Are Thinning Hairs Likely to Become Stronger with Rogaine and/or Propecia?

I am 22 and my hair has always been really thin, from the time I was a baby. Lately I have noticed that the left side of my temple looks pretty normal, but the right side appears to be receding. Although the area that seems to be missing hair has thin blond hair covering it. If there is still thin hair there, would Propecia and/or Rogaine possibly help to grow it back?

I style my hair using a strong gel and blow drying it. Could this be an issue?

I found pictures of myself from 18 months ago, and the left side of my head does not seem to have any loss from that time. Unfortunately I cannot find any pictures of the right side. Typically how quickly would I notice hairloss if it was a major problem?

Thank you for your time.

At 22 years old, men can develop genetic hair loss which is often worse on one side until the other side catches up. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) can increase the size of the hair shaft (making it thicker) if it is miniaturized, particularly in someone of your age. Rogaine (minoxidil) seems to work by prolonging the hair cycle, but while it might also increase shaft thickness, I can’t find evidence for that and I just don’t know. Hair gel and styling are not causing your hair loss and there’s no timetable for how fast your hair falls out (it will differ in each person depending on genetics).

Here’s what I’d suggest you look into: get your hair mapped out for miniaturization, get a diagnosis and a metric for your hair thinning, and then your doctor will probably put you on Propecia, which directly addresses the balding problems in genetic hair loss.