8 month update on finasteride, my hairline is hurting

[dudealpha]

Been taking finasteride for 8 months, 3x a week 1 mg.

All photos are of the right temple (in order: before finasteride, 5 month update, 8 month updates), the 8 month hairline is way worse:

Well, my hairline has taken a beating this last month. It's like I suddenly woke up with a Norwood 3 with velus hairs. The left side had always been worse, but at least the thin strip was limited to the temple, now it's trying to reach my widow's peak. I really hope this is just a shed.

Forgot to mention i'm 18

 

[Depression]

Hey, for 8 months also under fina and I am 19 years old.

My hair is so much worse than yours you're lucky ..

On the other hand if you compare to 9 months ago, it looks like there has been a strong degradation but it is maybe only the brightness not?

 

[dudealpha]

Hey, for 8 months also under fina and I am 19 years old.

My hair is so much worse than yours you're lucky ..

On the other hand if you compare to 9 months ago, it looks like there has been a strong degradation but it is maybe only the brightness not?

Could be lighting to be honest

I also forgot to mention, I started dermarolling about a month ago, I've heard that it can cause a shed, maybe it's from that idk

I know I sound whiny, because I know that so many guys my age have it way worse. I've got a good friend who's also 18 and he's a NW5, bro it's tough. At our age we shouldn't worry about stuff like this. Actually, nobody should

 

[Depression]

T
Totally agree with you.

Knowing that an 18-year-old NW5 exists pains me so much. Really we know very well that a guy of 18 NW5 is not going to have any girlfriends, more trouble socializing ect ..

It must be so hard, how does he see it?

 

[Sarper123]

I'm sorry,You are non finasteride responder.Use topical minoxidil and RU.finasteride doesn't work for some people like you and me.It looks like you are already norwood 3 and going on norwood 3.5.Top of your head is thinning as well.Use topical minoxidil it will help you.
I'm also hyper minoxidil responder that thing gave me beard and thick hair.Yes you can save your hair with minoxidil.In Some cases topical or oral minoxidil> anti androgen drugs

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Professional norwood hunter here. The best picture you can provide is that front picture showing both temples. However I'm not sure where you started under similar camera angle and lighting. However you look like you are going through exactly what I'm going through. Continued thinning while on finasteride.

It could be a shed but it's been 8 months which is concerning. I'd wait until that 1 year mark and assess the situation then. If you aren't getting side effects it wouldn't hurt to keep trying.

I also see you've done 3x a week. I'm sorry but I wouldn't advise that regime until you prove that you can respond to treatment at 1x a day. If you get regrowth then go ahead and experiment with 3x a week, but you are in limbo now not knowing if 3x a week is enough to even stabilize. I would advise going every day.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

Been taking finasteride for 8 months, 3x a week 1 mg.

All photos are of the right temple (in order: before finasteride, 5 month update, 8 month updates), the 8 month hairline is way worse:

Well, my hairline has taken a beating this last month. It's like I suddenly woke up with a Norwood 3 with velus hairs. The left side had always been worse, but at least the thin strip was limited to the temple, now it's trying to reach my widow's peak. I really hope this is just a shed.

Forgot to mention i'm 18

Are you using min? you need to be using min as well, I use a very conservative amount of topical finasteride in my regimen, only to keep my dht under control, it is 100% the minoxidil/adenosine mixture that I'm using that is bringing back my hair and moving my hairline down (yes down my forehead)

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Are you using min? you need to be using min as well, I use a very conservative amount of topical finasteride in my regimen, only to keep my dht under control, it is 100% the minoxidil/adenosine mixture that I'm using that is bringing back my hair and moving my hairline down (yes down my forehead)

Better to do Finasteride for 1 year to see the effects it has without any other variables and then jump on Minoxidil.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

Better to do Finasteride for 1 year to see the effects it has without any other variables and then jump on Minoxidil.

I would 100% disagree on that, I'd have no hair gains and a lot of awful sides if I stuck to finasteride all by itself without anything else.

Glad I started minoxidil first and then incorporated topical finasteride to stop-gap any androgenic vulnerabilities. My hair has been doing great.

 

[lord cardigan]

Are you using min? you need to be using min as well, I use a very conservative amount of topical finasteride in my regimen, only to keep my dht under control, it is 100% the minoxidil/adenosine mixture that I'm using that is bringing back my hair and moving my hairline down (yes down my forehead)

Hi, I too am a long term user of minoxidil (over 7 years). It has held onto my crown like magic but no regrowth at temples. Where do you get adenosine. I havnt heard of it.

Thanks

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

Hi, I too am a long term user of minoxidil (over 7 years). It has held onto my crown like magic but no regrowth at temples. Where do you get adenosine. I havnt heard of it.

Thanks

I go to a doctor who has a degree in biochemistry, a private physician that can quietly and discretely requisition these compounds.

It just comes in a vial for injection and suspended in alcohol (just like min) so I extract it with a needle, and then mix it with my min solution, it has turbocharged my hair regrowth.

Topical adenosine increases the proportion of thick hair in Caucasian men with androgenetic alopecia - PubMed

Adenosine is an effective treatment for androgenetic alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia) in Japanese men and women. Adenosine exerts its effects by significantly increasing the proportion of thick hair. In this study, we assessed the clinical outcome of adenosine treatment for 6 months in 38 Caucasian men. The...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

You could possibly try acquiring adenosine powder and dissolving that as well, I don't know where to source that as I have a Doctor that helps me with this.

 

[Chill dude]

Been taking finasteride for 8 months, 3x a week 1 mg.

All photos are of the right temple (in order: before finasteride, 5 month update, 8 month updates), the 8 month hairline is way worse:

Well, my hairline has taken a beating this last month. It's like I suddenly woke up with a Norwood 3 with velus hairs. The left side had always been worse, but at least the thin strip was limited to the temple, now it's trying to reach my widow's peak. I really hope this is just a shed.

