Buzzing hair lets you see your true situtation

I have been balding forever: Was a NW2 at 17, NW3 between 25-35 and over the last the 5 years my crown and vertex has thinned out badly. When grown-out my hair is exactly the same as Jude Law and have been balding at about the same rate.

Anyway I have just buzzed it down and you can clearly see which hairs are miniaturizing and the hairs beneath the skin which may have a chance. You can also clearly see the slick areas which may have no hope in hell.

I have been on a low dose finasteride (.25mg ED) for 14 months as this dose drastically lowers my DHT levels to below the bottom range without messing up the estrogen and testosterone. Since I have been on finasteride my scalp never tingles /itches and my slick bald temples never get greasy anymore.

I did take before photos at the start but unfortunately did not take them buzzed down to grade 0 and close-up. Therefore I am not 100% sure if those weak /thinner hairs are growing or dying. However I will give it more time until the 2 year mark as I have been thinning for a long time. I will compare the photos with a another grade 0 buzz cut in 10 months.

Sometimes I think I'd really like to buzz down to a #1 guard until potential gains kick in, as I get a lot of compliments on how I look with scruff, and I think I may be able to pull off a Jason Statham type thing, but then I think of the people in my life I've known for a while who haven't caught on that I'm balding yet, and the idea scares me.

LMD said:

I have been on a low dose finasteride (.25mg ED) for 14 months as this dose drastically lowers my DHT levels to below the bottom range without messing up the estrogen and testosterone. Since I have been on finasteride my scalp never tingles /itches and my slick bald temples never get greasy anymore.

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Did you have a test done to measure your levels?

kj6723 said:

Did you have a test done to measure your levels?

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Yes. I have been having the same tests three months apart and so far I have had four separate tests:

DHT : 0.84 / 0.76* / 1.0 / 1.3 (Range: 0.86-3.4 nmol /l)
Testosterone: 23 / 16* / 25 / 20 (Range: 10-38 nmol /l)
Estradiol: 0.08 / 0.08* / 0.08 / 0.10 (Range: <0.15)

* was sick at the time of testing

Unfortunately I have no baseline levels to compare with.

LMD said:

Yes. I have been having the same tests three months apart and so far I have had four separate tests:

DHT : 0.84 / 0.76* / 1.0 / 1.3 (Range: 0.86-3.4 nmol /l)
Testosterone: 23 / 16* / 25 / 20 (Range: 10-38 nmol /l)
Estradiol: 0.08 / 0.08* / 0.08 / 0.10 (Range: <0.15)

* was sick at the time of testing

Unfortunately I have no baseline levels to compare with.

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If you have no baseline then it's not possible to say whether that dose has 'screwed up' your testostsrone and estrogen levels. If it has lowered DHT then I'm sure that it has changed the other values.

Out of interest is it expensive to get them tested so regularly? Where are you from?

jd_uk said:

If you have no baseline then it's not possible to say whether that dose has 'screwed up' your testostsrone and estrogen levels. If it has lowered DHT then I'm sure that it has changed the other values.

Out of interest is it expensive to get them tested so regularly? Where are you from?

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I get the tests done free on my company medical insurance. I dont know the actual costs but the Doctor said that DHT is the expensive test. I am originally from South Wales but am living in the Nordics.

The reason why I test every three months is because 17 years when I was cutting up Proscar (1.25mg ED) I unfortuntely developed gyno in which I later corrected with surgery. Had the usual watery semen, weak errections, less semen etc but had horrible tingling and itching in my right nipple. It got puffy and started to look feminised and by then a lump formed.

LMD said:

I get the tests done free on my company medical insurance. I dont know the actual costs but the Doctor said that DHT is the expensive test. I am originally from South Wales but am living in the Nordics.

The reason why I test every three months is because 17 years when I was cutting up Proscar (1.25mg ED) I unfortuntely developed gyno in which I later corrected with surgery. Had the usual watery semen, weak errections, less semen etc but had horrible tingling and itching in my right nipple. It got puffy and started to look feminised and by then a lump formed.

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I see... Great that you get those tests covered on your health insurance. I would also want to get them if I started any type of anti androgen treatment, but I don't think I'd be able to afford DHT tests and the NHS wouldn't do them I'm sure.

That's pretty bad about the gyno - it goes to show that finasteride can be risky. Was the lump big/obvious enough that it had to be removed or were there other reasons why it had to be? I don't really understand how they can appear so quickly.

Also, you started finasteride pretty young then and you still lost quite a bit of hair... do you think you would be completely bald now without it? How much had you lost when you started it?

Gyno lump was very obvious and I was in very good shape with low body fat but the fat around the nipple area would not dissapear and overall it ruined my physique. The surgeon removed the lump and the gland and made it very flat. However it looks very different to the other side of the chest. One side is a little puffy and the other is not.

When I was 23 I was on finasteride for about six months then I stopped due to the itching /tingling and breast swelling and never went back on it until 16 years later at a much lower dose.

Over the years I tried minoxidil 5% for a solid 12 months (Dr Lee's without PPG) as the foam and greasy liquid just irrated my scalp. This had no improvment on my hair.

Have not been on any meds so I guess I just had really slow hairloss.

real nice reality check when you buzz your head eh?

It shocked the hell out of me. Made me even more anxious and paranoid.

Sometimes being blue pill and semi-delluded on the reality of your situation can be a good thing (grown out)