Hair is not Life but it's Pretty Damn Close; HRT and Pictorial Posts Prove it.

[JaneyElizabeth]

I got away with blocking DHT and quelling inflammation the first time I had a major hairloss event, this time around it has been definitely more complicated, so I feel that, but thankfully my hair seems to be pulling through and now it's just a matter of getting the density that I would like versus getting any at all.

I find the idea of incipient hair loss an interesting one whereby maybe certain genes get turned on but it's really hard to turn them back off again for some reason. So, still not really all the way there especially in front, although there is an undercoat that is hard to see. Feminization seems to be quite apparent and these colors don't favor me and this shirt makes me look big for some reason. The trend is still great and I love watching it improve and the hairline fall....

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I find the idea of incipient hair loss an interesting one whereby maybe certain genes get turned on but it's really hard to turn them back off again for some reason. So, still not really all the way there especially in front, although there is an undercoat that is hard to see. Feminization seems to be quite apparent and these colors don't favor me and this shirt makes me look big for some reason. The trend is still great and I love watching it improve and the hairline fall....

I don't think this is a matter of genetics at all in my case, I know it is caused by an increase in insulin and igf-1 which I will be limiting with a drug called metformin (which also restricts DHEA as well), I have gotten my testosterone levels and DHT as a matter of experimentation down quite far and yet still have had oily skin and acne, that is a telltale sign of high insulin and igf-1.

That's what it has come down to for me, eliminate that, control my histamine, and PGD2, and I will see dramatic regrowth and the estrogen topical will only accelerate that regrowth even faster.

 

[michel sapin]

I find the idea of incipient hair loss an interesting one whereby maybe certain genes get turned on but it's really hard to turn them back off again for some reason. So, still not really all the way there especially in front, although there is an undercoat that is hard to see. Feminization seems to be quite apparent and these colors don't favor me and this shirt makes me look big for some reason. The trend is still great and I love watching it improve and the hairline fall....

how much oral minoxidil are you taking? no hypertrichosis on body/ dark circle / weight gain from water retention?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I don't think this is a matter of genetics at all in my case, I know it is caused by an increase in insulin and igf-1 which I will be limiting with a drug called metformin (which also restricts DHEA as well), I have gotten my testosterone levels and DHT as a matter of experimentation down quite far and yet still have had oily skin and acne, that is a telltale sign of high insulin and igf-1.

That's what it has come down to for me, eliminate that, control my histamine, and PGD2, and I will see dramatic regrowth and the estrogen topical will only accelerate that regrowth even faster.

If that's true, then what does that say for MtF's and their therapy? What about the linkage between hair loss and estrogen and testosterone? Is there a difference between hair regrowth and the stage of feminization that it requires?

Also, was there a specific test that you got? Mine up to now, don't have DHT, only E2 and T? Thanks.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

how much oral minoxidil are you taking? no hypertrichosis on body/ dark circle / weight gain from water retention?

I am drizzling oral minoxidil via Kirkland at between 10 mg and 20 mg daily and swallowing it. It's not precise but I don't think that it particularly matters unless titrating. I also use one topical application daily of Rogaine foam and on days where I derma-roll, an extra application of Rogaine topical. The body hair growth has been apparent but not terrible. It is worst in terms of trying to depilate because the follicles appear stronger. I notice some circles under my eyes but they seem to vary depending upon how I slept. I see some eye brow hair that I am having to pluck and my "beard" is rougher. It doesn't really grow but I can feel stubble. All of these effects should lessen at lower amounts equivalent to 2.5 mg to 5 mg daily. I doubt the large amounts of oral minoxidil are needed on MtF HRT amounts of e2 and other medications, for maintenance but they can really perhaps help the initiation of visible and persistent growth.

I should be more enthusiastic. Really yeah! Hooray that minoxidil finally frickin' works like it should have back in 1989.

Used orally, minoxidil might be as exciting and probably more than the AA's.

I did see a far amount of water retention starting off but I am also taking another med that promotes appetite.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I am drizzling oral minoxidil via Kirkland at between 10 mg and 20 mg daily and swallowing it. It's not precise but I don't think that it particularly matters unless titrating. I also use one topical application daily of Rogaine foam and on days where I derma-roll, an extra application of Rogaine topical. The body hair growth has been apparent but not terrible. It is worst in terms of trying to depilate because the follicles appear stronger. I notice some circles under my eyes but they seem to vary depending upon how I slept. I see some eye brow hair that I am having to pluck and my "beard" is rougher. It doesn't really grow but I can feel stubble. All of these effects should lessen at lower amounts equivalent to 2.5 mg to 5 mg daily. I doubt the large amounts of oral minoxidil are needed on MtF HRT amounts of e2 and other medications, for maintenance but they can really perhaps help the initiation of visible and persistent growth.