Forgot to mention i'm 18

Your hair is much longer so it will make the hairline look more dramatic where it has receded. Honestly the 6 month pic looks well better than the first one with short hair, your hairline has gotten thicker.

 

[lord cardigan]

I go to a doctor who has a degree in biochemistry, a private physician that can quietly and discretely requisition these compounds.

It just comes in a vial for injection and suspended in alcohol (just like min) so I extract it with a needle, and then mix it with my min solution, it has turbocharged my hair regrowth.

Topical adenosine increases the proportion of thick hair in Caucasian men with androgenetic alopecia - PubMed

Adenosine is an effective treatment for androgenetic alopecia (Androgenetic Alopecia) in Japanese men and women. Adenosine exerts its effects by significantly increasing the proportion of thick hair. In this study, we assessed the clinical outcome of adenosine treatment for 6 months in 38 Caucasian men. The...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

You could possibly try acquiring adenosine powder and dissolving that as well, I don't know where to source that as I have a Doctor that helps me with this.

Lucky you having access to a good doctor. I was hoping that there might be product already available rather than making untested potions at home. I'll keep looking. Thanks for taking the time to answer me.

 

[dudealpha]

T
Totally agree with you.

Knowing that an 18-year-old NW5 exists pains me so much. Really we know very well that a guy of 18 NW5 is not going to have any girlfriends, more trouble socializing ect ..

It must be so hard, how does he see it?

He doesn't give a f*** tbh, he looks like trevor from gta 5 rn (with the long side hair and everything) and he just rocks it, good for him i guess

 

[dudealpha]

Better to do Finasteride for 1 year to see the effects it has without any other variables and then jump on Minoxidil.

that's what I've heard too. I'm not on minoxidil yet, but I'm planning on incorporating it at the 1 year mark if things turn out for the better with finasteride, otherwise I'll just look into better anti androgens like dutasteride

 

[dudealpha]

Your hair is much longer so it will make the hairline look more dramatic where it has receded. Honestly the 6 month pic looks well better than the first one with short hair, your hairline has gotten thicker.

Huh, could be that. It's weird because when I buzz my head, the hair texture and color is very similar between the temples and the rest of the hair, but when I grow it out a bit it just looks damaged. Blond hair in general is just a mess, ugh, the results are very hard to assess

 

[dudealpha]

Professional norwood hunter here. The best picture you can provide is that front picture showing both temples. However I'm not sure where you started under similar camera angle and lighting. However you look like you are going through exactly what I'm going through. Continued thinning while on finasteride.

It could be a shed but it's been 8 months which is concerning. I'd wait until that 1 year mark and assess the situation then. If you aren't getting side effects it wouldn't hurt to keep trying.

I also see you've done 3x a week. I'm sorry but I wouldn't advise that regime until you prove that you can respond to treatment at 1x a day. If you get regrowth then go ahead and experiment with 3x a week, but you are in limbo now not knowing if 3x a week is enough to even stabilize. I would advise going every day.

Yeah, I'm gonna up the dosage. I've seen a study where the dht increases in that 2 day pause between friday and monday, so that might be enough to mess up my progress. I'm also hopeful that dermarolling will do something, I'm willing to give it 4 more months and then I'll just add dutasteride to the mix. Minoxidil is my last resort because it's a bit more commitment than just taking a pill lol

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Huh, could be that. It's weird because when I buzz my head, the hair texture and color is very similar between the temples and the rest of the hair, but when I grow it out a bit it just looks damaged. Blond hair in general is just a mess, ugh, the results are very hard to assess

Similar problem for me. If I buzz it you can see under very bright lighting that hair on top is a little thinner. I try angling my head to the sides to compare if it's just the light angle but idk, I hate it. However short hair ironically looks fine even with recession. However, long hair covers your scalp so that even with lighting you seem ok but the hairline is clearly thinning and I tried a fade and so far it really doesn't help.

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Yeah, I'm gonna up the dosage. I've seen a study where the dht increases in that 2 day pause between friday and monday, so that might be enough to mess up my progress. I'm also hopeful that dermarolling will do something, I'm willing to give it 4 more months and then I'll just add dutasteride to the mix. Minoxidil is my last resort because it's a bit more commitment than just taking a pill lol

Half life of finasteride is like 6 hours so 2 days could impact you. If anything you could try .5mg a day. Similar weekly dose but with consistency.

It's possible I may only stabilize and maybe thicken the crown area which is often where regrowth is. If the hairline doesn't improve I might dab the foam on my hairline only. A lot more convenient.

 

[dudealpha]

I'm sorry,You are non finasteride responder.Use topical minoxidil and RU.finasteride doesn't work for some people like you and me.It looks like you are already norwood 3 and going on norwood 3.5.Top of your head is thinning as well.Use topical minoxidil it will help you.
I'm also hyper minoxidil responder that thing gave me beard and thick hair.Yes you can save your hair with minoxidil.In Some cases topical or oral minoxidil> anti androgen drugs

I could be a non-finasteride responder. But I'm not sure that the top of my head is thinning tho, it's pretty much the thickest part of my entire hair, including all the sides of my hair, I can barely comb it after a shower.
I'm not a NW3 (I assume you refered the M shaped hairline that I drew with a red pen, because if my hairline was to recede as far as it wants to then you are right), I disagree with you. The photos were taken at an angle, and that's pretty much the hairline God left me on this earth with, as I have a widow's peak since birth. I guess I'll just take better pictures in the future because I've gotten this message on this board about a year and a half ago (unrelated vitamin hairloss that solved after taking some vitamin D supplements) and it just messed me up for no reason