Starting My Finasteride Journey At 41

[9982]

@JuliusScissor
Your hair looks very dense. Mine is similar at 41. Was the thinning massively noticeable? I was hoping that post 40 I was out of the danger zone as I’m yet to see a man in real life, bald if they pass 40 with full coverage.

The treatments are serving you well!

I had full coverage until about 48, then notice weak crown density then diffusion on top. Got on min and topical finasteride after ignoring it for 3 or 4 years. Seems to have stabilized nearly 2 years into the regime.

 

[PeakyBlinderRob]

Update. 3 months on Finasteride. Photos taken with wet hair. I have been trying to cut my hair the same length (somewhat) during these three months.

 

[PeakyBlinderRob]

Update. 4 months on Finasteride.

 

[Will Be an Egg in 5 years]

Temples looks more pointy, I don't know what that means tought

 

[PeakyBlinderRob]

4.5 months. Fresh buzz cut.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

You're in generally good shape as compared to my now two hair loss events. Thankfully my hair is recovering for the second time and looks generally "normal" but not to my satisfaction, I hope finasteride works for you, but being as that I'm in the same boat as you, I can tell you that finasteride did not work for me, and that it is now my very strong hypothesis that finasteride only really works to prevent hair loss, and does not do much to induce regrowth unless your body naturally is inclined to convert testosterone to estrogen.

I now know that the reason why I had recovered from very substantial hair loss in my late 20s because for whatever reason, my body was more readily converting testosterone to estrogen and thus in roughly about two and a half years, my hair went from awful and sparse to extremely thick, as thick as it ever was in my late teens and early 20s.

Endogenously plus or minus some tricks I can do with medications to increase my estrogen to induce growth, I am coming close to my limit in that regard. Not my total limit mind you, but it seems like without some serious outside intervention in the form of hormones, I'm not going to recover to the extent I fully want to.

And I hate to say it, because a lot of guys in our age range are worried about testosterone and maintaining that hard dry angular look, and if your hair is androgen sensitive, I can guarantee you that your skin is too and thus if you want to keep that look and reverse miniaturization, your chances are very slim. The estrogen that is required to induce regrowth either endogenously from finasteride interfering with 5AR, or exogenously will soften your appearance.

I have decided to take the topically applied estrogen route and that is using it in limited doses to directly antagonize and reverse miniaturization and provide the e2 that I now believe is absolutely necessary to induce strong hair regrowth. I managed to have substantially higher e2 levels when I was 30 and it did not give me gyno or severe weight gain, so I believe I can artificially induce that state again.

Hopefully finasteride works for you, but if it does not, realize that it's not the end of the road. I'm fully committed to managing the side effects of estrogen and going that route, I've done... well still doing the high-t thing. Got ripped, got big, shredded like a mofo, but honestly it's not worth my hair.



Only if your body takes the testosterone not converted to DHT and converts it into estrogen, because that's the only way to reverse miniaturization. I've done PRP, I've done so many treatments, I've done most all you can think of, and nothing, and I mean nothing either will work or work as well as estrogen, whether it's produced in your body or introduced topically.

What’s your opinion on PRP. I’m thinking of doing again

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

What’s your opinion on PRP. I’m thinking of doing again

Once every 6 months, I've done it once a month for four months, expensive, and I did not see it as being strongly beneficial in my case.

You really have to know what your hair loss cause is before you go into that, but I will say that for older guys it probably does help getting it done once every year or six months just to reintroduce hair growth factors just to keep things going.

I know for a fact the big thing for me is suppressing certain hormones and increasing others, that's just the hand I have to play.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

Once every 6 months, I've done it once a month for four months, expensive, and I did not see it as being strongly beneficial in my case.

You really have to know what your hair loss cause is before you go into that, but I will say that for older guys it probably does help getting it done once every year or six months just to reintroduce hair growth factors just to keep things going.

I know for a fact the big thing for me is suppressing certain hormones and increasing others, that's just the hand I have to play.

Pretty sure my main cause is androgens. The change in shedding switching from finasteride to dutasteride has been incredible.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

4.5 months. Fresh buzz cut.

I'm going to be honest, you don't fit the typical profile of somebody who needs finasteride, your hair on top was diffuse loss, but it absolutely does look a bit better now. It's certainly darker, which to me implies proper hormone balance and more importantly proper nutrient intake.

I think you were going through some weird diffuse loss but if the finasteride is working for you, more power to you, just realize that it may have been something else entirely.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

Pretty sure my main cause is androgens. The change in shedding switching from finasteride to dutasteride has been incredible.

