- Reaction score
- 5
Hi all, I posted similar in r/tressless but thought I'd cross post here as I've had some well reasoned responses in the past. Some context. I started finasteride around May of 2016, having realised I was balding in late 2015. My initial results were very good, and my hairline thickened up substantially on finasteride. This is my first 8 months https://imgur.com/a/dZuNr . (I know the photo qual changes but you'll just have to believe that that left side thickened up substantially.) At some point I decided to get on liquid minoxidil to further thicken up the left side of my hairline which was my only remaining area of concern. Unfortunately this was a mistake as I had a very strange reaction to minoxidil, which sent my hair into some kind of insane shed. This is my first 4 months of minoxidil https://imgur.com/a/kz1q1. The entire left front of my hairline shed and thinned majorly. I was hopeful that this shed hair would grow back stronger but minoxidil seemed to promote regrowth of wiry, straw like, kinking hair, completely different to my regular hair. This is a photo about a year into minoxidil, showing the kinking regrowth. https://imgur.com/a/sJ7a8.My dermatologist had never seen anything like it and the only scientific literature ive found is regarding a condition called acquired progressive kinking of the hair, a rare condition that seems to manifest itself in people with aggressive male pattern baldness. I switched to the foam as I thought it was possible I was having a reaction to the propylene glycol in the liquid. As a result my individual hair quality in that area got better but I ended up with far less hair. In addition the hair that now grows in this area, while not kinked, refuses to grow any longer than about 3-4 inches. These are some photos from today. https://imgur.com/a/0klbMdp?fbclid=IwAR3o2sbKgR5EV7at8QtQupPE_-LCYy5I0UczMeSLzCgCSy0yDnt48sPEOyI Any ideas why this is? Is this hair actually thinner than my regular hair, despite appearances, hence not growing as long?