The importance of taking photos to document your hair loss journey

[Androgenic Alpaca]

To anyone out there experiencing hair loss, I have two pieces of advice:

1. Take finasteride

2. Take photos of your hair. At least once a week, preferably even more often.

You CANNOT judge the state of your hair by just looking in the mirror. Hair loss happens slowly and regrowth happens slowly. You can't see the changes day-to-day, but look back a month later and you'll be blown away by how much hair you've regrown.

When I see guys in public with thick, gorgeous hair, I think my hair is inadequate. I look in the mirror and see that I'm not yet where I want to be. Hair regrowth seems to come so slowly. But when looking at old photos, I see how far I've come.

Never forget where you came from.

Hair regrowth takes time. Give any hair growth regimen a few months - preferably at least six months, maybe even a year or more.

And take photos.

We're gonna make it, guys.

Cheers,

AA

 

[iCloud]

I can see obvious progress, but the pictures are not taken at the same angle, and it’s important to do that, I find.

 

[Androgenic Alpaca]

I can see obvious progress, but the pictures are not taken at the same angle, and it’s important to do that, I find.

Agreed.

I've since upgraded my lighting and camera setup, so there will naturally be inconsistencies between older and newer pictures. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to keep your head at a consistent angle when photographing the top of your head.

That being said, I wanted to show the difference that time makes and that was the best picture from about 6 months ago

This isn't supposed to be scientific documentation, my point is that I see much more improvement in my hair by comparing photographs than I do by just looking in the mirror

 

[Androgenic Alpaca]

Agreed.

I've since upgraded my lighting and camera setup, so there will naturally be inconsistencies between older and newer pictures. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to keep your head at a consistent angle when photographing the top of your head.

That being said, I wanted to show the difference that time makes and that was the best picture from about 6 months ago

This isn't supposed to be scientific documentation, my point is that I see much more improvement in my hair by comparing photographs than I do by just looking in the mirror

Also I just wanted to share some general positivity. Even if you don't see the results in the mirror, you will likely be having slow improvement over time, so it's important to stick with the treatment

 

[iCloud]

I agree with that. And it can be really encouraging when you see progress in pictures. I take tons of pictures of the top of my head to monitor my progress.

I had my picture taken by some friends last Sunday, for the first time in a long time given COVID. The picture was taken outside in bad, windy weather, yet my scalp was not visible In the pic. I was so damned pleased with this.

 

[Here For the Lulz]

Lulz

 

[Catagen]

Different lightning but still the progress is visible. How is your donor looking? If your gyno is preventing you from using treatments then consider surgery because there is no way to offset it while being safe about your hair.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Wow! Mr. Camelid. I am impressed.

And yes, every pic you guys take and post is a data point for those of us trying to find cis-guys some more hair without feminizing.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

To anyone out there experiencing hair loss, I have two pieces of advice:

1. Take finasteride

2. Take photos of your hair. At least once a week, preferably even more often.

You CANNOT judge the state of your hair by just looking in the mirror. Hair loss happens slowly and regrowth happens slowly. You can't see the changes day-to-day, but look back a month later and you'll be blown away by how much hair you've regrown.

When I see guys in public with thick, gorgeous hair, I think my hair is inadequate. I look in the mirror and see that I'm not yet where I want to be. Hair regrowth seems to come so slowly. But when looking at old photos, I see how far I've come.

Never forget where you came from.

Hair regrowth takes time. Give any hair growth regimen a few months - preferably at least six months, maybe even a year or more.

And take photos.

We're gonna make it, guys.

Cheers,

AA

I put a bunch of mine up side to side and if you think you've changed. Having most of my hair back like this is like a dream.

People ask about Biestro. Before and After. That first pic is when I went off estrogen for two years trying to be male. Just raging dermatitis. I think this amount of improvement is within reach for folks without too much feminization says the guy with big round D cups.<winks>

Mr. Camelid is exactly right about regression. After six months of real HRT, my hair was worse:

Then came this, probably in October of 2019 so I am with you guys. I even went thru being a cueball for many months. it probably was good for me and got me into my wig, which ironically, I just love.

Here I am in a male context about three years after pic one. Most of you, I bet would take this level of improvement as a guy. It's uncanny to me to look at my old DL and compare it with my MMC where I am Jane. But since I have no dead name and love both of my personas, this is Will. It is impossible for me to overstate the healing properties of MtF HRT at least in my case.

Right now, I prefer being Jane, all things being equal and I have two different mirrors in my house and one hand mirror so I am not coy:

My theory about MtF's and breast growth is right. I swear to Goddess but:

 

[phoenix01]

To anyone out there experiencing hair loss, I have two pieces of advice:

1. Take finasteride

2. Take photos of your hair. At least once a week, preferably even more often.

You CANNOT judge the state of your hair by just looking in the mirror. Hair loss happens slowly and regrowth happens slowly. You can't see the changes day-to-day, but look back a month later and you'll be blown away by how much hair you've regrown.

