Minoxidil shedding stopped about 1 week after stopping minoxdil

[christop40]

I've been on finasteride for 2+ years with no change. Hairs no worse/no better. My Doctor says it still looks like early stage male pattern baldness which is the same as what he said when he met me for 1st time 3 years ago. I did not experience shedding while on finasteride. Perhaps that's why I didn't get any improvement from finasteride??
I wasn't happy with no improvement so I started min. About 3 weeks into it, shedding started. I wouldn't say it was massive, but it was still noticeably more (about 4x more hairs - about 50 hairs per hair washing) fell out while washing my hair. I will say that this made cosmetic difference in the back of my head, but Doctor still said it looks like early stage when I met him while shedding. (Maybe it's only in my head?? Really hard to say even looking at the pictures..) I was about 5 weeks into Min when I met the Doctor, and Doctor said I could be at the end of initial shedding phase, but recommended to stop Min if shedding is concerning. Also, given I've been on finasteride for 2+ years with no change, he doubted if Min will benefit me.

I stopped Min, and shedding still continued for about 7 to 10 days, and after that it stopped. My question, if I start shedding about 3 weeks into Min, and shedding stops with stopping Min, how likely is it that I might turn out to be a good responder to Min? I really would like to know if others experienced similar beginning and ending of Min shedding, and tried Min again with good result? (I will still add that as long as finasteride maintains the status quo, I'm unwilling to further gamble with my hair unless I get more insight while understanding most will say initial shedding is likely to be sign of good things to come.) Your experience and advice? Thanks.

 

[Agustin Araujo]

My question, if I start shedding about 3 weeks into Min, and shedding stops with stopping Min, how likely is it that I might turn out to be a good responder to Min? I really would like to know if others experienced similar beginning and ending of Min shedding, and tried Min again with good result? (I will still add that as long as finasteride maintains the status quo, I'm unwilling to further gamble with my hair unless I get more insight while understanding most will say initial shedding is likely to be sign of good things to come.) Your experience and advice? Thanks.

Shedding when three weeks into Minoxidil can happen. If the excess shedding stops, then you should start getting regrowth. A good responder can respond that way. I've been on and off topical Minoxidil several times before since 2011 and has helped treat my male pattern baldness significantly. During the Summer of 2014, I stopped topical Minoxidil for a couple of months and went through a massive shed and lost a lot of density.

Finasteride should continue maintaining your hair, so no need to worry about that. I take Dutasteride, so I'm aware that you shouldn't lose any hair in the long term while on an oral 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor.

One more thing to watch out for with Minoxidil; it could sometimes exacerbate hair loss in 1% of people who try it out to treat their Androgenetic Alopecia. Just thought I'd let you know that as well and again, I wouldn't worry since that happen would be unlikely.