Beginning of my journey.

[being_optimistic]

Background
Hi guys, I'm an asian male, 28 this year. I first discovered my receeding hairline almost 3 years ago. Since then, I have gotten really depressed about it as my hair is a literal part of my identity. I have been complimented multiple times on how my hair so thick. Obviously, like everyone, I hesitated a lot about finasteride and minoxidil due to the commitment and side effects. I went to see a dermatologist who said that I am a current NW2 and likely have MBP as my dad is balding in the crown and temple. However, my brother who is older than me still has basically perfect hair. I like to think that my MBP got accelerated due to the past years of stressful working where I was working and studying till late 3-4 AM daily, or even sometimes not sleeping until the end of the next working day.

Initially, I was in denial that my weight gain and unhealthy lifestyle has probably caused me to start losing hair, but the fact is that I have been the heaviest right now in my lifetime, but my hair loss has not progressed at all. However, I'm currently taking an active approach to fixing my physical health as well where I hired a PT/Nutritionist and I have dropped 5kg since starting 2 weeks ago, where I'm eating a lot of vegetables such as brocolli and mushroom with a good portion of meat, cutting off any junk food.

Either ways, after having done a bunch of research and having weigh out all the potential pros and cons, along side with the risk factor, I got my finasteride prescription and minoxidil. I started taking finasteride 2 weeks ago on 21th April, I was already applying minoxidil probably around two weeks before hand. I really want my best shot in recovering to NW1 and maintaining it and I have considered the commitment to this.

Previously, I scratched my scalp a lot, and there would be a sh*t ton of dandruff and hair fall on the table. However, after using Nizoral, my scalp really feels good and stop itching. The amount of hair fall I would say has decreased to like 10-20 hairs during showering now.

Current situation
Overall, my hair loss hasn't progressed at all for the past 3 years since realising it. My current situation is facing receeding hairline and some thinning in crown. But the crown portion really isn't obvious in anyway as my hair overall is still really thick.

I'm genuinely hoping for finasteride to thicken up the crown if possible, and to halt and improve my DHT situation while having minoxidil grow back my temple.

Regiment
- Oral finasteride 1.25mg/day
- Topical minoxidil 1mg 2x/day (Only applied to temples)
- Nizoral 2% 2-3 times/week
- Biotin 1 tablet/day 10,000 mcg
- Omega 3 Fish Oil 2 capsules/day

- Dermapen 1.5mm 1x/week (Not really constant at the moment because minoxidil causes my temples to flake a lot, I don't want to damage it further)

Currently waiting for my multi-vitamin and vitamin d3 to arrive.

Side effects
- Minoxidil: None so far
- Finasteride: I faced really low libido in the second to fourth day, after that everything was normal with my libido stronger than ever actually. No other side effects fortunately.

Photos
I added photos of my current left and right temple hairline to see where I am right now.

---

It has been two weeks since I started finasteride, and 4 weeks since minoxidil, I haven't really seen any change or any noticeable regrowth. I will try to post updates as this goes along. Hopefully with good results.

Do you guys think that I could potentially grow back to NW1?

 

[I wont lose this]

Thats one shitty bald journey

Mods ban me because I said the S word but keep these rats around. What a joke

 

[being_optimistic]

Just a quick update so far.

It has been 21 days since I started finasteride. Personally, I don't really feel much has changed visibly to the naked eye unfortunately.

I also went for a haircut today just to keep my hair short for easier management with everything that is going on right now.

Added two photos as a comparison from 24th April to today. Just taking one side of the temple to do this update quick. I will update properly at the 1 month mark of finasteride.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm seeing things at this moment or if the vellus hair are slightly longer at this point.

 

[Diffused_confidence]

Just a quick update so far.

It has been 21 days since I started finasteride. Personally, I don't really feel much has changed visibly to the naked eye unfortunately.

I also went for a haircut today just to keep my hair short for easier management with everything that is going on right now.

Added two photos as a comparison from 24th April to today. Just taking one side of the temple to do this update quick. I will update properly at the 1 month mark of finasteride.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm seeing things at this moment or if the vellus hair are slightly longer at this point.

It takes a long time to see results. Be patient.

 

[being_optimistic]

[1 month update]

It has been 36 days since I started finasteride. (Plus 2 weeks for minoxidil). I have been still sticking to my routine so far, but I did miss like once or twice of the minoxidil application.

I definitely felt and witness a shed when I was at the 1 month mark, where I could easily pull hair out by grabbing my hair across my head. This occured for like 2-3 days where I was shedding like 50-80 hairs per day. It's back to normal now and I probably shed like 15 - 25 per day now.

