I am FtM transgender, and I have noticed a lot of transgender men in their mid-20s tend to get sudden and extreme hair loss due to hormone therapy (testosterone). Right now I’m not really experiencing much hair loss, possibly because I am on low-dose T, but I would like to prevent hair loss before it even starts.

Is there anything I can do to be proactive about hair loss? I currently only shampoo only 2-3 times a week, I condition daily, and I do 5-10 minute scalp massages daily. Are there any products I could incorporate into my hair routine?

Drugs like finasteride are critical but it most likely will not be enough to counter the impact of exogenous testosterone

It is important that you are at least 25 years old and your pattern of hair loss can be predicted before you embark on a hair transplant. Don’t push for it.

Cardiac complication of pericardial effusion have been reported at the 5mg dose. It is a rare finding but it can be fatal. When I prescribe oral minoxidil, I never go above 2.5mg for a daily dose.

Can your hairline recede without hair shedding? Is that even what’s happening here?

Yes, recession can happen without detectable shedding. We see that most of the time as young men transition from the juvenile hairline to a mature hairline

Im looking to restart fin at this dose and was wondering if it’ll be effective at maintaining/thickening my current hair. I’m not looking for regrowth as i haven’t actually lost any hair yet, but my non-donor area hairs are way thinner in comparison. I previously took .25mg every other day for 5 and 1/2 months and i don’t think it did anything. Hard to say if this dose was too low or if i got off too early.

If you think about it, 0.25 mg is 50% as effective as the full 1mg dose of finasteride. Some men with less severe hair loss may respond to this lower dose while others may not. If you haven’t lost hair, why are you on the drug at all?  You should get a diagnosis from a doctor before you commit yourself to finasteride for the rest of your life.

A good doctor is ethical, organized in the surgery and good with his hands. He/she must have good judgment and think about the patient’s welfare before his own financial needs (this is not as common as I would like to see it, unfortunately). For example, delaying a surgery is sometimes a better decision but the surgeon makes no money. Also, performing 1000 more grafts than are needed fills the surgeon’s wallet but doesn’t do much for the patient’s future hair loss needs.  The surgeon must always think ‘long-term’ when thinking about the patient’s potential future hair loss so taking out too many grafts (a common activity today) doesn’t reflect well on the surgeon’s ethics. I would be skeptical if a surgeon unleashes a salesperson on you, to “Close the deal” for your hair transplant.  That is like a used car salesman, not a good ethical surgeon.

I’ve had seborrheic dermatitis and a lot of hair shedding for several months, almost a year now, and my hair line has gone from NW2 at 16 to NW3.5 now at 18. I started min on my temples about a month ago to slow down the recession, but I’m scared my hair is gonna keep thinning and receding until theres nothing left

I start college in a few weeks and I’ve been seriously considering starting fin, and I have a couple questions.

1. How long will fin take to start working? will I even get my hairline back?

2. How do I find out if I get sides? How soon after beginning do the sides show up?

3. I’ve been pretty much the same height since 14 but if I do still have some growing left, does fin affect or stunt height growth in any way?

1- It starts working within a couple of weeks, but you may not see benefit for months

2- You will know if you have side effects. Most men don’t know that they are taking the medications

3- Finasteride is reported not to impact growth