I should be more enthusiastic. Really yeah! Hooray that minoxidil finally frickin' works like it should have back in 1989.

Used orally, minoxidil might be as exciting and probably more than the AA's.

I did see a far amount of water retention starting off but I am also taking another med that promotes appetite.

Do you use preparation H gel to mitigate puffiness or dark circles? I do and for prominent veins and it works like magic, if you combine it with diosmin, hesperedin, preparation H gel, it makes your face look great.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Do you use preparation H gel to mitigate puffiness or dark circles? I do and for prominent veins and it works like magic, if you combine it with diosmin, hesperedin, preparation H gel, it makes your face look great.

I put on concealer, foundation and powder so it looked nice with the eye makeup I had on with my big luscious oral minoxidil/Latisse lashes <bats eyes>. I got all dressed up to trudge in the rain to Labcorp to get tested so I hopefully will be able to post the results of my HRT testing, maybe Monday. We can all learn about how 99 percent of it seems not so pertinent, just estrogen and testosterone in the most common tests.

Today was the first day that I went out without my wig or a hat. It's still not perfect but it's damn good for a guy and steadily improving in a female context. It is still shorter than I prefer and it is still sort of working out the mullet artifacts and curl. But it's really growing fast in back and lowering fast in the middle of the front hair line, as opposed to the temples which are still a-laggin'. It was exciting that I almost took my hair for granted. I have had some treatments but my face in general seems younger and much more feminine, if not simply feminine.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

We can all learn about how 99 percent of it seems not so pertinent, just estrogen and testosterone in the most common tests.

Well except DHEA, insulin, and growth hormone, because all three of those will interfere with hair growth in excess.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Well except DHEA, insulin, and growth hormone, because all three of those will interfere with hair growth in excess.

I don't know if they test for those. They mostly test for heart and cancer reasons it seems.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I'm a weird case because I'm really lean and otherwise quite fit, but I have insulin resistance which is according to even my endo unknown in etiology.

I just know that prediabetes can cause diffuse hair loss as well as increase skin oiliness and acne which can hurt your hairline if it is allowed to persist unchecked. In fact I think almost all of the recession of my hairline (which is not a whole lot) over the last 10 years is probably due to worsening insulin excess/resistance.

I would say to anyone who is not seeing dramatic success with estrogen even if you know for a fact your test/dht are controlled effectively, to see an endo about your insulin and igf-1 levels. I'm expecting dramatic improvements to my skin and hair density after I'm on medication to control both.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I'm a weird case because I'm really lean and otherwise quite fit, but I have insulin resistance which is according to even my endo unknown in etiology.

I just know that prediabetes can cause diffuse hair loss as well as increase skin oiliness and acne which can hurt your hairline if it is allowed to persist unchecked. In fact I think almost all of the recession of my hairline (which is not a whole lot) over the last 10 years is probably due to worsening insulin excess/resistance.

I would say to anyone who is not seeing dramatic success with estrogen even if you know for a fact your test/dht are controlled effectively, to see an endo about your insulin and igf-1 levels. I'm expecting dramatic improvements to my skin and hair density after I'm on medication to control both.

I don't know if your screen name has to do with Jeff Bridges in King Kong but it reminds me of that producer and Mr. Bridges' glorious locks in Jessica Lange's face the whole movie.

But you are technically on a very high level for lil' ol' me!

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Merry Christmas.

I have been greatly blessed with my transition this year and now my hair and it's all been so interesting and wonderful as my hair grows longer and creeps downward to cover my ears, which should happen in the next week or so.

I placed a bulk order for Estrogel. If you buy ten tubes, then you get five percent off. This is probably my last purchase of Estrogel as I don't think that it is necessary for transition or hair regrowth but I do think that topical application appears to do something additional to what oral estradiol or the other forms appear to do. It also is likely to work better in general when applied to labia or scrotal tissue. So, although I have been using Estrogel liberally throughout my scalp hair, some might only need it in the crown or the front.

The regrowth continues to differ from what I expected. It's apparent to me now just how much hair loss I had had in front of the ears and then upwards to the temples but this growth appears not linked in particular to the loss at the temples. The quality of the hair all over the scalp is improving gradually but clearly. My having diffuse thinning might contribute to these quality effects being noticeable. I am still wondering about incremental hair improvement using Estrogel as opposed to actually having to hit targets as I have focused on since June, for the first time, to maintain targets in the adult female range to see if that seemed to kick-start hair growth and along with oral minoxidil, it really has taken me much closer to my goals. In a male context, I would be fine with this level of hair and quality the rest of my life. In a female context, I need the frontal hairline to continue to lower and there is a lot of hair regrowth in this area.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Oral Minoxidil and Facial Side Effects:

There have been some concerns related to minoxidil's effects under the eyes. I am uncertain whether there have been studies or if instead, these are just part of the ravings of the anti-minoxidil, anti-finasteride cohort. In my own context I have noticed what appear to be increases all over my face in terms of facial skin memory. When I wake up, I can see where I lay on the pillow and certain areas seem to be more affected but this seems to be related to estrogenization of the face. I also seem to be noticing an increase in facial feminization which might be equated with that experienced by @bridgeburn at a similar stage of regrowth.

