Time for minoxidil?

andy_mac

New Member
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Hey,

I'd really appreciate some help with this.

I've been taking finasteride 1.25mg daily for around 9 months now and I've seen a dramatic improvement to the point where my hair is darker and thicker and I really don't look like I have any problems with male pattern baldness.

My only problem is that I've lost a bit much on the temples and finasteride hasn't helped there.

Because of this I'm considering using minoxidil just for my temples. Do you think there'd be any chance that carrying on with finasteride would result in eventually a slight improvement in this area?

Or, if not and I do get on minoxidil, can any regrowth be maintained with just the finasteride alone because now surely I have less DHT circulating than I did when I lost it originally?

Thanks!

Andy
 

follicle84

Experienced Member
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Temporal hair is more difficult to treat. Even the smallest amount of dht can trigger hairloss there. The hair there from my observations is naturally weaker than the rest of your hair. Pregant women lose hair in that area due to hormonal changes and stress. Your best bet would be to try minoxidil inaddition to finasteride. The mechanisms of action with minoxidil work completelly different than that to finasteride. They reinforce weak hair with more nutrients to grow thicker and stronger by stimulating more blood flow. I have had small success in the past by doing this.
 

dimitar_berbagod

Established Member
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From what I understand the problem with temporal and hairline hair is that the roots are generally weaker as they are nearer the surface of the skin. Less blood is attracted to the area and hence the hair can get weaker here even if its strong on top.

Propecia typically works well for the crown and not so much at the front which is why you're seeing the results you are. If I were to guess I wouldn't have though you'd get any real improvement at the front with finasteride only, 9 months is probably enough time to have noticed by now. Hey I could be wrong though.

It probably isn't a bad idea adding minoxidil. Most people use the 5% foam I believe but from what I read results are varying. Minoxidil in theory attracts blood to the follicle to aid hair growth but there are people who have used it and have experienced nothing but shedding. That said, it has brought success for some people in regrowing and maintaining the stubborn areas at the temples. Shedding can occur initially but this is supposed to be a temporary phase and the hair grows back. I myself however had pretty disappointing results - quite a bit of shedding and very little regrowth.

Whatever you do though don't stop the finasteride!
 

wendal

Established Member
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3
dimitar_berbagod said:
From what I understand the problem with temporal and hairline hair is that the roots are generally weaker as they are nearer the surface of the skin. Less blood is attracted to the area and hence the hair can get weaker here even if its strong on top.

Propecia typically works well for the crown and not so much at the front which is why you're seeing the results you are. If I were to guess I wouldn't have though you'd get any real improvement at the front with finasteride only, 9 months is probably enough time to have noticed by now. Hey I could be wrong though.

It probably isn't a bad idea adding minoxidil. Most people use the 5% foam I believe but from what I read results are varying. Minoxidil in theory attracts blood to the follicle to aid hair growth but there are people who have used it and have experienced nothing but shedding. That said, it has brought success for some people in regrowing and maintaining the stubborn areas at the temples. Shedding can occur initially but this is supposed to be a temporary phase and the hair grows back. I myself however had pretty disappointing results - quite a bit of shedding and very little regrowth.

Whatever you do though don't stop the finasteride!


dimitar, when you say propecia mainly works on the crown does this mean only the rear vertex of the head or more centered on top of your head as well? I know it doesnt really help the frontal part just above the forehead or the corner temples.
 

BrandonMayfair

New Member
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wendal said:
dimitar_berbagod said:
From what I understand the problem with temporal and hairline hair is that the roots are generally weaker as they are nearer the surface of the skin. Less blood is attracted to the area and hence the hair can get weaker here even if its strong on top.

Propecia typically works well for the crown and not so much at the front which is why you're seeing the results you are. If I were to guess I wouldn't have though you'd get any real improvement at the front with finasteride only, 9 months is probably enough time to have noticed by now. Hey I could be wrong though.

It probably isn't a bad idea adding minoxidil. Most people use the 5% foam I believe but from what I read results are varying. Minoxidil in theory attracts blood to the follicle to aid hair growth but there are people who have used it and have experienced nothing but shedding. That said, it has brought success for some people in regrowing and maintaining the stubborn areas at the temples. Shedding can occur initially but this is supposed to be a temporary phase and the hair grows back. I myself however had pretty disappointing results - quite a bit of shedding and very little regrowth.

Whatever you do though don't stop the finasteride!


dimitar, when you say propecia mainly works on the crown does this mean only the rear vertex of the head or more centered on top of your head as well? I know it doesnt really help the frontal part just above the forehead or the corner temples.

What do you mean propecia doesn't help for the front? I've heard it does, and that's the only reason I got a prescription for it (I have a slightly receding hairline).
 

andy_mac

New Member
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I've had a thickening in hairs I already had at the front, so I guess it does work there to some extent.

If I was to gain anything from minoxidil and then eventually stop it, would I lose it again or could finasteride maintain it?

Thanks a lot for all your help everyone!
 

follicle84

Experienced Member
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Unfortunatelly minoxidil does nothing to stop the balding process. It just masks it by stimulating existing hair to grow thicker giving the appearance that your is thicker than it really is. Think of it as a delayed hair concealer. If you stop using it your hair will eventually go back to looking the way it did before you used it. So no propecia wont maintain the results gained from minoxidil. The combination of using both yeilds great results however and will give you better results as far as regrowth goes than if you had used them separatelly. Unless of course your a poor responder to minoxidil.
 

dimitar_berbagod

Established Member
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dimitar, when you say propecia mainly works on the crown does this mean only the rear vertex of the head or more centered on top of your head as well? I know it doesnt really help the frontal part just above the forehead or the corner temples.


Its most effective on the vertex but still works on the crown and the top - I'm partly judging this on my reading of the drug and my brother, who was losing hair on top and regrew it with propecia...I believe it gets less effective the further it goes nearer the hairline and temples. Of course there will be people who get frontal growth but as a rule its generally not that effective in this area
 
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