot on which form of B12 you consume. Most pills contain cyanocobalamin, which has very poor bioavailability. Always make sure to use methyl- or hydroxycobalamin. Cyanocobalamin pills are not useful to treat pernicious anemia.

 

[Fuchsilein]

Observing progress every day really messes with perception. Comparing these two pictures taken 4 months apart from each other makes me realize how quickly my hair is recovering. It does seem like an eternity for this little bit of hair, but considering how long it took to lose it, progress is a lot quicker than receding. Not much difference to last update, obviously, but I think marking my little dot in the red box as a reference point puts things in perspective.

 

[grimgrim]

Hi Fuchsilein,

Wow you have had some excellent regrowth, and we had similar hairlines when you started, I’m older than you by 6 years but you give me hope that I might be able to get some regrowth.

In one of your previous posts you stated that you believe that Minoxidil was a key factor in your success do you believe you would still gain hair without Minoxidil and are you micro needling at all?

And my last question are you only using Minoxidil in the frontal region of the scalp (temple points) or all over the scalp?

 

[Fuchsilein]

Hi Fuchsilein,

Wow you have had some excellent regrowth, and we had similar hairlines when you started, I’m older than you by 6 years but you give me hope that I might be able to get some regrowth.

In one of your previous posts you stated that you believe that Minoxidil was a key factor in your success do you believe you would still gain hair without Minoxidil and are you micro needling at all?

And my last question are you only using Minoxidil in the frontal region of the scalp (temple points) or all over the scalp?

Hi. I had regrowth without Minoxidil. In the beginning I only used estrogen and peppermint oil and microneedled once per week. I am applying Minoxidil only on the temples.

 

[Fuchsilein]

Pardon me, but that skin glow in the second picture has got me more interested than hair regrowth.
That is surely photoshopped at least to some extent, right? Or is it just lightning?
Have you done anything to your skin? I too use raloxifene, to combat gynecomastia from previous anabolic steroid use. Didn't know it had agonist estradiol effect on skin, which should be good. I'll make sure to stop forgetting to use it now lol.
Gladly appreciate any input on the skincare you've done.

Both pictures are edited exactly the same (edited as one picture). I increased sharpness and contrast just a little to improve visibility of the fine hair in the very front. The glow is indeed just the camera flash. I will include the unedited version of the pictures in this post.

Raloxifene acts estrogenic in skin tissue afaik but I'm not an expert and no longer use it.

 

[Fuchsilein]

Pardon me, but that skin glow in the second picture has got me more interested than hair regrowth.
That is surely photoshopped at least to some extent, right? Or is it just lightning?
Have you done anything to your skin? I too use raloxifene, to combat gynecomastia from previous anabolic steroid use. Didn't know it had agonist estradiol effect on skin, which should be good. I'll make sure to stop forgetting to use it now lol.
Gladly appreciate any input on the skincare you've done.

Although slightly off-topic, my skincare includes both Wild Yams creme and pills, which seems to give excellent skin. I highly recommend it, but since you are currently combating gyno, you'd rather skip it for the time being. (it's suspected to promote growth of mammary gland)

Other than that, Wild Yams increases your DHEA, which should be, if I am not mistaken, good for hair growth, too.

 

[Fuchsilein]

I meant post #27 where your face is visible

Ah, okay. That estrogen gives glowing skin is well known... you become brighter and smoother. It's great. ^ - ^

 

[grimgrim]

Hi. I had regrowth without Minoxidil. In the beginning I only used estrogen and peppermint oil and microneedled once per week. I am applying Minoxidil only on the temples.

Hi Fuchsilein,

Thanks for the answers. I had one question about the use of peppermint oil, are you basing your usage on the 3% solution study on mice?

And what brand of peppermint oil do you use?

 

[Fuchsilein]

Hi Fuchsilein,

Thanks for the answers. I had one question about the use of peppermint oil, are you basing your usage on the 3% solution study on mice?

And what brand of peppermint oil do you use?

I always buy just any peppermint oil tbh, I don't care about the brand and I don't know which one I currently have. I mix it with tea tree oil and basilica extract and massage my head with that tincture. Not basing it on any study, it just feels really good and gets blood flow going.

 

[Fuchsilein]

just an update
I stopped microneedling about two months ago, doesn't seem to affect progress

 

[Fuchsilein]

Hey guys, time for an update. Here I have a picture comparing my current situation to how bad it was 6 months ago. Massive improvement. The other picture goes to show how my problem is now shifting: I have to pluck hair from my forehead because my hairline is attempting to connect with my eyebrows. Yikes! Maybe I should drop the the Minoxidil.

 

[Get my hair back]

The result continues to grow, congratulations. I must say that I also canceled microneedling and did not notice the difference, for this reason I will not use it anymore. I also have a face overgrown like yours (a monobrow appears) from minoxidil, now I will use it less often and in the future I will try to give it up. I hope I don't catch the withdrawal syndrome.