Worried...losing shorter hairs?

[anayak76]

I've noticed that I have been losing shorter hairs in the shower or sink.
But not too short...like 1" hairs when my hair on top is about 2". Most of the hair looks thick and healthy.

Is this a sign of short cycling?

My status now is that I've been taking Propecia for 5 years and 8 months. I've maintained what I had when I started. Recently, I decided to grow my hair long to see what it looks like--its longer now than it has been in quite a while. I used not to notice hair loss cause my hair was shorter.

Im just worried that maybe Propecia is losing its effectiveness. I have no visual evidence that it is. It looks the same in the mirror. My only evidence is shorter hairs in the sink.

Any thoughts?

 

[Melbs]

Ive been taking it for 4 years and only ever really lost longer hairs... until recently... ive noticed more and more shorter hairs in the shower... not heaps, but more than ive ever noticed.

So maybe we are slowly losing the battle, but hey, never lose sight of the fact that if your taking Propecia your doing all you can. If its getting worse, know that youve probably saved a good 5-8 years anyway... we all gotta accept that we are naturally going to lose more and more as time goes on...

And dont count or analyse your hairs too much... theres no point...

 

[Stingray]

That's what happens in male pattern baldness. The hair follicle shrivels up and it shortens it's anagen phase till eventually it will only pop out a vellous hair... if even that.

I was losing all sorts of little thin hairs on my scalp... I don't notice anymore though.

Buzzcuts are your best friends for peace of mind =)

 

[arjun17]

check the tips (not the roots) of the hairs

If they are tapered (tip very thin and unpigmented), then yes, they are short-cycling, most likely due to DHT. If however, they are blunt ( tip as thick as rest of hair) then they are either the hairs cut short during your last haircut which went into telogen soon after your haircut, and are now shedding, which is normal, or the hair could be breaking off, which indicates something other than male pattern baldness.
Cheers,
Arjun

 

[anayak76]

Thanks for the replies guys

Thanks for the replies. Since Ive been on Propecia, I've thought about hair a lot less than before taking it. Hence the few posts on here. Sometimes I have a 'paranoia' state, where I think Im losing more hair.
This site really helps with that.

Optimistically, maybe arjun's theory is right. Most of the hairs look to be of the length or slightly longer than my last haircut 4 to 5 weeks ago.
And most of the shorter hairs that are falling look healthy.

I guess I just have to give it a little time before I really know what's going on. In the meantime, Im going back to shorter hair for better peace of mind, and to stop this hair counting nonsense.

 

[chewbaca]

U guys need to anaylse the situation. If after years of propecia working for u and of a sudden u notice something unusual , it could not be because propecia is not working. U have to look at your hairline and vertex or temples , if u had any regrowth in those areas. aks yourself, did it get any worst now that i am noticing an unusual pattern?

 

[thylax]

dont worry

I lose this kind of hair since the first day I started my regime. Dont worry. I dont know what it is but I donw care since my hair improves and I have excellent maintance. So wtf!

 

[anayak76]

U guys need to anaylse the situation. If after years of propecia working for u and of a sudden u notice something unusual , it could not be because propecia is not working. U have to look at your hairline and vertex or temples , if u had any regrowth in those areas. aks yourself, did it get any worst now that i am noticing an unusual pattern?

Well, I have diffuse thinning, and right now my hair looks the same to me. Since Ive been taking propecia I've had short hair, and so I've never noticed the length of the hair that fell out. I've grown it longer now, for the first time since taking finasteride, and that's why I've noticed shorter hairs falling out.

So Im not sure if what's occurring is unsual or normal, but like you said, I'll continue to monitor how my hair looks in the mirror. Right now, Im sticking with Arjun's theory, as I still look the same as I've looked the past few years.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[anayak76]

Re: dont worry

I lose this kind of hair since the first day I started my regime. Dont worry. I dont know what it is but I donw care since my hair improves and I have excellent maintance. So wtf!

That's good to know. Thanks for the reply.