At the end of the day, beard removal is the most feminizing treatment but few cis-guys need this since beard growth is largely unaffected for most under HRT. That's why beard removal is necessary for most but @bridgeburn had the best beard results in terms of corralling beard growth that I have ever seen.

Although it is difficult to unravel since I am on estrogen and progestins which also should increase scalp hair growth, oral minoxidil has slight side-effects for MtFs and for many cis-guys, it has none except for the bit under the eyes. Oral minoxidil appears to begin working immediately, so no you don't have to wait months and months unless someone is dealing with slick bald areas. It also appears to increase the growth rate significantly in terms of centimeter's per year of hair growth. It probably increases length of time in anagen. I have seen slight, non-cosmetically significant effects related to increased body hair and my face is scratchier now since I quit spironolactone and added oral minoxidil.

In terms of advising, I am just eyeballing minoxidil in the dropper and shooting for a ml equivalent to the loniten grams. Loniten is cheap too but Kirkland's minoxidil is so cheap and easy to get without a prescription. Everyone should do his or her research but the product appears to be composed of three things, ethanol, a food preservative that is bitter in taste and then the active ingredient. I was really hesitant about using oral minoxidil after reading and seeing pictures of werewolfism but this condition must be rare. In terms of hair cropping up, I see more eyebrow hair which I simply pluck.

For cis-guys, you might experience no side-effects depending upon fortune but things like increased chest hair growth or thicker beard growth are likely to be seen as features, not bugs, of using oral minoxidil. Oral minoxidil appears to finally give us what Rogaine purported to back in the 80's when there was a huge amount of publicity. Homer had his dimoxinil episode where he has amazing results, going from a full Norwood to hair like Jesus. It is strange to me why it took loniten/oral minoxidil so long to be known about and even now, not many are using oral minoxidil.

 

[Norwoody]

It really does amaze me that oral minoxidil doesn't even seem to be very popular. Most people tend to go towards finasteride, dutasteride, RU, or topical minoxidil as their go-to's before even considering loniten. The thing about oral minoxidil is that not only is it sexually side-effect free, but it is also is probably the most efficacious substance we have. It is almost always going to work in some capacity. Whereas with 5ARs and other hormonal based stuff, we know many have sometimes reported on not only non-responsiveness to those drugs, but also a worsening of hair (in rare cases) from users in this community. I've never heard of oral minoxil making someone's hair worse. Loniten was so incredibly powerful that the regrowth was undeniable during those studies - and they weren't even studying its effects on hair, that's how remarkable it was! Just think about that!

 

[Gergely]

 

[Norwoody]

That's really just fear mongering lol. The dosage he was taking was insane and he took that for over a decade, along with spironolactone and a whole entire concoction of drugs with unknown interactions.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I still had sides that adversely affected my skin with relatively low concentrations with topical, it all comes down to the person, some people are very sensitive to it.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

It really does amaze me that oral minoxidil doesn't even seem to be very popular. Most people tend to go towards finasteride, dutasteride, RU, or topical minoxidil as their go-to's before even considering loniten. The thing about oral minoxidil is that not only is it sexually side-effect free, but it is also is probably the most efficacious substance we have. It is almost always going to work in some capacity. Whereas with 5ARs and other hormonal based stuff, we know many have sometimes reported on not only non-responsiveness to those drugs, but also a worsening of hair (in rare cases) from users in this community. I've never heard of oral minoxil making someone's hair worse. Loniten was so incredibly powerful that the regrowth was undeniable during those studies - and they weren't even studying its effects on hair, that's how remarkable it was! Just think about that!

I think, perhaps, that folks have been slow to try loniten/oral minoxidil is because regular minoxidil seems to do so little but this is one of those times where a pass through the liver potentiates the substance because the liver can create the enzymes needed to promote hair growth everywhere but such enzymes are deficient in the scalp for many of us.

I think that oral minoxidil might significantly promote speed of hair growth in terms of how many centimeters annually. You never hear that about other treatments, increasing either growth rate or anagen. Derma-rolling seems to increase anagen cycles and promotes putting all follicles into anagen immediately but I don't know that the hair itself grows any faster.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Oh no! Are you going to terrify me off of oral minoxidil? Merry Christmas, btw.

 

[Gergely]

Oh no! Are you going to terrify me off of oral minoxidil? Merry Christmas, btw.

Well, no. Although that is part of the reason why i don't plan to use oral min. Also happy holidays