How long till I stop losing hair (on propecia)

[woodnor]

Hi, I've been lurking these forums since last year but have never posted here, and have read a lot here about the treatments available to fight MPB, the future treatments, and other stuff too. So anyway, I thought this would be a good time to post here.

I've been on propecia for almost 6 months now (will be 6 in April 4). I'm 20 and I believe I'm somewhere around NW2 (maybe a little more but I'm not sure if I'm NW 2.5). Ever since I started the treatment I've taken pictures every month to monitor progress.

The thing is, before I started treatment I was already taking pictures (two months before starting), but I had long hair. Now, a day before starting, I buzzed my head, and I've been growing my hair ever since (I've only had 1 haircut in 6 months I believe). So my hair has been growing steadily, but it is still kinda short. The reason I'm mentioning this is because since my hair has been growing, the monthly pictures are harder to compare with each other.

Nevertheless, when I compare pictures from 1 month before I started propecia (I had long hair) and 4 months into propecia, it seems that my right and left temple have both receded a little.

I know that the pics show different hair lenghts, but I can still compare it. I'm not posting here to show you the pics and asking you guys to tell me what you think. What I actually wanted to know is something that I've always looked up on the internet but never seem to get a straight answer.

I want to know how long it actually takes for propecia to stop the hairloss. I have read before that it only takes 48 hours or so to block the DHT. Now I have also read that, while it blocks the DHT in days, you will still lose hair in the first months of treatment because there is some "build-up" DHT in your scalp which was converted before you took propecia (so you can't get rid of it). So is this true? Is this the reason that even though propecia blocks DHT right away, you still lose hair for the first months because you still have "previous" DHT?

If so, how much time (months?) has to pass after you've started taking propecia for this "build-up" DHT to go away and actually halt the hair loss? Is it possible to still lose hair after 6 months on propecia or should the hairloss stop by months 4-5?

Thanks for the help, the forum is great btw

[Mike K]

I didn't read your whole post I just read the title but stay on Fin a full year before you drop it. Meanwhile you might look into other stuff in case you are still losing hair after a year such as Dut, RU58841, minox, nizoral shampoo, laser combs/hats, etc.

[Notcoolanymore]

How much hair are you actually losing? 10 hairs while showering? 50? We naturally shed around 100(i believe) hairs a day.

[woodnor]

Thank you for the quick reply Mike. Yeah I know I should wait a full year before judging.

I was actually looking for a more detailed answer, so anyway if you guys don't wanna read the whole post you can just read the last 3 paragraphs of my post to see my question. Thanks Here are the last paragraphs:

"I know that the pics show different hair lenghts, but I can still compare it. I'm not posting here to show you the pics and asking you guys to tell me what you think. What I actually wanted to know is something that I've always looked up on the internet but never seem to get a straight answer.

I want to know how long it actually takes for propecia to stop the hairloss. I have read before that it only takes 48 hours or so to block the DHT. Now I have also read that, while it blocks the DHT in days, you will still lose hair in the first months of treatment because there is some "build-up" DHT in your scalp which was converted before you took propecia (so you can't get rid of it). So is this true? Is this the reason that even though propecia blocks DHT right away, you still lose hair for the first months because you still have "previous" DHT?

If so, how much time (months?) has to pass after you've started taking propecia for this "build-up" DHT to go away and actually halt the hair loss? Is it possible to still lose hair after 6 months on propecia or should the hairloss stop by months 4-5?"

[Notcoolanymore]

I have been on fin for about 9 months now. I had sheds in the 1st, 2nd, and 7th months. What I mean by sheds is I could visibly see less hair on my head when comparing with previous pics.

[woodnor]

I have been on fin for about 9 months now. I had sheds in the 1st, 2nd, and 7th months. What I mean by sheds is I could visibly see less hair on my head when comparing with previous pics.

I think I shed like any average guy, like 100 a day, so that's not really a problem for me. The thing is, I am only losing hair at my temples, not on my crown or anywhere else. I don't think any "sheds" are noticeable in my case, but I do notice my temples have receded a little.

Still, I would really appreciate it if someone could answer my question, I've seen people here before who seem to know a lot about DHT and fin and the science behind it so when I posted my thread I was kinda hoping someone would know the answer to my question. Anyone?

[stringerbell]

Hi,

I can't give you the answers you are waiting for as I don't know much about DHT, but I can tell you this. As many balding guys on forums, I've been experiencing tingling/tight & tender scalp/itching (no itching personnally, but many do).. sensations, which appear to be hairloss induced inflammation. And on numerous threads, some were claiming that propecia enventually got them rid of the inflammation thing, but for some it took several months to a year.

So if the theory that states that these sensations are an inflammation/immune reaction to DHT attacking the hair is true, your point of "build up DHT" that remains in the hair follicles even after starting propecia would make sense. Of course, nothing is sure and this inflammation thing could be stress related or whatever.

Hope that helped at least a bit !

[woodnor]

Hi,

I can't give you the answers you are waiting for as I don't know much about DHT, but I can tell you this. As many balding guys on forums, I've been experiencing tingling/tight & tender scalp/itching (no itching personnally, but many do).. sensations, which appear to be hairloss induced inflammation. And on numerous threads, some were claiming that propecia enventually got them rid of the inflammation thing, but for some it took several months to a year.

So if the theory that states that these sensations are an inflammation/immune reaction to DHT attacking the hair is true, your point of "build up DHT" that remains in the hair follicles even after starting propecia would make sense. Of course, nothing is sure and this inflammation thing could be stress related or whatever.

Hope that helped at least a bit !

Hi, thanks for taking your time to reply. I've always read that it takes months or a year to "see results". But what do they mean by "see results"? Does it just mean seeing that the hairloss has halted (by comparing with previous pics) or does it mean that you actually see regrowth?