Been on Finasteride for 3 months...

[Adam4210]

...My hair has improved a little bit since I started, but I am still shedding a lot . Is this normal to shed after 3 months? My hands/body are usually covered in strands of hair after I shower. I see a small difference in my hairline (one side was starting to thin). It has started to fill in a little bit. Will I start seeing more fill in as the months pass? I have also experienced 0 side effects which is great!

So far so good. I hope less hair falls out and I hope more starts to fill in. Its not a big difference by any menas, but I can tell it is slowly starting to work.

My current regimen=

1.25mg Finasteride Daily
Wash my hair with Regenepure (Sulfate free shampoo) every other day. Also contains ketoconazol.

[mattj]

It sounds like you're only in the very early stages of hairloss, right? If you've experienced re-growth then you got lucky as most guys don't recover lost hair at the front. If you are shedding more hairs than usual then this could be just the normal and very common shed that many users report when starting treatment, and hopefully it'll cease after a while. The hairline re-growth is a sign that you're responding very well so I would hazard a guess that the drug will also do a good job of halting loss. After all, finasteride is far better at keeping hair than re-growing it.

[Adam4210]

It sounds like you're only in the very early stages of hairloss, right? If you've experienced re-growth then you got lucky as most guys don't recover lost hair at the front. If you are shedding more hairs than usual then this could be just the normal and very common shed that many users report when starting treatment, and hopefully it'll cease after a while. The hairline re-growth is a sign that you're responding very well so I would hazard a guess that the drug will also do a good job of halting loss. After all, finasteride is far better at keeping hair than re-growing it.

I would say I am in the early stages. I can tell my crown is SLIGHTLY thinning, but not noticeable at all. I don't have a visible bald spot. My hairline is definitely receding and the hair on the top of my head is thinner than the rest. I honestly don't know when I started balding. I have had a receding hairline since 18, but I thought nothing of it. I didn't notice I was balding for sure until I started growing my hair out (I always had a very short haircut which was #2 on the clippers).

I could just be seeing things, but I think I see a SLIGHT improvement at the hairline area where the left side started to thin (right side has been receded since around 19).

To the ordinary person they would be only be able to tell I was thinning/going bald if I combed my hair down over my forehead (hairs seem very thin and whispy) and if my hairline shows. I have a slightly large forehead which doesn't help the situation any :P The hair on the top of my head is definitely thinner than the sides/back, but I don't think you can really tell unless my hair is wet. The top of my hair looks INSANELY thin when wet.

I hope I can at least keep what I have any get no further hair loss. Does Finasteride ever wear off? Say 5 years from now will it start to lose its effect? I have no problem staying on this drug for the rest of my life if it can keep my hairloss to a halt.

EDIT: Anyone else feel the wind is their WORST enemy when starting to go bald? I try to make my hair look perfect, but as soon as I get out of my car and the wind blows....ARG! :P

[mattj]

Why not cut it short again? You said you didn't notice you were balding until you grew it out. Wind wouldn't be an issue then either.

I would stay on the Fin and ride out the shed and then hopefully you'll see some thickening at the top. The shed could be the progression of your hairloss, but as it's a common effect of the drug there's a good chance you'll recover and end up better than when you started.

They do say that the effectiveness of Finasteride can wear off after 5 years or so, but some men have continued to keep their hair while on it for 10+ years.

How old are you now?

[Adam4210]

Why not cut it short again? You said you didn't notice you were balding until you grew it out. Wind wouldn't be an issue then either.

I would stay on the Fin and ride out the shed and then hopefully you'll see some thickening at the top. The shed could be the progression of your hairloss, but as it's a common effect of the drug there's a good chance you'll recover and end up better than when you started.

They do say that the effectiveness of Finasteride can wear off after 5 years or so, but some men have continued to keep their hair while on it for 10+ years.

How old are you now?

I just turned 22 about 2 weeks ago. I also am not 100% sure if I regrew in the hairline. I look at pictures I took the day before I started Finasteride and it looks relatively the same. I can't say my hair looks WORSE than it did 3 months ago so I guess it can't be a bad thing.

I don't look good at all with a short haircut especially with my large forehead. I am still contemplating what kind of haircut I should get.

The sides of my head are a big problem area. It is very frustrating to comb my hair in this area because the hair feels so thin and stringy. I purposely combed it back to show how it looks. Normally it is not that noticeable at all. I don't think anything could help the sides of my head except for a transplant which I would not think of doing whatsoever at my age.





I have NEVER seen anyone go bald in these areas!? Whats wrong with me Not only am I thinning on the top, but I am thinning on the front sides as well. FML!

[mattj]

Hmmm, that is quite unusual. Men who end up with advanced hairloss patterns often have hair that recedes back at the sides in line with the sideburn, but this is going back even further. I think you should see a specialist.

[Adam4210]

Do you think this is part of MPB that I am going through? Or something else?

This is what it looks like when I comb it accordingly (It is hidden more now since my hair is a bit longer, but as you can see in the above pics the right side is worse than the left so its much harder to cover)

[mattj]

Presumably you would've made a connection if you often scratched or pulled at this area of hair. Some years ago I had a habit of scratching at my sideburns and they thinned out for a while.
It could be something like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia, but you really need to see a dermatologist/trichologist to be sure. Unfortunately this isn't something you'll find easy answers for on the internet.