For sides, in the last 2 weeks, I can definitely feel my libido dropping, and some days with watery jizz. But I'm not going to think too much about it at this point.

It definitely doesn't seem like I'm responding at the moment. But I'm starting not to think too much about it at this point. I will see where I'm at in another month time. Also, I definitely feel that my crown has been thinning previously which I wasn't too woried previously. Though it has stayed consistent for a long time. I'm hoping finasteride will thicken it up eventually as well. I'm not planning to apply minoxidil on my crown though.

Attached my current temples photo.

 

[Diffused_confidence]

[1 month update]

It has been 36 days since I started finasteride. (Plus 2 weeks for minoxidil). I have been still sticking to my routine so far, but I did miss like once or twice of the minoxidil application.

I definitely felt and witness a shed when I was at the 1 month mark, where I could easily pull hair out by grabbing my hair across my head. This occured for like 2-3 days where I was shedding like 50-80 hairs per day. It's back to normal now and I probably shed like 15 - 25 per day now.

For sides, in the last 2 weeks, I can definitely feel my libido dropping, and some days with watery jizz. But I'm not going to think too much about it at this point.

It definitely doesn't seem like I'm responding at the moment. But I'm starting not to think too much about it at this point. I will see where I'm at in another month time. Also, I definitely feel that my crown has been thinning previously which I wasn't too woried previously. Though it has stayed consistent for a long time. I'm hoping finasteride will thicken it up eventually as well. I'm not planning to apply minoxidil on my crown though.

Attached my current temples photo.

Today it feels like my libido fell a bit. However yesterday I was very sick due to a reaction to the covid vaccine and still somewhat recovering. Not a lot of food and energy.

Some days you just have low libido, some days it is high. If I had low libido persistently then I would be a little concerned.

 

[being_optimistic]

Today it feels like my libido fell a bit. However yesterday I was very sick due to a reaction to the covid vaccine and still somewhat recovering. Not a lot of food and energy.

Some days you just have low libido, some days it is high. If I had low libido persistently then I would be a little concerned.

Thanks for reading! Yeah, I agree. I try not to over-think any of these right now. Also, a part of me kinda want to go through NoFap as I definitely have some stuffs that I want to overcome. (though I'm not doing it **yet**).

I was really shocked with the shedding though. It did made me panic for a day or two. I then just try to "ignore" it again, and luckily the shedding has stopped after a few days. I didn't even notice when it went back to normal.

I have been really busy with everything that is going on with life. I want to try to keep this at the back of my thoughts, and just see where the journey leads me to. I spent a lot of time previously reading on other people's thread and it felt seriously depressing and tiring which is so unnecessary.

 

[Jpw1999]

Thanks for reading! Yeah, I agree. I try not to over-think any of these right now. Also, a part of me kinda want to go through NoFap as I definitely have some stuffs that I want to overcome. (though I'm not doing it **yet**).

I was really shocked with the shedding though. It did made me panic for a day or two. I then just try to "ignore" it again, and luckily the shedding has stopped after a few days. I didn't even notice when it went back to normal.

I have been really busy with everything that is going on with life. I want to try to keep this at the back of my thoughts, and just see where the journey leads me to. I spent a lot of time previously reading on other people's thread and it felt seriously depressing and tiring which is so unnecessary.

Your libido can drop some times because of other reasons, drinking alcohol causes limp dick for me, it's probably nothing to do with finasteride, and if you get persistent sides, lower the dosage rather than stopping treatment, 0.25mg is still effective.

 

[Selb]

If your crown feels a little thinner after a shed that’s a good sign. It means the thinner hairs were pushed out and will hopefully grow into thicker ones over the next few months. Good luck

 

[being_optimistic]

Your libido can drop some times because of other reasons, drinking alcohol causes limp dick for me, it's probably nothing to do with finasteride, and if you get persistent sides, lower the dosage rather than stopping treatment, 0.25mg is still effective.

Agree. I would consider lowering the dosage in the future since I have read about the effectiveness of finasteride. For now, I'm going to keep it at this 1.25mg dosage since the pills are already cut, and I want to see where this routine will bring me to. I don't want to think of any "what ifs".

 

[being_optimistic]

If your crown feels a little thinner after a shed that’s a good sign. It means the thinner hairs were pushed out and will hopefully grow into thicker ones over the next few months. Good luck

Hopefully! I think my crown is thinning previously just that it was well covered even from me. It looks fine when I style it or just let it rest, but when i start to really get into it, I can definitely see that it's thinning. I will see how it goes.

 

[being_optimistic]

[Second quick update]

It has been 48 days since I started finasteride along with other routines.

