Why do some sources say quitting some DHT blocking products, makes you lose its gains?

[Hello everybody]

“Remember that once you’re on a DHT blocker, you’re on it for good, or the hair loss will return to its baseline,” (source: https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/hair-loss/how-dht-blocking-shampoo-works)

And I even remember some source saying the same for Finasteride, that you would lose the gains if you quit.

This is all wrong, right? Isn't all DHT blocking good no matter how long it happens? Because it slows down the process, and when DHT picks up again it would just continue where it left off?

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

“Remember that once you’re on a DHT blocker, you’re on it for good, or the hair loss will return to its baseline,” (source: https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/hair-loss/how-dht-blocking-shampoo-works)

And I even remember some source saying the same for Finasteride, that you would lose the gains if you quit.

This is all wrong, right? Isn't all DHT blocking good no matter how long it happens? Because it slows down the process, and when DHT picks up again it would just continue where it left off?

Eh. One would hope but without reviewing all of the individual details as I am judging by before and after and after pics, it seems that microneedling without finasteride/Duta indicates after stopping for maybe a couple of months, that all gains are lost so swiftly as to be almost poof! Gone. It might be that our systems continue to increase the ability to generate DHT and so that when we go off reductase inhibitors, basically the receptors are all but overrun immediately and it's no longer any sort of slow progression really but sort of a mad, all but immediate shed but not the benevolent kind. Your reasoning does apply to minoxidil as far as I can tell and its results are always, aside from time and cost of application, worth it as you won't be worse off if you stop and the hair loss seems to be more gradual after desisting but in terms of being "worse off" for having tried and stopped, I don't think this is true of any med currently in common use although many guys believe it and there's no reason not to think that it could be true at times. Still, no treatment means baldness for 95% of us. Some stop with a maturing hair line that persists for years. Sting is notable for that and Peter Jennings the ABC anchorman was a bit more recessed but similar.

 

[Hello everybody]

Many thanks for the reply! So the DHT arithmetics is not as simple it might first appear.
Regarding Minoxidil, that was surprising to hear. I had the understanding so far that Minoxidil has no preventive value, only very momentary effect, but you indicate otherwise. In fact this is all quite the opposite of what I thought.

 

[JaneyElizabeth]

Many thanks for the reply! So the DHT arithmetics is not as simple it might first appear.
Regarding Minoxidil, that was surprising to hear. I had the understanding so far that Minoxidil has no preventive value, only very momentary effect, but you indicate otherwise. In fact this is all quite the opposite of what I thought.

Unfortunately from what I have read and can discern, we don't even know how minoxidil works. Generally, all hair loss treatments that work are hormonal in nature since androgenic baldness is always and everywhere a hormonal phenomenon by definition and in fact. Mixoxidil appears to have hormonal aspects as well although this notion is far from well developed. So what does minoxidil do exactly? Does it increase hair counts? Probably. Does it increase anagen? Eh, maybe but probably not much, at least the topical version. Does it make hair grow faster? I haven't found any evidence of this on here or in the literature but oral minoxidil, to me, appeared to have the effect of making hair grow faster and better on the entire scalp and body, albeit muted for me below the neck due to beard removal and laser hair removal below the neck and HRT.

What does finasteride do? That's not much clearer except that it seems to provide very good protective maintenance for many years for many people. A few, mostly young guys might see significant overall hair improvement visually from finasteride or dutasteride but this is not widespread and I don't know of the duration of such improvement. finasteride/duta basically provide us a safe baseline looks-wise for some period into the future and for those using additional meds, it might be additive or even synergistic with certain treatments but again nobody knows if even the big two or big three have any sort of synergism, or additive effects.

I think that topical min and finasteride can provide similar results at least for maybe five to ten years since I used min first for several years and only then after about ten years, did finasteride come out and boy, I didn't pause to think there, I jumped on it and only reluctantly stopped to breed while using minoxidil to maintain. I have a couple of representative pictures maybe. The first is me at 17, right before things went downhill and even though I didn't notice hair loss, by 20, I had an incipient bald spot. So the second pic is maybe me at 44 and then the final one is at 51. So basically, all of that maintenance from 17 or 20, depending upon where one marks the initiation of the balding and treatment process, my remaining hair is due to minoxidil and finasteride. When they stopped working so well, I started having cataclysmic dermatitis, rosacea and my hair started to noticeably worsen again but 30 years isn't bad, especially since I married well and had a beautiful family. I had options from maintaining some of my good looks but I missed trading on them as I did in high school. I will add a current one, from my current regime from yesterday as well at 56, getting on to 57 years of age.

 

[Hello everybody]

Interesting, thanks! And thanks for sharing your story.