Do tell, I did not do well on finasteride, can you tell me a bit about your experience on finasteride and then your transition to dutasteride?

 

[Isneezedsohard]

Do tell, I did not do well on finasteride, can you tell me a bit about your experience on finasteride and then your transition to dutasteride?

It worked amazing for me for about 3 years. Totally forgot about my hair loss completely. Then it started back up. Added RU— was still shedding like mad. Finally bit the bullet and switched to dutasteride. Was freaking out cuz nothing changed— then BAM— after like 6 months, my shedding decreased drastically. It’s been like that now for like 2 weeks. Granted— my shedding could start again, but fingers crossed that’s not the case. I’m also still using RU as well.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

It worked amazing for me for about 3 years. Totally forgot about my hair loss completely. Then it started back up. Added RU— was still shedding like mad. Finally bit the bullet and switched to dutasteride. Was freaking out cuz nothing changed— then BAM— after like 6 months, my shedding decreased drastically. It’s been like that now for like 2 weeks. Granted— my shedding could start again, but fingers crossed that’s not the case. I’m also still using RU as well.

I know it had an impact on my DHT tho because on finasteride my DHT levels were about 14 ng/ml, and 3.4 ng/ml after switching g to dutasteride. Hence why I believe I’m very androgen sensitive

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I tried RU and I just had horrible heart palpitations and feelings of cardiac weakness, it was going systemic too easily for me.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

I tried RU and I just had horrible heart palpitations and feelings of cardiac weakness, it was going systemic too easily for me.

I want to switch to CB. I don’t have heart issues at all, but I think it’s given my a rash.

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I want to switch to CB. I don’t have heart issues at all, but I think it’s given my a rash.

I feel like Breezula is a meme, it's expensive and honestly if you're going to buy expensive topicals, just f*****g buy estrogen.

The only reason why you'd avoid that is because you are holding out to have kids, or you've been wrongfully propagandized into the mindset that men are just 100% testosterone fuelled beasts that don't have any estrogen in their system at all and never did, which is bullshit.

Estrogen is -the- hair growth hormone, end of story, if you want your hair back, estrogen is the way.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

I feel like Breezula is a meme, it's expensive and honestly if you're going to buy expensive topicals, just f*****g buy estrogen.

The only reason why you'd avoid that is because you are holding out to have kids, or you've been wrongfully propagandized into the mindset that men are just 100% testosterone fuelled beasts that don't have any estrogen in their system at all and never did, which is bullshit.

Estrogen is -the- hair growth hormone, end of story, if you want your hair back, estrogen is the way.

I’m scared it will go systematic tho

 

[DogoDiLaurentiis]

I’m scared it will go systematic tho

My point, is that most average men have a certain amount of estrogen in their system anyhow, you're not looking at it in terms of "I'm restoring the estrogen that is lost" which if you're now losing hair is precisely what you're doing.

Yeah, do you have a bit of extra weight? Yeah sure, even I have on Bi-est, but like I said, I had f*****g bowling ball delts and a washboard stomach when I was at my apex of being ripped and in shape, but it wasn't worth my f*****g hair.

Understand that if you had hair before or after puberty that's all you're doing is resetting your body chemistry back to what it was.

You are not going to get massive tits off of using topical estrogen as long as you're being smart about it, and if you are so worried buy some calcium D-glucarate which immediately bonds to hormones and excretes them out of your body through your kidneys.

You have nothing to lose, I provided you with a complete failsafe in the event you think your estrogen use might get out of hand.

 

[Isneezedsohard]

My point, is that most average men have a certain amount of estrogen in their system anyhow, you're not looking at it in terms of "I'm restoring the estrogen that is lost" which if you're now losing hair is precisely what you're doing.

Yeah, do you have a bit of extra weight? Yeah sure, even I have on Bi-est, but like I said, I had f*****g bowling ball delts and a washboard stomach when I was at my apex of being ripped and in shape, but it wasn't worth my f*****g hair.

Understand that if you had hair before or after puberty that's all you're doing is resetting your body chemistry back to what it was.

You are not going to get massive tits off of using topical estrogen as long as you're being smart about it, and if you are so worried buy some calcium D-glucarate which immediately bonds to hormones and excretes them out of your body through your kidneys.

You have nothing to lose, I provided you with a complete failsafe in the event you think your estrogen use might get out of hand.

I'm in good shape. I reckon my body could handle it I guess then