When I see guys in public with thick, gorgeous hair, I think my hair is inadequate. I look in the mirror and see that I'm not yet where I want to be. Hair regrowth seems to come so slowly. But when looking at old photos, I see how far I've come.

Never forget where you came from.

Hair regrowth takes time. Give any hair growth regimen a few months - preferably at least six months, maybe even a year or more.

And take photos.

We're gonna make it, guys.

Cheers,

AA

how long did it take you to achieve that? the complete after result?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

To anyone out there experiencing hair loss, I have two pieces of advice:

1. Take finasteride

2. Take photos of your hair. At least once a week, preferably even more often.

You CANNOT judge the state of your hair by just looking in the mirror. Hair loss happens slowly and regrowth happens slowly. You can't see the changes day-to-day, but look back a month later and you'll be blown away by how much hair you've regrown.

When I see guys in public with thick, gorgeous hair, I think my hair is inadequate. I look in the mirror and see that I'm not yet where I want to be. Hair regrowth seems to come so slowly. But when looking at old photos, I see how far I've come.

Never forget where you came from.

Hair regrowth takes time. Give any hair growth regimen a few months - preferably at least six months, maybe even a year or more.

And take photos.

We're gonna make it, guys.

Cheers,

AA

It is just fantastic in a male context. You can be attractive now the rest of your life.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

To anyone out there experiencing hair loss, I have two pieces of advice:

1. Take finasteride

2. Take photos of your hair. At least once a week, preferably even more often.

You CANNOT judge the state of your hair by just looking in the mirror. Hair loss happens slowly and regrowth happens slowly. You can't see the changes day-to-day, but look back a month later and you'll be blown away by how much hair you've regrown.

When I see guys in public with thick, gorgeous hair, I think my hair is inadequate. I look in the mirror and see that I'm not yet where I want to be. Hair regrowth seems to come so slowly. But when looking at old photos, I see how far I've come.

Never forget where you came from.

Hair regrowth takes time. Give any hair growth regimen a few months - preferably at least six months, maybe even a year or more.

And take photos.

We're gonna make it, guys.

Cheers,

AA

I keep coming back because you have done it so tell us how f*****g good it feels to have your hair back because you wanted this with every fiber of your being and that's how hard you have worked on your protocol. I am incredibly happy about my hair.

You did it!

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

I have been on here for 13 hours except an hour with my therapist. I am on such a high. It is what I hoped for and I am going to reach my goal and so did you! I like your icon since we have lots of those where I live. I read about llamas frequently. But I guess I need sleep finally. See when you get your hair back, you don't want to sleep. I brush and comb 30 minutes a day. I am not wasting this opportunity because it is unbelievable, almost.

I am a genius, after all, eccentric though I may be, now I embrace it. My Providence is female and She is on my side.

Goddess Bless

 

[Androgenic Alpaca]

Different lightning but still the progress is visible. How is your donor looking? If your gyno is preventing you from using treatments then consider surgery because there is no way to offset it while being safe about your hair.

Unfortunately, I do not think that a hair transplant is in my cards as I am poor. That being said, I do have incredibly thick hair in my donor area (just not on the top of my head). The gyno just started developing last week after months of no problems, so I'm hoping that taking a month off of the more extreme medications followed by slow dose titration might be able to solve the gyno issue. If not... well I'll deal with that when it happens.

I agree about the lighting problem, but this is unfortunately unavoidable since I've replaced all the lighting in my apartment and now also use a camera with better resolution, so all my old photos will be different from new photos. Regardless, my point here is just to share some pictures that help inspire people and prove that progress is possible, not to fully document my hair scientifically.

how long did it take you to achieve that? the complete after result?

I do not consider this to be "complete after" results. This is a journey of recovery. When I look at my hair, I still see the need for more improvement. There's still a lack of density in the horseshoe shape and my temples haven't filled in completely. A lot of the growth in my temples are still minaturized hairs, and I'm sure that if I were to stop minoxidil, these miniaturized hairs would quickly fall out. So in my opinion I still have a long way to go. My purpose in showing these photos wasn't to give a "before and after" but rather just to show that progress is possible.

That being said, the first photo was taken in early September of 2020 and the second was taken late January of 2021

I keep coming back because you have done it so tell us how f*****g good it feels to have your hair back because you wanted this with every fiber of your being and that's how hard you have worked on your protocol. I am incredibly happy about my hair.

You did it!

