Nearly 4 Years Later: Losing the Battle Against Hairloss

[YungKeynes]

I've been on propecia for nearly 4 years. Although propecia significantly slowed down my rate of hair-loss, my hairline continues to recede at a moderate pace. If I was 43, I would be very pleased with these results but I'm only 21. If this continues to happen, I'll look like a balding man in ~2 years, which is unacceptable to me.

I know, I know: you shouldn't take propecia when you're as young as I am. I couldn't care less, I was balding at a fairly rapid pace when I was 17. I still have a pretty full head of hair, outside of a horseshoe type hairline which can be disguised. If my trajectory stayed the same, I'd be stereotyped as a soon-to-be bald man, which would make me feel pretty miserable. I want no part of that, which is why I registered here.

Are there any alternatives? I'm pretty willing to try dutasteride but I'm skeptical that it will be more efficacious than propecia. This question is aimed at people who felt disappointed with propecia but found success with dutasteride.

Also: are there any cover-up type products that do a good job of disguising hairloss? Does topix actually look real and seem satisfying? I would change my hairstyle but one of the reasons I've chosen to battle my hair-loss is my preference for longer styles. I don't want to "rock" a buzzcut. If I did, I would have embraced going bald...

edit: I guess I've sort of won the battle against hair-loss in the sense that I still have a pretty normal-looking head of hair. My Dad went fully bald (NW5-6) when he was ~23. I'm 21 and am at NW 1.8 or so. It could be worse but I also don't want to go bald until I'm at least 40-50.