starting fin at 37, after 16 years recession.

[rpp82]

Hi guys, after any comments/advice as to how effective fin might be with my circumstance.

Had receding hairline ever since been 21, been very gradual and never really bothered me too much, im a norwood 3 ish. This last year i have started to get some diffuse thinning on the top and at the crown as though everything is now joining up and thinning. It isnt too bad at the moment and maintenance would be great.

Just wondered about the effects of fin on someone my age who has had reletively gradual hair loss, can anyone offer any thoughts or do i have a good chance of keeping what i have?

The possibility of shedding scares me as it would make it more noticeable but im ok with buzzing it down for a few month if it came to it. My big worry though is fin accelerating my hair loss and never getting it back. I guess because its been slow enough, i guess i could have another 4/5 years as i am........dont want to lose those by accelerating using fin but im at the stage where i think if its going anyway i may aswell try.

Just after some thoughts on the effect of fin given my age and slow HL.

cheers guys

[Diffuse33]

Hello, IMO fin should help stabilize what is left on your crown and midscalp (as your hair loss has been very gradual). As to the hair you have lost on your temples, that will be hard to regain, especially parts which have been missing for years (temple hair is notoriously hard to regain when it's been missing for a long time). Having said that, it seems everybody responds differently to fin, some people experience phenomal regrowth, some just maintain, others fail to halt the balding. It seems younger men do appear to respond better (even those with aggressive balding) however, having said that, 37 is not THAT old, I remember seeing a guy on here about your age who taking fin alone managed to reverse a whole head of miniaturized hairs (albeit his hairline was mostly still intact). Take it for a year and see what happens, you don't have anything to lose. Yes, you may get an initial minor shed but this will recover. All the best.

[rpp82]

Hi Diffuse, thanks for your input. Ive been reading the forums now for a few week and its a minefield. Fin in the studies seems to have had great results in most, it just worries me when you read the horror stories but im trying to think that the majority who have success dont really come on to post, they can get on with life!

Id honestly not be bothered about the receded hairline, it just looks mature and ok for my age. Maintenance would make me seriously happy, any regrowth a massive bonus. It is honestly the shed i would fear - any idea on statistics as to how often this occurs? Its funny that non of the studies seem to mention it. And do you think the fact my HL has been gradual will have any effect on the likelihood of finasteride accelerating my loss? (or does this phenomenon even occur? seems so from other forums but could it just be that fin hasnt worked and the HL has progressed at normal rate as it would have anyway?)
Thanks.

[Diffuse33]

Hello, yes the horror stories are certainly plenty. I am in no doubt the presence of fin in the body can be felt to some degree and manifests itself in various side-effects. However, I also wonder what if someone took fin for a year and was completely unaware of any 'possible' side effects, and then after a year you read a list of side effects to them and asked them how many they actually felt during that year. Reading into something too much before actually taking it can definitely play tricks on the mind.

With regards to a possible shed on fin, this I am far from convinced actually happens (the information online regarding this is all over the place). Minoxidil - yes, that's a different story, the initial shed is very real and very scary. In the case of fin, I think to some extend what happens is someone notices they are balding (most cases quite quickly and quite bad) thus, they decide to take the big step and start taking fin, they start looking at their hair multiple times a day, inspecting it very closely and noticing every hair that falls from their head and automatically start to believe that fin is making them shed, and conclude that their hair was NOT falling out at this rate before. If someone is balding then the hair cycle of individual strands can be greatly reduced, hence more hairs will be living short lives and entering the telegon phase are lot sooner than they should be (the telegon phase can last upto three months before the hair actually falls from your head); therefore, even if you start taking fin, there will be a bunch of hairs that have entered the telegon phase three months or so before you even started to take fin - fin won't be able to save/prolong the life of these hairs, they are destined to fall out. However, by taking fin you will creating an environment that is conducive to the better growth of these hairs when they return from the 'follicle dormant phase' a few months later.

As to what kind of hair loss responds better to treatment (ie, gradual or aggressive) I'm not really sure. I used to be under the impression that gradual hair loss would respond better than aggressive, simply because it seems logical to seem so. However, having considered the issue for a while, it also seems logical that gradual hair loss would mean that certain follicles would have not been producing hair for a long time (in some cases years and years, in the case of a slowly receding hair line or thinning crown) whereas, aggressive balding may look aesthetically worse, however, the follicles have not been producing 'quality hair' or any hair at all for a much shorter time, in some cases only a few months, as they very quickly became stuck in a cycle of producing short lived hairs that are constantly entering the telegon phase, and then waiting months for the follicle to reproduce a new stand. I have seen cases of teens who have had aggressive balding who have started treatment just in time and have got a good proportion of their hair back almost as quickly as it disappeared. All the best

[rpp82]

Thankyou for sharing your thoughts. Are you involved in the HL industry at all as you seem quite knowlegable about it?

Im not convinced of the shed but its the one thing thats holding me back from trying fin although i have pretty much decided to start. What about accelerated HL caused by fin? That seems very rare and possibly people just not responding to it.
Best regards