Thank you for your kind words and positivity, Janey.

Like I said, I don't think I'm done yet. I've got a long way to go. I think that a lot of my success is because I'm still young (25 y/o going on 26) so even though my balding was aggressive and started early (as early as 15 or 16) I still have youth on my side to help regrowth

 

[Will Be an Egg in 5 years]

Great results

 

[jan_miezda]

I can see obvious progress, but the pictures are not taken at the same angle, and it’s important to do that, I find.

yes from that picture all i see is hair shaft diameter improve and him comb over bald area with different angle.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Don't say comb-over. Is there anything worse on the planet than hairs strewn all over the head? I sort of did that as a diffuse thinner.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Unfortunately, I do not think that a hair transplant is in my cards as I am poor. That being said, I do have incredibly thick hair in my donor area (just not on the top of my head). The gyno just started developing last week after months of no problems, so I'm hoping that taking a month off of the more extreme medications followed by slow dose titration might be able to solve the gyno issue. If not... well I'll deal with that when it happens.

I agree about the lighting problem, but this is unfortunately unavoidable since I've replaced all the lighting in my apartment and now also use a camera with better resolution, so all my old photos will be different from new photos. Regardless, my point here is just to share some pictures that help inspire people and prove that progress is possible, not to fully document my hair scientifically.



I do not consider this to be "complete after" results. This is a journey of recovery. When I look at my hair, I still see the need for more improvement. There's still a lack of density in the horseshoe shape and my temples haven't filled in completely. A lot of the growth in my temples are still minaturized hairs, and I'm sure that if I were to stop minoxidil, these miniaturized hairs would quickly fall out. So in my opinion I still have a long way to go. My purpose in showing these photos wasn't to give a "before and after" but rather just to show that progress is possible.

That being said, the first photo was taken in early September of 2020 and the second was taken late January of 2021



Thank you for your kind words and positivity, Janey.

Like I said, I don't think I'm done yet. I've got a long way to go. I think that a lot of my success is because I'm still young (25 y/o going on 26) so even though my balding was aggressive and started early (as early as 15 or 16) I still have youth on my side to help regrowth

I want to look at your protocol again. Oh no! It is proprietary. Are you.like Pegasus with the huge stack?

 

[jan_miezda]

I put a bunch of mine up side to side and if you think you've changed. Having most of my hair back like this is like a dream.

People ask about Biestro. Before and After. That first pic is when I went off estrogen for two years trying to be male. Just raging dermatitis. I think this amount of improvement is within reach for folks without too much feminization says the guy with big round D cups.<winks>
View attachment 156333View attachment 156334 View attachment 156335

Mr. Camelid is exactly right about regression. After six months of real HRT, my hair was worse:

View attachment 156336

Then came this, probably in October of 2019 so I am with you guys. I even went thru being a cueball for many months. it probably was good for me and got me into my wig, which ironically, I just love.

View attachment 156337

Here I am in a male context about three years after pic one. Most of you, I bet would take this level of improvement as a guy. It's uncanny to me to look at my old DL and compare it with my MMC where I am Jane. But since I have no dead name and love both of my personas, this is Will. It is impossible for me to overstate the healing properties of MtF HRT at least in my case.

View attachment 156332

Right now, I prefer being Jane, all things being equal and I have two different mirrors in my house and one hand mirror so I am not coy:

View attachment 156340

View attachment 156338

My theory about MtF's and breast growth is right. I swear to Goddess but:

View attachment 156339

did you get a hair transplant or did you see those result on hormone alone? in the last two pictures it looks like a wig or its real growth u seen

 

[Androgenic Alpaca]

yes from that picture all i see is hair shaft diameter improve and him comb over bald area with different angle.

loss of hair shaft diameter is the first step in the miniaturization process, so improvement in hair shaft diameter *is* substantial regrowth and improvement. My whole point in making this thread was to say that we can be our own worst critics and just because I haven't had as much regrowth as I want (ie in my temples) doesn't mean that I haven't had good regrowth

I want to look at your protocol again. Oh no! It is proprietary. Are you.like Pegasus with the huge stack?

I am planning on making a different thread with full documentation of my regimen and regrowth over the past months, but to make it short what I've used:

Oral:
Finasteride (later switched to dutasteride, now back to finasteride)
Minoxidil
Castor oil (not so much recently)
vitamins and minerals including biotin, collagen, vitamin D, etc.

Topical:
Minoxidil
Stemoxydine
RU58841
dutasteride (previously finasteride)
tretinoin (previously retinol)
estriol
melatonin
The Ordinary "buffet" peptide serum and hair growth peptide serum
Microneedling

Currently temporarily discontinuing RU, dutasteride (oral and topical), and estriol