Anyone experience a Second Shed on minoxidil?

[BawdiestSnail]

Hi Everyone,

Basically I am a 22yo Male who’s been on finasteride for 18 months and minoxidil for nearly 6 months.

Following an initial shed on minoxidil which lasted 2 months I had fantastic initial growth which lasted until month 5. Since then I have had a huge shed and a rapid decline in density which has took me back to baseline.

I am basically wondering if anyone else has been through the same thing with regards to a second shed/ shedding cycles, their experiences and if it will recover?

I know this is such a tired topic on this page but I’m extremely stressed and anyone’s advice would be extremely helpful.

Any help will be massively appreciated!

[PeakyBlinder]

Hi Everyone,

Basically I am a 22yo Male who’s been on finasteride for 18 months and minoxidil for nearly 6 months.

Following an initial shed on minoxidil which lasted 2 months I had fantastic initial growth which lasted until month 5. Since then I have had a huge shed and a rapid decline in density which has took me back to baseline.

I am basically wondering if anyone else has been through the same thing with regards to a second shed/ shedding cycles, their experiences and if it will recover?

I know this is such a tired topic on this page but I’m extremely stressed and anyone’s advice would be extremely helpful.

Any help will be massively appreciated!

I have been on Minoxidil for 3 years...and my hair gets full...then it sheds again. Seems the shedding always happens. I just started taking Finasteride (yesterday) how is your experience with that? Have you grown new hair from Finasteride?

[BawdiestSnail]

Hi bro, thanks for the quick reply.

It’s reassuring that shedding cycles do happen. How long do you find it takes for your hair to recover from a shed? Really hoped my initial dread shed would be the end of it.

So I’ve been taking fin for 18 months with no sides to speak of, still horny af and no brain fog. I still lost a lot of ground even when taking fin however so I could be a non-responder. I’m quite scared to come off it now however in case it’s been slowing my hair loss and it might cause me to lose it all.

In short for me, no regrowth and further loss.

Minoxidil seemed to be the only thing saving me but I look like I did after the initial dread shed sadly

[BawdiestSnail]

Don’t know if my reply has been posted to you but it’s there below.

Was nervous about posting here for the first time but glad to know there’s nice people like you out there

[PeakyBlinder]

Don’t know if my reply has been posted to you but it’s there below.

Was nervous about posting here for the first time but glad to know there’s nice people like you out there

My hair held up fairly well until I was about 36 (I am 41 now). That's when it started thinning at the crown and in the front peaks. I always had a high hairline, but it was always thick and full. I can't stand the diffuse thinning. The receding was easy to deal with over the years, because the hair was still thick. Trying to cover up diffusion is a pain in the ass. I find mousse and a styling wax makes it look a lot better. I use that to get through the shed. I usually end up giving my hair a buzzcut when I go through a shed, which still looks great on me (and it actually makes my hair looks fuller, once I edge a nice hairline) Yea man, I am horny constantly, always pestering my wife for sex - so a slow down in libido would actually be a good thing hahah. I heard that as well, that certain people don't respond to Finasteride. I am taking 1.25mg every other day. I heard spacing out the doses by a day was just as effective. I just want my certain diffused areas to fill out and NOT shed anymore. I don't expect to have my 18 year old hairline again...I like my hairline, I still have a lot of hair...I just need it to "thicken up" again! I will do whatever it takes to not lose it. I will post some pics of my progress (or failure) at the 3 month mark...best of luck!!

[BawdiestSnail]

My hair held up fairly well until I was about 36 (I am 41 now). That's when it started thinning at the crown and in the front peaks. I always had a high hairline, but it was always thick and full. I can't stand the diffuse thinning. The receding was easy to deal with over the years, because the hair was still thick. Trying to cover up diffusion is a pain in the ass. I find mousse and a styling wax makes it look a lot better. I use that to get through the shed. I usually end up giving my hair a buzzcut when I go through a shed, which still looks great on me (and it actually makes my hair looks fuller, once I edge a nice hairline) Yea man, I am horny constantly, always pestering my wife for sex - so a slow down in libido would actually be a good thing hahah. I heard that as well, that certain people don't respond to Finasteride. I am taking 1.25mg every other day. I heard spacing out the doses by a day was just as effective. I just want my certain diffused areas to fill out and NOT shed anymore. I don't expect to have my 18 year old hairline again...I like my hairline, I still have a lot of hair...I just need it to "thicken up" again! I will do whatever it takes to not lose it. I will post some pics of my progress (or failure) at the 3 month mark...best of luck!!

Good luck man, you should be ok if you’ve already got a high sex drive. Even if you do have a few issues you can just come off it and you’ll be fine.

I was just wondering what the time scales of your sheds were, like how long they lasted, how long before it took to recover fully and how long before the next shed after that? Did you hair come back thicker also?

Good luck on the journey bro!

[PeakyBlinder]

Good luck man, you should be ok if you’ve already got a high sex drive. Even if you do have a few issues you can just come off it and you’ll be fine.

I was just wondering what the time scales of your sheds were, like how long they lasted, how long before it took to recover fully and how long before the next shed after that? Did you hair come back thicker also?

Good luck on the journey bro!

