No signs of stopping after six months on finasteride

[Baldingsuck]

Hi, i'm an 18 year old that has been experiencing bad hairloss for around a year. The hairloss is aggresive, and around 4-5 months after i first noticed it (noticed some regression on the temples) i figured i might aswell start treating it early so i went to see an dermatologist. After some consultation he subscribed me with propecia. I did not notice any side effects except for some imaginary ones the first couple of weeks. It has now been over 6 months since i started and it feels like the hairloss is continuing at the same speed as before. I never noticed any major shedd and i'm still receding in a quick phase. i went from a Norwood 1 to a Norwood 2 in just a couple of months and i feel like finasteride isn't working for me. I know i shouldn't expect any visual results for about a year since i started the treatment, but shouldn't the hairloss atleast have slowed down by now? I've considered adding minoxidil to my regimen it's just that i don't feel like having a major shedd just before prom and graduation which is in around a month. The hairloss is tearing my confidence apart and i do no longer enjoy any types of social interactions like going out, lifting weights etc. Is there any hope for me? If there's anyone here with a similiar experience i would love for you to reply.

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I can add that when i started i had an full hairline, now it has receeded around 1cm from all directions

 

[aj218]

Well I've been on finasteride since last July and I'm 20 myself. In my case the recession stopped but I still continue to diffuse thin. I added minoxidil 4 months ago and it brought my hairline a bit lower (around 1cm), but it hasn't done much for the rest of my scalp, although I haven't exactly used it over my scalp properly yet. Though I do believe I have been having a minoxidil shed as the hairs have shed at a faster pace over the last 2 months and have resorted to using some toppik to cover any parts that look thin so people don't notice the difference.

Some people on finasteride do see an increase in recession but it could be that the hair at your temples was all set to fall out and finasteride just increased the shedding so that it can grow back. Do you notice any vellus hairs on your temples?

Also I think you should add nizoral if you haven't already, it might help.

 

[Baldingsuck]

Yeah, i'm still seeing these small, almost invisible hairs at my temples and hairline. It's what makes me worry the most, as they are a proof of that i'm still receding. I mean, if finasteride has any effect i shouldnt still have those hairs after 6+ months?

 

[aj218]

Yeah, i'm still seeing these small, almost invisible hairs at my temples and hairline. It's worrying me the most, as they are a proof of that i'm still receding.

Those hairs could regrow. Also, you've only been on finasteride for 6 months, there's quite a few dudes who say that they saw a difference after 9 months or a year. Is there a difference in the amount of hair you've been losing on finasteride and before finasteride?

 

[Baldingsuck]

Thanks for the reply btw, and i don't really notice any difference in terms of how much hair i lose (might be a slight increase, i can't really tell)

 

[zzzzz]

finasteride at the very least is slowing down your hair loss stay on it

 

[Baldingsuck]

I do not intend to stop it until i'm 100% assured that it doesn't work. However i feel like i need something more to add, prehaps nizoral and minoxil, it's just that i've heard all of these shedding stories. Don't feel like going to prom looking any worse than i already do

 

[aj218]

When's your prom?

 

[Baldingsuck]

Prom is on the 2nd on June, so alittle more than 30 days. Not long enough to see any visual effect from minoxidil i guess, but enough time for a untimely shedd

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As it is now, i can barely style my hair to hide my receding sides (on bad days i can't) i'm just hoping that i can outlast this and not lose to much ground until i graduate. Then i got 2 months on freedom before i'm gonna start working (with people older than me, more accepting too i hope)

 

[aj218]

Ok, you're right there's not much that can be done in the next month. But once you graduate you could try out minoxidil, see if it helps. Luckily you won't have to worry about what your peers think by then, especially if you shed.

In the meantime, it might be best to see if you can try a different hairstyle, see what works. Maybe keep the top long and the sides short. Also make sure you dress well. People are more likely to look at your clothes on these kind's of occasions than they do hair.

 

[Baldingsuck]

Yeah, people in my age tend to be alittle less tolerant to these kind of things. When i start working i hope people will be less condecending as i won't be alone with a receding hairline

 

[aj218]

Yeah, people in my age tend to be alittle less tolerant to these kind of things. When i start working i hope people will be less condecending as i won't be alone with a receding hairline

Funny thing is when I was 18 I didn't realise what a receding hairline was, I just thought some people had differently shaped hairlines. I thought that a bald spot meant a dude was going bald. I only realised that receding temples were a part of hairloss when my own started receding.

Now that I'm at university, no one gives a crap even though we're only a few years different, though I still keep the fact that I'm balding covered up but that's due to my own confidence issues. I swear there are dudes who are 20 with nw3 and no one says anything. My friend was a nw2-3 when he was 18 and he was really popular and had a pretty girlfriend. I guess it depends on who you're around.

Has anyone actually said anything about your receding temples?

 

[LBerg12]

Maybe adding minoxidil will help with hair growth

 

[Baldingsuck]

In general it feels like people isn't paying much attention to it really, two of my friends has commented on the fact that my hair looks different (although i'm quite sure they don't know that i'm balding). I don't think i actually ever saw anything wierd with balding men until i started to bald myself, now i just look for receding hairlines on every man i meet.

 

[aj218]

In general it feels like people isn't paying much attention to it really, two of my friends has commented on the fact that my hair looks different (although i'm quite sure they don't know that i'm balding). I don't think i actually ever saw anything wierd with balding men until i started to bald myself, now i just look for receding hairlines on every man i meet.

Well if they haven't paid much attention yet, they still won't 1 month down the line so don't worry about your prom. Yeah I found my self looking at everyone's hairline when I first noticed I had male pattern baldness. Lets just hope we can gain our hairlines back in the future.

The great thing about being young in this point in time is that there will be a proper treatment down the line that can reverse balding so we might end up going bald at some point but we might not die bald, if you get what I mean.

 

[zzzzz]

I do not intend to stop it until i'm 100% assured that it doesn't work.

It does work, like I said it is at the very least slowing down your hair loss. If you stop it you will lose hair even faster. It is working.

 

[Sanchez1234]

In general it feels like people isn't paying much attention to it really, two of my friends has commented on the fact that my hair looks different (although i'm quite sure they don't know that i'm balding). I don't think i actually ever saw anything wierd with balding men until i started to bald myself, now i just look for receding hairlines on every man i meet.

Did it ever start working?