So far, I haven't really experience significant sides since the last update. My libido is getting better and morning woods are occuring often again. I stop using Nizoral for the past 2 weeks at this point because my hair isn't really itchy anymore to justify Nizoral? Is there any benefits to using it aside from clearing dandruff? I guess I would do it once a week instead just to do a deep clean on my scalp.

I was observing my hairline and just comparing the hairs, it does seem like the (vellus/baby) hairs are growing darker and longer. I'm hopeful that they will grow even longer, thicker and darker in time.

 

[being_optimistic]

[80 days update]

Time for another update. I have been really busy with life. It has been some crazy months.

Same thing so far, no sides that I have encounter? I feel like a lot of the sides feels more of a placebo instead. I have been intaking finasteride consistently, and trying to keep up with minoxidil. I would try to apply at least once a day. I haven't been dermarolling due to time constraints, but I will start doing it again on a weekly basis. I haven't used much of Nizoral, maybe once or twice over the past month. In terms of shedding, I'm seeing way less hair around me. But there are some days recently again where I start seeing some decent shed (probably around 30-50 hairs) when I'm showering again where usually it would be around 10-20. I can't see any visible increase or decrease in density so far.

Frankly, I can't see any difference with my crown at the moment. I will try to post a before and current crown shot when i get the chance. With regards to my temple, you guys can see from the photos. I noticed that some vellus hairs are longer than before, especially the ones at the sides. Either ways, I'm not sure where this is going, the progress has been pretty slow. I'll keep my expectations low while hoping for the best.

Thanks for reading guys.

 

[Diffused_confidence]

[80 days update]

Time for another update. I have been really busy with life. It has been some crazy months.

Same thing so far, no sides that I have encounter? I feel like a lot of the sides feels more of a placebo instead. I have been intaking finasteride consistently, and trying to keep up with minoxidil. I would try to apply at least once a day. I haven't been dermarolling due to time constraints, but I will start doing it again on a weekly basis. I haven't used much of Nizoral, maybe once or twice over the past month. In terms of shedding, I'm seeing way less hair around me. But there are some days recently again where I start seeing some decent shed (probably around 30-50 hairs) when I'm showering again where usually it would be around 10-20. I can't see any visible increase or decrease in density so far.

Frankly, I can't see any difference with my crown at the moment. I will try to post a before and current crown shot when i get the chance. With regards to my temple, you guys can see from the photos. I noticed that some vellus hairs are longer than before, especially the ones at the sides. Either ways, I'm not sure where this is going, the progress has been pretty slow. I'll keep my expectations low while hoping for the best.

Thanks for reading guys.

It looks like you may respond well! Those small hairs look a little better. Hair takes forever to grow and it's been only 1 month. After 1 year you probably will have great results.

 

[being_optimistic]

It looks like you may respond well! Those small hairs look a little better. Hair takes forever to grow and it's been only 1 month. After 1 year you probably will have great results.

Hey, thanks for reading. I hope that I will respond well. The smaller hairs are definitely looking better than when I started. But I'm honestly not sure if these are just normal vellus hairs or potential hairs that will grow thicker and longer in the upcoming months. That makes it pretty annoying as it's a pure patience game right now. My shedding reduced again as well.

I attached a photo of my right temple that I tooked today. The lighting definitely seems better in this case. Let's see how it goes in another 30 days.

 

[Norwoody]

Excellent results. Try needling once a week and try applying minoxidil twice a day if possible.

 

[being_optimistic]

Excellent results. Try needling once a week and try applying minoxidil twice a day if possible.

Do you think this is good results so far?

Yeah, I’m starting to add dermarolling back into my regime, I try to apply minoxidil twice, but at least once a day.

 

[Norwoody]

Do you think this is good results so far?

Yeah, I’m starting to add dermarolling back into my regime, I try to apply minoxidil twice, but at least once a day.

You have vellus going terminal, which is very rare. They aren't completely there yet and so you may want to boost your regimen to get them to the next level.

 

[being_optimistic]

You have vellus going terminal, which is very rare. They aren't completely there yet and so you may want to boost your regimen to get them to the next level.

How do you know that they are going terminal? All I can see is that they are growing slightly longer. But I can’t differentiate between vellus and terminal besides the thickness of the hair. Which most of the hair are really thin.

Do you mean boosting regiments as in by adding more medical products?

 

[Norwoody]

How do you know that they are going terminal? All I can see is that they are growing slightly longer. But I can’t differentiate between vellus and terminal besides the thickness of the hair. Which most of the hair are really thin.

Do you mean boosting regiments as in by adding more medical products?

*shrugs* they look darker and thicker to me. Like I said, needle weekly and be diligent with minoxidil twice a day for a few months and see what happens.