That's a good question! I haven't actually checked how long a shed lasted. When I notice those areas diffuse and shed, I end up getting fed up and buzzing my head again (not bald, but short) and it looks SO much better...the stubble looks thick and full again. Then, it starts growing back full...and eventually sheds again. I am debating fighting through the shedding this time and style around it somehow. The good thing is that I am working from home now, and do not need to be in my office. I wish I started the Finasteride 6 months ago when I began working from home. Maybe I would have great results by now! My suggestion going forward is to try and style around the shedding (if possible). Minoxidil/Finasteride/Nizoral. Those are the top three choices we have at the moment...I can't afford a hair transplant, and I am not into the idea of moving good hair from the back to the front. Maybe if they can clone a single follicle into THOUSANDS of follicles, I will go for a transplant. But I know it will cost THOUSANDS of dollars which I would rather spend elsewhere.

[BawdiestSnail]

That's a good question! I haven't actually checked how long a shed lasted. When I notice those areas diffuse and shed, I end up getting fed up and buzzing my head again (not bald, but short) and it looks SO much better...the stubble looks thick and full again. Then, it starts growing back full...and eventually sheds again. I am debating fighting through the shedding this time and style around it somehow. The good thing is that I am working from home now, and do not need to be in my office. I wish I started the Finasteride 6 months ago when I began working from home. Maybe I would have great results by now! My suggestion going forward is to try and style around the shedding (if possible). Minoxidil/Finasteride/Nizoral. Those are the top three choices we have at the moment...I can't afford a hair transplant, and I am not into the idea of moving good hair from the back to the front. Maybe if they can clone a single follicle into THOUSANDS of follicles, I will go for a transplant. But I know it will cost THOUSANDS of dollars which I would rather spend elsewhere.

I keep my hair short anyway so my shed is super noticeable at the moment. It’s been like 3 or 4 weeks since the start of the shed so I’m hoping it calms down over the next week and I get some regrowth, just gotta trust the process I suppose.

I’m already using Nizoral once a week just to keep the dandruff at bay so might up it to twice a week just to reduce scalp DHT. Was debating adding microneedling to the mix but I understand it can cause shedding as well, don’t want to go even more bald lol.

Yeah the only positive to come out of lockdown is I can have a shit trim and nobody will see. I’m from the uk so I can buy finasteride off an online pharmacy in 1mg so I take that once a day, I think 1.25 for you will be ideal for the start, apparently there is little distance in the efficacy of finasteride beyond 0.5mg. I wouldn’t get too excited over the thoughts of regrowth from finasteride however, from what I understand it will hopefully maintain what you already have but i hope you are lucky and you get some regrowth, a few people do

[PeakyBlinder]

I keep my hair short anyway so my shed is super noticeable at the moment. It’s been like 3 or 4 weeks since the start of the shed so I’m hoping it calms down over the next week and I get some regrowth, just gotta trust the process I suppose.

I’m already using Nizoral once a week just to keep the dandruff at bay so might up it to twice a week just to reduce scalp DHT. Was debating adding microneedling to the mix but I understand it can cause shedding as well, don’t want to go even more bald lol.

Yeah the only positive to come out of lockdown is I can have a shit trim and nobody will see. I’m from the uk so I can buy finasteride off an online pharmacy in 1mg so I take that once a day, I think 1.25 for you will be ideal for the start, apparently there is little distance in the efficacy of finasteride beyond 0.5mg. I wouldn’t get too excited over the thoughts of regrowth from finasteride however, from what I understand it will hopefully maintain what you already have but i hope you are lucky and you get some regrowth, a few people do

I just washed the product out of my hair and took a photo. So disheartening. I am going to use this photo as my first pic and then take a comparison photo in 3 months on Finasteride. I was going to take 1.25mg every other day, but I think I will try it EVERY DAY to see if I get any side effects or not. I don't want to minimize the effects by not taking it every single day. I will only cut back if I get side effects. Do you have any pics of your diffused thinning? I wouldn't mind seeing your current state. How do you send pics in private on here?

[TheBabylon]

I experienced the 2nd shed. My hair is starting to recover now. The 2nd shed is harder than the 1st because You lose so much hair and your back to the baseline and for some reason it takes much longer for the hair to grow back.

I started my 2nd shed in December of 2019 and started to grow back in June 2020 very slowly. Now I can see all of the hairs that I have lost starting to come back but very slowly. Its weird that the second shed happens? I never changed my dose, never got depressed and never changed my diet.

So when it happened i originally thought that minoxidil stopped working. But I thought about it more and I realised, how can minoxidil suddenly stop working so quickly? Doesnt make sense. I did some research online and came to the conclusion that when all these new hairs grow out thanks to minoxidil, when it's time for the hair to fall, they will all fall out at the same time because they are all in the same phase in the hair cycle. People say that it will get better with time and the sheds become less severe.

So my advice is to keep going! Boats against the current!

[weezydaine]

Same Problem... did you find a solution?

Hey I am currently facing the same problem after 5 months ... Did you find a solution? Please advice.. I really don't want to loose my gains again.. Im only 22

Hi Everyone,

Basically I am a 22yo Male who’s been on finasteride for 18 months and minoxidil for nearly 6 months.

Following an initial shed on minoxidil which lasted 2 months I had fantastic initial growth which lasted until month 5. Since then I have had a huge shed and a rapid decline in density which has took me back to baseline.

I am basically wondering if anyone else has been through the same thing with regards to a second shed/ shedding cycles, their experiences and if it will recover?

I know this is such a tired topic on this page but I’m extremely stressed and anyone’s advice would be extremely helpful.

Any help will be massively appreciated!