Doesn’t work well on hairline unless you are under 23. The younger the better. Be sure what you are experiencing is recession and not the appearance of a Mature Male Hairline.
The response to finasteride is variable long term. Everyone is different. I tell people that it is a balancing act, balancing the positive benefits and the negative side effects against each other. The decision here is, therefore, yours to make. If you had ED problems that got worse, I would tell you to stop the medication for risks of PFS, but for people with increased sex drives, there is no evidence that prolonged use of finasteride is a problem.
It can be both hair shaft size reduction (miniaturization) or reduction of hair numbers. A good doctor will tell you what it is.
Vellus hairs are the short hairs that are mixed in with each follicular group of normal hairs. Miniaturized hairs are hairs that have lost their thickness and are noticeably thinner than the hairs on the back of your head.
I just don’t understand why the earlier someone starts balding doesn’t always mean they bald extremely quickly. Like what explains a 30 year old balding almost completely in 2 years vs a 20 year old who starts balding at 20 but takes 15 years to show significant loss?
Again, it is tied to the genetics. Each hair in a region has a finite number of hair cycles to it. when the hairs go through its limited # of anagen growth cycles (a growth cycle in men is between 2-3 years), then the hair often dies. The death may be partial in the Folliclular groups (normally say a hair follicle has 3 hairs in a group, one of two my die off) making the hair look like its is thinning from above (it is thinning) and eventually that last hair will fall out sooner than later. So for an aggressive balding pattern (Norwood Class 7 pattern) the number of three year hair cycles for all of the hair from the front to the crown might be 8 cycles (pre-programmed at birth) of 3 years (3 times 8 = 24 years old to balding). Not a good scenario. Most Class 7 men will be bald by the time they are 26 years old. The same thing can occur in older men 30, 40 or even 50 and they may lose parts of each Follicular group of between 2-3 hairs each) and then eventually the rest falls out at its pre-programmed death. Drugs like finasteride, prolong these cycles making the hair last longer.
I hope I didn’t confuse you, but I got stimulated to give you a scientific view of the process that you are describing in different men of different ages.
This is an interesting twist from what I normally have read. The article in a very prestigious journal, analyzes the connects between 5-alpha reductase inhibitors to possible benefits on psychosis
https://www.nature.com/articles/npp200839
Some doctors leave the edge of the graft sticking out of the recipient sites at the time of the surgery. These bumps may fall off but you won’t know for about 7-10 days more. Send me photos then. I generally don’t like doing this because sometimes the skin left out heals above the surface of the skin producing cobbling of the skin.
Hi all, I am recovering from shock loss on my frontal hairline – 7 months post hair transplant. When I stand very close to a mirror, under light, I see many fine, thin, hair sprouting from the shock loss area. When I stand farther away, the hairs cannot be seen and my shock loss area looks bald. If these fine, thin hair grew into thicker more colorful hairs, I would be cured of this shock loss episode.
My question is is there a way to differentiate which of these fine, thin, wispy hairs will sprout into terminal hair and which will remain baby hairs? Do baby hairs grow in length, or remain short? The hairs in the shock loss area appear to be growing-but even with growth they are still colorless and very then and weak.
Vellus hairs are the short hairs that are mixed in with each follicular group of normal hairs. Miniaturized hairs are hairs that have lost their thickness and are noticeably thinner than the hairs on the back of your head. Full terminal hairs are the hairs that you have in the back of your head. Shock loss rarely reverses the loss of miniaturized hairs, while terminal hairs that are lost often come back.
Two major advances in SMP are the Laser Tattoo System ( https://newhair.com/wp-content/uploads/data/docs/pubs/Tattoo%20Pigment%20Delivery%20with%20a%20laser_final.pdf ) and a new tattoo ink that will be encapsulated so that it will most likely not spread. I will be testing it this week. We expect that we will eventually publish our results using it later this year.
If I remember correctly Dr Rassman u/wrassman said that in his experience that people who are younger (under 25) tend to respond way better to finasteride, but obviously thats anecdotal and everyone’s body responds differently
Yes. I have seen young men who were becoming a Class 7 at 19 years of age, and they responded poorly to finasteride but it did slow down their loss rate. I always use the metaphor of a Tug-of-War between 5 alpha reductase blockers and the aggressiveness of the genetics of balding
I’m 19 and a late bloomer, if people were to look at me they would probably guess that I’m 16. My hairline has been receding for a year and I’m around a NW1 with the whole front of my hairline now miniaturized. Because I’m probably not done with puberty, is it a terrible idea to go on fin right now? Has anyone else who isn’t fully developed gone on fin and continued to develop? I’m just in a hard place right now because my hairline seems to be deteriorating so rapidly but at the same time I don’t want to stunt my body’s development. Any insight would be appreciated.
I have prescribed finasteride to men as young as 16 and have not seen growth stunted.
This is a clear reflection of reversal of miniaturization which causes not only loss of hair shaft thickness but also of the color that goes with your hair miniaturization. When it reverses, the color often comes back as the hairs thicken to finasteride treatment.
This article is a classic article by two authors who have become authorities in the field for many years since the paper was written. The article has a 1997 date, but its value and its insights are helpful today.
https://www.jidonline.org/article/S0022-202X(15)42988-4/pdf
The name stands for Microinfusion of Skin Medications (by it’s acronym in portuguese). This technique is meant to use a device that combines the technique of microneedling (or micro-holes in the skin) with medication injection. What is injected is minoxidil, finasteride and growth factors. The treatment also includes LED light 15min before and 15min after the procedure. I also heard they use PRP. The duration of the procedure is approximately 1 hour. It is meant to be 1 session per month for 3 months, after which it will be spaced every 2-3 months until it reaches only 1 session per year.
Each session is approximately 100 dollars. They also prescribe lotions, shampoos and medications to induce hair growth. She posted a pic on her page of a guy with quite good results, but those were in the top on the head and not in the temples like me (NW1-NW2ish).
It sound believable to you? I guess that it seems possible as it uses medications that are proven to encourage hair loss while at the same time is not applied orally so side effects could be avoided to a degree. And as being injected I suppose that the effects of minoxidil could be increased. But off course, I’m not knowledgeable on the theme so I couldn’t tell. I’m from Peru. Thanks in advance.
The micro-needling with minoxidil has been shown to have value. Unless the finasteride is in a skin absorbable preparation like a liposomal compound, it will not work at all. The LED probably will not hurt but probably will not help either. Good luck.
My son takes this drug for stressful times. I thought that you were suggesting that you wanted to use if for treating your hair loss. I know that Propranolol can, in rare circumstances, brings on genetic balding or makes it worse if that is what you have. If it helps you, then, by all means, use it.