your thoughts/insight

[jumpedthegun]

I've been on propecia for like seven months. I started because I had slight recession and possible diffuse thinning (early stages of thinning is so hard to monitor, but I KNOW it is not as thick as it used to be).

I first started seeing vellus hairs growing on my temples. Now they are a bit longer and darker, and I am beginning to see lots more vellus hairs sprouting up like stubble along the hairline (as much as 3 millimeters below the hairline and a centimeter deep into the hairline) working their way towards my widows peak.

However, I see absolutely no new hairs growing anywhere else on my scalp. I check by parting my hair in random places to clear out a line of scalp and then inspecting for any stubble sized hair. No matter how much i look, i find nothing.

My question is, the temple is supposedly the hardest to grow back. How could I be making progress there, but not seeing any thickening elsewhere? Are the causes behind thinning and recession that different?

 

[cook'n'milkies]

I would guess it is becuase you still have alot of hair in these places, there isn't really a need for follicles to be reactivated. I think that as you continue treatment, as the hair in these areas cycle they will get thicker and fuller each time. You have plenty of hair there, it's just that they are thin. Treatments will make these thicker, not create new hair.

 

[incubusor]

The temple / hairline receding - was due to hair that had miniaturized so much that they became colorless and tiny.

The diffuse thinning across the top of your scalp is due to overall thinning of each hair over time. There aren't "missing or invisible hairs in between your current hairs" across the top of your scalp. That is Diffuse male pattern baldness and not the typical Norwood male pattern baldness progression.

You'll see a smaller gap in your part if that hair on top thickens up overall.

 

[Johnny24601]

re:

Hault, you have become too OCD about your hair.
Your tests may be valid but are simply too objective, not to mention finasteride does not always grow hair but it may simply maintain hair counts.
Take photos and just compare how much better your hair looks (or worse). Add minoxidil or other topicals if you too concerned, otherwise what will any answer from someone on this site change? No matter what people say, it appears finasteride is having an effect so just ride it out (to at least the 1 year mark) and then assess.

 

[jumpedthegun]

incubusor,
my thinning on top is actually more that the hairs are not as concentrated as they once were. on finasteride, i have seen the hairs get thicker, but no increase in concentration.

but, i'll keep your theory in mind. It makes sense that it would take longer to see results from thinning than recession because where the problem is that the hair is thin (diffuse thinning), you have to wait for the hair to be ejected for a thicker one to regrow, whereas if there was no hair in the follicle (recession) then it wouldn't take as long for a new hair to sprout up.

but, aren't there cases where one's individual hairs do not get thinner, they just get less concentrated. i know this one guy whose individual hairs are thick, he just doesn't have that many, and there aren't really any miniaturized hairs. it's like a forest where someone went in, cleared out all the underbrush, and raked it clean.

 

[jumpedthegun]

and yes, i guess i'm a little OCD about my hair. but i'm getting better.

i guess what i was aiming at was whether diffuse thinning and male pattern baldness are caused by different factors, and if so, whether the finasteride i'm taking could be helping the recession, but not the diffuse thinning.